The College Football Playoff bracket is out. Richard Johnson doesn’t think it’s a big crime that Alabama was included. Alex Kirshner does. The hosts hash out their disagreement and then pull on some other threads from the big reveal:

* Why Richard was able to see so much of this coming

* Why Alex really hates Bama’s inclusion

* Why Richard doesn’t

* How Duke’s loss in the ACC Championship did or didn’t affect Miami’s case

* Notre Dame’s decision not to play in a bowl game

* The increasing anti-Group of 5 backlash that has already started to bubble up after two non-power teams made the field

* No, this is not going to make Notre Dame give up independence

* Early reactions to the rest of the bracket

* The teams Richard thinks could actually win this thing

Produced by 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:

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Here’s a quick solo episode from Alex, taking you through the big debate on the Playoff selection committee’s hands before Selection Sunday: Alabama or Miami? Plus, one political consideration you should keep in mind, and a quick aside about how safe Notre Dame should feel.

This episode is free, but you can get a lot more of our shows by becoming a paid subscriber. Subscribers get about twice as many SZD podcasts. Now, during the coach carousel, is a great time to join. Thanks to everyone who’s decided to become a subscriber over the past few weeks.

Shop at Homefield

Thanks Dad Water. Code SZD for 20% off, or just click https://drinkdadwater.com/discount/SZD

Thanks to Nokian Tyres for a great weekend in NYC: www.nokiantyres.com/szd

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Championship Weekend! Alex and Richard break down the FBS conference title games, with notes on a few lower-level playoff games as well. Starting with Kennesaw State-Jacksonville State and going through Ohio State-Indiana, they cover the most interesting angles for each championship game. Then, in THE MAIN COURSE presented by Modelo, it’s time to discuss the possibility of five-loss Duke winning the ACC and creating an unprecedented playoff bracket.

Producer: Anthony Vito

Thanks to our subscribers and partners

Subscribers get about twice as many SZD podcasts during the season. Now, during the coach carousel, is a great time to join. Thanks to everyone who’s decided to become a subscriber over the past few weeks!

Shop at Homefield

Thanks Dad Water. Code SZD for 20% off, or just click https://drinkdadwater.com/discount/SZD

Thanks to Nokian Tyres. RSVP for our CFB watch party on December 6 at Mason Jar in NYC here. (Entry is free!)

Modelo: Drink responsibly. Beer imported by Crown Imports, Chicago, IL

SUBSCRIBER EPISODE: Richard got hundreds of questions about this season of coach movement. In this solo episode, he distills a bunch of them and tells you about how to read a coaching search (and how to spot a bad search), Penn State’s doomed pursuit of Kalani Sitake, the difference between Jon Sumrall and Billy Napier, how Auburn’s search went from quiet to chaotic in a hurry, why Arkansas is indeed an upgrade from Memphis, a bit more on Lane Kiffin and the Playoff, and a big list of additional questions. Producer: Anthony Vito

Also, yes, Richard takes these questions from the car. Busy week!

Subscribe to hear the full episode

Our coach carousel episodes, including this one, go behind the $10 monthly paywall for subscribers. If you’re looking for a mix of reporting and longer-form discussions about the coach movements that shape the sport, we’d love to have you. Everyone can listen to a free preview of this episode, of course

SUBSCRIBER EPISODE: Richard spent Sunday on his phone, gathering information on the day’s many college football coach hirings and firings. This episode takes you through Richard’s day of reporting. Alex joins him to discuss a bunch of moves:

* Lane Kiffin heads to LSU, and Ole Miss replaces him swiftly with the internal succession option we talked about a few weeks ago: Pete Golding

* The argument between Kiffin and Ole Miss at the end, Kiffin’s efforts to own the narrative, and how much of this is his doing vs. the calendar’s

* Florida hires Jon Sumrall, who’s technically a consolation prize but brings a lot more to the table than many Florida fans realize

* Auburn, after weeks of pursuing Sumrall, winds up not with DJ Durkin but with Alex Golesh. But did Durkin play a role in how it shook out?

* Arkansas gets Ryan Silverfield, angering Hogs fans but not Memphis fans

* Michigan State fires Jonathan Smith and moves quickly to replace him with Pat Fitzgerald, in a sequence that looks like a set piece

* Recapping some hires at Oklahoma State, Stanford, Colorado State, and Oregon State, while other jobs wait to be filled

* Penn State’s search is quieter than a whisper, but it’s getting down to two options: Hire a coordinator, or take a big swing on a mystery man. If there’s a mystery man, is he coaching a conference championship game?

It’s a great time to subscribe to Split Zone Duo

Our coach carousel episodes, including this one, go behind the $10 monthly paywall for subscribers. If you’re looking for a mix of reporting and longer-form discussions about the coach movements that shape the sport, we’d love to have you. Everyone can listen to a free preview of this episode, of course.

Further listening from us

* Alex’s solo episode about DJ Durkin’s time at Maryland. For a limited time, we’ve pulled this 2024 episode out from behind the paywall. If you’ve ever wondered why this podcast talks about Durkin in a certain way, and what his story has to do with CFB media, this will be the episode for you.

* The Week 14 Sunday Hurry-Up, presented by Dad Water.

Alex and Richard recap dozens of Rivalry Weekend college football games, taking you through the most interesting events from Week 14:

Texas asserts itself as the big brother

An absolutely box-office Iron Bowl

Ohio State flips The Game back in its favor

Ole Miss fights through “distractions”

Duke makes the ACC Championship with FIVE losses

Vanderbilt finishes an incredible season in style

Georgia and Oklahoma grit their way into the postseason, but man, it was not pretty

NC State sends UNC into the offseason on an appropriately sour note

Texas Tech and BYU take care of business

North Texas and Tulane do the same in the American

A fresh path to the Playoff for the JMU Dukes

Yale’s massive comeback in the FCS playoffs

And much more on the Sunday Hurry-Up, presented by Dad Water. Produced by Anthony Vito.

Want much more? Become a paid subscriber

Subscribers get bonus episodes each week, usually multiple during the season. We’d love to have you as we continue into one of our busiest times of the year.

Join at www.splitzoneduo.com/subscribe

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This episode is produced by Anthony Vito.

Richard Johnson and Alex Kirshner guide you through the coming Rivalry Week in college football, going through dozens of games with 1) playoff stakes, 2) conference championship stakes, and 3) none of those stakes at all, because many of these week’s games don’t need them to be fascinating. Among the many, many games that we discuss on this episode:

* The Egg Bowl: “Distractions” shouldn’t matter here. Right?

* Georgia vs. Georgia Tech: Why we’re not discounting the Yellow Jackets, despite their defense falling off a cliff lately

* Texas A&M at Texas: At least half of this podcast thinks the Longhorns are about to pull the upset at home. Why?

* Miami at Pitt: A bad matchup for the Panthers, but could Carson Beck gift them a chance at an upset?

* Clemson at South Carolina: Which fanbase would be more despondent?

* Kentucky at Louisville: Have the trajectories here flipped?

* WKU at Jacksonville State: Will the Gamecocks prove harder for WKU’s defense to stop than LSU’s offense was?

* Vanderbilt at Tennessee: Why are we a little nervous about the Dores?

* The Iron Bowl: Again, why does at least half of this podcast think the home team is going to pull the upset?

* And finally, in THE MAIN COURSE presented by Modelo, we’ve got Bill Landis of “Bill and Doug on Ohio State Football” in the house. Bill gets us up to speed on this Ohio State season and talks about the Buckeyes’ path to ending their four-year drought against Michigan.

And much, much more. Producer: Anthony Vito

Thanks to our subscribers and partners

Subscribers get about twice as many SZD podcasts during the season. Now, during the coach carousel, is a great time to join. Thanks to everyone who’s decided to become a subscriber over the past few weeks!

Shop Black Friday a week early at Homefield, using the code HOMEFIELD30 at checkout.

Thanks Dad Water. Code SZD for 20% off, or just click https://drinkdadwater.com/discount/SZD

Thanks to Nokian Tyres. RSVP for our CFB watch party on December 6 at Mason Jar in NYC here. (Entry is free!)

Modelo: Drink responsibly. Beer imported by Crown Imports, Chicago, IL

SUBSCRIBER EPISODE (join here): The coaching carousel is about to reach max velocity. Richard leads Alex and Rodger through a broad overview of the state of play six days before “Black Sunday,” starting with the Lane Kiffin extended universe and moving outward from there. Among the topics discussed here:

* The media apparatus behind Lane Kiffin and Jimmy Sexton’s moves, plus Rodger’s grand idea to finally reveal what’s happening

* Why you shouldn’t trust anyone claiming to know for sure what Kiffin is doing, and why you shouldn’t read too much into his slow process pointing him toward one school or another

* Auburn has a clear plan in mind and has been focused on it for weeks. But until Kiffin gives a resolution to Ole Miss, LSU, and Florida, there’s a variable in play for Auburn’s main target

* Terry Smith’s maneuvering to get involved in the Penn State search, a great example of how coaches aren’t hired, but elected

* The options for Eric Morris, North Texas coach and leader of the nation’s current No. 1 offense by SP+

* Florida State keeping Mike Norvell and showing it doesn’t want to compete (in the coaching market)

* Cal’s firing of Justin Wilcox, and why the two impending new hires in the Bay Area will be unlike anything we’ve seen in college football

* The toxic public conversation around UCLA’s athletic director and whether that makes the Bruins job less attractive

* What’s the deal with Kyle Whittingham at Utah?

* UAB’s missing-in-action AD. More on him here.

And more. Produced by Anthony Vito.