For the Fourth of July, we look all the way back to the founding of … college football. Richard and Alex pick and debate the defining teams of each decade of the sport’s history, starting with one year of the 1860s and rolling through the 2010s. Remember that “defining team” is usually complimentary, but not always. Without spoiling any of the discussion, this show features:

* Rutgers vs. Princeton for the crown of the 1860s

* Yale’s case against everybody for the later 1800s

* Why Michigan’s 1900s was even more impressive than you think

* Georgia Tech vs. the advent of the forward pass in the 1910s

* That classic college football matchup: Alabama vs. Cal, for the ‘20s

* Someone likes Pitt for the 1930s, and it’s not Alex

* Did the 1940s belong to Army and Navy, or did they belong to the school that best manipulated the rules meant to help people from the army and navy?

* Why there will never be another program like 1950s Oklahoma, ever

* A curveball for the ‘60s, but definitely not for the ‘70s

* Penn State vs. SMU for the ‘80s

* A brutal Nebraska vs. Florida State vs. Miami vs. Florida race for the ‘90s

* In the 2000s, a chance to go off the beaten path instead of just picking Florida or USC: Will we take it?

* No need to complicate the 2010s

This is a subscriber episode of Split Zone Duo.

Everyone can listen to a free preview of this show, and we offer weeklong free trials if you want to try us out. It’s a great time of year to do it, and you can get a month free with an annual subscription.

Thank you for listening, and we hope you have a great holiday weekend.

Producer: Anthony Vito

Part 2 of our conversation with EA Sports College Football principal game designer Ben Haumiller. Ben takes a bunch of subscriber questions on the upcoming CFB game and the state of college sports video gaming in general:

* How to actually learn to play a football video game

* Incorporating the House settlement and NIL

* How a new 'gadget” position” embraces the reality of modern depth charts

* Improvements to the coach carousel

* The process of putting music in the game

* The customization options for conferences and teams (or, in other words, why you cannot destroy the SEC and put all the teams back in the SoCon)

* Different uses for Team Builder

* The potential for a custom stadium builder, one day

* Whether kicking and loud road environments are still impossible

* Adding scandals to college sports video games

And more. Thanks for Ben for joining us, and thanks to our subscribers for not just supporting the show but providing the inspiration for this one. Join us on a free trial and get lots more episodes as well as question-asking rights.

Producer: Anthony Vito