{"podcast":{"title":"Split Zone Duo: College Football Podcast","slug":"split-zone-duo-college-football-podcast-1366379","podcast_index_feed_id":1366379,"rss_url":"https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/2043967.rss","website_url":"https://www.splitzoneduo.com/podcast","image_url":"https://substackcdn.com/feed/podcast/2043967/72da64487811d80138722fd59575f648.jpg","author":"Richard Johnson and Alex Kirshner","episode_count":610,"summary":"An independent college football podcast that eats the whole hog. Led by Richard Johnson and Alex Kirshner, featuring co-host emeritus Steven Godfrey and friends.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-22T02:18:06.015174+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/split-zone-duo-college-football-podcast-1366379"},"episode":{"title":"'CFB 27' Deep Dive with EA Sports' Principal Game Designer","slug":"cfb-27-deep-dive-with-ea-sports-principal-game-designer","published_at":"2026-07-02T10:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/split-zone-duo-college-football-podcast-1366379/cfb-27-deep-dive-with-ea-sports-principal-game-designer","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/split-zone-duo-college-football-podcast-1366379","url":"https://www.splitzoneduo.com/p/cfb-27-deep-dive-with-ea-sports-principal","audio_url":"https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/204497779/808d67a7e26cf858291f8327498e2499.mp3","summary":"EA Sports College Football principal game designer Ben Haumiller joins Richard and Alex to answer their questions (and many of our subscribers’ questions) about the new CFB video game that comes out July 9. This episode covers new features and gameplay changes, why EA decided to implement an NIL system in dynasty mode, what interactions with schools have been like, which new FBS teams and stadiums made it into the game, and whether Ben is willing to apologize to Alex for all the clock-saving injuries that cost him games last year. * 0:27: Alex’s shameful record in last year’s game * 5:47: NIL comes to the EA CFB franchise. Why and how? * 15:16: Mascot Mode back, plus other new features and how the video game has become a very real part of the college football economy * 27:04: New team and stadium additions, and what didn’t make it in time * 32:05: Road to Glory changes, “generational recruits,” ratings logic, and “dynamic weather” as new parts of the game * 51:38: Tweaks to the coach carousel and player decisions, plus the aesthetic changes that Ben says will make the game feel more real. Plus: How does a professional game developer feel about all of those AI mockups? For $10 a month (or you can get a free month with an annual subscription), www.splitzoneduo.com subscribers get about twice as many Split Zone Duo podcasts, as well as our coach carousel reporting, deep dives on college football history, Q&A opportunities, and many more goodies as we think of them. You also help keep this show independent and ensure we’re making a podcast that puts our listeners, not anyone else, first. Thank you to our partners * Shop at Homefield * Learn more about Nokian Tyres This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus epis…","meta_description":"EA Sports College Football principal game designer Ben Haumiller joins Richard and Alex to answer their questions (and many of our subscribers’ questions)…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":4460,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/split-zone-duo-college-football-podcast-1366379/episodes/cfb-27-deep-dive-with-ea-sports-principal-game-designer/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/split-zone-duo-college-football-podcast-1366379/cfb-27-deep-dive-with-ea-sports-principal-game-designer.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}