Split Zone Duo: College Football Podcast

Conference previews continue with a (mostly) business-free preview of the MAC, focused on the actual football. We’ve got something good, something bad, and something curious about every team in the league, in this order:
- 2:41: Western Michigan
- 5:41: Ohio
- 8:59: Toledo
- 15:02: Miami (OH)
- 19:10: Central Michigan
- 22:27: Akron
- 25:37: Buffalo
- 28:59: Kent State
- 33:00: Ball State
- 34:39: Eastern Michigan
- 38:08: Bowling Green
- 42:31: UMass
- 46:39: Sacramento State
- 53:15: Preseason honors
CATCH UP ON CONFERENCE PREVIEWS
You can catch up on all of our season preview dives by scrolling down on your podcast app of choice. You can also find our published previews here:
* Sun Belt
* Conference USA
* American
* Big 12
* Independents and Pac-12
* ACC
THANKS TO OUR PARTNERS
* Ask your tire dealer about Nokian Tyres
* Shop for college sports apparel at Homefield


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

Our conference preview series rolls on with the Sun Belt. Alex and Richard have something to be excited about, something to be worried about, and a point of curiosity for every team in the league. We go in reverse standings order from last year:
- 2:43: James Madison
- 10:14: Old Dominion
- 13:32: Coastal Carolina
- 16:35: Georgia Southern
- 28:01: Marshall
- 31:50: Appalachian State
- 38:48: Georgia State
- 40:56: Troy
- 46:00: Southern Miss
- 48:32: Louisiana
- 53:03: Arkansas State
- 54:21: South Alabama
- 58:03: ULM
- 1:00:50: Louisiana Tech
Producer: Anthony Vito
THE CONFERENCE PREVIEW INDEX
You can catch up on all of our season preview dives by scrolling down on your podcast app of choice. You can also find our published previews here:
* Conference USA
* American
* Big 12
* Independents and Pac-12
* ACC
THANKS TO OUR PARTNERS
* Ask your tire dealer about Nokian Tyres
* Shop for college sports apparel at Homefield


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

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

Ralph Russo spent many years as a college football writer for the AP and an administrator of the AP Top 25. Now a senior writer for The Athletic, Ralph joins Richard for a preseason chat about the poll everyone loves to hate. In two decades at the AP, Ralph saw just about everything. How does the poll come together? What does it say about the history of college football? It’s imperfect, but it’s also our best record of how seasons played out across 90 years. Ralph takes us through the AP Poll’s history, its current status in the CFP era, and why, in a way, it matters now more than ever. Producer: Anthony Vito

Richard and Alex preview the 2026 season in Conference USA. Last year, the richest school in the league went 4-8, while a recent FCS team that looked like a disaster a few months earlier went ahead and won the league. Go figure. Here’s what we’re thinking about this season for:
- 1:42: Kennesaw State
- 6:49: Jacksonville State
- 10:34: Western Kentucky
- 14:16: Missouri State
- 17:55: FIU
- 23:36: Delaware
- 28:17: Liberty
- 35:56: Middle Tennessee
- 38:16: New Mexico State
- 43:39: Sam Houston
- 49:37: Preseason honors
Producer: Anthony Vito


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

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

In our preseason mailbag, Alex and Richard take a bunch of questions from Split Zone Duo subscribers. Here’s what we’re talking about:
- 0:27: Richard’s recruiting symposium report, including the G6 team that’s spending money like nobody else in its conference’s history
- 8:56: What is the point of conferences, really?
- 17:33: Your guide to picking a G6 team, tailored for a Washington fan but meant for anyone who’d like to care about more football teams
- 21:57: Could the NFL weaken its college farm system? Does it care?
- 25:31: What if Notre Dame bumps a P4 from the Playoff by being ranked 12th?
- 31:28: How could college football get a real salary cap?
- 34:38: Did COVID money fuel Miami’s ascent?
- 38:34: What would make the “We’re So Back 12” successful this year?
- 43:58: Which G6 team could win a Playoff game?
- 45:47: How do you rediscover joy in college football?
- 51:57: Which unvisited FBS stadiums top our lists?
- 53:39: How many titles make Indiana a football school?
- 54:15: Video game dynasty report
- 54:48: How did we choose the intro soundbites?
- 56:47: Akron, you better take your fan drive-scripting exercise seriously
Producer: Anthony Vito