Split Zone Duo: College Football Podcast
CFP Semifinal Preview + the Messiest FCS Championship
06 Jan 2026
Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
We're coming and we ain't backing down. We don't need a bunch of cats in here looking in the mirror.
Chapter 2: What happened in the FCS Championship game between Montana State and Illinois State?
Everybody just do your job. You understand that? 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. Thank you to our Split Zone Duo listeners. I'm Alex Kirshner, along with Richard Johnson. It's the college football playoff semifinals.
Chapter 3: What were the major officiating issues in the FCS Championship?
And before that, the FCS championship game reaction show. You watched that game last night, Richard.
It certainly did.
Chapter 4: What are the key matchups in the College Football Playoff semifinals?
I have not gotten your on-camera reaction for this. I also watched the Sunday night football game. between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens.
Chapter 5: How did Montana State secure their victory in the FCS Championship?
My friend, welcome to the postseason. The water's fine. The Jacksonville Jaguars have been, obviously, clinched the postseason for multiple weeks now. I will be in Jacksonville on Sunday, obviously, for the big one against the Bills. How are we feeling over there in the L.A. wing of the Steelers fandom?
More people have reached out to me about that Steelers game than do when a family member dies or when I got married. I've been hearing from all corners of the globe about this one. It was a fun Sunday night with all that. There's a certain feeling about a field goal attempt that is not to take a game to overtime, not to change a tie game or to try to tie a game, but A,
You're, you know, a one to two point game where the field goal means you win or you lose and then a miss, which doesn't happen. You know, you don't get that too much. And so to get it in the last game of the season was pretty electric. There was yelling in my home.
Good.
Chapter 6: How do Ole Miss and Miami compare in their upcoming semifinal matchup?
good i'm glad i'm glad you get some success enjoy the texans defense i would like for you to dispatch the texans defense if you don't mind if there's one team in the afc bracket that i am legitimately petrified about it is the houston texans texans are absolute ass kickers something's got to give because the steelers have not lost a home monday night football game in my lifetime i believe they've won 23 i believe the series of
I mean it. Go look this up, Splits and Duel listeners, because I know you came to this show for an NFL pod. We are an NFL pod. The Steelers have won, I believe, it's 23 home games in a row on Monday nights. A stretch that goes back to the early 1990s. 1991, before I was alive. So something has to give here.
I'll tell you who didn't lose a Monday night football game this week. Montana State, despite the fact that, doggone it, they tried. Let me tell you, in the game last night, Montana State takes down Illinois State in the FCS National Championship game. It was in Nashville, in Vanderbilt Stadium. It looked like an absolute scene, to be honest with you.
I imagine Broadway was something special on Monday night after that game was over. A fun one. Not necessarily a good one, but a fun one and an entertaining one. And congratulations to Montana State's Bobcats. Get the job done.
So this was, by a pretty wide margin, the messiest championship game that I've ever laid eyes upon.
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Chapter 7: What strategies will Oregon and Indiana employ in their semifinal game?
I believe the final count wound up being nine false starts for the winners, Montana State. And so to say that there were nine plays that they couldn't even get off right would actually be an undersell because they also lost an opportunity to win the game at the end of regulation on a miscommunication on the snap count or something.
The shotgun snap went directly past the quarterback, Justin Lampson.
For like the fifth time that he, right?
How many times did they have a number of snap problems? Let's put the number conservatively at like 12 plays that between false starts and snaps, they couldn't get off right. At the end of this game, especially, like in the second half, Montana State's defenders all just seem to forget how to tackle.
There's this wide receiver for Illinois State, Dylan Lord, who wears number four, who was sick in this game in the open field, was untackleable, just an incredible force. The quarterback for Illinois State, Tommy Rittenhouse, who's sort of a good-bad quarterback usually, which is my favorite kind in college football. Some would just call that fun. Was incredible in this game.
Threw four touchdowns, no picks. Much different than the North Dakota State upset where he threw five picks, but they won anyway. And so you're wondering, how does Illinois State not win this game, given the 10-plus failed snaps, failed getting plays off that Montana State had, and given all those stats and numbers from the Illinois State players?
And it's because Illinois State's game and management, Richard, left a thing or three to be desired. In particular, with a minute left, they are facing a fourth and one at the 21-yard line. I'll be honest with you. I didn't mind that they kicked it. I know you do. That's because you're not up on the Illinois State kicker situation.
No, I am. Oh, I was made immediately aware last night when they said his career long is 35 and he's possibly good from 40. That's when I became extremely abreast of the Illinois State kicking situation. But to be honest with you, it's not the kicker's fault. You talk about trouble with the snap. There was a bad snap from the long snapper on the field goal there.
And I'm not even sure it mattered because a Montana State defender was coming off the edge so scot-free to block that kick. He almost overran it or overdoved it, I should say, because the timing was off because of the snap.
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Chapter 8: What predictions are made for the upcoming national championship game?
Now, I understand that perhaps I am asking for a level of defensive prowess that was not capable, but you would have loved to have been able to run some sort of sim pressure in that situation where you drop players out and you bluff it. and you flood the zone. Again, fourth and ten. I understand you're trying to force the ball out.
It's the point there, and I understand you've gotten home pretty much all night, but it's a rough one. But congratulations to Montana State. They get the touchdown there. They then do not have their own kicking snafu, and they kick the extra point and walk it off in Vanderbilt Stadium to win the national championship.
It did look like a big win to put this game 1. at the Vanderbilt Stadium, which was mostly full, and 2. on Monday night. It just seemed like a big deal. It felt right. It felt like a championship game. And also, not that this is your problem as a fan, but it wasn't up against the weekend of sports. It had a lot of spotlight.
It's a good call, I think, by the NCAA to put that game there because on weekends, the FCS championship game oftentimes gets lost. This was cool. Chris Venini, by the way, friend of the show, writer at The Athletic, makes a very good point. We probably should stop calling them FBS and FCS now. Why? FBS also has a championship now. Yeah, but the designations don't make sense anymore.
Go back to 1A and 1AA. They even had cool logos.
There's 40 bowl games. You know why it's called FBS and FCS. I think the FBS FCS team is actually really fine. Like, it's very easy to explain. One has the chance to play in the bowl games, you know, and gorge yourself on over Christmas. The other one doesn't absent the celebration bowl. So, like, come on.
Disagree because 1A and 1AA just sounds cooler, and I'm all about late 90s, early 2000s chic in that way. So I like that old branding that's gone. But anyway, yes, congrats to Montana State. Gets to break up the Dakota State duopoly and was the best team in FCS this year. given the way the chips fell. I mean, this was the best team. They beat Montana twice.
Illinois State had been on this incredible magic carpet ride, first team to win four road games in the playoffs. Really felt during the second half of this game like they had a divine mandate to win it all, and Montana State ultimately just said no.
This ends up being a bad process, good result national championship for FCS.
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