10-0 INDIANA. Mendoza's March and Super Cooper Save the Day at Penn State. [355]

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Indiana is STILL undefeated.
Fernando Mendoza led a game-winning drive at Penn State that will go down in history. Omar Cooper Jr. finished it off, finding a little space in the back of the end zone to get a toe down and give IU its first ever win at PSU, 27-24.
What are our main takeaways from IU's win? It felt like this one had a little more emotion than any other win in Curt Cignetti's tenure.
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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
Whoa baby. Indiana fans ten and zero has landed on
the runway safely for a second straight year. After the
game the catch of the college football season, Omar Cooper

(00:28):
getting the toe, getting the heel, getting defind the laws
of physics to put Indiana ahead. The defense seals it
at the extreme end, a twenty seven to twenty four
win over Penn State. AU retains its number two ranking
in the country. Undefeated, with two winnable regular season games

(00:52):
coming up, it feels like both Indiana Ohio State are
on a crash course for the Big Ten title game.
Matt and I gonna give our raw, unfiltered, you know,
forty hours later reaction to what we saw in Happy
Valley on Saturday. We wanted to go Sunday, but then
we were like, physically and mentally, we need to we

(01:17):
need to recover. We need twenty four hours. Yeah, and
so we're gonna rock and roll here Penn State recap.
We'll talk a little big picture, we'll talk a little Wisconsin. Yeah,
they're coming on Saturday after beating Washington, and we'll talk
about all of that and so much more here. On

(01:38):
episode three five five of The Hoosier Sound, where We
are the official podcast of Indiana HQ, recording this edition
of the Hoosier Sound on Monday, November tenth, twenty twenty five.
And here I am your host, Nathan Christian with my
normal co host, Matt Luken's Matt. We're gonna keep this

(02:00):
episode football focused. You and I talked. We'll release another
one related to men's basketball, also in the in the
in the in the hours Days to Come. Football twenty seven,
twenty four ten and zero, first ever win at Penn State,
A roller coaster fourth quarter for the Ages. Omar Cooper's

(02:22):
catch will be framed in bars and restaurants and nursing
homes everywhere. I mean, wow, I don't know what to say.
I'll let you kick things off and then I'll feed
off of that unbelievable epic went on Saturday against the
Nidney Allons.

Speaker 2 (02:41):
I just want you all to know that if I
pass out dead, it's not it's not because you know,
I drink a ton. It's not because.

Speaker 1 (02:51):
No no viral, no bacterial, it's no no viral.

Speaker 2 (02:55):
H it's this damn football team that's doing it to me. Okay,
they gave me a heart attack. I aged about seven
years in that second half. First half was fine. First half, yeah,
it look great. Second half they cut second half they
come out and I remember I was talking about dad.
My dad goes, you know, you know, they always make

(03:18):
halftime adjustments to come out in the second half.

Speaker 1 (03:20):
Great.

Speaker 2 (03:20):
I'm like, I know, it's like consistently during the Signetti era,
you know, the second half is when we really put
our foot on the throat of opponents and really take
off right their will, especially especially in that third quarter,
almost almost like Warrior, you know, prime Warriors esque, where
you just have that third quarter avalanche and then by

(03:40):
the time that the will of the team is, the
opposing team is just dead and gone by the last
fifteen minutes of the game. And Penn State just kind
of choked us out in that third quarter. They had
two long, like long drives, you know, it took up
a ton of time and and they made it a

(04:02):
really close game. And then in the fourth random Mendoza
throws an actually pretty excusable pick, like that was just
a really good play from the safety. I think the
ball placement was a little bit bad, but that that
safety covered so much ground and so little time and
I and I do think that some people are missing

(04:22):
the point of this game. There's gonna be people that
are gonna be disappointed that we were in a close
game with Penn State. And to them, I say, you
might be right. Honestly, you might be right.

Speaker 1 (04:31):
You can you can defend it.

Speaker 2 (04:33):
But I but, but I but I say one, winning
on the road to the Big Ten is hard for anybody.
Ask Washington.

Speaker 1 (04:42):
Washington went to.

Speaker 2 (04:43):
A hapless Wisconsin and got and it got destroyed. You
know outside of you know, Ohio State, who looks like
a juggernaut. Everybody in the Big Ten or Oregon just
showed you exactly what Indiana did at Iowa, where they
went into Iowa and had to fight for their lives
to make it out of there. Right, like and and

(05:05):
in an a normal year, in any under under normal circumstances,
going into Happy Valley and getting a win Happy Valley
is almost, if not more impressive than going to Oregon
and winning and outs right, yeah, I mean and any
normal circumstances, just.

Speaker 1 (05:20):
For a little thing back and forth there, Like I
don't want to sweep this because I see a few
people do this, Like, I don't want to sweep this
win under it's hard to win on the road, because
like for Indiana outside, it's not just hard like I
don't for Indiana, it's not hard to win on the road.

(05:42):
For Indiana, it's easy to win on the road. For
for Ohio State, it's easy to win on the road.
It's not it's hard to win at Penn State when
you have one hundred and five thousand people going absolutely nuts,
feeding off of a team that they see in front
of them, Penn State team that they see in front
of them, that for the first time in six weeks,

(06:06):
is playing with soul. They're playing with spirit, They're playing
with passion, they believe in theirselfs Penn State is taking
two months worth of anger and frustration and depression and
disappointment and unleashing it on Indiana in the fourth quarter
there in a big noon game where gust And and

(06:28):
Joel Clatter are on the call and you're you're fighting
for your undefeated season against that. So this is not
South Carolina. This is not Texas, you know Texas on
the road. This is not a team facing a team
like Georgia Tech on the road. Okay, this is Penn

(06:48):
State where they are channeling all of that everything that
has gone on there for the last six weeks and
putting it into not just the game, because Indiana was
fine for three quarters. Like you said, it was the end.
It was the fourth quarter when they were pressuring Mendoza,
sacking Mendoza, picking off Mendoza. The offense for Penn State

(07:12):
is moving the ball down the field with Granka Meyer
and with those wide receivers, and with the running game
with Singleton and the receiving game with Singleton. Yeah, it's
not just winning on the road is hard. It is
that situation. It's that environment because that was absolutely bonkers.

Speaker 2 (07:34):
Man, and Indiana shows up and shows the heart of
a champion. Emerson, I think, in the single most important
moment in the history of the football program, has the
most legendary eighty eight yard drive you could possibly have.

Speaker 1 (07:50):
I think you're right there.

Speaker 2 (07:55):
It is not possible to have a better drive than
what they put together there. I mean, everything that could
possibly go on in a two minute drill happened on
that drive other than a turnover, right like literally everything
you had. You had a sack to start the drive,

(08:15):
then you have multiple thirty yard plays, you have a
you have an incredible catch by Charlie Becker, who will
talk about at some point. Yeah, because we have a
he's going to be a very good college football player
at I'm gonna be insane and insane catch by Charlie Becker.
You have a tipped ball, but that doesn't get talked about.

(08:35):
I've listened to so many podcasts. No one talks about
the fact that game was over. If the Penn State
safety doesn't slip, that game is over. That tipped ball.
And then Indiana scores a touchdown, but Penn State's coach
somehow gets a timeout off just in time not to
ice to play.

Speaker 1 (08:56):
Yeah, people forget about that too. That people forget about
that too.

Speaker 2 (09:00):
And then Mendoza throws the ball while getting tackled by
two people. And then Omar Cooper jumps basically at at
rim height of basketball catch, catches the ball, and somehow
manages to get his foot down and bounds. I know
the slow motion makes it look crazy, but watching that

(09:20):
in real time, there's a camera angle of one of
the IU social media put out, the camera angle of
the closest live camera. He is flying out of bounds.
I don't know how how somebody's feet move that quickly
in mid air.

Speaker 1 (09:39):
Body control. It's not it's out of a movie. It's
out of a movie. Like you literally, you would only
expect that to come out of like a Netflix movie
or Disney movie for football, you know, like you literally, Friday.

Speaker 2 (09:52):
I'm watching whatever, Like if I'm watching Chad Powers, if
I'm watching Chad Powers on Showtime, and and and and
and you know, and and uh and I see that happen, Like.

Speaker 1 (10:05):
You know, I'm like, this is a stake. This script
is not real. There's no way, especially when you know
the backstory of Omar Cooper, which caught a lot of
uh sort of fire as after I tweeted it out
on Saturday. Just as far as sticking with the program, yeah,
a lot, going through a lot over the last two
three years, committing to Tom Allen, stink to the coaching change.

(10:27):
I think an underrated aspect is after a good season
last year, elijahster At and Omark came back well well,
and Omar Cooper could have left. He could have been like, well,
I don't want to be the two here. I can
go be the one elsewhere in this day and age
of college football, Like you might, you might look back
and go, why would Omar Cooper leave? That would be
ridiculous because bags are flying everywhere in college football, and

(10:50):
if he wants to be the wide receiver one somewhere,
like he could have been that guy, just like Kylon
Black could have been the number one running back in
another school. Just like Riley Noa Kafi or Holden States
could have been the number one tight end at any
other school like they could have left Man and Omar
Cooper has been so loyal to Indiana for many years now,

(11:15):
for several years now, I think you know, three four
seasons at this point, and for him to make that
catch in a game where he was covered well for
the vast duration of the sixty minutes, I'm looking at
the fourth corner and I'm going Omar Cooper has like
three catches for three yards. I think that was the

(11:37):
extent of what he had until the last drive or
the second to last drive. I mean, Zion Tracy, the
Penn State corner was doing a great job limiting the
looks because sarrats out, so they know Penn State's a
smart team. They know, Okay Cooper, he's gonna be the
primary point of emphasis, and they took him away. So
now you're throwing the EJ. Williams and Charlie Becker and

(11:58):
their Penn State defenders flying in your face. All the
guys they got all the hype preseason, Donny Dennis Sutton
and Zachie Wheatley and all these players that.

Speaker 2 (12:08):
To see what I was going to say, like it.

Speaker 1 (12:11):
All and you did it. You had to adjust for
all of that on the fly, because whether or not
it's a good thing or a bad thing. Indiana had
a twenty to seven lead, and I'm sitting there and
I'm going, all they have to do is punch in
the ball across the goal line once to make this

(12:32):
a seventeen point game. More time. Just make it a
seventeen point game, whether it's twenty four to seven or
I think there was a chance to make it twenty
seven to ten. I'm sitting here and I'm like, all
you gotta do? You just you make it seventeen and
you and it's the straw that breaks the camel's back.
I mean, that's all you have to do. All of
a sudden, Grunkemeer sprays the ball everywhere, you get your takeaways.

(12:53):
You closed the game out just like you did against Maryland,
or you know, Michigan State or whoever else this season,
but they never did. And now you're saying there going,
oh my god, I mean the catch is insane. Mendoza
was awesome, like I guess, just like zooming out for

(13:13):
my immediate like after sleeping on it a couple of times,
like for me, like zooming out even for like we'll
talk about the catch like in a second, but like
at the end of the day, zooming out, Like I

(13:34):
sat here and I said, you know what, this this
is why, this is why America has gone head over
heels for college football. Yeah, this isn't the NFL, it's
not the NBA, this isn't college basketball like that. It's

(13:54):
it's mad, it's chaos, it's insanity, and it's actually like
this is AFT. I had to sleep on it a
couple times.

Speaker 2 (14:04):
But like.

Speaker 1 (14:07):
There's a lot of noise right with NIL and portal
and realignment, and you know SEC is better than the
Big ten. Big ten is better than the SEC. The
CFP rankings, Oh this team, how could you rank them?
How could you not rank them? Are the people even
watching the sport? I mean you have a you have

(14:29):
gambling investigations going on right now, right whether it's baseball
or whatever else. You know, like you got the sports
books influencing things. Then you got you got just a
lot of nasty You got a lot of nasty noise
in the sport TV contracts. I gotta find the game

(14:51):
on peacock. I gotta go. And you know, the time
in the game is weird, right, Oh why are we?
Why are we kicking off at you know, not eight
thirty pm? Like, why are we kicking off here? Who
hasn't for the fourth quarter of that game on Saturday?
College football was stripped down to exactly why people cannot

(15:15):
get enough of the sport. Yeah, that's it. It was
all the other clutter disappeared. Everything else disappeared. If you want,
like all you gotta do. And like I don't know
if if if just if the fourth quarter is available
ease easily for people in the public, but like if

(15:39):
you have the Big ten plus subscription, because right IU,
men's basketball, volleyball, whatever's playing right now, men's soccer, and
you have the Big ten plus, all these football games
are available full game, Like I don't know if it
will pop up anywhere else, but like, just just watch
the fourth quarter. Just watch the fourth quarter. You don't
you don't see, you don't see annoying you don't see

(16:01):
annoying ads read by Gus Johnson for stupid TV shows
you don't see, you know, commercials for you know, sports
books and this and that and whatever else, just like
interfering with the game. The coaches did such a great
job for both teams. I mean, I tip my cap

(16:22):
to Penn State here, Like it's hard when things aren't
The biggest testament to you as a person or as
a football program is how you do in tough times,
in moments of adversity. And all they did at Penn
State on Saturday, and the adversity hit them even in

(16:43):
the middle of the game, you're down by two touchdowns.
You could have thrown the white you could have thrown
it in. You could have waved the white flag, you
could have packed, you could have waved the white flag.
And like they just kept fighting. And Terry smith Man,
I don't know if like Penn State's not going to
hire him full time, Like if they do well, yeah
they're not gonna. But wherever Terry smith goes next that program,

(17:05):
maybe he stays with Penn State. He's a Penn Stater
in his past, but like maybe if like Penn State's
number one job after hiring their head coach should be
retaining Penn State, retaining Terry Smith in some capacity, because
ing Terry Smith Terry Smith in some capacity Ethan Grunkameyer
man like that guy. I don't know, Penn State's not
gonna have him as QB one next year. They're not.

(17:27):
But whatever team goes out there and get I mean
maybe they will, but whatever team goes out there and
gets it, I mean when kurtz Signetti compliments you postgame,
Like individually, Kurt Signetti said glowing things about one Penn
State player post game, and it was the quarterback. Okay,
Grunka Meyer in that second half was doing all the

(17:47):
right things. And Matt like we'll transition to the catch here,
like even at the end when Omar Cooper catches that touchdown.
You know, Like what caught my attention this morning is
that I'm watching that fourth quarter again. I'm just like,
the camera work was amazing, Right, you have the angle
right on the back the back end of the goal line.
You see exactly, there's no confusion, there's no confusion, there's

(18:11):
no clutter. The Fox people attention to detail, like the
camera people on the back line got it right, and
then you had the camera from the opposite angle on
the back of the on the back of the end zone,
that got it right. I mean this like, not the
rest the back judge, who's right there.

Speaker 2 (18:33):
That's what I was going to say, exactly, he got
it right.

Speaker 1 (18:36):
I'm not whining. I didn't. I didn't even think about
the refs on Saturday, especially at the end, especially at
the end. No, in the in the biggest moment of
the game, in the biggest moment of the game, in
the biggest moment of the college football season, we have
to we we don't have to talk about the officials.

(18:57):
There's no controversy.

Speaker 2 (19:00):
In fact, we can compliment them.

Speaker 1 (19:01):
We can compliment that unbelievable job by the back judge.
I mean, the weather was amazing, the atmosphere was amazing.
The players, the coaches, they all did an amazing job.
You know what it was about on Saturday, Man, it
was just about pride. It was just about winning a
game for Indiana, was keeping that undefeated season going. For
Penn State, it was finding that hallmark, landmark moment in

(19:24):
a difficult season, and Penn State man they play Michigan
State on Saturday. Oh Man, Spartans. The Spartans are for
a real I don't know, maybe we'll disagree on this later.
I feel like Penn State's gonna run with it on
Saturday against Michigan State. But like in a nutshell, my
main headline, Matt is this is what college football is about.

(19:47):
And everyone else who wants to get their hands in
the mix here, they want to influence the sport. Pull
it in this direction, pull it in that direction. That
game on Saturday is why you watch the sport. That's it.

Speaker 2 (20:00):
Yeah, No, you're right, You're one hundred percent right. In fact,
I don't think you've ever been more right about a
single thing on this podcast.

Speaker 1 (20:10):
But that that soliloquy was perfect.

Speaker 2 (20:13):
Yeah, I mean it was all eyes were on that's it,
not Bloomington, but all eyes were on that game because
that first window really sucks. And look, to be honest,
half people that listen to this podcast and most people
out there have YouTube TV yep, right, and they can't
even watch the ESPN games they wanted to, right, and
so they're they're stuck.

Speaker 1 (20:34):
With Man, did I really miss a lot of quality
SEC action and ACC action? On Saturday. Wow, man, I
really regret that. Wow, geez, I could have watched I
could and DJ Lackway getting benched. I could have watched
Virginia Room. I could watch Virginia and Louell Louis blow games.

Speaker 2 (20:57):
That's fun. I'm gonna be honest talking sport being fair
like that's that's fun. That's fun.

Speaker 1 (21:03):
That's fun.

Speaker 2 (21:04):
Uh, the SEC action was not fun anyways. Besides fun, No,
I mean, just the perfect moment, perfect plays for the
perfect moment, and you know, you probably play out that
end of the game probably about one hundred times. I
think that that outcome happens zero times. Like you know,
it was just an unbelievable sort of just other worldly

(21:31):
coming together of karma and years and years and years
of luck and and and and and for it's to
be the first victory for this IU program at in
Happy Valley. The way and that's the way you do it.
And you think about the first time you beat Penn

(21:51):
State and how you beat them, and then the last
time you beat Penn State and how you beat them
with Mike Pennix, right, and it's just like I you
does not win normal games against Penn State.

Speaker 1 (22:03):
Ever, and Uh, yeah, that's what's almost said, like incredible,
Penn State is two centimeters away from having two more
wins against.

Speaker 2 (22:13):
Yeah, exactly precisely. But the other thing I want to
say with this you you alluded it to it earlier. Again,
I've seen a lot of people discrediting you for for
being in this closest game with Penn State. Again, you
talked about the crowd being in it. But you know
that Penn State team, their season came down to can

(22:34):
we salvage it at all by beating the number two
team in the country. Remember they started the season preseason
ranked number two, and they had that number one, Like
I mean, there were polls that had like number one.

Speaker 1 (22:49):
They at least got number one votes. No, you're absolutely right.

Speaker 2 (22:52):
Yeah they did. Yeah, and they they started and they
said this should be us, right, and and we're going
to show the college football world. We we had a
rough go of it. We lost our coach, we lost
confidence ourselves. You know, Terry Smith comes in picks us
back up. We're really the number two team in the country.
We just had a terrible season.

Speaker 1 (23:11):
And and it's like, hey, Indiana, if you think you're
so good, you'll win this way You'll win it this way.
You're not gonna win by beating US forty five to seven.
You're gonna win it this way. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (23:22):
And those players you talked about earlier, the the the
I did a suns and and and and and.

Speaker 1 (23:28):
The rest, I mean the entire I mean out.

Speaker 2 (23:32):
That defense is loaded. That defense is loaded. That defense
is still so very inconsistent, and I don't I don't
think their defensive coordinator is all that could to be.

Speaker 1 (23:44):
Honesty, King mac don delude.

Speaker 2 (23:48):
You know, those those guys good, They're so good, and
they finally, for the first time this year, really put
it all together. I think played their first complete real
game against Indiana. I don't think it helped that Indiana was,
you know, really struggling on the offensive line with injuries
and such and and and we need to get that fixed.

(24:08):
But either way, I mean, they really showed up and
and they they fought, and they they played like that
team that we thought they would be preseason. Of course
they don't have Jialer, but they also were airing it
out down the field, didn't do withal They were being
multi dimensional on offense, which is not something that Penn
State has done all year, and they were trying to
do different things, and and and and actually stretch defense

(24:31):
at which is again that's all they've done all year.
And and I fought through all that and still found
a way to win. And that is all that matters
at the end of the day. You know, if you're
going to win a championship, you're going to fight for
a Big Ten championship, you're gonna fight for a national
title birth or a national championship. You're gonna have to
win games like this. You just do. Even the best

(24:54):
teams in the the entire sport. You think, you go
and think back to like the Joe Burrow twenty iteen
LSU team. Then they steam rolled almost every single opponent.
They still had games like this where they had to
go down to the wire against teams they probably should
beat and they Ohio State team. Ohio State team lost twice. Right, Yeah,

(25:17):
you're going to lose games that College football has never
been closer. I mean, there's never been as much parody
as there is now in the sport. And so yeah,
I mean you're going to have games like this and
and and in one of the hardest environments to play
in the Big Ten. I guess the team with all

(25:38):
of you know, basically not even just back against the wall.
They they have no backs. They they're fighting with all
the way they rolled off their shoulders, right they there's
no pressure on them at all. There's no pressure at all.
And so again, yeah, I mean absolutely just an incredible, incredible,
incredible victory and one that I hope I don't ever

(26:02):
have to fuck freaking live through again. Uh well, then
I never have to, you know again.

Speaker 1 (26:09):
That there's you know, there's gonna be those that are
listening in, there's gonna be another thing. I know.

Speaker 2 (26:14):
But for those of you just listening in and aren't
super familiar with the podcast. I live in China. This
game started at one in the morning, and I had
to work the next day, right I I I went
to bed early, woke up at one am, watched the
whole game, and then I didn't go to sleep afterwards,
because you can't there's no way. I'm still sick from it.

(26:36):
I couldn't sleep. I was too fired up about what
I just saw with my own eyes. I could not
believe what I witnessed with my own eyes. And this
is you know, and I'm I think I've said this
about seventeen times in the last two years. But I
remember sitting there, you know, in the band, watching watching Rutgers,

(26:59):
you know, come back from twenty eight down in the
third quarter to win a game in Memorial Stadium. I
remember being in the band traveling to Michigan State to
watch us get our teeth kicked in. I remember going
to Ohio State and pretending like we were gonna make
it spooky for two quarters and then knowing that, you know,

(27:19):
we're gonna get him a bus and have to drive
back three hours to Bloomington, sad because we lost a
game by fifty, Like and how far this pro how
far this program has come? That I went into this
game going, I'm kind of scared of Penn State, but
I think we're gonna win. And and and the performance
that they put on, and the fight that they showed
in the heart of the champion that they displayed, and

(27:44):
to cap it all off, how fired up Siggas after
the game And you know, you kind of catch it
on the TV after they do the interview with him.
They do the interview with him and he walks off.

Speaker 1 (27:56):
He goes.

Speaker 2 (27:58):
Like, you know, that was out, that was that was
that was all of us, right. That was everybody who
were like what just happened?

Speaker 1 (28:07):
Right? And and the.

Speaker 2 (28:09):
Team fought for you know, each other and the coaching
staff and and the future of the season. And they
had each other arm in arm. The defense, you know,
shows up right when we need them to.

Speaker 1 (28:22):
They hadn't been.

Speaker 2 (28:23):
Playing well all day really, and they get the much
needed stop to get the ball back, you know, with
our last time out in the two minute warning and
just by the by teeth and nails, just just barely
scraping by. Such an incredible game this program is. It's

(28:47):
it's such a privilege to follow them and be a
fan of them. And it's such a good story. And
speaking of good stories, I think we need we need
to talk about talk about Charlie Becker.

Speaker 1 (28:59):
Right, We'll do that.

Speaker 2 (29:00):
We've made it this far, yeah, go ahead, right here, Matt,
we have we haven't made it this far, and we
haven't made it We've made it far without really talking
about it too.

Speaker 1 (29:08):
They are about seven more things I need to talk about,
and we wanted to keep this to forty minutes. That's
not happening. But first, what I'm gonna do is tell
you on the week, and I U sports this past
week and right now, Matt, I mean, right now we
are in the utopia zone for Indiana Athletics. I mean,

(29:28):
how about the unbelievable field hockey team this year. You know,
just an incredible season. Emma Thompson selects the all tournament
team into Big Ten. We're gonna have a men's basketball
episode coming up two and oh. I mean, you know,
we got we got a lot to talk about there
in a different episode that we do. Wrestling team is
number twenty so much season opening up here, Men's soccer

(29:51):
about to kick off NCAA tournament play women's soccer. Did
you know did really good things this year? The women's
basketball team off to a two and oh start. Chase
Sky's averaging like thirty a game, absolutely balling out as
a scoring guard. Yeah, I mean, just an amazing Uh
you know. Iye, volleyball teams rolling tough loss at Wisconsin,
but they had they had their historic win at Penn State. Uh,

(30:15):
you know, in the last week, there's just an epic
victory for Steve Aired's team as they get ready for
the tournament. So it's just all there's a lot, there's
a lot going well right now as far as uh,
as far as Indian Athletics is concerned, as someone tweeted,
I think was who's your commiss tweeted out this week?
Uh maybe on Saturday yesterday on Sunday, Scott Dolson, you

(30:36):
have done it again, I mean he just like everything
as far as the flex department largely is humming along.
So shout out to all those folks who won the
week this past week and I use sports folks are reminder,
if you enjoy our show, leave us a review, tell
a friend, share our links. Your support really helps us

(30:56):
grow this podcast and reach more passionate I you fans
such as yourself again, you can find us on social
media at Indiana HQ. We're at the Hoosier Sound. The
masses are growing, the followers are coming. People are sharing, retweeting,
liking our stuff. Make sure you join the forces if
you have not already. If you have followed us, you
know again retweet like our stuff. Also, let others know

(31:17):
you know we're one stop shop for IU sports. Here,
no agendas, no frills, stick to facts, you know, the
real stuff, like give us a follow. We won't steer
you wrong here, you know, join the joint, you know,
just keep growing our numbers. There's a lot to talk about, Matt.
We're not going to rehash to catch much longer. Omar Cooper.

(31:37):
You guys all know what happened there. You know the backstory, Cooper.
You know the toe, the toe tap, the heel tap,
whatever you want to call it, just everything there. There
are a few other things we have to sort of
get through here as far as the Penn State game
is concerned, Matt, you started off with Charlie Becker seven catches,

(32:00):
one hundred and eighteen yards sophomore from Nashville, Tennessee this,
you know, Matt like the way I see it. Kurt
Signetty loves the transfer portal. He really does right and
he's done a great job using it wisely to help
both sides of the football. Whether it's bringing over JMU

(32:21):
guys or if you look at bringing over Kurtish Chorker,
Fernando Mendoza, whether it's guys in the trenches like Pat Coogan,
CJ Wes steven Daily, they're a lot. There's a lot there, right.
I feel like Matt on this team, whatever budget you
used or you have planned for the portal this upcoming offseason,

(32:46):
you've got to allocate a larger chunk of that budget
to retaining some of these guys next season, cause the
phone calls are already flying. There are programs out there
that sure as hell know that Charlie Becker is an
emerging wide receiver, that Kobe Martin is an emerging running back,
that Adia Johnny is an emerging offensive lineman. Like programs

(33:09):
all across America know that these guys are rolling a
Cayden Turner at linebacker, right, Isaiah Jones and Elijah Hardy
at linebacker. The corners that are emerging as well, the
safeties Byron Baldwin. He's gonna get phone either. They're they're
gonna try to poach it. Charlie Becker seven catches one

(33:30):
hundred eighteen yards. He's doing his Cooper Cup in his
prime impression out there at the at the Beaver Stadium.
Did you see that the Beaver Stadium field. I don't
remember who the sponsor was on that field, but we're
just gonna call it the Beaver Stadium field in State College.

(33:51):
You know, I was not expecting Charlie Becker to be
this splashy, this effective in twenty twenty five. There were
signs though, even going back to Indiana State, going back

(34:14):
even as recently as the Maryland game, with that fifty
yard catch and run that he had, that there was
something noticeable here as far as a weapon that could
be an impact. And I I just I watched that
game on Saturday, and I said, is is he? Is he? Like?

(34:40):
Is he just as good? Like? Is he? Next up?
Like elijahster Rat and Omar Cooper and EJ. Williams of
the deserved top three right on the depth chart, is
Charlie Becker just as good?

Speaker 2 (34:53):
Matt try Becker could definitely give EJ. Williams run for
his money. And I like EJ. Williams, let me. I mean,
it's just good to have depth. I mean, it's good
to have depth at at least one position on this team,
right like, and this team actually has pretty decent depth overall.

Speaker 1 (35:14):
I think, I don't know, I gotta look, I gotta
you know what, That's my homework for this week. I'm
gonna dig into the depth more because I feel like,
I feel like Indiana is okay, especially after the last
couple of weeks, like emerging, some of these pieces are emerging.
I don't know, I gotta look that up. Good point.

Speaker 2 (35:30):
I mean you say, uh, Signety likes the transfer portal. Yeah,
and he does, I mean obviously, but I think he's
had to use it in Indiana. I don't think that's
necessarily the way he wants to build teams, right. I
think if you look at what Tom Allen left him
with and what he brought in from JMU, I mean,

(35:53):
he's gonna bring in his guys, right, but you know,
he looked what he was left with at IU. Mean,
some of those guys turned out fantastic. Some of them
left and came back and are fantastic right now. And
Lewis Moore and and and.

Speaker 1 (36:07):
Some of them left and are getting three interceptions for
UCF on Friday night in Philip Dunham see that.

Speaker 2 (36:14):
I mean, look, Tom Tom Allen left his team with
a decent amount of talent, but not in in specific positions.
There wasn't a ton of talent at quarterback that was
left over, especially after you know, you know you know,
or or that we really wanted look you know, or say.

Speaker 1 (36:36):
I guess re litigate this stuff. Actually, you and I
don't have much of a problem with Tom Allen. Our
biggest thing with Tom Allen where it was his assistant
coach choices, is it? Yeah?

Speaker 2 (36:47):
Is this isn't coach choices or just bad. But you know,
I I think I think what I'm trying to sit
here is I think Signetti wants guys like Charlie Becker,
Like I, he wants to develop guys that His whole
stick for forever has been finding guys that are undervalued
at their position or their talent level or maybe you know,

(37:08):
you know in Alabama it was guys that were like
top tier talents, right, but finding guys have top tier
talent and and helping them flourish. He was known as
a guy that developed players for the longest time. Right.
You look at all all the guys from JMU he
helped develop, except for Surat Sarat came from from uh St. Francis.

(37:32):
Yeah right, my mom's all the water actually, but you
know it came from Saint Saint Francis. But other than that,
all of those guys he recruited to JMU and developed
them there and then brought them to Deanna and continued
to develop them like he wants to develop players. And
so the Charlie Becker thing doesn't surprise me at all,

(37:53):
Like it in fact, It's about about dang time, right,
It's about time that we start seeing some of the
guy is that that you know, you know either signed
with Tom Allen and stayed with Signetti or signed with
Signetti and and and have stayed even though they haven't
had a starting role, kind of step up and show
a bit of promise. And I think Charlie Becker is

(38:14):
the first of many to do that.

Speaker 1 (38:16):
So good. Let's just go rapid fire through some of
the other things that I had flagged from this Penn
State game met that you know, your espns and your
Foxes and your cbs is don't have enough time to
talk about. So my next, uh my next guy that
I have listed here is Elijah Hardy twelve.

Speaker 2 (38:35):
Tackles, so good sach.

Speaker 1 (38:38):
Our biggest question mark for this entire football team coming
into this season was what happens with the other linebacker
next to Aiden Fisher.

Speaker 2 (38:52):
Yep, Like Aiden Fisher's answered.

Speaker 1 (38:56):
With like two guys plus some I Meanijah Harvey Bones Jones.

Speaker 2 (39:02):
I'm wondering. I'm wondering what next year is going to
be like with these guys. But they get another year
in the system.

Speaker 1 (39:07):
Because Cayden Turner got the pick against Maryland Uttsinger Jeff
Utzinger had a big tackle on special teams. I don't
know if he's a safety linebacker, but like he had
a big tackle on special teams against Penn State on
on Saturday. Like, wow, Elijah Hardy is looking every bit

(39:28):
of an NFL linebacker out there. I mean the size,
the speed, the athleticism. Forget the box score which shows
the twelve tackles in the sack. He did an outstanding
job limiting Penn State's great running game to three yards
of carry three three and a half yards of carry

(39:50):
and that was even I mean, and it was really
like two yards of carry until Singleton ripped off the
sixty yard or in the fourth quarter. Mm hmmm. There
was a stretch there for about three and a half
quarters where Penn State had like twenty eight carries for
fifty six rushing yards, and Rolijah Hardy was a significant
part of that. If you're a national voice covering college football,

(40:15):
get yourself familiar, get familiar with speaking Rolijah Hardy. That
is how you will express high IQ when talking about
Indiana football. Once they get into the Big Ten Championship
game in the cfp Aiden Fisher was back mat and
he looked awesome. I mean, he wasn't the headliner. He

(40:35):
was whatever else. I mean, just I need to continue
giving him credit because for some reason, even in the preseason,
it was like Kamara and Ponds are the best players
on this defense, and Aiden Fisher's right there. First start
of the season. Is Aiden Fisher doing this? Is Aiden
Fisher doing that in addition to the leadership, which, by
the way, even when he didn't play against Maryland, he

(40:57):
was showing that on a consistent basis for the entire
already of the sixty minutes on the sideline, just balling out,
balling out of linebacker, pressuring the quarterback, limiting those explosive plays.
Was awesome to see. No Drew Ebans, as you said,
Matt Adia, Johnny left guard. I know there was a
lot of pressure in Mendoza's face. Are you good with

(41:19):
the Johnny over Mahalsky until Drew Evans comes back.

Speaker 2 (41:25):
Yeah, I think I am. But they need to work
on some communication. Uh, there's a lot of If you
watch the game back, which I did because it was
so much fun, Yeah, a lot of a lot of
miscommunication on the left side of the line, So a
lot of miscommunity, a lot of missed blocks, a lot
of missed uh, missed assignments.

Speaker 1 (41:45):
Right.

Speaker 2 (41:46):
Again, this is what happens when you're you know, like
the the thing about offensive line, right. And I think
a lot of you know this because you're educated football
fans at this point, but uh, I mean it's just
because you know, we're we're in the thick of college
football now. But you know, they work as a unit, right,

(42:07):
and so when you when you start losing pieces of
the unit and the communication gets shaky, and people aren't
ashore with a certain assignments, and you know, they don't
have a ton of experience playing with each other and
knowing their weaknesses and the strengths of the people you
know standing but the butt next to you right literally
cheek the cheek. So you know, I like, uh, you

(42:30):
gotta gotta give them time. And I don't you know,
on an away game in Happy Valley against that defense that
he was playing with so much fire and passion for
their for their coach, right, for one of their defensive
you know assistants, right, You know, that's a tough ask
and and I thought he did an okay job. I

(42:53):
think overall, as a team, they kind of played their
C game, right, maybe C minus Sea game C plus
somewhere in the seas they played a sea game. I agree,
And I think Penn State played maybe their best game
of the year outside of the Oregon game. And uh yeah,

(43:18):
it's just different.

Speaker 1 (43:19):
A way to win.

Speaker 2 (43:20):
It's it's different circumstances. But just this I speaking of different.
This IU team is just different. They're just different. They're
just different.

Speaker 1 (43:27):
No, for sure, I noted here Fernando uh Mendoza's wheels,
his mobility looks like early in the game, Mike Shanahan
and Signetty like getting him going on the ground just
I don't know, maybe settle down, the the juice, the
the wind up, you know. Yeah, I'm sure. I'm sure
Mendoza's I don't think it's that or he's just mobile.

Speaker 2 (43:48):
I don't, I don't, I know, I don't think it's
that either. I think they want to put the fear
of God and the other team that he can run
for fifteen yards at any given time, right, because then
then is a defense. You're sitting there on the sideline
after you know he runs in the you know the score, like, well, now,
I guess you got to keep a linebacker you know

(44:09):
in the over the right, you gotta keep it. You
got a spy right, no, like you got to look
out if they're in this formation, like you know he's
gonna there's a chance he just tucks and runs right,
So you guys got to be prepared for that. It
just adds another layer of them to the offense that
the the other team has to prepare for.

Speaker 1 (44:27):
And then you know, on the offshoot of that. Though,
to me, Matt is this like our main are instant
reaction once Mendoza committed to Indiana out of the portal
from cal was that he is. He is not the
same as Kurdish Work in the sense of you get

(44:47):
two extra things with Mendoza that you do not get
with Kurdish Work. You get the mobility, you get more mobility,
especially with Work playing with a knee injury last year.
And then the second thing is you get you get
a couple of errat throws, a couple of questionable decisions
every game that Curtis Work didn't have an issue with.
Just as far as what we've talked about, right, Mendoza

(45:09):
taking a couple of sacks against Penn State, Mendoza throwing
those fourth quarter iron t's against Iowa, against Oregon, against
Penn State. Yeah, all three, all three eurogame. You're gonna
get that, and to me, sign me up every day
of the week. Sign me up. Give me the quarterback
that throws the occasional interception because he is pushing the

(45:30):
ball down the field. He's got the talent to squeeze
the ball into tight windows, throw it accurately, throw it,
which strength into into elevating this offense to another level.
Give me a quarterback that has the mobility, even if
it means he takes an extra sack or two, even
if it means, you know, he invites a little pressure,
invites a little contact. Obviously, don't want Mendoza to stay
injured or to get injured, but you know, get that

(45:52):
extra level of dynamic play, you get that extra level
of playmaker. That's exactly want to see out of Mendoza.
And then all I'm gonna say is I just want
to reiterate this point that I made at the top.
This is not this you know it's it is hard
to win on the road. This was different. This was

(46:15):
an entirely different atmosphere, entirely different environment. Is one of
one situation, moment opportunity. This is not the same as
a road game against South Carolina, road game against Kansas State,
or Baylor road game against Georgia Tech or Cal or Duke. Okay,

(46:35):
this is freaking Penn State with everything on the line,
and Indiana, Indiana found it, found a way. I I felt,
I felt like Indiana. So just to give you a
lens into how I watch games, I sat here, and uh,

(46:57):
I like I thought, Indiana was in pretty good shape
late in the game at Iowa, Okay, I I never
I I look, I could have won that game. Obviously
they win probably with seventy eighty percent in the fourth quarter.
But like I say, here and I said, Indiana at

(47:19):
least has answers, right. You have Sarata on the field,
you have Cooper on the field. You have Mendoza who
can make some big throws in tough environments and nice
weather in Iowa City. I sat here and I said,
you know what, like Indiana even against Ohio State last year,

(47:40):
I sat there and I said, you know what, if
Indiana plays a clean fourth quarter, you can make the
buck guys nervous. Never ended up happening. But I said,
I said, if you play a clean fourth quarter, you
can make the buck guys nervous. The buck Guys have
fourteen points because a special team's errors on Indiana's part.
Indiana can make this happen. Yeah, I did not feel

(48:00):
its Saturday against Penn State. Man at the end of
that game, Nope, I was I. I was ready to
sort of see the headline, see the reports, see the
postgame recaps. Penn State gets there, gets there, you know,
memorable win of the season, their statement win of the season,
fighting through adversity, twenty four to twenty over Indiana. The

(48:23):
Hoosiers just didn't have it. But the Hoosiers will still
make the Big Ten Championship game. The Hoosiers still make
the college football playoffs. Just your nine and one instead
of ten and oh. I I didn't see it, especially
after that first down sack, But Indiana made it happen.
And now the Hoosiers are ten and oh going into
the game against Wisconsin. The Badgers are are a probably

(48:49):
are are in are in the thick of a rough season.
They did have a win over washington't say that they
did have a win over Washington on Saturday, But the
Hoosias will take on Wisconsin Saturday at noon. Indiana's a
thirty and a half point favorite. I hope this scoready

(49:11):
thirty and a half point favorite. The Badgers are three
and six. Of course, Indiana can't take any team with
the losing record for granted, you can't do that.

Speaker 2 (49:21):
You after last week, no one button it up.

Speaker 1 (49:26):
We'll talk about this Wisconsin game for a sec here
and give you a pick or two of the week
as far as the Big Ten is concerned. In just
a sec real quick though, social media shout out, folks
are mind. If you enjoy our show, leave us a review,
tell a friend, share links. That kind of support really
helps us grow this podcast and reach some passionate I
you fans such as yourself Matt on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube,

(49:50):
we are INDIANAHQ and nott the hoo's your sound on Instagram,
We're not Indiana HQ. But what are we?

Speaker 2 (49:55):
Indiana dot HQ.

Speaker 1 (49:57):
You can find us there, so Matt, like I mentioned
just a moment ago, Indiana is a thirty and a
half point favorite against Wisconsin on Saturday noon. Big ten
Network Bloomington. The over unders forty four and a half,
so they're not expecting too many points in this game,
especially from a Wisconsin point of view, they're expecting something

(50:17):
like a thirty seven to seven final score. Wisconsin is
gonna feel better about themselves, Matt. They did announce Luke
Fickle return next year, actually a move that I like,
I'm not going to dive into that too much here,
but the end of the day, that is a roster
with limitations. It's the final home game of the season

(50:40):
for Indiana. I think at the end of the day
here the Hoosiers will take this one comfortably. Where do
you think the Badgers could give Indiana some problems? Matt?
They did a good job defensively against Washington on Saturday.
Where do you think where do you think they could
pose some problems for Indiana coming up?

Speaker 2 (51:02):
Well, they have a good run defense, and offensively, they
run the ball pretty well, or at least they have
in the last couple of games. But I mean their
offense is pretty much extremely one dimensional. I mean they
won a game last week where their punter was the
leading passer on their team of twenty four yards. Okay,

(51:27):
Like their offense is atrocious, atrociously bad, and I by
I agree with you. I think keeping Fickle is a
good idea for Wisconsin. That's a that's a side tangent. Anyways,
Wisconsin's offensive troches that their defense is actually pretty decent,

(51:47):
and I think I really think their their run defense,
especially as good. I think they're they ranked pretty highly
in PFF for that. But I I just I think
this game is just gonna be a good test of
Indiana's offensive line, Like this is the perfect you know,

(52:08):
warm up really for the biggest game of the season
coming up, which is not Purdue but Ohio State in Indianapolis,
and you know, just getting them to be a cohesive unit.
I think getting through this game, you know, the line's
thirty and a half, I'd actually probably take the under
on that. I would take what Wisconsin to cover. But

(52:31):
I don't think Indiana's going to play anybody past the
third quarter, and I don't think they should. I think
this team needs to stay healthy, they need to get rest,
they need to get well because we need this team
at absolutely on to even give Ohio State any sort
of you know, scare or a shot at them at all.

(52:51):
And I think the coaching staff knows that. So yeah,
just just looking ahead, I mean I really don't see
us struggling with Withisconsin at all. This is gonna be
the quickest preview of all time. But like, I really
think you probably wins this game by like twenty seven ish,
and it's never that close?

Speaker 1 (53:08):
Is it like twenty seven? Nothing? Is it? Like? I
mean I think it.

Speaker 2 (53:13):
I think it's I think they get a field goal.
I think it's probably thirty to.

Speaker 1 (53:16):
Three three, right, Yeah, I think I had this one
like thirty eight nothing. I don't. I don't know how
Wisconsin scores, I really don't. And again I also don't know.
You're right, they could get a field goal or someone
who knows.

Speaker 2 (53:32):
But I think I feel off like a kickoff, you know,
a kickoff return or something that.

Speaker 1 (53:38):
You want something, right, I guess I guess to that
point though, I think Indiana going across that thirty and
a half spread. So that's how I see it. Hey
shout out to linebacker Cooper Catillano. Last week for Wisconsin
on Saturday, he had nineteen tackles to help the Badgers
get the win over Washington. Linebacker Mason post I had

(53:58):
just as impressive of a game, if not even more,
eleven tackles, but he had two and a half sacks
and they win over the uh, the Huskies.

Speaker 2 (54:07):
So yeah, this is good practice for Ohio State. This
is a good practice for Ohio State though, because Ohio
State like Averrill Reee, you know Ohios Arvales sorry Arvalries.
They use their linebackers. You know, they run, they go
all over the field. For this Ohio State team, they
they play basically every position on the field. You know,

(54:31):
they they got them you know, going back into coverage.
You got them rushing the passer, You've got them stopping
the run. They do everything for Ohio States defense. And
so does this Wisconsin.

Speaker 1 (54:43):
Yeah. I mean, you know, the the middle of this,
the Big ten is good. I like, you know, if
you if you go out there and you face uh,
you know, one of the bottom teams in the standings,
you know, and I look at this right now, like
Michigan State, Purdue, and Penn State don't have a winning
conference play yet. I mean even they eat. Like Michigan

(55:07):
State taught Indiana lessons this year. Just as far as
how to defend a dynamic quarterback, Maryland taught Indiana lessons
this year. UCLA taught Indiana lessons this year. How do
you beat press coverage? How do you handle a mobile quarterback.
How do you you know, how do you navigate a
defense that gets an interception off of you early? Right?

(55:29):
Like because UCLA and Maryland both got mendoz on the
first drive. Like as you're saying, Wisconsin now is going
to teach Indiana one or two things for Ohio State
for the College Football Playoff. And this is where I
don't agree with the conversation that, oh, the middle of
the SEC is better than the middle of the Big Ten.
I don't think it is, because the only difference is

(55:54):
the SEC had a bunch of these overrated, middling teams
ranked in the top twenty five before the year started.
Had you ranked Iowa, had you ranked Nebraska? Where's Nebraska ranked?
Nebraska may have been ranked Braska if you're ranked.

Speaker 2 (56:12):
Oh, so, I don't think we want to We don't
want to bring the Braska in this conversation.

Speaker 1 (56:16):
I well, anyway, all I'm saying is, you know, if
if they're these middling teams ne Braakastos, I would take
Nebraska to be Vanderbilt every day of the week, even
with a backup quarterback t J. Latif in the game
right now, Like I took Nebraska in Florida, I take
Nebraska beat missoo, I would take Nebraska tes see, I
would take Nebraska to beat you know, Okay, yeah, I

(56:39):
mean no, I just I I look, that's just how
I see it. End of the days. I don't like,
let's not make this ask podcast, but you know, took
to the original point. I feel like a lot of
these teams in the middle of the Big Ten or
even the bottom of the Big Ten when you look
at Michigan State, Penn State have taught Indiana a lot

(57:01):
of lessons this year that should help the Hoosiers looking
ahead to this Ohio State game or the CFP in particular,
like in a nuts like you know, it taught taught
Indiana a lot of lessons, and so you know, I
think that's it's valuable here. I just don't see much
marginal Like I don't see much more benefit in Indiana

(57:23):
beating teams by forty points. So I'm happy they had
that type of game against Penn State. Real test of
the finish, real test of an adversity, real test of character.
Indiana got across the finish line and got the job done. Matt.
This upcoming weekend, we have eight Big Ten games. One

(57:44):
of them is on Friday, Minnesota Oregon. The rest of
these are on Saturday, including the Wisconsin Indiana game at
noon on Big ten Network. Matt, when we had our
podcast a couple of week weeks ago, you got both
of your picks right. You said Ohio State was going
to cover against Penn State. They went ahead and did that.

(58:07):
When Purdue went to Michigan, you said the Boilermakers would cover.
The Boilermakers covered, got the close against the Wolverines in
ann Arbor in a night game. I thought Minnesota was
going to cover against Michigan State. That didn't go well.
And even in Nebraska, even though in Minnesota one, they
just didn't cover. And even in Nebraska I thought and

(58:27):
I said, hey, I said, give me the extra odds
on Nebraska beating USC and the Huskers lost rail in
the middle of the game and then that didn't helped
their casts. So you're coming off a hot week, Matt.
As you look at the spreads.

Speaker 2 (58:42):
Yep, as it looks to be.

Speaker 1 (58:44):
As you look at the money lines the spreads, what
are your favorite picks, either against the spread or are
there any upsets straight up head to head that have
caught your eye? As we look ahead to Week twelve
in college football, U.

Speaker 2 (59:00):
Two upsets for you, No one. I got two. I've
got Northwestern upsetting Michigan and I've got Iowa upsetting USC.

Speaker 1 (59:16):
Wow.

Speaker 2 (59:19):
And I'm taking both of them straight money.

Speaker 1 (59:20):
On straight and hey, hey, and and I'm going to
track the you know, you get that, you get the
benefit of the odds, just like you know I said,
you know, Nebraska's not and I'm not looking at the
Nebraska cover. I'm looking at a Nebraska win just like
just like that, So you're gonna get the extra benefit there.
Northwestern over Michigan at noon on set make them bow eligible?

(59:44):
Oh man.

Speaker 2 (59:48):
I don't like this Michigan team. Medal and I hate
everything about them.

Speaker 1 (59:53):
Do they have an When I watched them? They go
to Maryland before Ohio State? Wow, okay they do.

Speaker 2 (01:00:00):
I every time I watch this Michigan team play, I
want to throw up. And I think this Northwestern team
is gonna make this the plays that style football that
is just gonna make Michigan fans want to tear their
hair out. They play disciplined, hard nosed football.

Speaker 1 (01:00:18):
They do.

Speaker 2 (01:00:21):
They don't make a ton of mistakes. And I don't
think this Michigan team has the same athletic prowess and
and you know, demonstrative strength difference over their opponent that
they have had in the past. And so I think

(01:00:43):
this Northwestern team is going to keep it close enough
they're at home. I like them to win that game,
and then US Seas at home iguesst Iowa. Everybody thinks
USC is gonna win this. Oh my gosh, Lemon is amazing,
and they have all these offensive well income. Iowa's defense
is going to make Jordan Iava's life or Jadamyova's life,

(01:01:04):
Jadamiyava's lives a living hell. And they're going to play
Iowa football And it doesn't really matter if they're playing
in Kinnick or not. They're going to play this messy,
pretty sloppy, disgusting style of football that they play, and
they're going to force USC into a game that they're

(01:01:24):
going to beper uncomfortable with.

Speaker 1 (01:01:28):
You get it looks like there's like a plus two
eighty floating around for Northwestern against Michigan. There's like a
plus two hundred floating around for Iowa over USC. So
I will flag that for how we keep track of this.
I'm gonna take Penn State to cover against Michigan State.
As I mentioned earlier, I'm a believer in this Penn
State thing with Terry Smith. I think they sort of

(01:01:51):
went through a mid season, you know, they got in
their feelings and they were very disappointed with how the
season turned around. I think Penn State is is live
to finish their season six and six with three straight wins.
So I think in Penn State to cover against Michigan
State Penn State minus six and a half on the road,

(01:02:11):
and then I'm going to take Washington to cover seventeen
at home against Purdue. This to me is just home
Huskies back in Seattle after a disgusting loss on the road,
where you know Jed Fish is going to light his
team up for a week. And Yeah, I was a
big believer in Perdue. About a month ago, I actually

(01:02:33):
sat here and I said, of all the games coming
up on Indiana schedule, I was more concerned about the
game at Purdue than I was with the games at
Maryland or even at Penn State. I you know, this
had already been a situation where Penn State fire James
Franklin and they were going through the thing against Northwestern
against UCLA and that sort of stuff, and I really

(01:02:55):
genuinely sit here, sat here, and I was like, I
think this road game against Purdue at night Black Friday
at Purdue is gonna be kind of a problem. And
I think the last few weeks for Purdue have been really,
really rough from a football standpoint. So you mean Washington
at home in Seattle, just you know night game, well,
you know, late late evening game for the Seattle Folks

(01:03:18):
seven Eastern kick there. Yeah, you know, it's just one
of those games where I'm like Washington, especially if they
try to make Demond Williams feel good about himself, which
makes a lot of sense. I think that's one where
Washington could run rampant. Anything else, Man, anything else caught
your attention, whether it's the IU Penn State game again,
we'll talk about basketball later, anything else caught your attention

(01:03:39):
across college football, SEC, ACC, Big Twelve, Action, anything you
want to mention before you wrap up here on this Monday.

Speaker 2 (01:03:50):
The SEC is stinky poop poop. That's my It's they're
just bad as a conference. They're just bad. Every every week.
I stay up up watch these games, and then I
can't fall asleep afterwards, so I end up watching some
SEC game, and I watched the style of football that
they play, and it's stinky poopoo. That's my that's my

(01:04:13):
final thoughts. Stinky stinky poopoo.

Speaker 1 (01:04:15):
Man. Yeah, just the.

Speaker 2 (01:04:18):
Most educated, most eloquent like this, you know, coverage of
the sports here on in Dah stinky pop so good.

Speaker 1 (01:04:28):
Yeah, I mean, it's just a bad product.

Speaker 2 (01:04:31):
It's just a bad product to watch, and and and
and and ESPN will sit there and get on their
knees and and strap some knee pads on and and
try to milk everything they can out of the SEC
like it is twenty thirteen, you.

Speaker 1 (01:04:49):
Know what, Matt. Along those lines, I'm gonna say something
that I said I don't know. I think a month
ago on this podcast, I think Oregon can win the
national title. Like I think they're live. I don't know.
I'm not saying that like I would say they're most likely.
I think Tier one is probably Ohio State Indiana, and

(01:05:09):
I think Tier two is Texas A and m.

Speaker 2 (01:05:13):
Tier one is just Ohio State by the way it
I you has to pull off a miracle to beat
Ohio State, I think, And I love it. Like again,
you guys know me.

Speaker 1 (01:05:24):
Podcast, I don't agree.

Speaker 2 (01:05:25):
I know they don't agree. I think that this Ohio
State team is is. I think when all is said
and done, at the end of the season, when we
look back on it, and maybe three or four years
from now, we're gonna look back on the Ohio State team
and there's going to be forty NFL guys on this team.

Speaker 1 (01:05:41):
No, I hear you, I hear you, for sure, no
question about it. But I think Indiana is on the
same tier as far as the team that can y.

Speaker 2 (01:05:50):
Yeah, no, you know and again, but like you know,
a ton there should be so many NFL players.

Speaker 1 (01:05:54):
And I even think Ohio State could beat Indiana by
twenty one in the Big Ten champion game. I'm not
kidding though, when I say this, I think it's just
as likely that Indiana beats Ohio State by twenty one.
I think it's I think Ohio State can win the
national title easily. I also think Indiana can win the
national title easily. But then I.

Speaker 2 (01:06:14):
Would say, but they're gonna need a miracle.

Speaker 1 (01:06:17):
But then I would say I don't, I don't, I
don't agree with that. But then I would say there's
a tear drop off the Texas A and m and
then I would say Oregon is right there. Oregon is
doing everything that catches my eye when I think about
who's not getting talked about enough, who's not getting mentioned

(01:06:39):
enough as a team that can make a deep run
in the CFP, that can win the national title. I'm
not talking about, you know, winning a game in the play.
I'm talking about deep run to the final four, to
the final two. This Oregon team reminds me a lot
of the Notre Dame team that made the championship last year.
They remind me a lot of you know, the Michigan

(01:07:01):
a little bit. I see a little bit of the
Michigan team that maybe didn't win the national title, maybe
the team that lost that national title game previously, you know,
like Michigan. I thought, you know, that was right there.
So I look at this Oregon team at and you know,
and and we use this end here to sort of
cover off and things you didn't talk about yet. Like
I think I think they're alive. I think they have

(01:07:23):
a little bit of a little bit of a chance
here too.

Speaker 2 (01:07:27):
If they run the ball like they did last game, then.

Speaker 1 (01:07:30):
Yeah, just have a chance that the way they run
the ball, they're sort of you know they're a little
they're banged up for sure. Yeah, they gotta get healthier.
But I'm a big Dan Landing fan. I think they're
good on the trenches and I think, you know, don't
take them lightly. But folks, that about wraps it up
for three hundred and fifty fifth show to Who's Your Sound?

(01:07:51):
Thanks so much for joining us. You really appreciate your
support to hear more fantastic episodes like the one you
heard today. Be sure to follow us at Indian Age
gear at thin Who's Your Sound to make sure you
do miss any in the future. You can also go
to our website Indiana HQ dot com to find it
all in one place. But as always, thank you for
listening Who's Your Nation and we'll see you next time.

Speaker 2 (01:08:13):
You just love them