December 4, 2025 • 35 mins
In the first hour, Dick Fain and Jackson Felts talk about the state of Huskies basketball right now and the Seahawks defense, then Rick Neuheisel joins the show to talk about college and UW football before getting to Fact or Fiction and reacting to Fun with Audio.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Yeah, a lot to get to today, Rick knew, I
whole join us in about twenty minutes. Mike Holngrin, so
a ton of football to get to. You know, you
heard me talking with Ian there and Crosstalk about my
dogs last night. You know, I feel like I feel
like there's a there's a very I'm a part of
a very small fraternity here in Seattle, those that still
love college basketball. Maybe it's bigger than I think, but
(00:21):
I don't feel like it's very good. And I can
I'm big, and I understand why. I mean, my son, Jackson,
will graduate from high school in two years and he
the Huskies have been to the NCAA tournament one time
since he was two years old.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Yeah, that's just it.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
It's there's no excuse for a program in this city,
in this size of market, no excuse to be as
bad as they've been.
Speaker 4 (00:46):
Oh my goodness.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
And you know I was, I was thinking about turning
it off last night when it was a sixteen point
game with five minutes left, and I was like, let's
just see how the next minute or two go. And
God bless Mick Cronin. Everybody's a favorite crotchety old basketball
coach who decided to just tell his team, all right,
I just want you to hold the ball every possession
and let the clock run out over the last five minutes.
(01:08):
I really don't care if you get a good shot
or any shot. I just want you to hold the ball.
And that's what he did, and they got pretty much
no shots, and the Huskies just decided to chip it
down from sixteen to two and had a three ball,
but zoombialla with a chance to win at the buzzer.
Speaker 4 (01:23):
So it was an exciting finish for those and it.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
Looked like a good crowd, looked like a good crowded
heck aed yesterday the dog pack was in full effect.
And speaking of full effect, we saw the best Husky
basketball player in a long long time really get his
you know debut, you know, big ten debut, home debut
for real where a lot of people's eyes are on
(01:46):
Hannes Steinbach. And all he did was go eleven of
twelve for twenty nine points and ten rebounds. And it
seemed like every time he came out of the game.
I know he couldn't play every second because he was
coming off that ankle injury. Every time he came into
the game. It was different ference maker. It was it
was a tremendous offensive rebound put back. Here was a
kick to the corner for a shot there. It was
just he was a one man wrecking crew for most
(02:09):
of that game, and he just couldn't do it on
his own. And and fortunately for the Dogs, they got
some big Wesley Yates buckets down the stretch. They got
a couple of zoomed DIIALLA buckets down down the stretch.
Also a couple of really dumb fouls by the Huskies,
fouling UCLA three point shooters twice on three balls, getting
three free throws. That could have been the difference of
the game. But you know, as as Ian brought up Jackson,
(02:31):
there's a lot of frustrated fans out there. I mean,
there's fans that are already already calling for Danny Sprinkle's head.
I mentioned last night that every team on the planet's
gonna zone this team because they are showing a consistent
inability to shoot the three. And I put that up
there and and on Twitter and here, you know, here's
some of the responses. Same crap. Offense and defense. Different year.
(02:53):
I think my hopes for the season were too high.
H season is over, same old Husky. I mean, it's
just it's on and on and on, and they're only
they're gonna have to They're gonna have to prove everybody wrong.
Speaker 3 (03:04):
I think, Dick, if we're talking Husky basketball, I don't
think we can go to the route of x's and o's.
I think Husky basketball is in a state right now,
and they're very very different. Reasons why that these two
programs are in the states that they're in, But right now,
at this moment, I think we can talk about Husky
basketball almost like the same way we can talk about
the Sounders. Is that there is a very passionate fan
(03:28):
base of a smaller group than say the Seahawks will
say the Mariners a very very passionate and that's why
you see good attendance. That's why you see really intense
atmospheres at heck Ed at Luminfield for those games because the.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
Fans who care, they care a lot.
Speaker 3 (03:45):
But in terms of the masses, I think for a
program like Huskies basketball, it's different in the sense of it.
The reason why we're in the way we are is
because it's just been so bad for so long, and
people will care. The masses will care when big things
happen to these teams. When the Sounders are playing messy
in a championship in front of seventy thousand, when the
(04:05):
Huskies basketball team makes the incati of laterment, that's when
the masses and the casuals will care. But right now,
we're just in a state where there's it's a niche thing,
and there's a small group of really intense fans. But sorry,
because Huskies basketball has been crapped for so long, you're
you're just not gonna be able to talk. I think
in terms of the discourse about that program, we can't
(04:26):
even get to the x's and o's point stick.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
We're not there.
Speaker 3 (04:29):
The discourse needs to be about, God, can they just
actually win a few games in Big Ten play?
Speaker 2 (04:35):
We're at that point right.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
Now, I know, and I as you were saying that,
I was, I was envisioning what it was like when
I was at Fox Sports Grill for the Huskies Connecticut
Sweet sixteen game. Rich was there, Softy was there, just
every the whole station was there. Jack said, I don't
know if you remember Fox Sports Grill. It's kind of down
down in the basement. I think on like Fifth and
(04:57):
Pine or something like that was in downtown seapp We've
had a party down the bottom of that there, Jackson.
There was no room to stand in this entire place.
There must have been three hundred people crammed into this
place watching the big screen.
Speaker 4 (05:16):
That's what it can be. That is what it has
been before.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
And you know, let's see if it can be that
way again under Danny Sprinkle. We know what the mass
is like, though, Jackson. The mass is like the Seattle Seahawks.
And I threw out a poll on Twitter a couple
of days ago, and I don't know if you saw
this or not, but I'll get you to answer whether
you saw it or not.
Speaker 5 (05:37):
All right.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
I was because I don't know what got me thinking
of this, but I was like, God, I don't know
how I would answer this question. And the question was
I think it was because I will look at the
odds for the Super Bowl and the Rams right now,
the prohibitive favorite at plus forty four to fifty. Seattle
is the prohibitive number two at plus seven fifty, and
then everybody else is at you know, ten to one
(05:58):
or longer. And I just asked the question on Twitter,
what would you take right now Rams Hawks to win
the Super Bowl or the other thirty teams to win
the Super Bowl? Would you take the two prohibitive favorites,
or would you agree entire field and not get the
(06:19):
best defense in football in Seattle and the best maybe
maybe the MVP and a great defense in the La
Rams and say no, I'm gonna say I'm gonna say
no to those elite NFC West teams and I'm gonna
go over here, you know, to the Patriots and the
Broncos and the Ravens and the Bills and the Chiefs,
(06:39):
who aren't really the Chiefs anymore.
Speaker 4 (06:41):
What would you vote for?
Speaker 3 (06:43):
Oh, that's a tremendous question. I almost always in these
questions go the field.
Speaker 4 (06:51):
Yeah, that's smart, But that's smart.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
The rest of the NFL, I think, is just such mush.
I don't believe in the Colts. I barely believe in
the Patriots. I don't I barely believe in the Broncos.
I guess not really. I mean the NFC. We both
don't believe in the Bears. We picked against him in
Factor Fiction yesterday. Philly's been absolute trash for a while.
(07:15):
That offense is a high school offense right now, I
think I have to go with Seahawks.
Speaker 5 (07:21):
Rams.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
I said it last week, Dick to you and Softy
that I think.
Speaker 3 (07:25):
That this year is very much like twenty thirteen when
it was Seahawks or Niners that was the Super Bowl.
I kind of feel like rams Seahawks, no matter where
they end up in the regular season, they're gonna be
on a collision course for somewhere in the playoffs, and
at this moment, the winner of that game wins the
Super Bowl. It's crazy to consider we are one of
(07:46):
those teams, but our defense has this one of those
teams well.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
And also the winner of that rams Seahawks game, I
feel is going to be the number one seed in
the NFC. Agree, So they're gonna get home field advantage throughout,
and we know what that looks like in Seattle. It's
obviously not as big a deal in LA as it
is in Seattle, but still, you give Matthew Stafford and
that defense two home games to get to the Super Bowl,
(08:12):
I think you know they're gonna be. They would be
prohibitive favorites in both of those games, regardless of who
they played. And you mentioned the twenty thirteen team. I
saw this number, I got, I got tons of stats.
I won't get to all of them right now.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
Will sprinkle it new, Yes, we'll.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
Sprinkle them through the next the next few days. But
you know, I was looking at how this team compared
defensively to that elite defense of twenty thirteen. And you
know there's you've heard EPA, right, Expected points added per play.
Speaker 4 (08:40):
I wouldn't you know, begin to.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
Explain it other than you get a percentage of a
point for each play that you run, and a six yard.
Speaker 4 (08:49):
Play would be worth more than a one.
Speaker 1 (08:51):
Yard play, and another negative five yard play would be
less than a ten yard play.
Speaker 4 (08:55):
And they've got this all figured out.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
Over the last seven games, the Seahawk defense has been
by far the best in the NFL. They're at negative
zero point three to six EPA per play. That seems
so basically, if the other team wanted to just run
the ball up the middle every play against the Seahawks
the last seven games, for like a two yard game,
that they would actually be better off than what the
(09:19):
Seahawks have done.
Speaker 4 (09:20):
And you say, well, how is that possible?
Speaker 1 (09:23):
Well, that well, that interception by Ernest Jones, that's like
a negative eleven and a half play because you just
took the ball away from them, you went ninety five
yards and scored a touchdown. And they've had a few
of those plays. Well, that EPA per play is better
than any seven game stretch of the twenty thirteen Seattle seis.
(09:44):
So the peak of what this team has done is
better than the peak of what that team did defensively
in that metric in twenty thirteen.
Speaker 4 (09:53):
We had a bunch more to get to. We will.
Speaker 1 (09:55):
We're gonna talk some college football with our friend Rick
new His all right around the Corner live from the
five twenty bar Grill on ninety three point three KJFF.
Speaker 6 (10:07):
Your home for college football Saturdays, is live with CBS
Sports analyst Rick new Heiseel, powered by Taco Time. Hungry
at Taco Time, It's easy to create exactly what you're craving,
and we wouldn't have it any other way. How do
you Taco Time, customize your meal and order ahead on
the Taco Time Northwest Taco Time Time for something different
(10:27):
Now with Rick Neuheisel, Here's Softian Dick.
Speaker 1 (10:31):
Live the five twenty bar and Grail Saftian Dick without
the soft one today. But we have Rick new Heiseel
in tow who is just absolutely on fire. Hawaii minus
eight and a half against Wyoming, they win twenty seven
to seven. Rick, you are seven and two against the
spread in your last nine games.
Speaker 5 (10:53):
My friend, I'm here for the people. I mean, what
else can I tell you? I'm here for the people.
I got out of blocks a little slow, I said, listen,
I looked at myself in the mirror, said you've got
to give them something that they need. And other than
Chris burritos, what else can I deliver? That's what I'm
trying to help you with.
Speaker 4 (11:10):
I love it.
Speaker 1 (11:11):
Can't wait for your taco time Pig of the Week
in about fifteen minutes or so. But let's start at
what we saw at Montlake on Saturday. It's just it
was unbelievable that the numbers on first down. Rick, I
did a little breakdown after the game because I was like, God,
it seemed like we were terrible passing the ball on
first down. They were two of eight with two interceptions
(11:32):
and two sacks on first down passes. Meanwhile, they carried
the ball fourteen times for one hundred and five yards
when they ran the ball on first down. Is there
a point where you just talk to your coordinators, you
talk to your coaches, and say, we're just not gonna
throw on first down anymore when it's that desparate.
Speaker 5 (11:53):
Well, when you're looking at it after the fact, you
sat there and scratch your head and said, we should
never have thrown. But when you're talking about it talent
like Demon Williams, he just can't believe that he would
be that inconsistent. But there were signs of that at
the Rose Bowl the week before, even though it was
an easy victory. His accuracy and his rhythm to his
(12:13):
throwing in terms of the footwork tied to the arm
were off. And that's going to get fixed before they
play their postseason game because he's too talented to be
as inaccurate as he's been the last couple of weeks.
Speaker 1 (12:25):
And then the defense just kept doing what the defense
has done all year long against everybody, the best teams,
the terrible teams, everybody in between. That they just kept
the dogs in the game, just like they did against
Ohio State, just like they did against Michigan, and the
offense just couldn't muster anything.
Speaker 4 (12:43):
I mean, this defense carrying over for next year.
Speaker 1 (12:47):
I mean, this could be a top fifteen, top twelve
unit in America, can it?
Speaker 5 (12:53):
There's no question? And Ryan Walters deserves a huge amount
of credit to put this team in the position that
they were in to corral an Oregon running game that
had run rough, shot over everybody. Unfortunately, when you do that,
you have to commit extra guys to the box, and
you know, Dante more was talented enough to you know,
hit some passes down the field and give the Ducks
(13:16):
the advantage. But a huge effort and a huge performance
by Ryan Walters in year one at Washington.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
So how would you evaluate the irregular season overall? They
go from six and seven last year, six and six
in the regular season to I think a fairly predictable
eight and four. If you'd have told me at the
beginning of the year they were going to go eight
and four and they were going to lose to Oregon,
Ohio State, Michigan, and Wisconsin, I think you probably would
have said, Yeah, that sounds about right.
Speaker 5 (13:43):
That's exactly right. I think it was a very good season.
I think the hope for that breakthrough game didn't quite materialize,
But there's no reason to think that after another year recruiting,
assuming that Jed has the same you know, kind of
caliber of class in the event and also the same
resources to go and cultivate a great class that you
(14:05):
won't have, you know, the game breakers that will be
the difference in those games that keep her from the
the the penthouse, I guess of the Big Ten, that's
where they're trying to get and that's where I think
Washington deserves to be. We'll see if they can get
that done.
Speaker 7 (14:20):
Well.
Speaker 1 (14:20):
Yeah, twelve rank recruiting class helps, That's that's not bad.
So Jed did a nice nice job there. But Rick
Newizel joining us Rick. It seems like every three or
four years, Lane Kiffen is front and center in the
most newsworthy person in college football for one reason or another.
Speaker 4 (14:39):
Is this more what.
Speaker 1 (14:40):
We're what we saw with Kiffen over the last week
and really over the last month. Is this more of
a college football problem that will reappear on a regular basis,
or is this more unique to Lane Kiffen.
Speaker 5 (14:53):
There is no question that it's awkward. There's no question
that it is awkward. He does not need to make
it this awkward. But college football is at fault in
terms of the calendar for coaches needing to make decisions
prior to making the change from one school to another.
Recruiting shouldn't be happening in the middle of a playoff run.
(15:13):
The transfer portal shouldn't happen in the middle of a
playoff run. This should all be different, and I hope
that someday it will be, because it just requires a
little common sense. But there's no question that Dismount Danny
otherwise known as Lane Kiffin has once again, you know,
busted a knee, busted an ankle. He just can't land it.
He just can't land it. It's just an impossibility for
(15:34):
the lad.
Speaker 1 (15:36):
You know, eight of the nine top nine teams in
the rankings are from the Big ten or the SEC.
It just seems to me like the gap continues to
grow between the two super conferences and the rest. I mean,
we're talking about potentially an ACC conference without any tournament
worthy teams.
Speaker 4 (15:54):
So how long will there be talk about.
Speaker 1 (15:58):
The four four two to one model if the ACC
and the Big twelve can't carry their weight? I mean,
are we going to see the talk go to five
five one one here in the future.
Speaker 5 (16:12):
Well we're getting close to that anyway. And I think
that the ACC and Big twelve are seeing the writing
on the wall. Certainly Tony Pettiti is pushing for automatic qualifiers,
and the fact that they extended the deadline from December
first to January twenty third, I think they're going to
blow right past sixteen. I won't be shocked that we
go to twenty four and in so doing create automatic
(16:32):
qualifiers for all those other conferences so that they can
have play in games and create some more revenue for themselves.
It doesn't seem hard for Texas Tech, who have a
couple of billionaires that are financing their recruiting and their roster.
But not everybody's blessed with oil men at the at
the est of an athletic department. So fingers crossed that
(16:53):
we can come to some common sense about the economics
of the game.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
Well, you mentioned the play in games in the future.
This weekend, maybe a Big ten playoff weekend instead of
just a Big ten championship weekend. We've talked to Wilner
about it, about a three versus six game, a four
versus five game, But.
Speaker 5 (17:12):
Now you're talking that's exactly what needs to happen. It's
silly for Ohio State in Indiana to risk their rosters
to injury this week for a game that doesn't matter.
I mean, it's nice to have a big ten plaque
on your wall, but it pales in comparison to a
national championship. And if we had three versus six and
four versus five, we could solve some of the Vanderbilt
(17:33):
problems some of the other problems in these other conferences.
USC would like to have a chance at this thing, right,
so everybody would like a chance, and that's what I
think is ultimately going to happen.
Speaker 1 (17:44):
And what's interesting about that is had we had that
system this year, the Huskies Oregon game actually would have
been for a berth for the Dogs as the sixth
spot in the playing game, because if they would have
beaten Oregon, they would have had they would have been
in a tie with Iowa, and they would have held
the strength to schedule advantage by virtue of that win
(18:05):
over Oregon, and they.
Speaker 4 (18:06):
Would have played Oregon again.
Speaker 1 (18:09):
We could have had a situation where they play Oregon
last week at home and Oregon on the road at
autsin the next week. I mean, it would it would
have made last weekend a heck of a lot more
entertaining and interesting going into.
Speaker 5 (18:22):
It, and the excitement for that would have been one
of those things that I think you could have been
absolutely felt. So that's that's that's the future. We're headed
that way, I promise you.
Speaker 1 (18:34):
What is the intrigue of watching Ohio State Indiana this week?
I mean, is it just for Indiana to try to
get their first Big Ten championship game in forever? And
do you think they play harder than Ohio State because
Ohio State isn't really all that concern with.
Speaker 4 (18:47):
Winning a Big Ten championship.
Speaker 2 (18:53):
Oh, it looks like you just fell off when men
get Rick back here?
Speaker 4 (18:55):
All right, no problem? Yeah, I think that's a How
cool would that have been?
Speaker 5 (19:00):
Though?
Speaker 4 (19:00):
The three versus six game? I mean I went back
and looked at it.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
If you had a three versus six and a four
versus five on this coming weekend, championship weekend, the Huskies,
if they could have pulled off that win over Oregon
instead of being a meaningless game like it was because
of the Wisconsin loss that okay, the Husky game was meaningless,
it would have been very very meaningful. We got Rick
newheiselback Rick that Big Ten championship game coming up this week?
(19:24):
What is the intrigue? Why should I watch this game
when I feel like, oh, you know what, there's a
chance I could watch these two teams playing like four
weeks for a national championship.
Speaker 5 (19:34):
Well, the big thing in this game is the quarterbacks
because they're playing for a Heisman trophy. If Julian Sayan
has a monster game, he's gonna be the straight arm winner.
And if Fernando Mendoza has a monster game, he's going
to be the straight arm winner. That will be the case.
If neither has a great game and this is a
defensive tug a tug of war, then we're going to
(19:56):
see Diego Pavia from Vanderbilt win the Heisman. So there's
some intrigue involved. I just hope that Ryan Day and
Kurt Signetti watched eleven guys get up every time as
the tray piles on this field in Indianapolis be terrible.
Speaker 4 (20:13):
Somebody got hurt for this one.
Speaker 1 (20:14):
In before the playoffs, Rick, if Texas would have played
McNeese State instead of Ohio State in the first week
of the season and they finished ten and two, would
they have been in the playoffs?
Speaker 5 (20:30):
Based on the brand I mean, that's the same as
as Alabama being in the playoff at ten and two
having lost to Florida State. It's the same as Notre
Dame being ten and two having started the season zero
and two. We believe in brands, which is why the
Elliott Eli drinkwitz Is of the world want automatic qualifiers.
We don't start the season believing that Vanderbilt or Missouri
(20:51):
or Texas Tech can be great. We end up learning
that they can be Why use eleven and one that
still sits at eleven? But the brands, if they get
to that number, they're in because they resonate and they
sit in our minds as quality football programs, and they
also draw television ice.
Speaker 1 (21:09):
Is that going to make coaches fearful, especially big time programs,
fearful to schedule those cross conference games because they can
just say, hey, cautionary tail.
Speaker 4 (21:18):
Look at Texas.
Speaker 1 (21:19):
All they needed to do is play Idaho instead of
Ohio State and they'd be in the playoffs.
Speaker 5 (21:24):
I think the television people have too much clout for
them to be able to stop scheduling good games for
television content. So what I think is going to happen
is we're going to have some deals made amongst the
Power conferences that rely on where you finished. If a
SEC finishes number one, then they're going to get an
SEC one schedule, which means that they'll play the number
(21:48):
one team at the Big Ten next year, they'll play
the number two team from the Big twelve at home,
and they'll play the number four team from the ACC
on the road. You can understan, you can follow my
logic here. Then they're going to have predetermined schedules that
all create great television content, but hit the good teams
against good teams so that we get some parody, and
(22:10):
these other teams that are sitting in your struggle to
keep up with the Joneses in their Power conferences can
get some chances to have a little bite at the apple.
Speaker 1 (22:20):
Well to your point, if they go to a twenty
four team, then you can do more of those things
because coaches aren't afraid to lose those games because you know,
if you're sard, you're like, we're going to make the
twenty four team playoff regardless.
Speaker 5 (22:32):
Well you should, but you have to win, and the
television content for the fans and for everybody is important.
So my belief is that that will be the.
Speaker 4 (22:41):
Case you mentioned BYU.
Speaker 1 (22:44):
They are stuck between Miami and Notre Dame right now.
So if BYU loses this weekend, then presumably Miami and
Notre Dame would be next to each other, and the
tournament committee, the playoff committee chers said, hey, we really
haven't judged Miami a Notre Dame because they haven't been
next to each other. There's a thought that now the
(23:05):
head to head matchup that Miami one would be looked
at more closely if they're next to each other in
next week's poll.
Speaker 4 (23:11):
So could you actually.
Speaker 1 (23:12):
See Miami jumping Notre Dame in that scenario or are
they pretty much stuck where they are?
Speaker 5 (23:17):
I think the committee chair, the athletic director, Markansas, said
that they were in the same pool this last couple
of weeks and still they felt Notre Dame was ahead,
which is incredibly confounding given the fact that every tiebreaker
I've ever known and the same schedule, if you played
each other, then it's head to head, and yet we
(23:38):
still see Notre Dame ahead of Miami. But that being said,
if they changed that with not either team playing this week,
it would be completely ridiculous And I just don't know.
We can trust the committee. Not that I am calling
anybody out as not doing their job. I just think
the committee thing is very very close to the ap
(23:58):
which means that you're just kind of going by wins
and losses and favorite teams.
Speaker 1 (24:04):
All right, Rick, I can feel your heat through the phone. Man,
You're absolutely on fire. Seven and two off your Taco
Time pick of the week over the last nine weeks.
I'll take a couple of Chris beef burritos and some
tater fries and the coke.
Speaker 4 (24:17):
That'll be my pick of the week. What is yours?
Speaker 5 (24:21):
We are going with the Ohio State Buckeyes. They're laying
five and a half. And as much as I love
Kurt Signetti and I am a devout parishioner at the
Church of Signetti, I believe the buck Eyes with their
unbelievable stable of wide receivers and a quarterback that's hitting
close to eighty percent of his passes and a defense
that has held opponents that less than one hundred points,
(24:43):
no other team is even close to that. I am
going with the Buckeyes.
Speaker 1 (24:47):
Love it, love it. We'll talk to you next week.
I like that pick. We'll see, We'll see on Thursday.
Thanks coach.
Speaker 5 (24:53):
All right, baby, talk to you soon.
Speaker 1 (24:55):
Bye. That's Rick new heisl He is smoking, Jackson seven
and two. Absolute smoking. We need to be smoking because
it's factor fiction time. We got to make a pick
right now, don't we.
Speaker 2 (25:05):
We're set to go. Glad you're with us.
Speaker 7 (25:06):
It's your shot at our weekly thousand bucks and the
ten thousand dollars grand prize. It's fact door Fiction, probably
presented by Lucky Eagle Casino and hotel where every day
feels lucky. Fact door Fiction is on Sports Radio ninety
three point three kjr FM.
Speaker 1 (25:28):
All Right, Jackson, the Indianapolis Colts started seven to one.
They were, as the old folks say, the cats meow
at the end of October. I'm even not old enough
to say cats meow on a regular basis, but that's
what my grandma would have. They have lost two in
a row and three of four. Daniel Jones this week
(25:51):
says he's feeling better. In fact, he said he got
a sleeve for his injured arm that was created by
a three D printer from his old classmates of dupe. Okay,
not that that really makes a difference. I just thought
that was.
Speaker 2 (26:07):
An experienced word.
Speaker 4 (26:09):
They have got to win this week if they want
to win the division. And here's why I say this.
Speaker 1 (26:13):
They are at eight and four, they are tied with
the Jaguars for first place. If the Colts lose at
Jacksonville this Sunday, they will be a game back. Here's
what they got next at Seattle, San Francisco at Houston
Murderers Row.
Speaker 4 (26:31):
This is the easiest.
Speaker 1 (26:33):
Game they've got this month. They have got to win
this game. Meanwhile, the Jags have home games against the
Jets home against Tennessee left on their schedule, so the
Jags have a massive scheduling advantage. You better believe the
Colts know that they are treating this as they must win.
They are one and a half point favorites on the
(26:54):
road in Jacksonville. Give me Danny Dimes and the Indianapolis
Colts minus one and a half against Jacksonville.
Speaker 3 (27:02):
Yeah, I bet on the Colts last week and missed
on that one against the Texans. And I think it's
just the Texans are a really really good team. I
don't think the Jacksonville Jaguars are a really really good team.
I don't think they have great weapons on offense and
that defense hasn't impressed Indianapolis. I think, Dick, we both
agree at some point they're gonna go back and look
(27:23):
like the seven.
Speaker 2 (27:24):
And one team.
Speaker 3 (27:24):
Jonathan Taylor is gonna turn back into Jonathan Taylor. I
think this is the week to do it. The running
game will travel, so only one and a half. They
just need to win by two or easy field goal. Yeah,
I'm going with you on this one.
Speaker 7 (27:38):
Yep.
Speaker 1 (27:39):
That Houston team's tough man, There's no question about. They've
played two really good defenses the last two weeks. They've
played at Kansas City and Jonathan Taylor was held to
fifty eight yards on three point six yards of carry.
Speaker 4 (27:50):
Last week he got four yards.
Speaker 1 (27:52):
Of carry, twenty one yard twenty one carris for eighty
five yards against that awesome Houston defense. He goes over
one hundred, he gets it the end zone and the Colts.
Speaker 3 (28:02):
So, Dick, I mean you talked about the Jaguars schedule,
in the Colts schedule, keep in mind the Texans are
only one game back. They finished though with Kansas City, Arizona, Vegas,
and then also as you mentioned, they have the Colts
coming up and the Chargers, so they got a little
bit of a mix of the two other teams, but
Texans are right there too. This is this is a
(28:23):
crazy division.
Speaker 4 (28:24):
Now it's gonna be fun.
Speaker 1 (28:25):
We'll take a look in the five o'clock hour at
some of these crazy games coming up this weekend, because
there are some huge divisional championship type games coming up
this weekend. We'll do that in the five o'clock hour
before we talk to Everett fits you. That's our Factor Fiction,
brought to you by the Lucky Eagle Casino three point forty.
We got a little fun with audio coming up on
ninety three point three KJRFM.
Speaker 2 (28:47):
It's now time for Sufday in Dig's Fun with Audio.
Speaker 8 (28:51):
Jimmy g paorn Star Jimmy mister Garoppolo.
Speaker 2 (28:54):
Now let's have some fun with audio.
Speaker 1 (29:01):
Alrighty three ninety three point three KJRFM.
Speaker 4 (29:04):
That means it is time for a little fun with audio.
Let's start this. I got I got Jackson with me today. Jackson,
did you hear that?
Speaker 2 (29:12):
What's that?
Speaker 1 (29:13):
On Sunday Night Football's pregame show before the Broncos Commander's game,
which was actually a surprisingly good game, analyst Rodney Harrison
was apparently not ready to talk about the Washington defense.
Speaker 2 (29:25):
Just disorganize, you can run defense. I think they'd get
their young running backs for tonight. And then it takes
shouts to your favorite guy, Cortland sudden.
Speaker 6 (29:33):
Yeah, I'm looking at what.
Speaker 4 (29:37):
I forgot the crumbs of Washington defense from that group.
That's the way to attack that group tonight. Do you
believe the best way to tackle what you see from Washington?
Speaker 2 (29:46):
I'm sorry, they just don't have It's.
Speaker 1 (29:48):
A lot of stuff going on down.
Speaker 6 (29:49):
Sorry, they don't have a lot of discipline on the
defensive side of the ball.
Speaker 4 (29:52):
Yeah, that's it.
Speaker 3 (29:55):
They sure don't, man, And I want to get over
to something else to coach, because I was.
Speaker 1 (29:58):
Looking at bow Nick.
Speaker 4 (30:00):
Holy smoke, I hadn't heard that Jackson.
Speaker 2 (30:02):
Yeah, really bad. Actually, what's funny?
Speaker 3 (30:05):
And now it's funny because he wasn't anything bad, but
a lot of people were like, is he okay? Did
like is something going on with him? Like health wise?
And there isn't anything going on with him in health wise.
But that was rough that, I mean, was.
Speaker 1 (30:20):
He his mind was just wandering or something? And then
he forgot the question and then wasn't prepared for the
answer even once.
Speaker 4 (30:26):
He knew what the question. Yes, I don't know.
Speaker 1 (30:29):
I mean, you never know what those situations due rot
Rodney Harrison hit people really really hard in the NFL.
Speaker 3 (30:35):
Yeah, so yeah, I mean, I mean yeah, he says
it's nothing health oriented, so that's good. But man, like,
if you're if you're a highly paid analyst on on
NBC Sun and Night football, dude, that cannot happen, can't.
Speaker 4 (30:50):
Hey Jackson, did you hear that?
Speaker 1 (30:51):
That's on Ben Roethlisberger's Football in podcast This week, the
former Steeler quarterback suggested that Pittsburgh should clean house and
his former head coach, Mike Tomlin should go coach at
Penn State.
Speaker 9 (31:03):
It's being talked about around here a lot. Maybe it's time.
Maybe it's a clean house time. Maybe it is. Maybe
it's time. And I like coach Tomlin. I have a
lot of respect coach Tomlin. But maybe it's best for
him too. Maybe a fresh start for him is what's best,
whether that's in the pros, whether maybe go be Penn
State's head coach. You know what he would do in
Penn State. He'll probably go win national championships, legitimate because
(31:24):
he's a great recruiter.
Speaker 2 (31:26):
What is the reality of something like that happening in Pittsburgh.
It seems so uncharacteristic.
Speaker 4 (31:30):
It is.
Speaker 9 (31:31):
You don't fire a guy like coach Tomlin. He's a
Hall of Fame coach. He's respect. What you do is
you come to an understanding and agreement and it's like, hey, listen,
I think it's probably best for both of us. Give
him a statue, whatever you gotta do, because he deserves it,
he's earned it. But it's it's like, Okay, it's time
to find that next guy.
Speaker 1 (31:51):
I've been around this world for fifty one years and
I have only seen three Pittsburgh Steelers head coaches.
Speaker 2 (31:57):
Yeah, so yes, they do.
Speaker 4 (31:59):
Not like to fire head coaches.
Speaker 1 (32:01):
But I do think that it's very similar to what
we saw here with Pete Carroll.
Speaker 4 (32:05):
You know, great job, super Bowl championship.
Speaker 1 (32:08):
But it's just it's just not elevating to the level
that we needed to elevate, and it's probably better off
for both.
Speaker 4 (32:15):
I think it's better off for the Steelers.
Speaker 1 (32:17):
That they move on, and I think Mike Tomlin will
land someplace, whether it's college or the NFL, and he'll
land in a place that needs a leader, that needs
a motivator, that needs a culture guy, and he's as
good at.
Speaker 4 (32:30):
Culture guys we've seen in the NFL the last twenty years.
Speaker 2 (32:33):
Totally.
Speaker 3 (32:33):
I just he's a good enough coach to have success anywhere.
The funny thing about that whole clip, you know, we
could just play the first half and talk about the
whole Penn State thing and talk about the whole cleaning
house thing. The interesting thing was the second part where
Roethlisporter is like, you don't fire a coach like Tomlin.
You just talked to him and say it's best if
we both part ways. Well, Ben, that's called firing somebody,
(32:55):
my friend.
Speaker 1 (32:56):
Isn't that kind of what the Seahawks did, though, yes
it was. It was fired out that they It wasn't
put out that Pete Carroll was fired this way.
Speaker 3 (33:06):
Stupid language in the sports world these days. We had
a mutual parting of ways. That's such bs. If you
say we had a mutual parting of ways, you fired him?
Speaker 1 (33:16):
Yeah, so so Pete, if you wanted to have come
back and coached the Seahawks and next year, would you have.
Speaker 4 (33:21):
Been able to No? I would not have. Okay, then
you got fired, got fired? Hey Jackson, do you hear that? Oh?
We got another.
Speaker 2 (33:29):
Rains, this is good. It connects all right.
Speaker 1 (33:31):
Roethlisberger's comments reminded us of a Mike Tomlin press conference
in twenty twenty one where the head coach exploded after
reporter asked about folks making connections between him and college
coaching jobs.
Speaker 10 (33:43):
Mike, at any point in your coaching career, did you
ever have an interest or express an interest in being
a head coach in the college game? And do you
have any idea how that may or may not have
led to folks like Ryan and Doug Whaley and Carson
Palmer connecting you to some college jobs.
Speaker 8 (33:59):
Hey, guys, I don't have time for that speculation. I mean,
that's a joke to me. I got one of the
best jobs in all of professional sport. Why would I
have any interest in coaching college football. That'll be the
last time that I address it, and not only today,
but moving forward. Never say never, but never. Okay, anybody
(34:20):
else got any questions about any college jobs? Is not
a booster withold.
Speaker 2 (34:23):
A big enough blank check anyone else?
Speaker 3 (34:27):
Thank you?
Speaker 8 (34:28):
Anybody asking Sean Payton about that? You know, anybody asking
Andy Reid about stuff like that?
Speaker 1 (34:36):
Well, in the last four years, I would say, the
blank checks in college football have gotten astronomically larger than
they were when Mike Tomlin made that statement four years ago.
But I would bet that he does not end up
at Penn State. I would bet that he ends up
in the NFL Giants, how about the Dolphins. How about
(34:59):
the Dolphin finally hire a guy that's kind of an.
Speaker 4 (35:01):
Ass shoer down there.
Speaker 1 (35:03):
Yeah, they have just been the squishy, softest franchise in
the NFL most of the since Don Schuller.
Speaker 3 (35:10):
I think it's one of those things where you need
to be able to give him some run, Like I
don't think you're gonna you can bring it into an
organization that's so used to just funneling through guys every
couple of years, like the Giants. Miami's a interesting one
because they've given m McDaniel that run. So you just
need to say, listen, man, you're gonna give you five
(35:31):
years and we're then we're not gonna fire you, and
we're just gonna let you build that culture. Because he's
a very big culture guy. But yeah, I'm I'm with
you wherever he lands. I just that's gonna turn into
a playoff team eventually.
Speaker 4 (35:42):
Let's ask Mike Holnger. Yeah, he's gonna join us.
Speaker 1 (35:44):
Coming up, we'll find out where does Mike Holmgran think
that Mike Tomlin would work?
Speaker 4 (35:49):
We will, we'll ask. I'm sure he knows Mike Tomlin
pretty well.
Speaker 1 (35:52):
Three fifty five on ninety three point three KJFM The
Coach The Big Show coming up for the next hour
on ninety three point three kJ ref
Yeah, a lot to get to today, Rick knew, I
whole join us in about twenty minutes. Mike Holngrin, so
a ton of football to get to. You know, you
heard me talking with Ian there and Crosstalk about my
dogs last night. You know, I feel like I feel
like there's a there's a very I'm a part of
a very small fraternity here in Seattle, those that still
love college basketball. Maybe it's bigger than I think, but
(00:21):
I don't feel like it's very good. And I can
I'm big, and I understand why. I mean, my son, Jackson,
will graduate from high school in two years and he
the Huskies have been to the NCAA tournament one time
since he was two years old.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Yeah, that's just it.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
It's there's no excuse for a program in this city,
in this size of market, no excuse to be as
bad as they've been.
Speaker 4 (00:46):
Oh my goodness.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
And you know I was, I was thinking about turning
it off last night when it was a sixteen point
game with five minutes left, and I was like, let's
just see how the next minute or two go. And
God bless Mick Cronin. Everybody's a favorite crotchety old basketball
coach who decided to just tell his team, all right,
I just want you to hold the ball every possession
and let the clock run out over the last five minutes.
(01:08):
I really don't care if you get a good shot
or any shot. I just want you to hold the ball.
And that's what he did, and they got pretty much
no shots, and the Huskies just decided to chip it
down from sixteen to two and had a three ball,
but zoombialla with a chance to win at the buzzer.
Speaker 4 (01:23):
So it was an exciting finish for those and it.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
Looked like a good crowd, looked like a good crowded
heck aed yesterday the dog pack was in full effect.
And speaking of full effect, we saw the best Husky
basketball player in a long long time really get his
you know debut, you know, big ten debut, home debut
for real where a lot of people's eyes are on
(01:46):
Hannes Steinbach. And all he did was go eleven of
twelve for twenty nine points and ten rebounds. And it
seemed like every time he came out of the game.
I know he couldn't play every second because he was
coming off that ankle injury. Every time he came into
the game. It was different ference maker. It was it
was a tremendous offensive rebound put back. Here was a
kick to the corner for a shot there. It was
just he was a one man wrecking crew for most
(02:09):
of that game, and he just couldn't do it on
his own. And and fortunately for the Dogs, they got
some big Wesley Yates buckets down the stretch. They got
a couple of zoomed DIIALLA buckets down down the stretch.
Also a couple of really dumb fouls by the Huskies,
fouling UCLA three point shooters twice on three balls, getting
three free throws. That could have been the difference of
the game. But you know, as as Ian brought up Jackson,
(02:31):
there's a lot of frustrated fans out there. I mean,
there's fans that are already already calling for Danny Sprinkle's head.
I mentioned last night that every team on the planet's
gonna zone this team because they are showing a consistent
inability to shoot the three. And I put that up
there and and on Twitter and here, you know, here's
some of the responses. Same crap. Offense and defense. Different year.
(02:53):
I think my hopes for the season were too high.
H season is over, same old Husky. I mean, it's
just it's on and on and on, and they're only
they're gonna have to They're gonna have to prove everybody wrong.
Speaker 3 (03:04):
I think, Dick, if we're talking Husky basketball, I don't
think we can go to the route of x's and o's.
I think Husky basketball is in a state right now,
and they're very very different. Reasons why that these two
programs are in the states that they're in, But right now,
at this moment, I think we can talk about Husky
basketball almost like the same way we can talk about
the Sounders. Is that there is a very passionate fan
(03:28):
base of a smaller group than say the Seahawks will
say the Mariners a very very passionate and that's why
you see good attendance. That's why you see really intense
atmospheres at heck Ed at Luminfield for those games because the.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
Fans who care, they care a lot.
Speaker 3 (03:45):
But in terms of the masses, I think for a
program like Huskies basketball, it's different in the sense of it.
The reason why we're in the way we are is
because it's just been so bad for so long, and
people will care. The masses will care when big things
happen to these teams. When the Sounders are playing messy
in a championship in front of seventy thousand, when the
(04:05):
Huskies basketball team makes the incati of laterment, that's when
the masses and the casuals will care. But right now,
we're just in a state where there's it's a niche thing,
and there's a small group of really intense fans. But sorry,
because Huskies basketball has been crapped for so long, you're
you're just not gonna be able to talk. I think
in terms of the discourse about that program, we can't
(04:26):
even get to the x's and o's point stick.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
We're not there.
Speaker 3 (04:29):
The discourse needs to be about, God, can they just
actually win a few games in Big Ten play?
Speaker 2 (04:35):
We're at that point right.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
Now, I know, and I as you were saying that,
I was, I was envisioning what it was like when
I was at Fox Sports Grill for the Huskies Connecticut
Sweet sixteen game. Rich was there, Softy was there, just
every the whole station was there. Jack said, I don't
know if you remember Fox Sports Grill. It's kind of down
down in the basement. I think on like Fifth and
(04:57):
Pine or something like that was in downtown seapp We've
had a party down the bottom of that there, Jackson.
There was no room to stand in this entire place.
There must have been three hundred people crammed into this
place watching the big screen.
Speaker 4 (05:16):
That's what it can be. That is what it has
been before.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
And you know, let's see if it can be that
way again under Danny Sprinkle. We know what the mass
is like, though, Jackson. The mass is like the Seattle Seahawks.
And I threw out a poll on Twitter a couple
of days ago, and I don't know if you saw
this or not, but I'll get you to answer whether
you saw it or not.
Speaker 5 (05:37):
All right.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
I was because I don't know what got me thinking
of this, but I was like, God, I don't know
how I would answer this question. And the question was
I think it was because I will look at the
odds for the Super Bowl and the Rams right now,
the prohibitive favorite at plus forty four to fifty. Seattle
is the prohibitive number two at plus seven fifty, and
then everybody else is at you know, ten to one
(05:58):
or longer. And I just asked the question on Twitter,
what would you take right now Rams Hawks to win
the Super Bowl or the other thirty teams to win
the Super Bowl? Would you take the two prohibitive favorites,
or would you agree entire field and not get the
(06:19):
best defense in football in Seattle and the best maybe
maybe the MVP and a great defense in the La
Rams and say no, I'm gonna say I'm gonna say
no to those elite NFC West teams and I'm gonna
go over here, you know, to the Patriots and the
Broncos and the Ravens and the Bills and the Chiefs,
(06:39):
who aren't really the Chiefs anymore.
Speaker 4 (06:41):
What would you vote for?
Speaker 3 (06:43):
Oh, that's a tremendous question. I almost always in these
questions go the field.
Speaker 4 (06:51):
Yeah, that's smart, But that's smart.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
The rest of the NFL, I think, is just such mush.
I don't believe in the Colts. I barely believe in
the Patriots. I don't I barely believe in the Broncos.
I guess not really. I mean the NFC. We both
don't believe in the Bears. We picked against him in
Factor Fiction yesterday. Philly's been absolute trash for a while.
(07:15):
That offense is a high school offense right now, I
think I have to go with Seahawks.
Speaker 5 (07:21):
Rams.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
I said it last week, Dick to you and Softy
that I think.
Speaker 3 (07:25):
That this year is very much like twenty thirteen when
it was Seahawks or Niners that was the Super Bowl.
I kind of feel like rams Seahawks, no matter where
they end up in the regular season, they're gonna be
on a collision course for somewhere in the playoffs, and
at this moment, the winner of that game wins the
Super Bowl. It's crazy to consider we are one of
(07:46):
those teams, but our defense has this one of those
teams well.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
And also the winner of that rams Seahawks game, I
feel is going to be the number one seed in
the NFC. Agree, So they're gonna get home field advantage throughout,
and we know what that looks like in Seattle. It's
obviously not as big a deal in LA as it
is in Seattle, but still, you give Matthew Stafford and
that defense two home games to get to the Super Bowl,
(08:12):
I think you know they're gonna be. They would be
prohibitive favorites in both of those games, regardless of who
they played. And you mentioned the twenty thirteen team. I
saw this number, I got, I got tons of stats.
I won't get to all of them right now.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
Will sprinkle it new, Yes, we'll.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
Sprinkle them through the next the next few days. But
you know, I was looking at how this team compared
defensively to that elite defense of twenty thirteen. And you
know there's you've heard EPA, right, Expected points added per play.
Speaker 4 (08:40):
I wouldn't you know, begin to.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
Explain it other than you get a percentage of a
point for each play that you run, and a six yard.
Speaker 4 (08:49):
Play would be worth more than a one.
Speaker 1 (08:51):
Yard play, and another negative five yard play would be
less than a ten yard play.
Speaker 4 (08:55):
And they've got this all figured out.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
Over the last seven games, the Seahawk defense has been
by far the best in the NFL. They're at negative
zero point three to six EPA per play. That seems
so basically, if the other team wanted to just run
the ball up the middle every play against the Seahawks
the last seven games, for like a two yard game,
that they would actually be better off than what the
(09:19):
Seahawks have done.
Speaker 4 (09:20):
And you say, well, how is that possible?
Speaker 1 (09:23):
Well, that well, that interception by Ernest Jones, that's like
a negative eleven and a half play because you just
took the ball away from them, you went ninety five
yards and scored a touchdown. And they've had a few
of those plays. Well, that EPA per play is better
than any seven game stretch of the twenty thirteen Seattle seis.
(09:44):
So the peak of what this team has done is
better than the peak of what that team did defensively
in that metric in twenty thirteen.
Speaker 4 (09:53):
We had a bunch more to get to. We will.
Speaker 1 (09:55):
We're gonna talk some college football with our friend Rick
new His all right around the Corner live from the
five twenty bar Grill on ninety three point three KJFF.
Speaker 6 (10:07):
Your home for college football Saturdays, is live with CBS
Sports analyst Rick new Heiseel, powered by Taco Time. Hungry
at Taco Time, It's easy to create exactly what you're craving,
and we wouldn't have it any other way. How do
you Taco Time, customize your meal and order ahead on
the Taco Time Northwest Taco Time Time for something different
(10:27):
Now with Rick Neuheisel, Here's Softian Dick.
Speaker 1 (10:31):
Live the five twenty bar and Grail Saftian Dick without
the soft one today. But we have Rick new Heiseel
in tow who is just absolutely on fire. Hawaii minus
eight and a half against Wyoming, they win twenty seven
to seven. Rick, you are seven and two against the
spread in your last nine games.
Speaker 5 (10:53):
My friend, I'm here for the people. I mean, what
else can I tell you? I'm here for the people.
I got out of blocks a little slow, I said, listen,
I looked at myself in the mirror, said you've got
to give them something that they need. And other than
Chris burritos, what else can I deliver? That's what I'm
trying to help you with.
Speaker 4 (11:10):
I love it.
Speaker 1 (11:11):
Can't wait for your taco time Pig of the Week
in about fifteen minutes or so. But let's start at
what we saw at Montlake on Saturday. It's just it
was unbelievable that the numbers on first down. Rick, I
did a little breakdown after the game because I was like, God,
it seemed like we were terrible passing the ball on
first down. They were two of eight with two interceptions
(11:32):
and two sacks on first down passes. Meanwhile, they carried
the ball fourteen times for one hundred and five yards
when they ran the ball on first down. Is there
a point where you just talk to your coordinators, you
talk to your coaches, and say, we're just not gonna
throw on first down anymore when it's that desparate.
Speaker 5 (11:53):
Well, when you're looking at it after the fact, you
sat there and scratch your head and said, we should
never have thrown. But when you're talking about it talent
like Demon Williams, he just can't believe that he would
be that inconsistent. But there were signs of that at
the Rose Bowl the week before, even though it was
an easy victory. His accuracy and his rhythm to his
(12:13):
throwing in terms of the footwork tied to the arm
were off. And that's going to get fixed before they
play their postseason game because he's too talented to be
as inaccurate as he's been the last couple of weeks.
Speaker 1 (12:25):
And then the defense just kept doing what the defense
has done all year long against everybody, the best teams,
the terrible teams, everybody in between. That they just kept
the dogs in the game, just like they did against
Ohio State, just like they did against Michigan, and the
offense just couldn't muster anything.
Speaker 4 (12:43):
I mean, this defense carrying over for next year.
Speaker 1 (12:47):
I mean, this could be a top fifteen, top twelve
unit in America, can it?
Speaker 5 (12:53):
There's no question? And Ryan Walters deserves a huge amount
of credit to put this team in the position that
they were in to corral an Oregon running game that
had run rough, shot over everybody. Unfortunately, when you do that,
you have to commit extra guys to the box, and
you know, Dante more was talented enough to you know,
hit some passes down the field and give the Ducks
(13:16):
the advantage. But a huge effort and a huge performance
by Ryan Walters in year one at Washington.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
So how would you evaluate the irregular season overall? They
go from six and seven last year, six and six
in the regular season to I think a fairly predictable
eight and four. If you'd have told me at the
beginning of the year they were going to go eight
and four and they were going to lose to Oregon,
Ohio State, Michigan, and Wisconsin, I think you probably would
have said, Yeah, that sounds about right.
Speaker 5 (13:43):
That's exactly right. I think it was a very good season.
I think the hope for that breakthrough game didn't quite materialize,
But there's no reason to think that after another year recruiting,
assuming that Jed has the same you know, kind of
caliber of class in the event and also the same
resources to go and cultivate a great class that you
(14:05):
won't have, you know, the game breakers that will be
the difference in those games that keep her from the
the the penthouse, I guess of the Big Ten, that's
where they're trying to get and that's where I think
Washington deserves to be. We'll see if they can get
that done.
Speaker 7 (14:20):
Well.
Speaker 1 (14:20):
Yeah, twelve rank recruiting class helps, That's that's not bad.
So Jed did a nice nice job there. But Rick
Newizel joining us Rick. It seems like every three or
four years, Lane Kiffen is front and center in the
most newsworthy person in college football for one reason or another.
Speaker 4 (14:39):
Is this more what.
Speaker 1 (14:40):
We're what we saw with Kiffen over the last week
and really over the last month. Is this more of
a college football problem that will reappear on a regular basis,
or is this more unique to Lane Kiffen.
Speaker 5 (14:53):
There is no question that it's awkward. There's no question
that it is awkward. He does not need to make
it this awkward. But college football is at fault in
terms of the calendar for coaches needing to make decisions
prior to making the change from one school to another.
Recruiting shouldn't be happening in the middle of a playoff run.
(15:13):
The transfer portal shouldn't happen in the middle of a
playoff run. This should all be different, and I hope
that someday it will be, because it just requires a
little common sense. But there's no question that Dismount Danny
otherwise known as Lane Kiffin has once again, you know,
busted a knee, busted an ankle. He just can't land it.
He just can't land it. It's just an impossibility for
(15:34):
the lad.
Speaker 1 (15:36):
You know, eight of the nine top nine teams in
the rankings are from the Big ten or the SEC.
It just seems to me like the gap continues to
grow between the two super conferences and the rest. I mean,
we're talking about potentially an ACC conference without any tournament
worthy teams.
Speaker 4 (15:54):
So how long will there be talk about.
Speaker 1 (15:58):
The four four two to one model if the ACC
and the Big twelve can't carry their weight? I mean,
are we going to see the talk go to five
five one one here in the future.
Speaker 5 (16:12):
Well we're getting close to that anyway. And I think
that the ACC and Big twelve are seeing the writing
on the wall. Certainly Tony Pettiti is pushing for automatic qualifiers,
and the fact that they extended the deadline from December
first to January twenty third, I think they're going to
blow right past sixteen. I won't be shocked that we
go to twenty four and in so doing create automatic
(16:32):
qualifiers for all those other conferences so that they can
have play in games and create some more revenue for themselves.
It doesn't seem hard for Texas Tech, who have a
couple of billionaires that are financing their recruiting and their roster.
But not everybody's blessed with oil men at the at
the est of an athletic department. So fingers crossed that
(16:53):
we can come to some common sense about the economics
of the game.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
Well, you mentioned the play in games in the future.
This weekend, maybe a Big ten playoff weekend instead of
just a Big ten championship weekend. We've talked to Wilner
about it, about a three versus six game, a four
versus five game, But.
Speaker 5 (17:12):
Now you're talking that's exactly what needs to happen. It's
silly for Ohio State in Indiana to risk their rosters
to injury this week for a game that doesn't matter.
I mean, it's nice to have a big ten plaque
on your wall, but it pales in comparison to a
national championship. And if we had three versus six and
four versus five, we could solve some of the Vanderbilt
(17:33):
problems some of the other problems in these other conferences.
USC would like to have a chance at this thing, right,
so everybody would like a chance, and that's what I
think is ultimately going to happen.
Speaker 1 (17:44):
And what's interesting about that is had we had that
system this year, the Huskies Oregon game actually would have
been for a berth for the Dogs as the sixth
spot in the playing game, because if they would have
beaten Oregon, they would have had they would have been
in a tie with Iowa, and they would have held
the strength to schedule advantage by virtue of that win
(18:05):
over Oregon, and they.
Speaker 4 (18:06):
Would have played Oregon again.
Speaker 1 (18:09):
We could have had a situation where they play Oregon
last week at home and Oregon on the road at
autsin the next week. I mean, it would it would
have made last weekend a heck of a lot more
entertaining and interesting going into.
Speaker 5 (18:22):
It, and the excitement for that would have been one
of those things that I think you could have been
absolutely felt. So that's that's that's the future. We're headed
that way, I promise you.
Speaker 1 (18:34):
What is the intrigue of watching Ohio State Indiana this week?
I mean, is it just for Indiana to try to
get their first Big Ten championship game in forever? And
do you think they play harder than Ohio State because
Ohio State isn't really all that concern with.
Speaker 4 (18:47):
Winning a Big Ten championship.
Speaker 2 (18:53):
Oh, it looks like you just fell off when men
get Rick back here?
Speaker 4 (18:55):
All right, no problem? Yeah, I think that's a How
cool would that have been?
Speaker 5 (19:00):
Though?
Speaker 4 (19:00):
The three versus six game? I mean I went back
and looked at it.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
If you had a three versus six and a four
versus five on this coming weekend, championship weekend, the Huskies,
if they could have pulled off that win over Oregon
instead of being a meaningless game like it was because
of the Wisconsin loss that okay, the Husky game was meaningless,
it would have been very very meaningful. We got Rick
newheiselback Rick that Big Ten championship game coming up this week?
(19:24):
What is the intrigue? Why should I watch this game
when I feel like, oh, you know what, there's a
chance I could watch these two teams playing like four
weeks for a national championship.
Speaker 5 (19:34):
Well, the big thing in this game is the quarterbacks
because they're playing for a Heisman trophy. If Julian Sayan
has a monster game, he's gonna be the straight arm winner.
And if Fernando Mendoza has a monster game, he's going
to be the straight arm winner. That will be the case.
If neither has a great game and this is a
defensive tug a tug of war, then we're going to
(19:56):
see Diego Pavia from Vanderbilt win the Heisman. So there's
some intrigue involved. I just hope that Ryan Day and
Kurt Signetti watched eleven guys get up every time as
the tray piles on this field in Indianapolis be terrible.
Speaker 4 (20:13):
Somebody got hurt for this one.
Speaker 1 (20:14):
In before the playoffs, Rick, if Texas would have played
McNeese State instead of Ohio State in the first week
of the season and they finished ten and two, would
they have been in the playoffs?
Speaker 5 (20:30):
Based on the brand I mean, that's the same as
as Alabama being in the playoff at ten and two
having lost to Florida State. It's the same as Notre
Dame being ten and two having started the season zero
and two. We believe in brands, which is why the
Elliott Eli drinkwitz Is of the world want automatic qualifiers.
We don't start the season believing that Vanderbilt or Missouri
(20:51):
or Texas Tech can be great. We end up learning
that they can be Why use eleven and one that
still sits at eleven? But the brands, if they get
to that number, they're in because they resonate and they
sit in our minds as quality football programs, and they
also draw television ice.
Speaker 1 (21:09):
Is that going to make coaches fearful, especially big time programs,
fearful to schedule those cross conference games because they can
just say, hey, cautionary tail.
Speaker 4 (21:18):
Look at Texas.
Speaker 1 (21:19):
All they needed to do is play Idaho instead of
Ohio State and they'd be in the playoffs.
Speaker 5 (21:24):
I think the television people have too much clout for
them to be able to stop scheduling good games for
television content. So what I think is going to happen
is we're going to have some deals made amongst the
Power conferences that rely on where you finished. If a
SEC finishes number one, then they're going to get an
SEC one schedule, which means that they'll play the number
(21:48):
one team at the Big Ten next year, they'll play
the number two team from the Big twelve at home,
and they'll play the number four team from the ACC
on the road. You can understan, you can follow my
logic here. Then they're going to have predetermined schedules that
all create great television content, but hit the good teams
against good teams so that we get some parody, and
(22:10):
these other teams that are sitting in your struggle to
keep up with the Joneses in their Power conferences can
get some chances to have a little bite at the apple.
Speaker 1 (22:20):
Well to your point, if they go to a twenty
four team, then you can do more of those things
because coaches aren't afraid to lose those games because you know,
if you're sard, you're like, we're going to make the
twenty four team playoff regardless.
Speaker 5 (22:32):
Well you should, but you have to win, and the
television content for the fans and for everybody is important.
So my belief is that that will be the.
Speaker 4 (22:41):
Case you mentioned BYU.
Speaker 1 (22:44):
They are stuck between Miami and Notre Dame right now.
So if BYU loses this weekend, then presumably Miami and
Notre Dame would be next to each other, and the
tournament committee, the playoff committee chers said, hey, we really
haven't judged Miami a Notre Dame because they haven't been
next to each other. There's a thought that now the
(23:05):
head to head matchup that Miami one would be looked
at more closely if they're next to each other in
next week's poll.
Speaker 4 (23:11):
So could you actually.
Speaker 1 (23:12):
See Miami jumping Notre Dame in that scenario or are
they pretty much stuck where they are?
Speaker 5 (23:17):
I think the committee chair, the athletic director, Markansas, said
that they were in the same pool this last couple
of weeks and still they felt Notre Dame was ahead,
which is incredibly confounding given the fact that every tiebreaker
I've ever known and the same schedule, if you played
each other, then it's head to head, and yet we
(23:38):
still see Notre Dame ahead of Miami. But that being said,
if they changed that with not either team playing this week,
it would be completely ridiculous And I just don't know.
We can trust the committee. Not that I am calling
anybody out as not doing their job. I just think
the committee thing is very very close to the ap
(23:58):
which means that you're just kind of going by wins
and losses and favorite teams.
Speaker 1 (24:04):
All right, Rick, I can feel your heat through the phone. Man,
You're absolutely on fire. Seven and two off your Taco
Time pick of the week over the last nine weeks.
I'll take a couple of Chris beef burritos and some
tater fries and the coke.
Speaker 4 (24:17):
That'll be my pick of the week. What is yours?
Speaker 5 (24:21):
We are going with the Ohio State Buckeyes. They're laying
five and a half. And as much as I love
Kurt Signetti and I am a devout parishioner at the
Church of Signetti, I believe the buck Eyes with their
unbelievable stable of wide receivers and a quarterback that's hitting
close to eighty percent of his passes and a defense
that has held opponents that less than one hundred points,
(24:43):
no other team is even close to that. I am
going with the Buckeyes.
Speaker 1 (24:47):
Love it, love it. We'll talk to you next week.
I like that pick. We'll see, We'll see on Thursday.
Thanks coach.
Speaker 5 (24:53):
All right, baby, talk to you soon.
Speaker 1 (24:55):
Bye. That's Rick new heisl He is smoking, Jackson seven
and two. Absolute smoking. We need to be smoking because
it's factor fiction time. We got to make a pick
right now, don't we.
Speaker 2 (25:05):
We're set to go. Glad you're with us.
Speaker 7 (25:06):
It's your shot at our weekly thousand bucks and the
ten thousand dollars grand prize. It's fact door Fiction, probably
presented by Lucky Eagle Casino and hotel where every day
feels lucky. Fact door Fiction is on Sports Radio ninety
three point three kjr FM.
Speaker 1 (25:28):
All Right, Jackson, the Indianapolis Colts started seven to one.
They were, as the old folks say, the cats meow
at the end of October. I'm even not old enough
to say cats meow on a regular basis, but that's
what my grandma would have. They have lost two in
a row and three of four. Daniel Jones this week
(25:51):
says he's feeling better. In fact, he said he got
a sleeve for his injured arm that was created by
a three D printer from his old classmates of dupe. Okay,
not that that really makes a difference. I just thought
that was.
Speaker 2 (26:07):
An experienced word.
Speaker 4 (26:09):
They have got to win this week if they want
to win the division. And here's why I say this.
Speaker 1 (26:13):
They are at eight and four, they are tied with
the Jaguars for first place. If the Colts lose at
Jacksonville this Sunday, they will be a game back. Here's
what they got next at Seattle, San Francisco at Houston
Murderers Row.
Speaker 4 (26:31):
This is the easiest.
Speaker 1 (26:33):
Game they've got this month. They have got to win
this game. Meanwhile, the Jags have home games against the
Jets home against Tennessee left on their schedule, so the
Jags have a massive scheduling advantage. You better believe the
Colts know that they are treating this as they must win.
They are one and a half point favorites on the
(26:54):
road in Jacksonville. Give me Danny Dimes and the Indianapolis
Colts minus one and a half against Jacksonville.
Speaker 3 (27:02):
Yeah, I bet on the Colts last week and missed
on that one against the Texans. And I think it's
just the Texans are a really really good team. I
don't think the Jacksonville Jaguars are a really really good team.
I don't think they have great weapons on offense and
that defense hasn't impressed Indianapolis. I think, Dick, we both
agree at some point they're gonna go back and look
(27:23):
like the seven.
Speaker 2 (27:24):
And one team.
Speaker 3 (27:24):
Jonathan Taylor is gonna turn back into Jonathan Taylor. I
think this is the week to do it. The running
game will travel, so only one and a half. They
just need to win by two or easy field goal. Yeah,
I'm going with you on this one.
Speaker 7 (27:38):
Yep.
Speaker 1 (27:39):
That Houston team's tough man, There's no question about. They've
played two really good defenses the last two weeks. They've
played at Kansas City and Jonathan Taylor was held to
fifty eight yards on three point six yards of carry.
Speaker 4 (27:50):
Last week he got four yards.
Speaker 1 (27:52):
Of carry, twenty one yard twenty one carris for eighty
five yards against that awesome Houston defense. He goes over
one hundred, he gets it the end zone and the Colts.
Speaker 3 (28:02):
So, Dick, I mean you talked about the Jaguars schedule,
in the Colts schedule, keep in mind the Texans are
only one game back. They finished though with Kansas City, Arizona, Vegas,
and then also as you mentioned, they have the Colts
coming up and the Chargers, so they got a little
bit of a mix of the two other teams, but
Texans are right there too. This is this is a
(28:23):
crazy division.
Speaker 4 (28:24):
Now it's gonna be fun.
Speaker 1 (28:25):
We'll take a look in the five o'clock hour at
some of these crazy games coming up this weekend, because
there are some huge divisional championship type games coming up
this weekend. We'll do that in the five o'clock hour
before we talk to Everett fits you. That's our Factor Fiction,
brought to you by the Lucky Eagle Casino three point forty.
We got a little fun with audio coming up on
ninety three point three KJRFM.
Speaker 2 (28:47):
It's now time for Sufday in Dig's Fun with Audio.
Speaker 8 (28:51):
Jimmy g paorn Star Jimmy mister Garoppolo.
Speaker 2 (28:54):
Now let's have some fun with audio.
Speaker 1 (29:01):
Alrighty three ninety three point three KJRFM.
Speaker 4 (29:04):
That means it is time for a little fun with audio.
Let's start this. I got I got Jackson with me today. Jackson,
did you hear that?
Speaker 2 (29:12):
What's that?
Speaker 1 (29:13):
On Sunday Night Football's pregame show before the Broncos Commander's game,
which was actually a surprisingly good game, analyst Rodney Harrison
was apparently not ready to talk about the Washington defense.
Speaker 2 (29:25):
Just disorganize, you can run defense. I think they'd get
their young running backs for tonight. And then it takes
shouts to your favorite guy, Cortland sudden.
Speaker 6 (29:33):
Yeah, I'm looking at what.
Speaker 4 (29:37):
I forgot the crumbs of Washington defense from that group.
That's the way to attack that group tonight. Do you
believe the best way to tackle what you see from Washington?
Speaker 2 (29:46):
I'm sorry, they just don't have It's.
Speaker 1 (29:48):
A lot of stuff going on down.
Speaker 6 (29:49):
Sorry, they don't have a lot of discipline on the
defensive side of the ball.
Speaker 4 (29:52):
Yeah, that's it.
Speaker 3 (29:55):
They sure don't, man, And I want to get over
to something else to coach, because I was.
Speaker 1 (29:58):
Looking at bow Nick.
Speaker 4 (30:00):
Holy smoke, I hadn't heard that Jackson.
Speaker 2 (30:02):
Yeah, really bad. Actually, what's funny?
Speaker 3 (30:05):
And now it's funny because he wasn't anything bad, but
a lot of people were like, is he okay? Did
like is something going on with him? Like health wise?
And there isn't anything going on with him in health wise.
But that was rough that, I mean, was.
Speaker 1 (30:20):
He his mind was just wandering or something? And then
he forgot the question and then wasn't prepared for the
answer even once.
Speaker 4 (30:26):
He knew what the question. Yes, I don't know.
Speaker 1 (30:29):
I mean, you never know what those situations due rot
Rodney Harrison hit people really really hard in the NFL.
Speaker 3 (30:35):
Yeah, so yeah, I mean, I mean yeah, he says
it's nothing health oriented, so that's good. But man, like,
if you're if you're a highly paid analyst on on
NBC Sun and Night football, dude, that cannot happen, can't.
Speaker 4 (30:50):
Hey Jackson, did you hear that?
Speaker 1 (30:51):
That's on Ben Roethlisberger's Football in podcast This week, the
former Steeler quarterback suggested that Pittsburgh should clean house and
his former head coach, Mike Tomlin should go coach at
Penn State.
Speaker 9 (31:03):
It's being talked about around here a lot. Maybe it's time.
Maybe it's a clean house time. Maybe it is. Maybe
it's time. And I like coach Tomlin. I have a
lot of respect coach Tomlin. But maybe it's best for
him too. Maybe a fresh start for him is what's best,
whether that's in the pros, whether maybe go be Penn
State's head coach. You know what he would do in
Penn State. He'll probably go win national championships, legitimate because
(31:24):
he's a great recruiter.
Speaker 2 (31:26):
What is the reality of something like that happening in Pittsburgh.
It seems so uncharacteristic.
Speaker 4 (31:30):
It is.
Speaker 9 (31:31):
You don't fire a guy like coach Tomlin. He's a
Hall of Fame coach. He's respect. What you do is
you come to an understanding and agreement and it's like, hey, listen,
I think it's probably best for both of us. Give
him a statue, whatever you gotta do, because he deserves it,
he's earned it. But it's it's like, Okay, it's time
to find that next guy.
Speaker 1 (31:51):
I've been around this world for fifty one years and
I have only seen three Pittsburgh Steelers head coaches.
Speaker 2 (31:57):
Yeah, so yes, they do.
Speaker 4 (31:59):
Not like to fire head coaches.
Speaker 1 (32:01):
But I do think that it's very similar to what
we saw here with Pete Carroll.
Speaker 4 (32:05):
You know, great job, super Bowl championship.
Speaker 1 (32:08):
But it's just it's just not elevating to the level
that we needed to elevate, and it's probably better off
for both.
Speaker 4 (32:15):
I think it's better off for the Steelers.
Speaker 1 (32:17):
That they move on, and I think Mike Tomlin will
land someplace, whether it's college or the NFL, and he'll
land in a place that needs a leader, that needs
a motivator, that needs a culture guy, and he's as
good at.
Speaker 4 (32:30):
Culture guys we've seen in the NFL the last twenty years.
Speaker 2 (32:33):
Totally.
Speaker 3 (32:33):
I just he's a good enough coach to have success anywhere.
The funny thing about that whole clip, you know, we
could just play the first half and talk about the
whole Penn State thing and talk about the whole cleaning
house thing. The interesting thing was the second part where
Roethlisporter is like, you don't fire a coach like Tomlin.
You just talked to him and say it's best if
we both part ways. Well, Ben, that's called firing somebody,
(32:55):
my friend.
Speaker 1 (32:56):
Isn't that kind of what the Seahawks did, though, yes
it was. It was fired out that they It wasn't
put out that Pete Carroll was fired this way.
Speaker 3 (33:06):
Stupid language in the sports world these days. We had
a mutual parting of ways. That's such bs. If you
say we had a mutual parting of ways, you fired him?
Speaker 1 (33:16):
Yeah, so so Pete, if you wanted to have come
back and coached the Seahawks and next year, would you have.
Speaker 4 (33:21):
Been able to No? I would not have. Okay, then
you got fired, got fired? Hey Jackson, do you hear that? Oh?
We got another.
Speaker 2 (33:29):
Rains, this is good. It connects all right.
Speaker 1 (33:31):
Roethlisberger's comments reminded us of a Mike Tomlin press conference
in twenty twenty one where the head coach exploded after
reporter asked about folks making connections between him and college
coaching jobs.
Speaker 10 (33:43):
Mike, at any point in your coaching career, did you
ever have an interest or express an interest in being
a head coach in the college game? And do you
have any idea how that may or may not have
led to folks like Ryan and Doug Whaley and Carson
Palmer connecting you to some college jobs.
Speaker 8 (33:59):
Hey, guys, I don't have time for that speculation. I mean,
that's a joke to me. I got one of the
best jobs in all of professional sport. Why would I
have any interest in coaching college football. That'll be the
last time that I address it, and not only today,
but moving forward. Never say never, but never. Okay, anybody
(34:20):
else got any questions about any college jobs? Is not
a booster withold.
Speaker 2 (34:23):
A big enough blank check anyone else?
Speaker 3 (34:27):
Thank you?
Speaker 8 (34:28):
Anybody asking Sean Payton about that? You know, anybody asking
Andy Reid about stuff like that?
Speaker 1 (34:36):
Well, in the last four years, I would say, the
blank checks in college football have gotten astronomically larger than
they were when Mike Tomlin made that statement four years ago.
But I would bet that he does not end up
at Penn State. I would bet that he ends up
in the NFL Giants, how about the Dolphins. How about
(34:59):
the Dolphin finally hire a guy that's kind of an.
Speaker 4 (35:01):
Ass shoer down there.
Speaker 1 (35:03):
Yeah, they have just been the squishy, softest franchise in
the NFL most of the since Don Schuller.
Speaker 3 (35:10):
I think it's one of those things where you need
to be able to give him some run, Like I
don't think you're gonna you can bring it into an
organization that's so used to just funneling through guys every
couple of years, like the Giants. Miami's a interesting one
because they've given m McDaniel that run. So you just
need to say, listen, man, you're gonna give you five
(35:31):
years and we're then we're not gonna fire you, and
we're just gonna let you build that culture. Because he's
a very big culture guy. But yeah, I'm I'm with
you wherever he lands. I just that's gonna turn into
a playoff team eventually.
Speaker 4 (35:42):
Let's ask Mike Holnger. Yeah, he's gonna join us.
Speaker 1 (35:44):
Coming up, we'll find out where does Mike Holmgran think
that Mike Tomlin would work?
Speaker 4 (35:49):
We will, we'll ask. I'm sure he knows Mike Tomlin
pretty well.
Speaker 1 (35:52):
Three fifty five on ninety three point three KJFM The
Coach The Big Show coming up for the next hour
on ninety three point three kJ ref
Dave 'Softy' Mahler and Dick Fain News
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