This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.comThe 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 college football program to struggle so much that when JFK used them to justify going to the moon, everyone understood the reference. For decades, this picture has barely changed.Why is football so hard at Rice? To get to the bottom of it, Alex and Richard interview two experts: Matthew Bartlett and Carter Spires of The Roost, the internet’s top destination for Rice sports news and commentary. Among other things, the group discusses:* How a Rice game day looks* The program’s many downs and occasional ups, like its record-setting 2008 team that won 10 games* JFK’s famous speech that doubled as a minor dig at the team* How Rice fits into, or sets itself apart from, the city of Houston* Why a school that figured out baseball has never cracked football* The difficulties of recruiting to a school that cares about school* The school’s decision to get a bit more serious about football latey* The best possible case for Rice football in the next 10 years* VERDICT TIME: Stay in the AAC, drop to FCS, or stop playing football?This is the second episode in an SZD series, “Why You’re Always Bad." For the first subscriber episode, on Kent State, scroll down in this podcast feed.Everyone can hear a free preview of this episode. To hear the whole thing and get a bunch more subscriber-only episodes, join us on a free trial.Thanks to the crew from The Roost for joining our show.Producer: Anthony Vito
--------
32:27
Offseason Vibe Checks 2025: The Mountain West
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 www.homefieldapparel.com.* Follow Nokian Tyres on Instagram @NokianTyresNA, and learn more about Nokian’s commitment to sustainability at nokiantyres.com/sustainabilityProducer: 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 www.splitzoneduo.com/subscribe
--------
40:38
How Big a Deal is Bill Belichick's Mess?
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.comBill 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 The Athletic’s report 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: Our Belichick “emergency show” when he was hired in MarchProducer: Anthony VitoHosts: Alex Kirshner, Richard Johnson
--------
10:21
Pac-12 and Indy Vibe Checks + The State of Special Teams Development
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: https://victoria.monster/#bookdriveLiked this show? Get bonus episodes at www.splitzoneduo.com/subscribeProducer: Anthony VitoGet cool stuff from SZD’s partnersUse SZD20 at www.homefieldapparel.com and get 20% off your first order.Follow Nokian Tyres on Instagram @NokianTyresNA, and learn more about Nokian’s commitment to sustainability at nokiantyres.com/sustainability 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
--------
1:12:59
CFB Lunch Break: Shedeur Shunned
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.comIn 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
An independent college football podcast that eats the whole hog. Plus a newsletter. All with Steven Godfrey, Richard Johnson, and Alex Kirshner. www.splitzoneduo.com
New Zealand