Best Alex Kirshner Podcasts (2025)

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The 2025 CFB Time Capsule Prediction Special 17:02

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1h ago17:02

17:02

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com After an offseason and preseason of talking, it’s time to answer: What do we think will actually happen in this college football season? Alex, Richard, and Godfrey put their names on some picks in this subscriber episode. At the end of the season, we’ll dig up the ti…

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Week 1 CFB Tasting Menu: Time to Eat 1:24:53

13h ago1:24:53

1:24:53

Richard Johnson and Alex Kirshner preview the first week of the 2025 season, with notes on dozens of games that will make your Week 1 more interesting. A brief selection of the games we talk about this week: * Boise State vs. USF is the Bulls’ biggest moment in years * Nebraska vs. Cincinnati is a major interior pressure test for Dylan Raiola * Aub…

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Which FBS Teams Will Lose FCS Games? Let's Draft. 1:27:05

1d ago1:27:05

1:27:05

This season, FBS teams will play 126 games against FCS opponents. Most years, anywhere between five-ish and 10-ish FBS teams will lose those games. The purpose of the Split Zone Duo FCS Upset Draft is to identify those teams, engage in some friendly competition, and use the process as a look ahead to the season. Everyone picks three FCS winners, bu…

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WSLS 428 | A New Season Kicks Off!! Georgia Hosts Marshall 1:42:19

2d ago1:42:19

1:42:19

Georgia football begins their 2025 season this weekend as they host Marshall Between the Hedges. Listen to our preview show.https://x.com/wslspodcastSponsor:https://thestricklandfirm.comBy Scott Duvall, Will Leitch & Tony Waller

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Why, Exactly, Is Arch Manning Good? 6:05

3d ago6:05

6:05

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com Yahoo Sports’ Nate Tice joins Richard in this new episode of “Scheme School,” focused on one very famous QB. Arch Manning finally takes the reins of the Texas Longhorns this weekend at Ohio State. For a quarterback who’s been talked about more than any other QB prosp…

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College Football Previews 2025: SEC 1:40:23

7d ago1:40:23

1:40:23

Richard and Alex preview the SEC for the 2025 season: * Texas has everything it needs to make a deep playoff run * Georgia has a few more questions, especially at QB, but (this will shock you) looks like a frontline contender once again * Alabama is back, per Richard * LSU has championship upside, but will the defense be good or great? * South Caro…

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College Football Previews 2025: Big Ten 1:55:22

9d ago1:55:22

1:55:22

Alex, Richard, and Rodger Sherman preview the Big Ten for 2025. This nearly two-hour episode runs through all 18 teams, in this order: * Penn State faces “semifinals or bust” season * Ohio State should step back, but how much can a team step back when it has Jeremiah Smith on one side of the ball and Caleb Downs on the other? * Oregon has a few que…

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WSLS 427 | 2025 Season Preview for Georgia Football (with Seth Emerson) 1:28:55

9d ago1:28:55

1:28:55

Our 2025 season preview for Georgia football with special guest Seth Emerson.Follow our show on X https://x.com/wslspodcastBy Scott Duvall, Will Leitch & Tony Waller

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The Michigan Sign-Stealing Scandal Ends With a Whimper 7:39

13d ago7:39

7:39

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com The NCAA’s big decision on Michigan’s sign-stealing operation is here, and it is a nothingburger. To explain what happened and get a Michigan perspective on it (because it is very funny), Alex welcomes Jane Coaston, Crooked Media podcaster and Michigan fan, to discus…

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WSLS 426 | Previewing the 2025 SEC Football Season 1:35:00

14d ago1:35:00

1:35:00

Our 2025 SEC Preview Showhttps://x.com/wslspodcastBy Scott Duvall, Will Leitch & Tony Waller

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College Football Previews 2025: American 1:00:47

16d ago1:00:47

1:00:47

Richard and Godfrey preview 2025 in the newly renamed American Conference. In a recent episode, we touched on this league’s long-term difficulties. In this one, we talk about the season to come, previewing all 14 teams. The episode wraps with preseason award nominees from the hosts for the SZD Dude of the Year, the Low-Key Cool Game of the Year, th…

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Split Zone Duo's Guide to the 2025 Homefield Can't Miss Kickoff Tour, presented by Modelo 8:57

19d ago8:57

8:57

Our partners at Homefield have seen a lot of you on the road in recent years. They’re getting back on the trail this fall for the Homefield Can't Miss Kickoff Tour, presented by Modelo, and we’re sharing news of the first three stops on the tour in Tallahassee (weekend of 8/30), Philadelphia (weekend of 9/13), and Bloomington (weekend of 9/20). You…

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WSLS 425 | College Football 2025, Speeding Past Some of Us in the Fast-lane 1:02:56

23d ago1:02:56

1:02:56

Starting our 11th season, our national preview show didn't go quite as expected.https://x.com/wslspodcastBy Scott Duvall, Will Leitch & Tony Waller

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College Football Previews 2025: Mountain West 55:45

22d ago55:45

55:45

Richard and Alex preview the Mountain West in 2025, starting with the same team that’s favored every year and then going in no particular order: * Boise State still looks like the class of the league * San Jose State has leveled up, but now Ken Niumatalolo confronts life without an All-American receiver * UNLV is the apple of Richard’s eye with Dan…

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College Football Previews 2025: The ACC 1:27:12

24d ago1:27:12

1:27:12

Richard and Alex preview 2025 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, discussing the league in the following order: * Clemson, now with a light sprinkling of transfers, has every ingredient * Miami’s defense should finally arrive, but will Mario Cristobal come through on the margins? * Louisville has both of us excited * SMU is graded on a different curv…

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Why Do You Love College Football? 1:52:07

27d ago1:52:07

1:52:07

Why do you love college football? It's a simple question with a not so simple answer, but we asked it of you, our listeners, as well as some special guests. And you delivered. Sit back and enjoy an audio love letter to the game that fills us with delight, disappointment, thrills, and frustrations. Producer: Anthony Vito. Thanks to everyone who cont…

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An American Identity Crisis 29:39

30d ago29:39

29:39

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com The American Athletic Conference was by far the best non-power conference of the early College Football Playoff era. Its best teams were nationally relevant. Many programs were on the rise, and so were the league’s coaches, who went on to Power Five jobs and then got…

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College Football Previews 2025: Conference USA 1:08:39

29d ago1:08:39

1:08:39

Richard and Alex preview Conference USA, as the league adds Delaware and Missouri State. In this episode: * Liberty remains the favorite, even with a downgrade at QB * Sam Houston is primed for regression after 10 wins and a coaching change * WKU goes back to a strategy that has worked time and again: portaling an entire offense from a lower-level …

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WSLS 424 | Tony Interviews Keith Gaddie, Author of "Bragging Rights" 37:32

29d ago37:32

37:32

Follow our show on X: https://x.com/wslspodcastFollow our show on IG: https://instagram.com/wslspodcastBy Scott Duvall, Will Leitch & Tony Waller

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The Schemes That Will Define 2025, Feat. Coach Dan Casey 16:27

1M ago16:27

16:27

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com Dan Casey, coach and founder of the Play Caller’s Club, joins Richard to discuss the Xs and Os trends that are percolating across college football ahead of the 2025 season. Weird alignments, formations into the boundary, running backs out of the backfield, and the us…

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Full Interview: Steve Baker on Miami University 18:06

1M ago18:06

18:06

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com Listen to Alex’s extended-cut interview with Miami University play-by-play announcer Steve Baker, for Split Zone Duo subscribers. Listen to the full “Dead Letters” episode about Miami and the Cradle of Coaches here.By Alex Kirshner

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Dead Letters: Miami University 40:56

1M ago40:56

40:56

Miami University went on an unprecedented run of hiring coaches: Woody Hayes, Ara Parseghian, Bo Schembechler, and many more: . By 2003, with Ben Roethlisberger behind center, the RedHawks were the best program outside the power conference. Then trouble hit, both for Miami and the MAC. Split Zone Duo’s paid subscribers can listen to an extended cut…

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Collectives 1, NCAA 0 11:27

1M ago11:27

11:27

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com The House settlement was supposed to create a clear line between “legitimate” NIL deals and so-called “pay for play” from NIL collectives. It took three weeks for the NCAA to make a major concession. Front Office Sports reporter Amanda Christovich joins Alex for a qu…

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College Football Previews 2025: Big 12 2:00:54

1M ago2:00:54

2:00:54

Shehan Jeyarajah, college football writer for CBS Sports, returns to the show to join Alex and Richard for a meaty preview of the Big 12. You may enjoy Shehan’s recent report on the details behind Texas Tech’s NIL boom. In this preview: * Arizona State loses Cam Skattebo but still has so much returning from a team that nearly made the playoff semif…

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CFB Lunch Break: Why Can't Memphis Get a Realignment Bite? 19:18

1M ago19:18

19:18

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com Leave us a voicemail telling us why you love college football. Details are at www.splitzoneduo.com. In this show, Alex and Richard take a bunch of subscriber questions in the run-up to the season, with an early focus on realignment matters: * The Athletic reported th…

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College Football Previews 2025: The MAC 1:10:47

1M ago1:10:47

1:10:47

Conference previews continue with the MAC. Alex and Richard break down every team in the league, including new entrant UMass: * Toledo still has the best hand * Miami is poised to contend (again) after getting portal-raided (again) * Buffalo is in a great place after the first year of Pete Lembo * Ohio defends its first MAC championship in decades …

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College Football Previews 2025: Pac-12 and Independents 39:56

2M ago39:56

39:56

Split Zone Duo’s conference previews for 2025 keep rolling along with a two-parter: the Pac-12 and the FBS independents, whose ranks have thinned. * Oregon State might finally (finally!) be poised for stability and growth * Washington State faces a similar crisis to the one OSU faced last year, although the Cougs have a few reasons for optimism as …

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Why You're Always Bad: ULM 32:35

2M ago32:35

32:35

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com Godfrey joins Alex and Richard for the third installment in our offseason series, “Why You’re Always Bad.” This episode is about ULM, formerly known as Northeast Louisiana State. The Warhawks are perhaps the most consistently bad team in the top division of college f…

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College Football Previews 2025: The Sun Belt 1:11:15

2M ago1:11:15

1:11:15

Season previews are back! Richard and Alex go alphabetically through the whole Sun Belt, picking out one rose, one bud, and one thorn for all 14 schools, from Appalachian State to Troy. In this episode: * App State hits the reset button * Coastal Carolina should be feeling some urgency * Georgia Southern extended Clay Helton and kept its roster tog…

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Picking the Defining Team of Every Decade of College Football 22:47

2M ago22:47

22:47

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com For the Fourth of July, we look all the way back to the founding of … college football. Richard and Alex pick and debate the defining teams of each decade of the sport’s history, starting with one year of the 1860s and rolling through the 2010s. Remember that “defini…

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The 2025 CFB Coach Firing and Retirement Confidence Ranking 1:03:26

2M ago1:03:26

1:03:26

Around 20 FBS coaches will retire or get fired by the end of this season, but which ones will they be? Alex and Richard pick out 23 names and rank them from least to most likely to be entering their last season on the job. Then we talk about the context, especially in the handful of cases with big differences in our rankings. Plus, everyone gets bu…

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Subscriber Q&A: Ben Haumiller on the New EA Sports College Football Game 50:18

2M ago50:18

50:18

Part 2 of our conversation with EA Sports College Football principal game designer Ben Haumiller. Ben takes a bunch of subscriber questions on the upcoming CFB game and the state of college sports video gaming in general: * How to actually learn to play a football video game * Incorporating the House settlement and NIL * How a new 'gadget” position…

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Inside College Football 26 with EA Sports’ Principal Game Designer 57:19

2M ago57:19

57:19

Part 1: EA Sports College Football principal game designer Ben Haumiller joins Alex and Richard for a discussion of the upcoming CFB video game, with a focus on Dynasty mode and lessons learned from last year’s long-awaited return. * What EA learned from the best-selling sports game of all time * The easier and more difficult parts of releasing a s…

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WSLS 423 | Tony Waller Interviews Alex Kirshner of Split Zone Duo 35:22

2M ago35:22

35:22

Tony Waller interviews Alex Kirshner of Split Zone Duohttps://x.com/wslspodcastBy Scott Duvall, Will Leitch & Tony Waller

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Will the House Settlement Bring Bagmen Back? Plus More Offseason News 55:18

2M ago55:18

55:18

Alex and Richard discuss a handful of offseason stories: * The Pac-12’s expansion efforts are coming to a head, and Texas State—not Sacramento State—appears to be the apple of the league’s eye. Extra Points publisher Matt Brown joins to talk about why Sac State’s extremely public campaign for FBS membership has not paid dividends. Read Matt’s repor…

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CFB Lunch Break: How to Know If Your FBS Transition Has a Chance 33:32

2M ago33:32

33:32

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com Richard and Alex take subscriber questions on: * How to assess if a school’s FCS-to-FBS transition is in a good place or not, especially if it takes a little bit to win any games * The big business of college football data distribution * The endless (?) expansion of …

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CFB's Year 2 Coaches for 2025: Who's Good, and Who's Already Dicey? 30:41

2M ago30:41

30:41

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com We believe in an old college football theory: If a coach is going to win at his current job, he’s going to have a good second season. The exceptions, like Bill McCartney and Jim Harbaugh, prove the rule. This year, 28 FBS coaches enter their second season in charge o…

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The 25 Most Interesting Non-QB Transfers in College Football 44:59

3M ago44:59

44:59

Fall camp approaches. Let’s talk about the most consequential transfer portal moves of the offseason that weren’t quarterbacks and, in a lot of cases, didn’t even happen in national championship-contending programs. Oklahoma’s new running back and receivers! Dabo’s dip into the portal! Oregon’s new secondary import from Purdue! Notre Dame’s acquisi…

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So, What Can We Expect From Belichick ON the Field? 18:38

3M ago18:38

18:38

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com Cody Alexander of MatchQuarters joins Richard to discuss how the football coach at North Carolina will actually, ya know, coach football (a novel concept, we know). His evolution as a defensive mind shaped the way you watch the game in more ways than you can realize,…

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Can There Be an Ashton Jeanty in 2025? 52:29

3M ago52:29

52:29

A running back from Boise State helped define the 2024 season. Does CFB have an RB waiting in the wings to make a similar imprint in 2025? Probably not exactly, given Jeanty’s historic season and the difficulty non-power programs have had retaining star running backs this offseason. But if we’re just looking for running backs who can defy difficult…

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CFB Lunch Break: Off, Wisconsin? 14:46

3M ago14:46

14:46

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com In this week’s CFB Lunch Break, Alex and Richard answer live questions from Split Zone Duo subscribers: * What to make of Luke Fickell’s mediocre first two years at Wisconsin and a challenging situation in Year 3 * Ohio State/Texas scheduling fight * Florida’s upside…

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WSLS 422 | Georgia Baseball and Softball Eliminated, Season Over 16:44

3M ago16:44

16:44

Georgia Baseball ends its 2025 season with a disappointing loss to Oklahoma State in the regionals. Softball loses to Florida in the Super Regionalshttps://x.com/wslspodcastBy Scott Duvall, Will Leitch & Tony Waller

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Anatomy of a Coaching Carousel: 2010 37:08

3M ago37:08

37:08

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com For live show tickets in Raleigh on 8/23: https://www.etix.com/ticket/p/78691649/the-2nd-annual-sports-podcast-festival-raleigh-the-rialto Godfrey, Richard, and Alex present the second episode in our “Anatomy of a Coaching Carousel” series. This show covers the new c…

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How to Build a Modern CFB Front Office 23:18

3M ago23:18

23:18

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com Split Zone Duo State is the newest startup FBS program. We've got our coach, but now we need a staff. Blueprint Sports head of analytics Parker Fleming joins the show to help Richard break down who to hire, and the roles that need filling, to build SZD State into a t…

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CFB Lunch Break: Lincoln Riley, Rivalry Killer? 22:01

3M ago22:01

22:01

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com Richard and Alex take live questions from our Split Zone Duo subscribers. Topics covered in this episode include: * The slightly messy ending between Jim Knowles and Ohio State * What we’re most excited about in the 2025 season * More developments in Bill Belichick/J…

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The 8 Ways to Smoke Out a Fake National Title Claim 1:09:31

3M ago1:09:31

1:09:31

College football history is loaded with BS national championship claims, as well as some non-consensus claims that AREN’T ridiculous. How do we tell the difference? What patterns emerge when we look at decades of disputed titles? What is the most ridiculous national title claim of all time? (Spoiler: It’s one of Alabama’s claims. But why don’t the …

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Saban's Presidential Commission + CFB Biz Lightning Round, with Matt Brown 1:07:35

4M ago1:07:35

1:07:35

Sports Podcast Festival tickets: https://www.etix.com/ticket/p/78691649/the-2nd-annual-sports-podcast-festival-raleigh-the-rialto Extra Points publisher Matt Brown joins Alex to break down a handful of big offseason stories in the business of college football. * 1:25: Donald Trump’s presidential commission on college sports, co-chaired by Nick Saba…

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Why You're Always Bad: Rice 32:27

4M ago32:27

32:27

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com The Rice Owls have had 36 winning seasons since 1914. They once lost 18 games in a row. They have wandered from conference to conference since the death of the SWC, and despite being in a huge city that loves football, they have precious few fans. They are the only c…

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Offseason Vibe Checks 2025: The Mountain West 40:38

4M ago40:38

40:38

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 * …

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How Big a Deal is Bill Belichick's Mess? 10:21

4M ago10:21

10:21

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com 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 …