Best Alex Kirshner Podcasts (2025)

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The Job: Stanford, Oregon State, UAB, Kent State 17:03

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9h ago17:03

17:03

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com The latest episode of THE JOB, our subscriber series about the ins and outs of open college football coaching jobs, features four schools. * Stanford: A once-great Pac-12 program has fallen like a rock as it’s transitioned to the ACC. But the Cardinal are amid a seri…

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Week 8 CFB Tasting Menu: Seats Are Hot 1:14:36

1d ago1:14:36

1:14:36

The Week 8 college football schedule features tests for a handful of coaches who sure look like they need a win to keep their jobs for the long term. In addition to those angsty situations, we’ve got a few big helmet games and potential conference race deciders in the Sun Belt and Mountain West. A few of the games covered in this episode include: *…

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Emergency Show: James Franklin Out at Penn State 8:56

4d ago8:56

8:56

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com SUBSCRIBER EPISODE: The first proper emergency show of the 2025 coach carousel arrives. Penn State fired James Franklin after an unthinkable weeks saw the Nittany Lions go from national championship contenders to one of the biggest disasters in recent college footbal…

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Week 7 CFB Hurry-Up: Indiana Stones 46:58

5d ago46:58

46:58

Welcome to the Week 7 Sunday Hurry-Up, presented by Dad Water! This week, Alex and Richard start with Indiana’s statement win at Oregon and move from there, covering dozens of games from the midpoint week of the season: * Indiana 30, Oregon 20 * Ohio State 34, Illinois 16 * USC 31, Michigan 13 * Iowa 37, Wisconsin 0 * UCLA 38, Michigan State 13 * W…

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Belichick's UNC Circles The Drain 12:56

7d ago12:56

12:56

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com SUBSCRIBER EPISODE: Richard spent a lot of this week making calls about the North Carolina situation for a CBS Sports report on the situation. In this show, he talks with Alex about how Belichick’s tenure got this toxic this quickly: * What he’s gotten wrong in his f…

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Week 7 CFB Tasting Menu: Get Hardy 1:20:57

8d ago1:20:57

1:20:57

Our college football Week 7 preview, with notes on a bunch of games as the season hits its halfway point. Just a few of the games in here: * USF at North Texas, a potential Game of the Year in the American with playoff implications on both sides * Ohio State at Illinois, a potential test for the Buckeyes but probably just another chance to flex how…

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Overtime: What Now, Penn State? 7:00

12d ago7:00

7:00

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com Penn State just took one of the worst losses any team has taken in years. The preseason No. 2 team may already be out of the playoff race by early October, and we’re questioning everything we thought we knew about them. What do you do now, though? Alex and Richard di…

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Week 6 CFB Hurry-Up: Trouble is Bruin 40:07

12d ago40:07

40:07

In the Week 6 Sunday Hurry-Up presented by Dad Water, Richard and Alex break down a college football weekend that turned out to have a bit of everything: * UCLA 42, Penn State 37 * Washington 24, Maryland 20 * Michigan 24, Wisconsin 10 * Nebraska 38, Michigan State 27 * Illinois 43, Purdue 27 * Ohio State 42, Minnesota 3 * Alabama 30, Vanderbilt 14…

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The Job: Arkansas 10:33

14d ago10:33

10:33

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com Our subscriber series on open FBS coaching jobs visits Fayetteville. Arkansas fired Sam Pittman and then admitted outright that the school did not put him in the financial position to succeed. The school has unique challenges stemming from its commitment to being goo…

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Week 6 CFB Tasting Menu: The U May Actually Be Back 1:30:24

15d ago1:30:24

1:30:24

The Week 6 college football schedule is light on blockbusters, but that only makes the Split Zone Duo Tasting Menu’s job more important. Lets’ talk about what’s interesting to us this week, jumping from game to game, starting with the lone Thursday nighter and continuing through last call on Saturday: * WKU at Delaware, providing real intrigue in C…

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The 8 Tiers of Midseason Coach Firings 15:35

16d ago15:35

15:35

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com Despite a busy few weeks in 2025, college football teams fire fewer coaches at midseason than you might expect. But when they do, there are usually some through lines: The firing after the death knell loss, or the guy who gets canned in September instead of on “Black…

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Week 5 CFB Hurry-Up: A Sad State 41:57

18d ago41:57

41:57

In THE SUNDAY HURRY-UP PRESENTED BY DAD WATER, Richard and Alex discuss Week 5 of the college football season: Oregon 30, Penn State 24 Ohio State 24, Washington 6 Indiana 20, Iowa 15 Illinois 34, USC 32 Northwestern 17, UCLA 14 Alabama 24, Georgia 21 Texas A&M 16, Auburn 10 Tennessee 41, Mississippi State 34 Vanderbilt 55, Utah State 35 Ole Miss 2…

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The 7 Kinds of Interim Coach 16:35

21d ago16:35

16:35

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com The interim head coach is a feature of every college football season. As of publication of this episode, there are more interim coaches (five) than there have been weeks in the season (four). How do schools decide who should take over when a head coach gets fired? Wh…

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Week 5 CFB Tasting Menu: If Not Now for Penn State, When? 1:30:06

23d ago1:30:06

1:30:06

Our overview of the Week 5 college football schedule, with notes, questions, and some predictions on dozens of games. Here’s a non-exhaustive list of games: * Army at ECU * FSU at Virginia (upset??) * TCU at Arizona State * USC at Illinois * UCF at Kansas State * Louisville at Pitt * Notre Dame at Arkansas * Auburn at Texas A&M * LSU at Ole Miss (K…

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The Job: Oklahoma State 9:03

23d ago9:03

9:03

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com SUBSCRIBER SERIES: Oklahoma State finally cut ties with Mike Gundy. That wasn’t a surprise, but the timing was. Now the Pokes look forward. Alex and Richard discuss the Oklahoma State job post-Gundy: * Why did the program rot over the past two seasons? * What is uniq…

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The Job: Virginia Tech 7:34

25d ago7:34

7:34

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com Virginia Tech has an incredible fanbase and a history, in this century, as one of the best programs in the country. But those things only count for so much, and the Hokies are now facing an existential moment: Catch up in the financial arms race, or fade further from…

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Week 4 CFB Hurry-Up: Boomer Hoosier 45:48

26d ago45:48

45:48

That was a heck of a week. Richard and Alex break down a busy Week 4 in college football, highlighting dozens of games of interest. In this order: Oklahoma 24, Auburn 17 Ole Miss 45, Tulane 10 Texas 55, Sam Houston 0 Tennessee 56, UAB 24 Missouri 29, South Carolina 20 Miami 26, Florida 7 Syracuse 34, Clemson 21 Duke 45, NC State 33 UCF 34, North Ca…

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The Job: UCLA 7:55

27d ago7:55

7:55

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com Welcome to “The Job,” a new recurring series from Split Zone Duo in which Richard and Alex go through the ins and outs of open college football coaching job. UCLA fired DeShaun Foster, which means the Bruins are once again looking for a coach to take advantage of the…

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Week 4 CFB Tasting Menu: I'm Gonna Be Ill 1:14:40

29d ago1:14:40

1:14:40

The Week 4 college football schedule is loaded with big games that wouldn’t have felt this big in any other year, like Texas Tech-Utah and Illinois-Indiana. Alex and Richard break down what’s interesting this weekend. A non-exhaustive list of games covered: * Iowa-Rutgers * Texas Tech-Utah * SMU-TCU (for the last time for a while) * North Texas-Arm…

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Are These Five CFB Teams Doomed? 11:25

1M ago11:25

11:25

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com One quarter of the way through the season, Godfrey, Richard, and Alex discuss five teams that are off to terrible starts and haven’t fired their coaches yet. They all look doomed to at least a bad season and maybe more than that, but can we find reasons for hope? In …

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Week 3 CFB Hurry-Up: Dawgs on Rocky Top 41:17

1M ago41:17

41:17

Richard and Alex break down an excellent Week 3 in college football, with a spotlight on more than three dozen games. We go in this order: Georgia 44, Tennessee 41 Texas A&M 41, Notre Dame 40 Georgia Tech 24, Clemson 21 WVU 31, Pitt 24 LSU 20, Florida 10 Alabama 38, Wisconsin 14 Miami 49, USF 12 Oregon 34, Northwestern 14 USC 33, Purdue 17 Ole Miss…

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How to Keep a Revived Rivalry Alive 8:01

1M ago8:01

8:01

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com Subscriber show! Realignment killed off a lot of college football rivalries. Then the schools involved brought some of them back … only to let them wither again. Why does this happen, and are some of the ongoing changes to the sport encouraging or discouraging teams …

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Week 3 CFB Tasting Menu: Good Games in Stock 1:39:04

1M ago1:39:04

1:39:04

The Week 3 Tasting Menu discusses many, many college football games. Here are just a few of them: * Colorado vs. Houston: Deion Sanders makes a QB change, probably, but he’s being cagey about it * Oregon vs. Northwestern: This game will not be interesting, but recent events surrounding Northwestern and its football program were * Clemson vs. Georgi…

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Overtime: Bleak Situations at Florida and Virginia Tech 5:34

1M ago5:34

5:34

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com In this week’s SZD Overtime episode for subscribers, we examine two programs that were dominant in the 2000s and are still, all these years later, trying to recapture some of their old magic. Florida lost to USF, endangering Billy Napier’s tenure once again. Virginia…

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Week 2 CFB Hurry-Up: Bullish on USF 49:21

1M ago49:21

49:21

Richard and Alex break down the interesting stuff from Week 2 of the college football season, starting with upsets in Starkville and Gainesville and moving on down the list to dozens of games: * Mississippi State broke through against Arizona State * USF cemented its very early hold on the G5 playoff spot at Florida * Oklahoma made sure Bryce Under…

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Week 2 CFB Tasting Menu: Freshman vs. Brent Venables 1:21:26

1M ago1:21:26

1:21:26

Alex and Richard preview Week 2 of the college football season, which is light on big-time helmet games but heavy on interesting regional matchups. This episode has notes and observations on a big bunch of games, including: * JMU at Louisville, a great Friday night opener for the weekend * Baylor at SMU, where we should learn a lot more about Baylo…

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ESPN's Bill C. on His New Book, UNC's Disaster, and Post-Week 1 Risers and Fallers 26:25

1M ago26:25

26:25

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com ESPN’s Bill Connelly, author of a new book on the evolution and future of CFB, joins Alex and Richard for a big post-Week 1 chat: * Bill’s new book, “Forward Progress,” is a mix of caution and optimism about the ways college football has changed. We talk with him abo…

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Covering Alabama in the Time of a Meltdown 8:32

2M ago8:32

8:32

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com In this subscriber special (join us!), Alabama beat writer Matt Stahl of AL.com joins Alex to talk about exactly how bad things are right now in Tuscaloosa. Coming off a 14-point loss to FSU, we had a lot of questions, like: * How seriously is the Alabama beat taking…

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Week 1 CFB Hurry-Up: Florida Statement 45:04

2M ago45:04

45:04

The Split Zone Duo Sunday Hurry-Up returns for 2025, still featuring notes on dozens of games delivered in 30-ish (emphasis on “ish”) minutes and now sponsored by our partners at Dad Water. In this Week 1 rundown: * FSU doesn’t just beat Alabama, but does it with beef * Arch Manning flops at Ohio State, but we won’t engage in Arch Doomerism just ye…

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The 2025 CFB Time Capsule Prediction Special 17:02

2M 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

2M 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

2M 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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Why, Exactly, Is Arch Manning Good? 6:05

2M 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

2M 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

2M 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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The Michigan Sign-Stealing Scandal Ends With a Whimper 7:39

2M 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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College Football Previews 2025: American 1:00:47

2M 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

2M 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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College Football Previews 2025: Mountain West 55:45

2M 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

2M 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

3M 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

3M 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

3M 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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The Schemes That Will Define 2025, Feat. Coach Dan Casey 16:27

3M 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

3M 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

3M 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

3M 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

3M 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

3M 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

3M 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 …