January 20, 2026 • 37 mins
Colin discusses Indiana winning the College Football National Championship in one of the more remarkable stories in sports going from losingest program in college football to the number 1 team in the country
He looks at the Bills after firing head coach Sean McDermott and why the move makes sense despite making the playoffs in 7 straight seasons
Plus, Fox Sports College Football Analyst Joel Klatt joins the show to tell Colin why Curt Cignetti orchestrated the most impressive coaching performance in the history of sports winning the National Championship at Indiana.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to the Best of the Herd podcast.
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Speaker 2 (00:19):
This is the Best of the Herd with Colin Cowver
on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
Here we go on a Tuesday with all sorts of
activity in the coaching industry in the National Football League.
We are live or in Chicago. It's the Herd wherever
you may be and however you may be listening, whatever
the platform. Thanks for making us part of your day. Well,
(00:52):
I was like many of you, most of you watching
a sports talk show. I sat and watched Indiana Miami
last night, not only the first sixteen to oh team,
but for the first time I ever remember watching a
national championship in college football. It felt like fifty percent
(01:14):
NFL and I am here for it. College football rosters
are getting older, wiser. Miami's D line and O line
those are NFL bodies. Miami's got a defensive lineman about
to turn twenty five, Indiana, by design, is a roster
filled with mature, twenty two and twenty three year olds,
(01:34):
both quarterbacks three year starters. That's why Indiana played such
mistake free football. It's an older, smarter roster. What last
night allows is more sophisticated defenses. Miami's doing part zone,
part man dea man on the same play you've got.
(01:55):
Indiana never fumbles, no errant snaps. They don't throw interceptions,
they rare get penalized defenses. Offenses much more sophisticated. That's
why Sunday football has always been three times to four
times higher rated than college football. College football can be
regional and provincial and full of mistakes. It's rare that
(02:20):
you see a good college program with even decent special teams.
But college football has officially grown up, and last night
felt different. Three year starters at quarterback, players getting paid,
players staying in college longer. That's never a bad thing,
and the product on the field to me reflects it.
Georgia won a national title in the early eighties and
(02:43):
completed one pass, no thank you, not interested. The SEC,
which has now fallen behind the Big ten. Notre Dame
in Miami has always felt two ground and pound oh
Miss is the new way to win. A lot of offense,
a lot of movement, some trickery and score points. Last night,
(03:03):
three of Indiana's biggest plays came after Kurt Signetty timeouts.
Very NFL feeling. Fernando Mendoza on that TD run talked
about expecting his own seeing man de man. It was
a little of both, and like Andrew luck Elway, Josh
Allen put his head down, got hammered and scored that touchdown.
(03:24):
I don't know. Indiana to me is absolutely great for
college football. It's a football starved Midwest base alumni, huge
alumni that has always been in the shadow of an
Ohio State, a Michigan, a Penn State, a Wisconsin in
Iowa for football. To me, Indiana is a shining beacon
(03:48):
of hope. If you get the coach right, you got
a couple of well healed NIL boosters. You don't need
five star recruits. It'd be nice going forward to have some.
But suddenly you look around if you get the coach
right with the nil and transfer portal, and you ask yourself,
why not us? The Indiana football story was not possible
(04:11):
pre portal. It was not possible pre nil. You couldn't
have done this. Now you got to get the coach right.
And Kurt Signetti is like Nick Saban without the charm
and a little bit of a sense of humor. He's
got neither. He is dead serious, he is all business.
And the truth is Saban got funnier and more charming
(04:35):
after the rebuild was complete at Alabama. This is probably
right now for this time what the Hoosiers need. But
last night was also what college football needed. A new story,
a new champion, a new way of doing business. That
is the greatest script ever written in the history of
(04:56):
college football. It was so totally cool and so totally
sixteen and oh perfect. Indiana deserved every part of last night.
With this coach, the big boosters, They're going absolutely nowhere.
Ask yourself, are you the next Indiana? Why not Purdue?
(05:20):
Why not Michigan State? Why not Kentucky Football? Why not US?
Here's the humorless head coach, as brilliant as he is.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
After It's a great thing, Indiana win a national championship
two years into our tenure.
Speaker 4 (05:40):
You do it with people and a plan.
Speaker 3 (05:43):
Can't say enough about our senior leadership and the people
we have in the locker room and the people we
have on our staff, and we're sixteen and O and
we're I guess we're twenty seven and two since Indiana,
but we're sixteen and no. Sixteen national champions Indiana University, which.
Speaker 4 (06:02):
I know a lot of people thought was never possible.
Speaker 1 (06:05):
A couple more natties, and my guess he'll crack more
regularly a smile. There's a lot of tension in Buffalo today.
Buffalo is one of those great American cities where people,
despite the snowdrifts, are proud of being from there. Buffalo
(06:26):
has been a winning NFL city for a couple different
stretches in my lifetime, in probably yours, the Marv Levy,
Jim Kelly years and now the Josh Allen Sean McDermott years,
and now he's gone. And attention is because Brandon, being
the general manager since Josh Allen arrived, has what fifty
(06:47):
six draft picks? Two Pro bowlers? Is he as many
your claiming kind of a suck up to the owner?
I was told months ago he's more of a cap
guy than a personnel guy. He's a smart guy. I
got a little bit of an ego, but Buffalo fans
and media are a little bit tense today because of
the firing. But let me just say this, it's easy
(07:12):
to do the Pittsburgh thing. Hey, we're over five hundred
A playoff wins are overrated. It's hard to do what
Buffalo did. Sean McDermott was well liked and respected ninety
eight and fifty with eight playoff wins. They just couldn't
beat Mahomes and Andy Reid join the club. What probably
(07:33):
was his undoing because we all thought he was safe
after beating Jacksonville in Jacksonville, a very good team. According
to Vic Carucci, a respected reporter covering the Bills for
a long time, five weeks ago, McDermott met with Brandon
Bean and the owner. McDermott and this takes some guts,
(07:54):
sat down with his two bosses and said, I don't
think we have enough all star level, Pro Bowl level
talent to win a Super Bowl. According to vich Carucci,
it did not go over well. So and I will
say this, Buffalo found ways to lose every January. They
(08:15):
couldn't get the tush push right. That was a year ago.
The thirteen second loss this year, five turnovers and complaining
about officiating, as bo Nix was more efficient than Josh Allen,
but Dallas and Jerry Jones it appears, will no longer
pay top dollar for a head coach, and Pittsburgh it
(08:38):
appeared Forever was not willing to move off a coach
who couldn't win playoff games, and as far as I
can tell, Buffalo's willing to do both. So in their
last six playoff exits, you can blame Brandon Bean, you
can blame Sean McDermott. In their last six playoff exits
(08:58):
with a defensive coach and now a Bosa and previously
a von Miller, they're allowing on average thirty three points
per game and losses, So you can blame whoever you want.
Something had to change. You may not like the GM,
maybe you'll miss the head coach, but they're willing to
(09:19):
take a swing. It's so much easier to do the
Pittsburgh thing. Nobody's offended. Everybody in the building is happy. Yes,
people from the outside the dark side may criticize the Steelers,
but hey, we do what we do. Buffalo's a small town.
They're taking a big swing. I respect it. Albert Brewed
(09:41):
yesterday on the move.
Speaker 5 (09:43):
There was a different feel in that building the last
couple of months. More tension, I think, more pressure on everybody.
They realize that they've got in front of them the
opportunity that Josh Allen as a quarterback gives them. And
I think some of that's spilled out Colin after the
game on Saturday.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
Yeah, listen, I understand the tension. But you know, Jerry
Jones is ironic because he always talks about every time
he seeks a bargain, that's exactly what he gets. And
I feel like Jerry Jones should listen to his own words.
It feels like he's always trying to get a bargain
at head coach. Look around the playoffs. No Mahomes, no Allen,
(10:24):
no Lamar, no Burrow. Once you pay that star quarterback,
it doesn't matter if Andy Reids your coach, it's hard
to be great. Buffalo is suffering through what the Chiefs what?
Cincinnati what? A lot of these highly compensated quarterback franchises
(10:48):
are struggling with their roster's got some holes, Buffalo's does
Chiefs do right? The difference is one of those franchises
has the trophies. They're not just gonna sit here and
they're gonna They're gonna make a move, and you don't
have to love the GM. But by and large, when
(11:08):
we think about the Buffalo Bills over the last seven,
eight nine years, you know what we think, smartly owned,
great quarterback, pretty well run. That's why so many fee
people are uncomfortable with the McDermott stuff, because he was
a really good coach. You didn't swing and miss on four,
you swung and connected on one. But it is time
(11:32):
and it is the kind of thing that can make
the smaller town that doesn't love change a little uncomfortable.
But I think it's the right move. I gotta tell
you J McK watching that game last night, Robert Salli
got the Titans job. We'll talk more about that. As
I was watching that game last night, I am not
saying Andrew Luck is John Elway or Andrew Luck the
(11:56):
two best quarterback prospects ever out of call. If you
talked to longtime NFL guys, those are great prospects. But
Fernando Mendoza on that touchdown run that looked like Andrew Luck.
That mean that was Andrew Luck is one of those guys,
big fit kid who actually seeks remember you Stowa say,
(12:17):
I don't feel like the game starts until I get popped.
Mendoza similarly multiple times this year. Lip is bloodied off
the field back on like that that run that was
so Andrew luck I mean it was. It had a
Josh Allen Andrew luckfield. And I'm he's not that kind
of prospect. He's a very good prospect. He's not that
level of prospect. But that run was. I mean, if
(12:40):
you were on the fence on Fernando Mendoza after that run,
tear the fence down. He's the number one pick.
Speaker 6 (12:47):
I think Tommy Frazier of Nebraska had an incredible run
against Florida National Championship. Remember that you Okay, this was
to me like the equivalent of that.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
It was a big play fourth down.
Speaker 6 (12:58):
But here's the other thing, Mendoza, I don't think he
had two hundred yards passing Colin. Yeah, but it was
the important passes he needed. Third and seven, boom, got it,
fourth and five got it. I'm just telling you, man,
I said a couple of weeks ago, I see a
young Tom Brady, not soup seven super Bowl Brady, but
like in the pocket, takes the hits keeps on ticking.
Speaker 1 (13:17):
This guy's a winner. Man.
Speaker 6 (13:18):
I'm if I'm the Jets, I have to at least
think about trading up or trying to for him. And
I know Raiders fans are gonna say no way, but
that kid looks special.
Speaker 1 (13:26):
Man, He's got everything you want a quarterback. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:29):
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Speaker 7 (13:37):
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Speaker 1 (13:50):
Yup. That's right.
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Speaker 1 (14:08):
Here's what the SEC should truly be concerned about. Miami
and Notre Dame. They're not in the big ten. Maybe
the two best recruiters in the country as coaches. Two
unique but magnificent college football brands and both with massive
(14:28):
NIL checkbooks. We all know the Big Ten is separated.
They'll be favored to win the Natty next year. They
already are. But with Mario Christobal, you're getting a highly
aggressive NIL, a highly aggressive transfer portal team, and Dade
and Broward County probably the richest counties in the country
(14:53):
for high school football recruiting, and Crystabaal has made it
his sole purpose to build a fence around day Broward
and he is an unbelievable recruiter. So adding to that,
Miami's economy is on fire. It is the fastest growing
tech startup city in the country. Translation, there is an
(15:17):
ocean of cash in Miami now and they want to
spend it, and a lot of people want to spend
it on the you it is their college program of choice.
So the consensus for twenty twenty six recruiting Mario Cristobal
in Miami and they're just starting had a better class
than Florida or LSU. Notre Dame, Oregon, USC bought better
(15:43):
classes than anybody not named Alabama. BAMA had a good one.
But for the record, Miami is now going to buy
Duke's quarterback. Reportedly he's good, he'll get better surrounded by
Sunday bodies. So the new reality of college football. If
you look at the odds, it is not just the
Big Ten, it is Miami and Notre Dame are going
(16:06):
to be a major problem. The top five odds to
win next year. The only SEC team is Texas and
that is oil money and the reason Texas is even
in there, reportedly spending forty million dollars on next year's roster.
So my takeaway, the three best teams I saw play
(16:28):
this year if I had to vote today, number one Indiana,
Number two Miami, and number three Ohio State. Nobody in
the SEC felt like this, physically punishing relentless defenses. Here's
Mario Christobal after the loss.
Speaker 8 (16:46):
Got to a playoffs for the first time in Miami history,
and then beat four top ten teams, beat seven top
twenty five teams, won the Fiesta Bowl, won the Cotton Bowl,
and you know what, I'll take full blame. Or were
one drive short of winning the national championship. So I
don't see anything a negative, but I do see pain
(17:07):
in moments like this, and we should if we're a
competitor that's worth anything. You feel it and you use it,
and you give those feelings a direction. I know the
guys coming back will and I know that the guys
moving on will also use that as fuel.
Speaker 1 (17:23):
Hard enough to beat Indiana. Probably not going to do
it if you get a punt blocked and it becomes
a touchdown for the Hoosiers. But I thought Miami played great.
I think they played a smartly coach physical game with
the kind of skill players that can beat Indiana. The
only two teams I watched play Indiana this year was
not Alabama. I can assure you that the only two
(17:45):
teams that matched up with Indiana Ohio State and Miami.
And a lot of it was the checkbook. Sorry, a
lot of it was the checkbook. Good coaching, good cornerback play.
This is now a very admis this straight of business,
a little NFL, a lot NFL. But Miami in Ohio
State came the closest and it started with grabbing a
(18:09):
pen and signing a check.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
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Speaker 1 (18:19):
Here we go, it's our number three. Joel Klatt five minutes,
what a great time to be alive. Harbor in La Harbon,
New York. Ten new NFL coaches, four already hired Indiana.
(18:42):
Imagine saying this five years ago. I mean imagine saying
this five years ago. The Indiana Hoosiers sixteen to oh
beat Miami for the Natty last night, and for the
first time I can recall watching a title game in
college football. To me, it felt fifty NFL and I
am absolutely here for it. College football rosters are getting older, wiser.
(19:07):
Miami's D line and on line those are NFL bodies.
Miami's got a defensive lineman about to turn twenty five. Indiana,
by design, is a roster filled with mature twenty two
and twenty three year olds, both quarterbacks three year starters.
That's why Indiana played such mistake free football. It's an older,
smarter roster. What last night allows is more sophisticated defenses.
(19:34):
Miami's doing part zone, part man de man on the
same play you've got. Indiana never fumbles, no errant snaps,
they don't throw interceptions, they rarely get penalized. Defenses Offenses
much more sophisticated. That's why Sunday football has always been
three times to four times higher rated than college football.
(19:59):
College football can be regional and provincial and full of mistakes.
It's rare that you see a good college program with
even decent special teams. But college football has officially grown up,
and last night felt different. Three year starters at quarterback,
players getting paid, players staying in college longer. That's never
(20:21):
a bad thing, and the product on the field, to me,
reflects it. Georgia won a national title in the early
eighties and completed one pass, no thank you, not interested.
The SEC, which has now fallen behind the Big ten.
Notre Dame in Miami has always felt two ground and pound,
oh miss is the new way to win. A lot
(20:43):
of offense, a lot of movement, some trickery, and score points.
Last night, three of Indiana's biggest plays came after Kurt
Signetti timeouts, very NFL feeling. Fernando Mendoza on that TD
run talked about expecting a zone, seeing man a man.
It was a little of both, and like Andrew luck Elway,
(21:05):
Josh Allen put his head down, got hammered and scored
that touchdown. I don't know. Indiana, to me, is absolutely
great for college football. It's a football starved Midwest base alumni,
huge alumni that has always been in the shadow of
(21:25):
an Ohio State, a Michigan, a Penn State, a Wisconsin
in Iowa. For football. To me, Indiana is a shining
beacon of hope. If you get the coach right, you
got a couple of well healed NIL boosters. You don't
need five star recruits. It'd be nice going forward to
have some. But suddenly you look around if you get
(21:48):
the coach right with the nil and transfer portal, and
you ask yourself, why not us? The Indiana football story
was not possible pre portal. It was not prop possible
pre nil. You couldn't have done this. Now you got
to get the coach right. And Kurt Signetti is like
(22:08):
Nick Saban without the charm and a little bit of
a sense of humor. He's got neither. He is dead serious,
he is all business. And the truth is Saban got
funnier and more charming after the rebuild was complete at Alabama.
This is probably right now for this time what the
Hoosiers need, But last night was also what college football needed.
(22:33):
A new story, a new champion, a new way of
doing business. That is the greatest script ever written in
the history of college football. It was so totally cool
and so totally sixteen to oh perfect. Indiana deserved every
part of last night with this coach, the big boosters,
(22:56):
they're going absolutely nowhere. Ask yourself, are you the next Indiana?
Why not Purdue? Why not Michigan State? Why not Kentucky Football?
Why not US? Here's the humorless head coach, as brilliant
(23:17):
as he is.
Speaker 4 (23:18):
After It's a great thing.
Speaker 3 (23:21):
Indiana win the national championship two years into our tenure.
Speaker 4 (23:26):
You do it with people and a plan.
Speaker 3 (23:28):
Can't say enough about our senior leadership and the people
we have in the locker room and the people we
have on our staff.
Speaker 4 (23:35):
And we're sixteen and no.
Speaker 3 (23:36):
And I guess we're twenty seven and two since Indiana.
Speaker 4 (23:40):
But we're sixteen and no.
Speaker 3 (23:42):
Sixteen national champions at Indiana University.
Speaker 4 (23:47):
Which I know a lot of people thought was never possible.
Speaker 1 (23:51):
Saban didn't smile a lot in the first couple of
years either. The more they win, the happier they get.
But that Joel Klatt, the voice of college football for Fox,
is joining US Live. So I'll ask you the first
question I asked Urban rap a bonnet what is your
big takeaway on that game last night. Yeah, it's very
much in line with what you were just talking about.
(24:13):
I mean, we can talk about the game specifically, obviously,
and what happened and some of the mistakes that were
made from Miami side, namely the block punt that really
cost him the game, Beck maybe forcing it into double
coverage at the end. But then there's the overarching storyline calling,
which is this is incredible for college football. You know,
in the late teens, we were watching Alabama dominate college
(24:33):
football and listen, I'd love to see people dominate, and
watching Nick Saban coach was phenomenal. But boy, there was
an era of inevitability even before the season in early
September that we knew it was Clemson and Alabama and
maybe Georgia that was going to play for the national title.
And now that statement that you just made and that
lead up to this interview, why not us. To me,
(24:55):
this is the best thing that's happened to college football
in a long time. I think that this could be
the most consequential national champion in my lifetime watching this
sport and loving this sport because of this idea that listen,
we can do this. We are a coach away, we
are one transfer portal away, and everybody wants to lament
(25:16):
what's happening through NIL and the freedom of movement that
these players have in the transfer portal. And listen, I
understand that there needs to be some parameters. I totally
understand that. However, what it has led to is a
golden era now of college football. The product has never
been better and there's never been more parody. And now
Indiana is winning a national championship after coming into the
(25:37):
season as the program with the most losses in the
history of the sport. To me, it's remarkable, it's profound,
and only history. We'll look back on this with the
size and momentum and scope that it deserves, because I
think right now we're probably too close to it. Yeah,
I said it felt thirty to forty percent NFL, and
that's not a bad thing. I always said I love
(25:59):
college football, but special teams were a circus, even on
good teams that it was flawed and it was nineteen
year old and nineteen year olds make mistakes. But now
kids are like, I really like playing in Indiana, I
like playing I like playing at Ohio State. I'm gonna
stay here for one more year. I think the offense
(26:20):
have gotten more sophisticated. I think the coaching is better.
I mean Miami's O and D lines looked like Sunday lines.
Is that, Joe. I think the game needed a little
bit of an NFL vibe. We needed a playoff, We
needed to play the players the old The rosters now
by design are a little older. I think the quality
(26:41):
last night of the play calling man half the defense
zone the other. Like, I watched that game and I'm like, well,
this is really high end football. Yeah, you might take
away you bring up a really good point, and in
particular with the with the older and more experienced players
and obviously a quarterback, but more so on defense. And
(27:02):
here's what it's done to college football is that it's
taken away the really simple offenses that just allow an
athletic quarterback to go run around and make plays, which
is what college football was for a while. Let's face it, right,
because it was just talented young kids that were out there,
and the most talented kid would win. And now there's
more schematics involved and strategy involved in situational football involved.
(27:25):
So I think the necessity of having a veteran quarterback
is ramped up, and we're starting to see that now
year after year, and these defenses become more intricate and
they can stop more things. So you have to have
answers as an offense. That's what we saw. So think
about this. Miami is killing Indiana with their pass rush,
and they were Bain and Mesador were fantastic. Those are
(27:47):
Sunday players, first round players in particular in Bain's case,
and yet Indiana had answers. They ran the football we
was at thirty nine times for over one hundred and
thirty nine. So they lean into the run game, get
Mendoza out of the pocket, they start throwing it short,
and then in crunch time, what do they do? They
go to matchups. That's what's NFL. They say, Hey, Charlie
(28:08):
Becker has got the matchup that we like, and we're
gonna go to him on the back shoulder on fourth down,
on third down, and then Mendoza runs the quarterback draw.
That's what felt NFL to me is the matchup oriented,
situational calls that we got from offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan
and Indiana going to Charlie Becker in those big moments.
You know, that's what we see in the NFL playoffs.
(28:29):
It's about players and not plays, and that's what ultimately
won the game for Indiana. You know, people can talk
about big ten against the SEC, and they've won three
straight Natties. If I was an SEC fan, Here's here's
what worries me. Miami and Notre Dame cause you look
at the ACC and you're like, well, tho's got un
(28:51):
to know. Maybe the two best recruiting head coaches now
out there, big checkbooks, in Miami's case, hyper aggressive, the
portal in the nil. Christi Ball also has I mean
in Oregon, he built good teams. He didn't have Daden
Broward County in the state of Oregon. I look at Miami, Joel,
(29:11):
I mean that they are absolutely the second best team
in the country after Indiana. I'd argue in the second
half they were almost a better team if not for
a block punt. I think Miami and Notre Dame, and
maybe Miami specifically why I'm sorry, but Christi Ball recruiting
that county, that nil checkbook. I think Miami is back
with a vengeance. I wouldn't be shocked if they bought
(29:33):
Duke's quarterback and we're back here next year. Yeah, we'll see.
I mean, that's the rumors that Mensa, the Duke's quarterback,
is going to go down to Miami. Now, listen, they
do have to replace a lot. They're probably going to
have to replace four offensive linemen and that was a
trenches led team. They're likely going to have to replace
a bunch of their defense, including down the middle with
their linebackers and some of those guys up front. But
they're still going to have Malachai Tony. They can still
(29:55):
get a I would say a veteran quality quarterback. So
they will be good because of the way that they've
built their roster year over year. There's no doubt. And
Mario Christobal, I think, proved a lot of people wrong,
including myself. I didn't know if Mario Chris Ball could
win big games in November, much less the playoff, and
they proved that they could do that, and so that's
a huge feather in their cap. You're absolutely right about
(30:16):
Notre Dame, and they're reloading with a great young quarterback
that will now be a veteran in CJ. Carr, and
they've got two wide receivers back they went out and
got Quincy Porter out of the portal from Ohio State,
who was a five star wide receiver. Notre Dame should
be very good. And here's what I'm about to record
and will coming out. We'll be coming out later this
week on the Joel Clas Show. My way too early
(30:38):
top ten for next year, and it's very difficult to
get even three SEC teams in that top ten. I
was just doing that this. Listen to this, Jill, I'll
give it to you here. So I said, next year,
because Miami's going to reload, they're going to go buy
an offensive line. That's what they're gonna do. I look
(30:59):
at Miami, no names, two, Ohio State, Oregon, Indiana, three,
two Cupcakes Automatic, Texas Tech's gonna buy teams. Sorry, I'm
at eight. I'm not counting USC Michigan, which could get in.
Clarson will be feisty. I mean we everybody says, oh well, Texas,
I'll give you forty million dollars roster. Joel. I look
(31:20):
at eight teams. I would be shocked if they didn't
get in before I get to the SEC. Well, yeah,
I mean listen, so you basically have one spot left.
If let's sell Like, let's say we would we would
include Texas, and I will include Texas. So then then
you get down to this conversation about kind of the
last spot and a potential top ten going in the
(31:40):
next year. And you've got teams like LSU, usc A
and m BYU. Who is bringing back to Michigan, Michigan
Oklahoma like And here's the best part about it is
that any one of those teams might turn out to
be the best team. You know, I don't think we're
going to have a runaway number one team, although Oregon
like a team that could potentially wind up number one
(32:02):
in the preseason, in particular with Dante Moore back again,
we go back to the veteran presence at quarterback. You
bring him and all of his starts back and some
of that talent. College football is in such a good spot, man.
And I'm telling you, like I said, I'm going to
go back to this again. I think I think last
night was the most consequential national champion in my lab.
I'm forty three years old. I cannot remember a time
(32:25):
in college football where we needed this more than what
we have right now. Because every fan base in America
can wake up this morning and say, well, heck, why
can't we do that? You know, we're seeing it with
Tech and Oregon invests, LSU is investing, Ole misses investing,
Notre Dame is investing, Clemson's, everybody is investing, and they
(32:45):
can all play at the top end. And that's how
you get a championship game that that is that high
level between two teams that ultimately at the beginning of
the year we didn't expect to be there. All right, Clatt,
You've got a lot of stuff to do. You're very,
very busy guy. You're pod smoking and all that stuff,
and you know what, it's nice. You know, I know
you don't like this. Let me ask you real quick.
I know you probably need to go just really quickly.
(33:08):
Best coaching job you've ever seen, I think. I think
Kurt Signetti, what he's done is the single greatest coaching
job I've ever seen any sport. I thought. I thought
Brad Stevens at Butler, had he won the title, I
was like, how is Butler playing for a such a
good one? That's a really good one and by the way,
(33:29):
brilliant guy, now coach and now GM. I would say
Brad Stevens at Butler's Like, this doesn't make any sense,
but that was also kind of a time when college
basketball was one and done, so the rosters weren't stacked.
You didn't get old rosters. And also in basketball you
need one great player, you know, it's not like you're
building you know, football they were in the end, it
(33:49):
was great across the board. There wasn't a weakness on
that team. It ultimately won m a national championship. I'm
not disagreeing. I think that's a Stevens is a great
call there. You know, you think of I thought I
like Herb Brooks, but that's one tournament with the miracle
on ice. You know, I can't think of certainly in
college football, there's probably you know, Nick Saban's the greatest
coach of all time, but as far as a single
(34:10):
performance and a couple of years, this is there's no
rival to what Signetti is doing and has done. You know,
I've said this for years. I grew up with college football,
so I've always loved it. We both love it, but
there was always two or three flaws to college football,
the ending, and I always felt like our bosses and
(34:30):
other big broadcast executives are always like, if we could
just get the ending to be a playoff. Now, okay,
we'll put a couple of you know, a couple of
cupcakes in and so we don't get sued. But let's
have a playoff. So they've solved the playoff thing. And
the other thing was it always felt a little regional.
Speaker 2 (34:46):
To me.
Speaker 1 (34:48):
It doesn't. It's not regional. I got flashy Miami, I
got basketball school Indiana, I got a billionaire at Texas Tech.
I got an academic power and Notre Dame. I've got
two great conferences. Like to me, it's like, okay, this
is like the NFL. I can get a small market
Green Bay, I could get LA. You know, it's like,
this is the way football should be. You just don't
(35:11):
you said it earlier. It used to be in the
preseason you could look at the Street and Smith depth
charts and you were like, well, Bama's in for sure,
and so's LSU. No, you really can't. And that's why
this is. I think we're entering what is going to
be a real, a real golden age of the sport.
I think we're entering what will likely be considered in history,
(35:33):
will look back on as the best period of college
football ever. Hey, I want to show you. I want
you to I want to ask you, can we roll
the Fernando Mendoza run for a touchdown? Oh? How good
was that? No, we're colin. I grew up in Denver,
so this reminded me of Super Bowl thirty two as
John Elway is running and then helicoptering around inside the
ten yard line against Green Bay. Like, That's what it
(35:55):
reminded me of. This effort was incredible and did it
all will not remind you a little of Andrew Luck, sure, who,
by the way, has said publicly, I don't feel like
the game starts until I get popped. Mendoza similarly this year.
He doesn't have like a mean streak in him, but
(36:15):
he does get a little you know, like like when
the limp is bleeding against the Ohio State against Miami.
I when I know he's not Andrew Luck as a
as a prospect. I'm not saying he's Alway or Andrew Luck.
But there are qualities. The humility, the toughness, you know,
obviously great parenting, an amazing story. There are some things
(36:37):
about Mendoza where I'm like, man, I there's a little
luck in elway, he's not He's not that. By the way,
we have a we have a shot of his bruised
arm last night. I haven't seen this. Uh if you
haven't seen h oh, my lord, so good. You know,
there there are two types of quarterbacks. That's great and
(36:57):
there there are quarterbacks that rise to the occasion when
their best is needed, and there are guys that's sharp at.
And Mendoza rose to the occasion when his best was
was needed. He was at his best. That's that's why
he won the Heisman, and that's why he's a national champ.
Joe clack Gold see anybody you as well. Have a
good day, Bud,
Thanks for listening to the Best of the Herd podcast.
Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox
Sports Radio in noon to three Eastern nine am to
noon Pacific. Find your local station for the Herd at
Foxsportsradio dot com, or stream us live every day on
the iHeartRadio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
This is the Best of the Herd with Colin Cowver
on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
Here we go on a Tuesday with all sorts of
activity in the coaching industry in the National Football League.
We are live or in Chicago. It's the Herd wherever
you may be and however you may be listening, whatever
the platform. Thanks for making us part of your day. Well,
(00:52):
I was like many of you, most of you watching
a sports talk show. I sat and watched Indiana Miami
last night, not only the first sixteen to oh team,
but for the first time I ever remember watching a
national championship in college football. It felt like fifty percent
(01:14):
NFL and I am here for it. College football rosters
are getting older, wiser. Miami's D line and O line
those are NFL bodies. Miami's got a defensive lineman about
to turn twenty five, Indiana, by design, is a roster
filled with mature, twenty two and twenty three year olds,
(01:34):
both quarterbacks three year starters. That's why Indiana played such
mistake free football. It's an older, smarter roster. What last
night allows is more sophisticated defenses. Miami's doing part zone,
part man dea man on the same play you've got.
(01:55):
Indiana never fumbles, no errant snaps. They don't throw interceptions,
they rare get penalized defenses. Offenses much more sophisticated. That's
why Sunday football has always been three times to four
times higher rated than college football. College football can be
regional and provincial and full of mistakes. It's rare that
(02:20):
you see a good college program with even decent special teams.
But college football has officially grown up, and last night
felt different. Three year starters at quarterback, players getting paid,
players staying in college longer. That's never a bad thing,
and the product on the field to me reflects it.
Georgia won a national title in the early eighties and
(02:43):
completed one pass, no thank you, not interested. The SEC,
which has now fallen behind the Big ten. Notre Dame
in Miami has always felt two ground and pound oh
Miss is the new way to win. A lot of offense,
a lot of movement, some trickery and score points. Last night,
(03:03):
three of Indiana's biggest plays came after Kurt Signetty timeouts.
Very NFL feeling. Fernando Mendoza on that TD run talked
about expecting his own seeing man de man. It was
a little of both, and like Andrew luck Elway, Josh
Allen put his head down, got hammered and scored that touchdown.
(03:24):
I don't know. Indiana to me is absolutely great for
college football. It's a football starved Midwest base alumni, huge
alumni that has always been in the shadow of an
Ohio State, a Michigan, a Penn State, a Wisconsin in
Iowa for football. To me, Indiana is a shining beacon
(03:48):
of hope. If you get the coach right, you got
a couple of well healed NIL boosters. You don't need
five star recruits. It'd be nice going forward to have some.
But suddenly you look around if you get the coach
right with the nil and transfer portal, and you ask yourself,
why not us? The Indiana football story was not possible
(04:11):
pre portal. It was not possible pre nil. You couldn't
have done this. Now you got to get the coach right.
And Kurt Signetti is like Nick Saban without the charm
and a little bit of a sense of humor. He's
got neither. He is dead serious, he is all business.
And the truth is Saban got funnier and more charming
(04:35):
after the rebuild was complete at Alabama. This is probably
right now for this time what the Hoosiers need. But
last night was also what college football needed. A new story,
a new champion, a new way of doing business. That
is the greatest script ever written in the history of
(04:56):
college football. It was so totally cool and so totally
sixteen and oh perfect. Indiana deserved every part of last night.
With this coach, the big boosters, They're going absolutely nowhere.
Ask yourself, are you the next Indiana? Why not Purdue?
(05:20):
Why not Michigan State? Why not Kentucky Football? Why not US?
Here's the humorless head coach, as brilliant as he is.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
After It's a great thing, Indiana win a national championship
two years into our tenure.
Speaker 4 (05:40):
You do it with people and a plan.
Speaker 3 (05:43):
Can't say enough about our senior leadership and the people
we have in the locker room and the people we
have on our staff, and we're sixteen and O and
we're I guess we're twenty seven and two since Indiana,
but we're sixteen and no. Sixteen national champions Indiana University, which.
Speaker 4 (06:02):
I know a lot of people thought was never possible.
Speaker 1 (06:05):
A couple more natties, and my guess he'll crack more
regularly a smile. There's a lot of tension in Buffalo today.
Buffalo is one of those great American cities where people,
despite the snowdrifts, are proud of being from there. Buffalo
(06:26):
has been a winning NFL city for a couple different
stretches in my lifetime, in probably yours, the Marv Levy,
Jim Kelly years and now the Josh Allen Sean McDermott years,
and now he's gone. And attention is because Brandon, being
the general manager since Josh Allen arrived, has what fifty
(06:47):
six draft picks? Two Pro bowlers? Is he as many
your claiming kind of a suck up to the owner?
I was told months ago he's more of a cap
guy than a personnel guy. He's a smart guy. I
got a little bit of an ego, but Buffalo fans
and media are a little bit tense today because of
the firing. But let me just say this, it's easy
(07:12):
to do the Pittsburgh thing. Hey, we're over five hundred
A playoff wins are overrated. It's hard to do what
Buffalo did. Sean McDermott was well liked and respected ninety
eight and fifty with eight playoff wins. They just couldn't
beat Mahomes and Andy Reid join the club. What probably
(07:33):
was his undoing because we all thought he was safe
after beating Jacksonville in Jacksonville, a very good team. According
to Vic Carucci, a respected reporter covering the Bills for
a long time, five weeks ago, McDermott met with Brandon
Bean and the owner. McDermott and this takes some guts,
(07:54):
sat down with his two bosses and said, I don't
think we have enough all star level, Pro Bowl level
talent to win a Super Bowl. According to vich Carucci,
it did not go over well. So and I will
say this, Buffalo found ways to lose every January. They
(08:15):
couldn't get the tush push right. That was a year ago.
The thirteen second loss this year, five turnovers and complaining
about officiating, as bo Nix was more efficient than Josh Allen,
but Dallas and Jerry Jones it appears, will no longer
pay top dollar for a head coach, and Pittsburgh it
(08:38):
appeared Forever was not willing to move off a coach
who couldn't win playoff games, and as far as I
can tell, Buffalo's willing to do both. So in their
last six playoff exits, you can blame Brandon Bean, you
can blame Sean McDermott. In their last six playoff exits
(08:58):
with a defensive coach and now a Bosa and previously
a von Miller, they're allowing on average thirty three points
per game and losses, So you can blame whoever you want.
Something had to change. You may not like the GM,
maybe you'll miss the head coach, but they're willing to
(09:19):
take a swing. It's so much easier to do the
Pittsburgh thing. Nobody's offended. Everybody in the building is happy. Yes,
people from the outside the dark side may criticize the Steelers,
but hey, we do what we do. Buffalo's a small town.
They're taking a big swing. I respect it. Albert Brewed
(09:41):
yesterday on the move.
Speaker 5 (09:43):
There was a different feel in that building the last
couple of months. More tension, I think, more pressure on everybody.
They realize that they've got in front of them the
opportunity that Josh Allen as a quarterback gives them. And
I think some of that's spilled out Colin after the
game on Saturday.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
Yeah, listen, I understand the tension. But you know, Jerry
Jones is ironic because he always talks about every time
he seeks a bargain, that's exactly what he gets. And
I feel like Jerry Jones should listen to his own words.
It feels like he's always trying to get a bargain
at head coach. Look around the playoffs. No Mahomes, no Allen,
(10:24):
no Lamar, no Burrow. Once you pay that star quarterback,
it doesn't matter if Andy Reids your coach, it's hard
to be great. Buffalo is suffering through what the Chiefs what?
Cincinnati what? A lot of these highly compensated quarterback franchises
(10:48):
are struggling with their roster's got some holes, Buffalo's does
Chiefs do right? The difference is one of those franchises
has the trophies. They're not just gonna sit here and
they're gonna They're gonna make a move, and you don't
have to love the GM. But by and large, when
(11:08):
we think about the Buffalo Bills over the last seven,
eight nine years, you know what we think, smartly owned,
great quarterback, pretty well run. That's why so many fee
people are uncomfortable with the McDermott stuff, because he was
a really good coach. You didn't swing and miss on four,
you swung and connected on one. But it is time
(11:32):
and it is the kind of thing that can make
the smaller town that doesn't love change a little uncomfortable.
But I think it's the right move. I gotta tell
you J McK watching that game last night, Robert Salli
got the Titans job. We'll talk more about that. As
I was watching that game last night, I am not
saying Andrew Luck is John Elway or Andrew Luck the
(11:56):
two best quarterback prospects ever out of call. If you
talked to longtime NFL guys, those are great prospects. But
Fernando Mendoza on that touchdown run that looked like Andrew Luck.
That mean that was Andrew Luck is one of those guys,
big fit kid who actually seeks remember you Stowa say,
(12:17):
I don't feel like the game starts until I get popped.
Mendoza similarly multiple times this year. Lip is bloodied off
the field back on like that that run that was
so Andrew luck I mean it was. It had a
Josh Allen Andrew luckfield. And I'm he's not that kind
of prospect. He's a very good prospect. He's not that
level of prospect. But that run was. I mean, if
(12:40):
you were on the fence on Fernando Mendoza after that run,
tear the fence down. He's the number one pick.
Speaker 6 (12:47):
I think Tommy Frazier of Nebraska had an incredible run
against Florida National Championship. Remember that you Okay, this was
to me like the equivalent of that.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
It was a big play fourth down.
Speaker 6 (12:58):
But here's the other thing, Mendoza, I don't think he
had two hundred yards passing Colin. Yeah, but it was
the important passes he needed. Third and seven, boom, got it,
fourth and five got it. I'm just telling you, man,
I said a couple of weeks ago, I see a
young Tom Brady, not soup seven super Bowl Brady, but
like in the pocket, takes the hits keeps on ticking.
Speaker 1 (13:17):
This guy's a winner. Man.
Speaker 6 (13:18):
I'm if I'm the Jets, I have to at least
think about trading up or trying to for him. And
I know Raiders fans are gonna say no way, but
that kid looks special.
Speaker 1 (13:26):
Man, He's got everything you want a quarterback. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:29):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
and noone Eastern non am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio
FS one and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 7 (13:37):
Hey is Covino and Rich from Fox Sports Radio Now,
in addition to hearing us live weekdays from five to
seven pm Eastern two to four Pacific on Fox Sports Radio,
We're excited to announce a brand new YouTube channel for
the show.
Speaker 1 (13:50):
Yup. That's right.
Speaker 7 (13:51):
You can now watch Covino and Rich live on YouTube
every day. All you gotta do search Covino and Rich
FSR on YouTube again, go to YouTube search Covino en
Rich FSR. Check us out on YouTube, subscribe, hit that
thumbs up icon coming away.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
Here's what the SEC should truly be concerned about. Miami
and Notre Dame. They're not in the big ten. Maybe
the two best recruiters in the country as coaches. Two
unique but magnificent college football brands and both with massive
(14:28):
NIL checkbooks. We all know the Big Ten is separated.
They'll be favored to win the Natty next year. They
already are. But with Mario Christobal, you're getting a highly
aggressive NIL, a highly aggressive transfer portal team, and Dade
and Broward County probably the richest counties in the country
(14:53):
for high school football recruiting, and Crystabaal has made it
his sole purpose to build a fence around day Broward
and he is an unbelievable recruiter. So adding to that,
Miami's economy is on fire. It is the fastest growing
tech startup city in the country. Translation, there is an
(15:17):
ocean of cash in Miami now and they want to
spend it, and a lot of people want to spend
it on the you it is their college program of choice.
So the consensus for twenty twenty six recruiting Mario Cristobal
in Miami and they're just starting had a better class
than Florida or LSU. Notre Dame, Oregon, USC bought better
(15:43):
classes than anybody not named Alabama. BAMA had a good one.
But for the record, Miami is now going to buy
Duke's quarterback. Reportedly he's good, he'll get better surrounded by
Sunday bodies. So the new reality of college football. If
you look at the odds, it is not just the
Big Ten, it is Miami and Notre Dame are going
(16:06):
to be a major problem. The top five odds to
win next year. The only SEC team is Texas and
that is oil money and the reason Texas is even
in there, reportedly spending forty million dollars on next year's roster.
So my takeaway, the three best teams I saw play
(16:28):
this year if I had to vote today, number one Indiana,
Number two Miami, and number three Ohio State. Nobody in
the SEC felt like this, physically punishing relentless defenses. Here's
Mario Christobal after the loss.
Speaker 8 (16:46):
Got to a playoffs for the first time in Miami history,
and then beat four top ten teams, beat seven top
twenty five teams, won the Fiesta Bowl, won the Cotton Bowl,
and you know what, I'll take full blame. Or were
one drive short of winning the national championship. So I
don't see anything a negative, but I do see pain
(17:07):
in moments like this, and we should if we're a
competitor that's worth anything. You feel it and you use it,
and you give those feelings a direction. I know the
guys coming back will and I know that the guys
moving on will also use that as fuel.
Speaker 1 (17:23):
Hard enough to beat Indiana. Probably not going to do
it if you get a punt blocked and it becomes
a touchdown for the Hoosiers. But I thought Miami played great.
I think they played a smartly coach physical game with
the kind of skill players that can beat Indiana. The
only two teams I watched play Indiana this year was
not Alabama. I can assure you that the only two
(17:45):
teams that matched up with Indiana Ohio State and Miami.
And a lot of it was the checkbook. Sorry, a
lot of it was the checkbook. Good coaching, good cornerback play.
This is now a very admis this straight of business,
a little NFL, a lot NFL. But Miami in Ohio
State came the closest and it started with grabbing a
(18:09):
pen and signing a check.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
in Neon Eastern non a em Pacific.
Speaker 1 (18:19):
Here we go, it's our number three. Joel Klatt five minutes,
what a great time to be alive. Harbor in La Harbon,
New York. Ten new NFL coaches, four already hired Indiana.
(18:42):
Imagine saying this five years ago. I mean imagine saying
this five years ago. The Indiana Hoosiers sixteen to oh
beat Miami for the Natty last night, and for the
first time I can recall watching a title game in
college football. To me, it felt fifty NFL and I
am absolutely here for it. College football rosters are getting older, wiser.
(19:07):
Miami's D line and on line those are NFL bodies.
Miami's got a defensive lineman about to turn twenty five. Indiana,
by design, is a roster filled with mature twenty two
and twenty three year olds, both quarterbacks three year starters.
That's why Indiana played such mistake free football. It's an older,
smarter roster. What last night allows is more sophisticated defenses.
(19:34):
Miami's doing part zone, part man de man on the
same play you've got. Indiana never fumbles, no errant snaps,
they don't throw interceptions, they rarely get penalized. Defenses Offenses
much more sophisticated. That's why Sunday football has always been
three times to four times higher rated than college football.
(19:59):
College football can be regional and provincial and full of mistakes.
It's rare that you see a good college program with
even decent special teams. But college football has officially grown up,
and last night felt different. Three year starters at quarterback,
players getting paid, players staying in college longer. That's never
(20:21):
a bad thing, and the product on the field, to me,
reflects it. Georgia won a national title in the early
eighties and completed one pass, no thank you, not interested.
The SEC, which has now fallen behind the Big ten.
Notre Dame in Miami has always felt two ground and pound,
oh miss is the new way to win. A lot
(20:43):
of offense, a lot of movement, some trickery, and score points.
Last night, three of Indiana's biggest plays came after Kurt
Signetti timeouts, very NFL feeling. Fernando Mendoza on that TD
run talked about expecting a zone, seeing man a man.
It was a little of both, and like Andrew luck Elway,
(21:05):
Josh Allen put his head down, got hammered and scored
that touchdown. I don't know. Indiana, to me, is absolutely
great for college football. It's a football starved Midwest base alumni,
huge alumni that has always been in the shadow of
(21:25):
an Ohio State, a Michigan, a Penn State, a Wisconsin
in Iowa. For football. To me, Indiana is a shining
beacon of hope. If you get the coach right, you
got a couple of well healed NIL boosters. You don't
need five star recruits. It'd be nice going forward to
have some. But suddenly you look around if you get
(21:48):
the coach right with the nil and transfer portal, and
you ask yourself, why not us? The Indiana football story
was not possible pre portal. It was not prop possible
pre nil. You couldn't have done this. Now you got
to get the coach right. And Kurt Signetti is like
(22:08):
Nick Saban without the charm and a little bit of
a sense of humor. He's got neither. He is dead serious,
he is all business. And the truth is Saban got
funnier and more charming after the rebuild was complete at Alabama.
This is probably right now for this time what the
Hoosiers need, But last night was also what college football needed.
(22:33):
A new story, a new champion, a new way of
doing business. That is the greatest script ever written in
the history of college football. It was so totally cool
and so totally sixteen to oh perfect. Indiana deserved every
part of last night with this coach, the big boosters,
(22:56):
they're going absolutely nowhere. Ask yourself, are you the next Indiana?
Why not Purdue? Why not Michigan State? Why not Kentucky Football?
Why not US? Here's the humorless head coach, as brilliant
(23:17):
as he is.
Speaker 4 (23:18):
After It's a great thing.
Speaker 3 (23:21):
Indiana win the national championship two years into our tenure.
Speaker 4 (23:26):
You do it with people and a plan.
Speaker 3 (23:28):
Can't say enough about our senior leadership and the people
we have in the locker room and the people we
have on our staff.
Speaker 4 (23:35):
And we're sixteen and no.
Speaker 3 (23:36):
And I guess we're twenty seven and two since Indiana.
Speaker 4 (23:40):
But we're sixteen and no.
Speaker 3 (23:42):
Sixteen national champions at Indiana University.
Speaker 4 (23:47):
Which I know a lot of people thought was never possible.
Speaker 1 (23:51):
Saban didn't smile a lot in the first couple of
years either. The more they win, the happier they get.
But that Joel Klatt, the voice of college football for Fox,
is joining US Live. So I'll ask you the first
question I asked Urban rap a bonnet what is your
big takeaway on that game last night. Yeah, it's very
much in line with what you were just talking about.
(24:13):
I mean, we can talk about the game specifically, obviously,
and what happened and some of the mistakes that were
made from Miami side, namely the block punt that really
cost him the game, Beck maybe forcing it into double
coverage at the end. But then there's the overarching storyline calling,
which is this is incredible for college football. You know,
in the late teens, we were watching Alabama dominate college
(24:33):
football and listen, I'd love to see people dominate, and
watching Nick Saban coach was phenomenal. But boy, there was
an era of inevitability even before the season in early
September that we knew it was Clemson and Alabama and
maybe Georgia that was going to play for the national title.
And now that statement that you just made and that
lead up to this interview, why not us. To me,
(24:55):
this is the best thing that's happened to college football
in a long time. I think that this could be
the most consequential national champion in my lifetime watching this
sport and loving this sport because of this idea that listen,
we can do this. We are a coach away, we
are one transfer portal away, and everybody wants to lament
(25:16):
what's happening through NIL and the freedom of movement that
these players have in the transfer portal. And listen, I
understand that there needs to be some parameters. I totally
understand that. However, what it has led to is a
golden era now of college football. The product has never
been better and there's never been more parody. And now
Indiana is winning a national championship after coming into the
(25:37):
season as the program with the most losses in the
history of the sport. To me, it's remarkable, it's profound,
and only history. We'll look back on this with the
size and momentum and scope that it deserves, because I
think right now we're probably too close to it. Yeah,
I said it felt thirty to forty percent NFL, and
that's not a bad thing. I always said I love
(25:59):
college football, but special teams were a circus, even on
good teams that it was flawed and it was nineteen
year old and nineteen year olds make mistakes. But now
kids are like, I really like playing in Indiana, I
like playing I like playing at Ohio State. I'm gonna
stay here for one more year. I think the offense
(26:20):
have gotten more sophisticated. I think the coaching is better.
I mean Miami's O and D lines looked like Sunday lines.
Is that, Joe. I think the game needed a little
bit of an NFL vibe. We needed a playoff, We
needed to play the players the old The rosters now
by design are a little older. I think the quality
(26:41):
last night of the play calling man half the defense
zone the other. Like, I watched that game and I'm like, well,
this is really high end football. Yeah, you might take
away you bring up a really good point, and in
particular with the with the older and more experienced players
and obviously a quarterback, but more so on defense. And
(27:02):
here's what it's done to college football is that it's
taken away the really simple offenses that just allow an
athletic quarterback to go run around and make plays, which
is what college football was for a while. Let's face it, right,
because it was just talented young kids that were out there,
and the most talented kid would win. And now there's
more schematics involved and strategy involved in situational football involved.
(27:25):
So I think the necessity of having a veteran quarterback
is ramped up, and we're starting to see that now
year after year, and these defenses become more intricate and
they can stop more things. So you have to have
answers as an offense. That's what we saw. So think
about this. Miami is killing Indiana with their pass rush,
and they were Bain and Mesador were fantastic. Those are
(27:47):
Sunday players, first round players in particular in Bain's case,
and yet Indiana had answers. They ran the football we
was at thirty nine times for over one hundred and
thirty nine. So they lean into the run game, get
Mendoza out of the pocket, they start throwing it short,
and then in crunch time, what do they do? They
go to matchups. That's what's NFL. They say, Hey, Charlie
(28:08):
Becker has got the matchup that we like, and we're
gonna go to him on the back shoulder on fourth down,
on third down, and then Mendoza runs the quarterback draw.
That's what felt NFL to me is the matchup oriented,
situational calls that we got from offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan
and Indiana going to Charlie Becker in those big moments.
You know, that's what we see in the NFL playoffs.
(28:29):
It's about players and not plays, and that's what ultimately
won the game for Indiana. You know, people can talk
about big ten against the SEC, and they've won three
straight Natties. If I was an SEC fan, Here's here's
what worries me. Miami and Notre Dame cause you look
at the ACC and you're like, well, tho's got un
(28:51):
to know. Maybe the two best recruiting head coaches now
out there, big checkbooks, in Miami's case, hyper aggressive, the
portal in the nil. Christi Ball also has I mean
in Oregon, he built good teams. He didn't have Daden
Broward County in the state of Oregon. I look at Miami, Joel,
(29:11):
I mean that they are absolutely the second best team
in the country after Indiana. I'd argue in the second
half they were almost a better team if not for
a block punt. I think Miami and Notre Dame, and
maybe Miami specifically why I'm sorry, but Christi Ball recruiting
that county, that nil checkbook. I think Miami is back
with a vengeance. I wouldn't be shocked if they bought
(29:33):
Duke's quarterback and we're back here next year. Yeah, we'll see.
I mean, that's the rumors that Mensa, the Duke's quarterback,
is going to go down to Miami. Now, listen, they
do have to replace a lot. They're probably going to
have to replace four offensive linemen and that was a
trenches led team. They're likely going to have to replace
a bunch of their defense, including down the middle with
their linebackers and some of those guys up front. But
they're still going to have Malachai Tony. They can still
(29:55):
get a I would say a veteran quality quarterback. So
they will be good because of the way that they've
built their roster year over year. There's no doubt. And
Mario Christobal, I think, proved a lot of people wrong,
including myself. I didn't know if Mario Chris Ball could
win big games in November, much less the playoff, and
they proved that they could do that, and so that's
a huge feather in their cap. You're absolutely right about
(30:16):
Notre Dame, and they're reloading with a great young quarterback
that will now be a veteran in CJ. Carr, and
they've got two wide receivers back they went out and
got Quincy Porter out of the portal from Ohio State,
who was a five star wide receiver. Notre Dame should
be very good. And here's what I'm about to record
and will coming out. We'll be coming out later this
week on the Joel Clas Show. My way too early
(30:38):
top ten for next year, and it's very difficult to
get even three SEC teams in that top ten. I
was just doing that this. Listen to this, Jill, I'll
give it to you here. So I said, next year,
because Miami's going to reload, they're going to go buy
an offensive line. That's what they're gonna do. I look
(30:59):
at Miami, no names, two, Ohio State, Oregon, Indiana, three,
two Cupcakes Automatic, Texas Tech's gonna buy teams. Sorry, I'm
at eight. I'm not counting USC Michigan, which could get in.
Clarson will be feisty. I mean we everybody says, oh well, Texas,
I'll give you forty million dollars roster. Joel. I look
(31:20):
at eight teams. I would be shocked if they didn't
get in before I get to the SEC. Well, yeah,
I mean listen, so you basically have one spot left.
If let's sell Like, let's say we would we would
include Texas, and I will include Texas. So then then
you get down to this conversation about kind of the
last spot and a potential top ten going in the
(31:40):
next year. And you've got teams like LSU, usc A
and m BYU. Who is bringing back to Michigan, Michigan
Oklahoma like And here's the best part about it is
that any one of those teams might turn out to
be the best team. You know, I don't think we're
going to have a runaway number one team, although Oregon
like a team that could potentially wind up number one
(32:02):
in the preseason, in particular with Dante Moore back again,
we go back to the veteran presence at quarterback. You
bring him and all of his starts back and some
of that talent. College football is in such a good spot, man.
And I'm telling you, like I said, I'm going to
go back to this again. I think I think last
night was the most consequential national champion in my lab.
I'm forty three years old. I cannot remember a time
(32:25):
in college football where we needed this more than what
we have right now. Because every fan base in America
can wake up this morning and say, well, heck, why
can't we do that? You know, we're seeing it with
Tech and Oregon invests, LSU is investing, Ole misses investing,
Notre Dame is investing, Clemson's, everybody is investing, and they
(32:45):
can all play at the top end. And that's how
you get a championship game that that is that high
level between two teams that ultimately at the beginning of
the year we didn't expect to be there. All right, Clatt,
You've got a lot of stuff to do. You're very,
very busy guy. You're pod smoking and all that stuff,
and you know what, it's nice. You know, I know
you don't like this. Let me ask you real quick.
I know you probably need to go just really quickly.
(33:08):
Best coaching job you've ever seen, I think. I think
Kurt Signetti, what he's done is the single greatest coaching
job I've ever seen any sport. I thought. I thought
Brad Stevens at Butler, had he won the title, I
was like, how is Butler playing for a such a
good one? That's a really good one and by the way,
(33:29):
brilliant guy, now coach and now GM. I would say
Brad Stevens at Butler's Like, this doesn't make any sense,
but that was also kind of a time when college
basketball was one and done, so the rosters weren't stacked.
You didn't get old rosters. And also in basketball you
need one great player, you know, it's not like you're
building you know, football they were in the end, it
(33:49):
was great across the board. There wasn't a weakness on
that team. It ultimately won m a national championship. I'm
not disagreeing. I think that's a Stevens is a great
call there. You know, you think of I thought I
like Herb Brooks, but that's one tournament with the miracle
on ice. You know, I can't think of certainly in
college football, there's probably you know, Nick Saban's the greatest
coach of all time, but as far as a single
(34:10):
performance and a couple of years, this is there's no
rival to what Signetti is doing and has done. You know,
I've said this for years. I grew up with college football,
so I've always loved it. We both love it, but
there was always two or three flaws to college football,
the ending, and I always felt like our bosses and
(34:30):
other big broadcast executives are always like, if we could
just get the ending to be a playoff. Now, okay,
we'll put a couple of you know, a couple of
cupcakes in and so we don't get sued. But let's
have a playoff. So they've solved the playoff thing. And
the other thing was it always felt a little regional.
Speaker 2 (34:46):
To me.
Speaker 1 (34:48):
It doesn't. It's not regional. I got flashy Miami, I
got basketball school Indiana, I got a billionaire at Texas Tech.
I got an academic power and Notre Dame. I've got
two great conferences. Like to me, it's like, okay, this
is like the NFL. I can get a small market
Green Bay, I could get LA. You know, it's like,
this is the way football should be. You just don't
(35:11):
you said it earlier. It used to be in the
preseason you could look at the Street and Smith depth
charts and you were like, well, Bama's in for sure,
and so's LSU. No, you really can't. And that's why
this is. I think we're entering what is going to
be a real, a real golden age of the sport.
I think we're entering what will likely be considered in history,
(35:33):
will look back on as the best period of college
football ever. Hey, I want to show you. I want
you to I want to ask you, can we roll
the Fernando Mendoza run for a touchdown? Oh? How good
was that? No, we're colin. I grew up in Denver,
so this reminded me of Super Bowl thirty two as
John Elway is running and then helicoptering around inside the
ten yard line against Green Bay. Like, That's what it
(35:55):
reminded me of. This effort was incredible and did it
all will not remind you a little of Andrew Luck, sure, who,
by the way, has said publicly, I don't feel like
the game starts until I get popped. Mendoza similarly this year.
He doesn't have like a mean streak in him, but
(36:15):
he does get a little you know, like like when
the limp is bleeding against the Ohio State against Miami.
I when I know he's not Andrew Luck as a
as a prospect. I'm not saying he's Alway or Andrew Luck.
But there are qualities. The humility, the toughness, you know,
obviously great parenting, an amazing story. There are some things
(36:37):
about Mendoza where I'm like, man, I there's a little
luck in elway, he's not He's not that. By the way,
we have a we have a shot of his bruised
arm last night. I haven't seen this. Uh if you
haven't seen h oh, my lord, so good. You know,
there there are two types of quarterbacks. That's great and
(36:57):
there there are quarterbacks that rise to the occasion when
their best is needed, and there are guys that's sharp at.
And Mendoza rose to the occasion when his best was
was needed. He was at his best. That's that's why
he won the Heisman, and that's why he's a national champ.
Joe clack Gold see anybody you as well. Have a
good day, Bud,
Hosts And Creators
Colin Cowherd
Jason McIntyre
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