Split Zone Duo: College Football Podcast
CFB Time Capsule Review: What We Learned from a Stunning 2025
30 Jan 2026
Chapter 1: What predictions did the hosts make before the 2025 college football season?
we're coming and we ain't backing down we don't need a bunch of cats in here looking in the mirror hey will you shut up i'm bitterly disappointed with the officiating today guys being dudes and they run through our like through a tin horn man
Thank you, Lee, and thank you to our SplitZoneDuo.com subscribers. A special, slightly snow-delayed treat for you this week. We've got our host emeritus and co-founder Stephen Godfrey with us out of the ice, risen from the snow. How are you?
Buddy, that sucked. I don't know when this is airing, but I just exited a... Just at my house was three days and change. And then my office got it back a little bit before then. But like, yeah, just powerless in the dark and also in single digit temperatures for three days. So just loving life, man. Ready to... Man, I think I've said this on the show before.
I have a countdown timer for when we move the clocks forward and we start to get more sunlight. But, buddy, I am really ready for that action after this week, man.
That sucks. It was like camping, right?
It was like camping. This may mean something to some people. It was 41 degrees outside. The last night that I slept in our house got down to the room my kids and wife were in. We put blankets and towels and sealed it off, and they all slept in a bed together for the body heat thing. It was a real thing because it was two degrees outside.
I probably slept in a different room on a couch, so I'm sure it was probably high 30s, but it sucked. I don't recommend it.
Never what you want, really.
No, and I saw Richard days before in sunny Miami.
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Chapter 2: How did each FBS conference meet or fail to meet expectations?
It's also absolutely insane what Jerry Mack did. Kennesaw State was one of the worst jobs, maybe still is, I don't know. But man, what a debut season. Earned him some, let's say, long looks, Richard, in the coaching side?
Yeah, and I think that's probably going to continue because here I am very interested in Godfrey. If you still, if you are, if you will still have to strike when the iron is hottest as a G five coach, or if the market will remember that you went 10 and two once over the next couple years. Probably not, but I am interested to see Jerry Mack be sort of a test case for that.
If people sort of can kind of rationalize that, well, he went 10-2 as a good G5 team, which means his roster absolutely got rated, which means you can't hold whatever next year is going to be against him. We'll see.
I don't know. I'm not sure either, but it's like, do you get that Matt Campbell benefit of the doubt? Are you getting the Oscar for your entire career or for one performance? Sure. If he is above 500 next season, I feel like he should be viewed on this seat like it should be a combination effect for sure. Charles Kelly, too, for that matter, I guess.
Is this a harder league to understand than the Mac? Well, maybe now. Probably what I was going to say, not Alex, because I think there's more separation here. And I think the Mac feels so samey amongst these programs now, roster-wise.
Yes, but there is one wrench. I don't think you're wrong about that. There is one wrench in Conference USA going forward that we have to figure out. Our picks this season, Richard and I both on Western Kentucky, which finished one spot out of the championship game, whatever. Godfrey, you made what had to be the most reasonable pick of Liberty.
Yeah.
And Liberty went four and eight. Liberty went four and eight and just had an unmitigated disaster of a season. Liberty's a private school. We lack certain visibility into Liberty's money. And we know a bit about Liberty just because of how the school carries itself.
But my understanding and people's understanding who I've talked to is that Liberty is just way richer than everybody else in Conference USA.
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Chapter 3: What were the surprising outcomes for Penn State and Clemson this season?
Yeah, I would agree with that.
In the Sun Belt, this league won by James Madison over Troy. Richard and I both had James Madison, so we actually got one here. not, not too impressive. James Madison has been very solid, but Godfrey, you went off the board here.
Hold on.
Yeah, it was. Kurt Cignetti took all the good players. Well, that was two years ago though. And they were still pretty good in Bob Chesney's first year.
Sure, but I think you pat yourself on the back here for getting this one on the nose.
We'll take it. I'm patting myself. Godfrey, you went off the board for Georgia Southern, your boyhood team. Where are we at on them? Because they had an interesting year of beating the team they hate the most twice. Yeah. And yet, otherwise, they went five and six.
Yeah. uh i have no faith um honestly and the reason if you recall i think and and our our dedicated people can go back and check if i had said this on the original show that i was sort of doing this as a like mandate to them like do it or else when it like the i'll back richard up a little bit we didn't think jmu would be this consistently superior
And the East we entered the conversation entering the East of the, of the Sunbelt was it's very winnable. App State has a new staff. JMU's not as good as they were under Cignetti. This should be Georgia Southern. This should be a chance for them to win the division for the first time. And they didn't do it.
And yet they've won just the right amount of games to where some hardcores can still rally around Helton. I know they are increasing their NIL spend because I'm privy to that. And it's laughable compared to a power program. I don't have much faith, though.
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Chapter 4: What insights did Godfrey share about North Texas' quarterback situation?
I don't think he's a bad coach. It just felt like weird where it was coming from. Anyways, yeah. Georgia Southern, bad pick, and I'm no longer going to expect them to do anything.
If we were to just go back and pick all of the Sunbelt teams that have had good little multi-year runs since 2020... Louisiana under Napier. App State under Satterfield and Drinkwitz. South Alabama for a minute under Kane Womack for a minute. Coastal Carolina under Jamie Chadwell. Every one of those guys was on the way up rather than the bounce back.
Major Applewhite doesn't really seem like it's working at South Alabama. Nope. Clay Helton doesn't really seem like it's working at Georgia Southern.
It's even worse in Clay Helton. It's like what I've been taught by NBA people. It's like the worst possible situation is that they're going to be in the middle.
Yeah.
Not where you want to be.
Not tanking, but not able to.
Yeah, like not a two-win situation where your AD and your president are like, fuck, we got to spend the extra couple million bucks to buy this guy out and start over.
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Chapter 5: How did Conference USA and the MAC perform in 2025?
It's just going to be like, yeah, we went to the whatever.com bowl on Tuesday in the second week of December.