Richard Johnson, Steven Godfrey, and Alex Kirshner discuss the first-round College Football Playoff games and more on this week’s show:

* Indiana at Notre Dame, where the Hoosiers have the chance to do the funniest possible thing

* SMU at Penn State, where the sport’s chaotic December calendar is really coming into focus with a Penn State transfer

* Clemson at Texas, where the Tigers will try to play Cinderella

* Tennessee at Ohio State, where Richard and Alex disagree on how feasible a Vols upset of the Buckeyes really is

Then a Tasting Menu of the rest of the college football weekend, featuring a check in with the FCS and lower-level playoffs.

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Hosts: Richard Johnson, Steven Godfrey, Alex Kirshner

Producer: Anthony Vito

In this solo Q&A show, Steven Godfrey answers SZD subscriber questions about some of the latest coach doings, some scheduling gripes, the potential '25 Sumrall Sweepstakes, Mike Gundy's expiration date, changing holiday patterns and what "Emeritus" actually looks like.

Producer: Anthony Vito

Michael Felder, college football media wizard and a former cornerback at North Carolina, joins Richard to expand on Bill Belichick’s hiring:

* The hiring as a marker of UNC’s football legitimacy

* The difference between coaching pros and college players, and the challenges of “do your job” culture at this level

* The gap in perception between media and UNC fans

Producer: Anthony Vito

Richard Johnson and Alex Kirshner discuss Bill Belichick’s hiring at North Carolina:

* How the search evolved over a week and a half

* A messy, messy process leads to an incredible risk … and incredible result

* The case for success (including different ways of measuring it): Could Belichick change football in Chapel Hill forever even if he doesn’t win?

* The case for failure: Yeah, there are tons of ways this could go badly

Stay tuned for much more from SZD on this hire in the next few days.

Producer: Anthony Vito

In this subscriber episode, Richard and Alex trade observations about a handful of recent hires in the college football coach carousel, including:

* Scott Frost to UCF, where prior success doesn’t tell us a lot about how the Knights will operate going forward

* Matt Entz to Fresno State, Bronco Mendenhall to Utah State, and what their contracts tell us about Pac-12 realignment

* Barry Odom to Purdue, where he might be fighting gravity

* Matt Drinkall to Central Michigan, which follows the rule: “You’re a MAC school. Be different.”

* Bryan Harsin to Cal, a funny culture fit with good football rationale behind it but a big transfer portal problem already

* Two new coordinators to Nebraska, which needs to get things together on offense without letting the strength of the team fall apart

More Split Zone Duo

Free for all: We interviewed Nick Carparelli, the executive director of Bowl Season, the umbrella group that advocates for bowl game operators. We wanted to get his thoughts on the state of the bowl system, how the bowls interact with the playoff, and where he thinks bowl games are going. We hope you find this one to be an informative back-and-forth on the CFB postseason.

Also, for subscribers, Richard and Steven Godfrey shared their reporting and analysis on a handful of hirings and coach searches.

Thanks for listening! If you aren’t yet a paid subscriber, you can hear a free preview of this episode, but now is a great time to join us.

Producer: Anthony Vito

Nick Carparelli is the executive director of Bowl Season, the group that represents the interests of CFB’s many bowl games. Alex and Richard interview him about:

* What if anything worries him right now about the state of bowls

* Bowls’ efforts to thrive in a world of opt outs, and how bowls might fit into the next economic iteration of the sport

* The payout landscape for different kinds of bowl games

* Bowls in baseball stadiums. Bowls in the Bahamas. What’s next?

* The differences between representing big bowls and small

* What Nick is thinking about the first-round playoff games that will exist outside the bowls

* How to make more bowl games matter to casual fans

* Also: Bill Belichick as a prospective college coach

Hosts: Alex Kirshner, Richard Johnson

Producer: Anthony Vito.

Richard and Godfrey update you on the state of the coach carousel with reporting and analysis on a bunch of movements, including:

* Purdue gets Barry Odom to replace Ryan Walters

* Jon Sumrall’s good situation at Tulane and association with North Carolina

* How Bill Belichick factors into that story

* Charlotte hires Tim Albin, the MAC champion coach

* The end of the Charles Huff-Marshall marriage

* Neal Brown and some G5 jobs

* Scott Frost in 2024 is not Scott Frost in 2017

* A clarifying timeline for Utah and Kyle Whittingham

* The UNC thing really is messy

* West Virginia’s still on the board

Producer: Anthony Vito.

The College Football Playoff bracket is set. Richard, Alex, and Godfrey discuss:

* The committee getting it right this time

* First-round matchups and who got a favorable draw

* Any quibbles with the seedings

* The weakened state of championship games

* The Richard Johnson Transfer Portal Minute

SUPPORT OUR PARTNERS AND GET COOL STUFF

* Enter your pick for the Nokian Tyres Road Trip of the Week and be automatically entered in a monthly drawing to win tires at www.nokiantyres.com/szd

* Use code SZD20 for 20% off your first order from Homefield, at www.homefieldapparel.com

Hosts: Richard Johnson, Steven Godfrey, Alex Kirshner

Producer: Anthony Vito

Thanks to the 12-team playoff, Ryan Day’s current situation at Ohio State is unlike any hot-seat drama in college football history. Godfrey, Richard, and Alex talk about the weird dynamics facing the Buckeyes right now, like:

* How many playoff games does Day have to win? Is it one? Two? Four?

* Does the $30 million-plus buyout matter to Ohio State?

* If Day has lost the fanbase—and it sure looks like he has, for now—how much does that bind the OSU brass to get rid of him? And how does the coming revenue-sharing/collective era influence that calculus, if it all?

* Who makes the call? Remember that Ohio State has had quite a bit of backroom turmoil over the past few years, and powerful athletic director Gene Smith is no longer in his job.

* If you’re extremely online (like Alex), you have one impression of the fanbase’s temperature on Day. Is that representative?

* Should Day get any grace given Ohio State’s line injuries?

Hosts: Alex Kirshner, Richard Johnson, Steven Godfrey

Producer: Anthony Vito

Alex, Richard, and Steven preview Championship Weekend, in order:

* WKU at Jacksonville State

* Tulane at Army

* UNLV at Boise for a playoff spot

* Miami vs. Ohio

* Iowa State vs. Arizona State

* Georgia vs. Texas

* Marshall at Louisiana

* Penn State vs. Oregon

* Clemson vs. SMU

Plus, updates on the lower-level postseasons and the debut of THE RICHARD JOHNSON PORTAL MINUTE, a one-minute (or so) update on interesting names going into the transfer portal.

SUPPORT OUR PARTNERS AND GET COOL STUFF:

* Enter your pick for the Nokian Tyres Road Trip of the Week and be automatically entered in a monthly drawing to win tires at www.nokiantyres.com/szd

* Use code SZD20 for 20% off your first order from Homefield, at www.homefieldapparel.com

Hosts: Richard Johnson, Steven Godfrey, Alex Kirshner

Producer: Anthony Vito