1 00:00:20,280 --> 00:00:23,920 How you doing everybody? Welcome back to our second ever 2 00:00:23,920 --> 00:00:27,200 episode of the Tuesday evening Bison Chat. 3 00:00:27,200 --> 00:00:29,680 I'm GAIL and Clavio, otherwise known as Doctor GC. 4 00:00:29,680 --> 00:00:32,400 We got Joe Cronin, our Co host back with us. 5 00:00:32,400 --> 00:00:36,400 And we welcome special guest Audrey Marr from the Hoosier 6 00:00:36,400 --> 00:00:39,800 Network for the first time, our first official guest on the 7 00:00:39,800 --> 00:00:42,400 show. Audrey, great to have you with 8 00:00:42,400 --> 00:00:43,280 us. How you doing today? 9 00:00:43,640 --> 00:00:45,840 I'm good. I'm honored to be the 1st guest. 10 00:00:45,920 --> 00:00:48,360 I'm I'm really excited to have to be on and I think it's going 11 00:00:48,360 --> 00:00:52,760 to be a really fun show. And Joe, obviously great to have 12 00:00:52,760 --> 00:00:55,120 you back as well. We kept you on for another week 13 00:00:55,120 --> 00:00:56,760 and I'm glad you decided to come back. 14 00:00:56,760 --> 00:00:58,880 How are you doing today? Yeah, it's good to see. 15 00:00:58,880 --> 00:01:01,640 I've made the cut in in the Week 2 doing doing good. 16 00:01:01,640 --> 00:01:04,400 I'm ready to right ahead to Pasadena. 17 00:01:04,400 --> 00:01:07,400 Looking forward to that trip. Yeah, should be a lot of fun, 18 00:01:07,400 --> 00:01:11,000 should be a really fascinating experience and a really unique 19 00:01:11,000 --> 00:01:15,200 game for IU. As you know, their season really 20 00:01:15,200 --> 00:01:20,280 already has a chance to take a path that has been certainly 21 00:01:20,280 --> 00:01:23,560 less travelled for IU football. Not a whole lot of three and O 22 00:01:23,560 --> 00:01:26,720 starts in the history of the program and certainly a chance 23 00:01:26,720 --> 00:01:30,800 to do that in a historic venue. First game of the Big 10 season, 24 00:01:30,800 --> 00:01:35,200 A lot to talk about there. But before we get to that, let's 25 00:01:35,200 --> 00:01:37,240 talk about what happened this past weekend. 26 00:01:37,240 --> 00:01:40,400 We all saw the game. Indiana blowing out Western 27 00:01:40,400 --> 00:01:46,160 Illinois by a 77 to 3 mark. Historic in a number of ways. 28 00:01:46,160 --> 00:01:49,800 Joe, let me start with you. It was one of those games where 29 00:01:49,800 --> 00:01:52,080 Indiana played about as perfectly as you can play, 30 00:01:52,400 --> 00:01:55,680 albeit against the team that was far from perfect in Western 31 00:01:55,680 --> 00:01:58,240 Illinois. But you can only play the team 32 00:01:58,240 --> 00:02:01,240 that's in front of you, and Indiana certainly did that with 33 00:02:01,240 --> 00:02:04,760 flying colors. Yeah, This is really just that 34 00:02:04,760 --> 00:02:06,680 take care of business game for Indiana. 35 00:02:06,680 --> 00:02:09,360 Last year it was Indiana State, this year Western Illinois. 36 00:02:09,360 --> 00:02:11,760 And I don't think there was any any disagreement. 37 00:02:11,760 --> 00:02:14,480 And this was one of the worst teams in Division One. 38 00:02:14,480 --> 00:02:19,280 I mean, they were four and 44 in their past couple seasons. 39 00:02:19,280 --> 00:02:21,400 There are Four Seasons heading into this one. 40 00:02:21,800 --> 00:02:26,760 And the thing I really noticed about this is in years past, I 41 00:02:26,760 --> 00:02:30,080 don't see those last two to three years of Tom Allen's years 42 00:02:30,360 --> 00:02:31,760 being able to put up those numbers. 43 00:02:32,040 --> 00:02:35,000 No matter the opponent, and I think that just goes to show 44 00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:37,560 some of the culture change surrounding this team is they 45 00:02:37,560 --> 00:02:40,320 kept their foot on the gas and even when it was the second 46 00:02:40,360 --> 00:02:43,120 third stringers, even 4 stringers at times, they were 47 00:02:43,120 --> 00:02:45,800 playing hard. And when when Signetti talked to 48 00:02:45,800 --> 00:02:49,360 the media after the game, he was still upset about the 1 scoring 49 00:02:49,360 --> 00:02:51,960 Dr. that Western Illinois had at the end of the first half, they 50 00:02:51,960 --> 00:02:54,920 gave up three total points, 77 to three. 51 00:02:54,920 --> 00:02:58,120 And he still is pinpointing exactly what went wrong in that 52 00:02:58,120 --> 00:02:59,560 drive. And I just think it just goes 53 00:02:59,560 --> 00:03:02,840 into that this team is fighting for something and and it seems 54 00:03:02,840 --> 00:03:04,360 like that needle is starting to get moved. 55 00:03:04,360 --> 00:03:07,000 And yes, it was Western Illinois, but got to take it one 56 00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:09,800 step at a time. Audrey, you got a chance to 57 00:03:09,800 --> 00:03:12,760 watch the game as well. Obviously a lot different from 58 00:03:12,760 --> 00:03:15,320 what we saw last year with this IU football team. 59 00:03:15,320 --> 00:03:17,800 What stuck out to you the most in that in that Western Illinois 60 00:03:17,800 --> 00:03:19,440 game? Yeah, you mentioned it. 61 00:03:19,440 --> 00:03:21,400 I mean, it's completely different than last year. 62 00:03:21,400 --> 00:03:24,080 I think what stuck out to me the most is I think this was the 63 00:03:24,080 --> 00:03:27,000 first game that I personally saw this Indiana football team 64 00:03:27,000 --> 00:03:30,640 having that much fun. I've never honestly seen that, 65 00:03:30,640 --> 00:03:32,280 especially looking into last year. 66 00:03:33,160 --> 00:03:35,880 I think you said it, Joe. I mean, they never took their 67 00:03:35,880 --> 00:03:37,720 foot off the gas. And I think that that was really 68 00:03:37,720 --> 00:03:40,320 big. They're just showing how here 69 00:03:40,320 --> 00:03:42,880 they are for this year. And I think they're just really 70 00:03:42,880 --> 00:03:45,000 showing their presence. And I mean, I would look on the 71 00:03:45,000 --> 00:03:48,520 sideline, see Coach Signetti, he would look like he was just mad 72 00:03:48,520 --> 00:03:52,160 at everything, even being up 49 to three or whenever they were 73 00:03:52,160 --> 00:03:55,240 up by that much at halftime. And I mean, he always has 74 00:03:55,240 --> 00:03:59,280 something to keep an eye on and maybe pick on, but to play as 75 00:03:59,280 --> 00:04:02,200 well as they did. I personally couldn't even pick 76 00:04:02,200 --> 00:04:05,120 anything out then having that perfect performance that they 77 00:04:05,120 --> 00:04:07,040 did. It is a really interesting 78 00:04:07,040 --> 00:04:09,080 psychological change with this team. 79 00:04:09,080 --> 00:04:12,680 You know, I mean, Tom Allen came across as like everybody's 80 00:04:12,680 --> 00:04:15,520 friend and a guy who, you know, believed in love, love each 81 00:04:15,520 --> 00:04:17,200 other. Like the whole Leo mindset. 82 00:04:17,519 --> 00:04:20,600 Signetti comes across as this kind of stern, you know, 83 00:04:20,600 --> 00:04:22,960 disciplinarian, like, we're going to do things the right 84 00:04:22,960 --> 00:04:25,800 way. And yet it does almost feel like 85 00:04:25,800 --> 00:04:28,560 the team is more locked in and having more fun with playing 86 00:04:28,560 --> 00:04:32,440 football right now in the first two weeks than we saw in the 87 00:04:32,440 --> 00:04:35,320 last couple of seasons. Now, obviously, winning helps a 88 00:04:35,320 --> 00:04:39,080 lot of that, but even in wins, it almost felt like a relief 89 00:04:39,240 --> 00:04:43,200 that Indiana would win games under the previous regime, not a 90 00:04:43,200 --> 00:04:45,440 not like what we expected to do that. 91 00:04:45,440 --> 00:04:48,040 And so it is it is an interesting transition, I think, 92 00:04:48,320 --> 00:04:49,800 and one to keep an eye on moving forward. 93 00:04:49,800 --> 00:04:52,400 Obviously, as the competition gets tougher, we'll see if that 94 00:04:52,400 --> 00:04:55,520 mindset continues. Kurt Signetti had several quotes 95 00:04:55,520 --> 00:04:59,760 after the game and several things interesting are esteemed 96 00:04:59,760 --> 00:05:02,400 producer in the background, Emily Fox, going to be pressing 97 00:05:02,400 --> 00:05:04,760 some buttons for us here? But let's hear from Kurt 98 00:05:04,760 --> 00:05:09,040 Signetti first and foremost as he talks about the performance 99 00:05:09,040 --> 00:05:12,040 of his starting quarterback Curtis Rourke, a guy who people 100 00:05:12,040 --> 00:05:14,400 have some questions about coming into the year but so far has 101 00:05:14,400 --> 00:05:16,680 performed at a pretty high level through two games. 102 00:05:17,800 --> 00:05:20,840 What I really liked was you could see the kind of the 103 00:05:20,840 --> 00:05:25,120 cohesiveness of the team on both sides, guys cheering each other 104 00:05:25,120 --> 00:05:31,480 on, congratulating each other, him taking charge and and it was 105 00:05:31,480 --> 00:05:32,880 great to get a lot of guys involved. 106 00:05:34,120 --> 00:05:37,400 I mean, Curtis Rourke, Joe, I don't know what I completely 107 00:05:37,400 --> 00:05:40,600 expected, but as someone who's watched IE football for a while, 108 00:05:40,600 --> 00:05:43,720 I haven't felt physically just like watching a person on the 109 00:05:43,720 --> 00:05:46,840 field this confident about a quarterback since Nate Sudfeld, 110 00:05:47,240 --> 00:05:48,960 who, you know, it's last year or eight years ago. 111 00:05:48,960 --> 00:05:51,600 I mean, Michael Pennix, you love his arm talent, but you're 112 00:05:51,600 --> 00:05:52,880 always afraid he's going to get injured. 113 00:05:53,160 --> 00:05:56,520 Curtis Rourke just has this like, rock like stability in the 114 00:05:56,520 --> 00:05:58,760 pocket that really makes you feel like he knows what he's 115 00:05:58,760 --> 00:06:02,040 doing on almost every play. Yeah, even just passing the eye 116 00:06:02,040 --> 00:06:03,640 test, he going back to spring ball. 117 00:06:03,640 --> 00:06:06,240 This is a six, five, 220 LB quarterback. 118 00:06:06,240 --> 00:06:09,040 I mean, that's just that prototypical guy you want in the 119 00:06:09,040 --> 00:06:11,160 pocket. He has some decent mobility to 120 00:06:11,560 --> 00:06:13,760 to stretch some plays outside. It's all in the first game. 121 00:06:13,800 --> 00:06:16,120 FIU just launched the ball down to Miles Cross. 122 00:06:16,120 --> 00:06:19,040 But I mean, once again, you got to take the opponent with a 123 00:06:19,040 --> 00:06:20,960 grain of salt. Just understand it was Western 124 00:06:20,960 --> 00:06:22,520 Illinois, but he was making good throws. 125 00:06:22,520 --> 00:06:25,880 The throws were on time in stride as compared to really 126 00:06:25,880 --> 00:06:27,960 that FIU 8. There were a few missed time 127 00:06:27,960 --> 00:06:29,560 ones. There was a deep post. 128 00:06:29,720 --> 00:06:31,960 It was the first touch they scored against Western Illinois, 129 00:06:31,960 --> 00:06:33,880 but they ran that same play against FIU. 130 00:06:33,880 --> 00:06:36,800 It was Anderson, Kobe, same receiver and it was a little 131 00:06:36,800 --> 00:06:39,120 missed time, a little under thrown in the one at FIU got it 132 00:06:39,120 --> 00:06:40,440 cleaned up against Western Illinois. 133 00:06:40,440 --> 00:06:42,000 So you can see the progressions getting there. 134 00:06:42,000 --> 00:06:44,520 He's more confident with these receivers because once again, 135 00:06:44,520 --> 00:06:46,880 it's a whole new system for him. He's coming from Ohio. 136 00:06:46,920 --> 00:06:49,760 He's injured. Last year was the 2022 Mac 137 00:06:49,760 --> 00:06:51,960 Player of the year. But I mean, this is a guy, he 138 00:06:51,960 --> 00:06:54,920 does have the Big 10 arm talent, if that makes sense. 139 00:06:56,600 --> 00:07:00,200 Going on to another quote by Kurt Signetti, it's one of those 140 00:07:00,200 --> 00:07:02,760 things where the defense has been almost more impressive than 141 00:07:02,760 --> 00:07:05,560 the offense throughout the course of this season so far, 142 00:07:05,560 --> 00:07:08,600 and they've really been able to cause a lot of problems for the 143 00:07:08,600 --> 00:07:10,680 opposition. Let's hear what Kurt Signetti 144 00:07:10,680 --> 00:07:12,920 had to say about that. I think it's a culture of 145 00:07:12,920 --> 00:07:16,680 mindset and identity and the philosophy, you know, the 146 00:07:16,680 --> 00:07:20,720 program culture and mindset that we're, we're an attacking type 147 00:07:20,720 --> 00:07:24,440 of team, relentless competitor, playing fast and physical, one 148 00:07:24,440 --> 00:07:26,840 play at a time. And then his style, our style 149 00:07:26,840 --> 00:07:30,240 defense is, you know, we want to turn those guys loose up front 150 00:07:30,480 --> 00:07:37,440 and wreck havoc and disruption. Audrey Havoc has a particular 151 00:07:37,440 --> 00:07:40,920 meaning in football these days. It's a key statistical factor. 152 00:07:41,200 --> 00:07:43,760 How much do you screw up what your opposition is doing? 153 00:07:43,760 --> 00:07:45,440 Is this actually how I would distill that? 154 00:07:45,800 --> 00:07:50,000 And it's kind of ironic because your time Allen defense first 155 00:07:50,000 --> 00:07:53,360 guy. And yet what we've seen out of 156 00:07:53,360 --> 00:07:57,000 the first two weeks is a defense that really is seems to be 157 00:07:57,000 --> 00:07:59,440 dialed in to try to cause as many problems. 158 00:07:59,440 --> 00:08:02,120 Not just in terms of the backfield, but they forced 3 159 00:08:02,120 --> 00:08:04,600 turnovers in this game, which was two more than they forced in 160 00:08:04,600 --> 00:08:06,800 the first game. Yeah, I mean, I would look back 161 00:08:06,800 --> 00:08:09,640 to last year and I there wasn't really a lot of stability on the 162 00:08:09,640 --> 00:08:11,760 defense. And I think just over these last 163 00:08:11,760 --> 00:08:13,600 two games we've seen that stability. 164 00:08:13,800 --> 00:08:17,440 And pointing out Aiden Fisher, I feel like he has that captain 165 00:08:17,440 --> 00:08:19,960 role in the defense like Aaron Casey had last year. 166 00:08:20,200 --> 00:08:23,080 That was a really good switch and kind of just, I don't want 167 00:08:23,080 --> 00:08:24,880 to say replacement, but in a way replacement. 168 00:08:25,120 --> 00:08:27,880 And Aiden Fisher, I mean, even talking in the Big 10 media 169 00:08:27,880 --> 00:08:30,160 days, he has a lot of belief in that defense as well. 170 00:08:30,160 --> 00:08:32,640 Everybody does. I think that they have shown 171 00:08:32,640 --> 00:08:35,960 that this will be a much, much more consistent defense at this 172 00:08:35,960 --> 00:08:38,880 point of the year and I think it should be really interesting to 173 00:08:38,880 --> 00:08:42,120 see how they go up against these Big 10 teams, especially heading 174 00:08:42,120 --> 00:08:44,280 into this week. Yeah, and heading into this 175 00:08:44,280 --> 00:08:46,760 week, they they go to a place that they haven't played since 176 00:08:46,760 --> 00:08:52,440 1968, which is the Rose Bowl and and somehow our favorite in this 177 00:08:52,440 --> 00:08:53,840 game. And it's interesting, like 178 00:08:53,840 --> 00:08:56,920 watching all this line up and Kurt Zignetti obviously not 179 00:08:56,920 --> 00:09:00,520 going to dwell too much on it, but is certainly, as we'll see 180 00:09:00,520 --> 00:09:03,480 in this next clip, you know, just trying to take everything 181 00:09:03,480 --> 00:09:06,880 in stride. For me and the team, it's more 182 00:09:06,880 --> 00:09:09,760 of a business trip. Whether we're playing in a Rose 183 00:09:09,760 --> 00:09:13,640 Bowl or in a parking lot, it's all the same. 184 00:09:15,360 --> 00:09:17,880 I love that. I mean, it's, it's really it. 185 00:09:17,960 --> 00:09:19,440 It's. Full of good quotes. 186 00:09:19,960 --> 00:09:22,240 Well, it's not easy full of good quotes, but I tell you, I mean, 187 00:09:22,240 --> 00:09:25,600 talking with a lot of IU fans, especially some older IU fans, 188 00:09:26,160 --> 00:09:29,400 that whole line in the press conference really resonated with 189 00:09:29,400 --> 00:09:32,400 that because it really felt like, OK, good, This is what 190 00:09:32,400 --> 00:09:34,680 we've wanted forever. Like a coach who just looks at 191 00:09:34,680 --> 00:09:38,360 these things as business trips as they we're going to go 192 00:09:38,360 --> 00:09:41,000 wherever we're playing. We want to give maximum effort 193 00:09:41,000 --> 00:09:42,560 and we want to give maximum focus. 194 00:09:43,000 --> 00:09:45,120 And and you know, Audrey, it kind of feeds into something you 195 00:09:45,120 --> 00:09:48,680 mentioned, which is like the, you know, the the attention to 196 00:09:48,680 --> 00:09:52,120 detail and the way that this team is kind of, you know, even 197 00:09:52,120 --> 00:09:54,080 when they've won in these last couple of games. 198 00:09:54,240 --> 00:09:57,400 And Joe, you mentioned this as well, like this idea of, well, 199 00:09:57,400 --> 00:10:00,480 we're still upset about that one scoring Dr. that we let up or 200 00:10:00,480 --> 00:10:03,160 we're upset about not doing better in the second-half 201 00:10:03,160 --> 00:10:07,240 against FIU. Like that type of mentality 202 00:10:07,360 --> 00:10:10,320 feels like it's going to yield something more positive as we 203 00:10:10,320 --> 00:10:13,400 move forward. Yeah, even talking to some of 204 00:10:13,400 --> 00:10:17,040 the players, whether it's availability or after the game, 205 00:10:17,040 --> 00:10:20,880 like they're pinpointing these mistakes that are made in the 206 00:10:20,880 --> 00:10:23,440 game or mistakes that Signetti has mentioned. 207 00:10:23,800 --> 00:10:26,680 And back to talking about that Rose Bowl. 208 00:10:26,880 --> 00:10:30,080 It was Big 10 media days back in back in late July. 209 00:10:30,080 --> 00:10:33,680 And Kurt Signetti, he's asked about, hey, you're playing in 210 00:10:33,680 --> 00:10:36,120 the Rose Bowl. And he said, I don't care where 211 00:10:36,120 --> 00:10:38,440 we're playing, we're just going to some dusty old stadium to 212 00:10:38,440 --> 00:10:40,640 kick someone's that you can fill in the blank how he finished 213 00:10:40,640 --> 00:10:43,720 that sentence and, you know, kind of blew up on social media. 214 00:10:43,720 --> 00:10:45,960 And it's just his mentality of all these games. 215 00:10:45,960 --> 00:10:48,800 It's like it's just business. He just go in there to coach 216 00:10:48,800 --> 00:10:51,280 some football and see his guys like try and get a win. 217 00:10:51,280 --> 00:10:55,160 And I feel like from a player standpoint, it's hard to not 218 00:10:55,160 --> 00:10:57,120 kind of fall in love with that. And you see it talking to like 219 00:10:57,120 --> 00:10:59,240 Aiden Fisher, guy who's been with Singh that these past 220 00:10:59,240 --> 00:11:01,440 years, Elijah Sarat. They understand that that's the 221 00:11:01,440 --> 00:11:03,240 mentality. And then even some of the guys 222 00:11:03,240 --> 00:11:06,600 that have him with Mike Kadik, long time offensive lineman for 223 00:11:06,600 --> 00:11:09,760 the Hoosiers, he recognizes that there is a culture change and, 224 00:11:09,760 --> 00:11:12,480 and we've talked to him a few times and he has just been a 225 00:11:12,480 --> 00:11:14,840 little more fired up for this year than maybe last year. 226 00:11:15,800 --> 00:11:18,040 We're go ahead, Audrey. Oh yeah, no, I was just going to 227 00:11:18,040 --> 00:11:21,360 say kind of leading off of that, I talked to Aidan Fisher, Mike 228 00:11:21,360 --> 00:11:24,640 Kadic and Justice Ellison all at media day and they all said that 229 00:11:24,640 --> 00:11:28,080 they are really feeding into what Coach Zagnetti's mentality 230 00:11:28,080 --> 00:11:29,600 is this year. And it's bleeding into the 231 00:11:29,600 --> 00:11:32,280 locker room, it's bleeding into their practices, bleeding into 232 00:11:32,280 --> 00:11:34,320 their everyday life. And they're they're really just 233 00:11:34,320 --> 00:11:36,800 using it as their motivation heading into the season. 234 00:11:36,800 --> 00:11:38,080 They know where they want to end up. 235 00:11:38,080 --> 00:11:41,040 They're all agreeing. Even Mike Kadic said, I asked 236 00:11:41,040 --> 00:11:43,480 him like, what was the one thing that he's looking forward to or 237 00:11:43,480 --> 00:11:45,040 that what is his one goal this year? 238 00:11:45,120 --> 00:11:47,440 He said beating. So that was his main point. 239 00:11:47,520 --> 00:11:49,640 And they're they're looking to get to that bowl game. 240 00:11:49,640 --> 00:11:52,160 And but right now their first look is at that Purdue game. 241 00:11:52,160 --> 00:11:55,320 And yeah, I mean Coach Signetti's mentality, I think 242 00:11:55,320 --> 00:11:58,200 it's good to have something like that bleed into this team 243 00:11:58,440 --> 00:12:00,720 because now they all have something to look forward to and 244 00:12:00,720 --> 00:12:03,280 something to play for. It's even bled into my life like 245 00:12:03,280 --> 00:12:06,200 I, I, I gave my lecture today in class and I made like three 246 00:12:06,200 --> 00:12:09,120 small factual layers and I went back and like replayed those and 247 00:12:09,120 --> 00:12:11,360 practiced it for a while to make sure that I didn't make those 248 00:12:11,360 --> 00:12:13,360 mistakes again. It's a really, it's a nice life 249 00:12:13,360 --> 00:12:16,600 mentality in general. It is interesting because like 250 00:12:16,600 --> 00:12:19,320 with Mike Haydick, he was testing the draft waters, 251 00:12:19,320 --> 00:12:22,000 Donovan McCoy was stressing the transfer portal. 252 00:12:22,240 --> 00:12:25,400 Those were two of the best players on Indiana's roster last 253 00:12:25,400 --> 00:12:27,680 year. And they see Signetti come in, 254 00:12:27,680 --> 00:12:30,720 see the talent that immediately is brought in from James Madison 255 00:12:30,720 --> 00:12:33,240 and that influences their decision to stay. 256 00:12:33,240 --> 00:12:36,000 And it just goes to show, like with what Audrey said, it's just 257 00:12:36,240 --> 00:12:38,520 there is kind of a fire with this team there. 258 00:12:38,560 --> 00:12:41,440 That culture change seems to be trending in the right direction. 259 00:12:41,440 --> 00:12:43,240 Obviously, it's one step at a time. 260 00:12:43,240 --> 00:12:47,600 And I think this UCLA game could be a big turning point to really 261 00:12:47,600 --> 00:12:48,840 start to make that switch happen. 262 00:12:49,600 --> 00:12:53,280 Speaking of UCLA, that's Indiana's opponent this week, as 263 00:12:53,280 --> 00:12:56,360 Joe so aptly points out. And Joe, you got a chance to 264 00:12:56,360 --> 00:12:59,280 talk to a UCLA expert earlier this week. 265 00:12:59,280 --> 00:13:01,280 Give us a little intro on this next clip that we're going to 266 00:13:01,280 --> 00:13:03,400 watch. Yeah, I talked to James 267 00:13:03,400 --> 00:13:05,920 Williams. He's been out for USA TODAY 268 00:13:05,920 --> 00:13:07,960 Sports. He's been covering UCLA for a 269 00:13:07,960 --> 00:13:10,760 few years now, back when Chip Kelly was the head coach. 270 00:13:11,040 --> 00:13:14,920 He also is the Co host of a UCLA football podcast along with a 271 00:13:14,920 --> 00:13:18,240 former UCLA player. So was definitely in the works. 272 00:13:18,240 --> 00:13:20,480 Been around this whole transition with the Sean Foster 273 00:13:20,480 --> 00:13:22,000 coming in. Had a great conversation with 274 00:13:22,000 --> 00:13:23,200 him. He kind of dove into some 275 00:13:23,200 --> 00:13:26,120 details about their Week 1 performance against Hawaii. 276 00:13:26,120 --> 00:13:29,720 They did have a bye week and they have a tough schedule after 277 00:13:29,720 --> 00:13:31,800 this game. So I just think there's a lot of 278 00:13:31,800 --> 00:13:34,480 pieces around this Week 3 match between those two teams. 279 00:13:34,480 --> 00:13:36,360 There are big implications for either side. 280 00:13:37,600 --> 00:13:42,400 Let's go ahead and dive right into that as we watch Joe's 281 00:13:42,400 --> 00:13:48,800 interview with Mr. Williams. All right, welcome in. 282 00:13:48,800 --> 00:13:51,400 I would like to welcome Mr. James Williams. 283 00:13:51,400 --> 00:13:54,920 He writes out for USA TODAY out in Southern California as well 284 00:13:54,920 --> 00:13:57,960 as one of the Co hosts for the Believe in UCLA football 285 00:13:57,960 --> 00:14:01,080 podcast. James, pleasure having you on 286 00:14:01,080 --> 00:14:03,160 the Bison Shay here today. If you don't mind, just kind of 287 00:14:03,160 --> 00:14:06,040 introducing yourself and how many years you've been covering 288 00:14:06,240 --> 00:14:08,920 UCLA athletics. Yeah, thanks, Joe. 289 00:14:08,920 --> 00:14:10,920 First of all, I appreciate you having me on. 290 00:14:11,880 --> 00:14:16,800 Yeah, it's been, I think I'm going on my 7th year now. 291 00:14:16,800 --> 00:14:20,240 I've kind of lost track when, when you had Chip Kelly as the 292 00:14:20,240 --> 00:14:23,160 coach, part of that, a lot of those years ran together and 293 00:14:23,400 --> 00:14:26,040 we're a little bit longer than than they probably actually 294 00:14:26,040 --> 00:14:27,840 were. So I think we're on like year 295 00:14:27,840 --> 00:14:31,920 six or seven since 2019. So it's been a good little 296 00:14:31,920 --> 00:14:35,280 while. And obviously excited for the 297 00:14:35,280 --> 00:14:38,280 new chapter and the new era that's ahead, not only for the 298 00:14:38,280 --> 00:14:40,840 Big 10, but to have Desean Foster as the head coach. 299 00:14:40,840 --> 00:14:44,440 So yeah, excited to to talk to you about the team. 300 00:14:45,600 --> 00:14:48,280 Keep it on. Deshaun Foster, first year head 301 00:14:48,280 --> 00:14:51,840 coach obviously was the inside hire for the Bruins, similar to 302 00:14:51,840 --> 00:14:54,320 IUS first year head coach with Kurt Signetti. 303 00:14:54,320 --> 00:14:57,880 I mean, between, you know, fall camp and your first week out in 304 00:14:57,880 --> 00:15:01,120 Hawaii, how have you seen this team start to gel with their new 305 00:15:01,120 --> 00:15:04,480 coach? Yeah, I, I think that's the 306 00:15:04,560 --> 00:15:09,400 unique thing about this team this year is there wasn't a lot 307 00:15:10,120 --> 00:15:13,440 of gelling that needed to be done right. 308 00:15:13,520 --> 00:15:16,400 I think one of the advantages and I think one of the key 309 00:15:16,400 --> 00:15:21,000 reasons not to discredit Desean Foster, but for UCLA to bring on 310 00:15:21,000 --> 00:15:24,080 Desean Foster is the fact that he knew all those guys in the 311 00:15:24,080 --> 00:15:27,240 building already and those he didn't already know are the ones 312 00:15:27,240 --> 00:15:29,120 he brought in himself from the transfer portal. 313 00:15:29,120 --> 00:15:34,200 So I, I think the Deshawn Foster hire was significant because it 314 00:15:34,200 --> 00:15:37,720 was what the players wanted. As soon as Chip, literally Chip 315 00:15:37,760 --> 00:15:40,640 walks out of the meeting room after saying, hey, you guys, I'm 316 00:15:40,640 --> 00:15:43,920 out of here, I'm going a different direction. 317 00:15:44,280 --> 00:15:48,560 And Martin Jarman, the athletic director, is in the room and the 318 00:15:48,560 --> 00:15:51,600 players more or less demanded, hey, we want Deshawn Foster as 319 00:15:51,600 --> 00:15:54,920 our next head coach. Martin Jarman, you know, takes, 320 00:15:54,920 --> 00:15:57,800 I think it was like 72 hours, maybe a little less than that. 321 00:15:58,600 --> 00:16:01,640 I think interviewed a couple people, but decided on Deshawn 322 00:16:01,640 --> 00:16:03,240 Foster. And I think it worked out great 323 00:16:03,240 --> 00:16:06,040 for them because you had very few people leave for the 324 00:16:06,040 --> 00:16:08,120 transfer portal as a result of that move. 325 00:16:08,360 --> 00:16:11,720 And you kept a lot of significant pieces that should 326 00:16:11,720 --> 00:16:14,680 make this team at least viable for the first year in the Big 327 00:16:14,680 --> 00:16:16,920 10. And yeah, it's, it's been, it's 328 00:16:16,920 --> 00:16:21,120 been going good so far. Deshaun Foster still is kind of, 329 00:16:21,440 --> 00:16:23,960 you know, learning to be a head coach, obviously, as we're all 330 00:16:23,960 --> 00:16:27,240 aware with the Big 10 media day and the pause and, and, and the 331 00:16:27,240 --> 00:16:29,520 stuff with that. So there's, there's a learning 332 00:16:29,520 --> 00:16:32,280 curve there for him. And, but I think overall he's 333 00:16:32,280 --> 00:16:34,480 doing pretty well and it's kind of business as usual. 334 00:16:35,480 --> 00:16:38,400 Yeah, I mean, I imagine it was just a lot of nerves being first 335 00:16:38,400 --> 00:16:41,160 year head coach and and it I mean that was his first head 336 00:16:41,160 --> 00:16:43,720 coaching role as compared to some of the new faces. 337 00:16:43,720 --> 00:16:48,120 Like with Zignetti, he had been a head coach previously with 338 00:16:48,200 --> 00:16:50,760 this upcoming week. It's the first Big 10 game for 339 00:16:50,760 --> 00:16:53,600 UCLA, first Big 10 game for Indiana of this season. 340 00:16:53,600 --> 00:16:56,440 I mean, has it been a little weird seeing the Big 10 logo on 341 00:16:56,440 --> 00:17:00,120 on those UCLA unis? Yeah, a a little bit. 342 00:17:01,200 --> 00:17:03,160 It has a little bit. And I think it's going to be, 343 00:17:04,000 --> 00:17:06,920 I'm trying to remember if they have the, if they had the PAC 12 344 00:17:06,920 --> 00:17:08,560 logo out on the field for the Rose Bowl. 345 00:17:08,560 --> 00:17:10,720 I would imagine they do. Or if anything, I'm sure the Big 346 00:17:10,720 --> 00:17:13,280 10 is going to try and implement that and have that on the Rose 347 00:17:13,280 --> 00:17:14,800 Bowl field. So that will be different when I 348 00:17:14,800 --> 00:17:18,160 first walk to the press box or I'm out on the field prior to 349 00:17:18,160 --> 00:17:20,760 the game. Just kind of seeing that that 350 00:17:20,760 --> 00:17:21,920 would be, that would be different. 351 00:17:21,920 --> 00:17:25,640 That would be interesting. But yeah, just for the patches 352 00:17:25,640 --> 00:17:29,400 itself, it there's only been a few times we've actually kind of 353 00:17:29,400 --> 00:17:31,320 seen the jersey. I think when Foster was first 354 00:17:31,320 --> 00:17:34,640 hired was the first time we really kind of saw during his 355 00:17:34,640 --> 00:17:37,080 introductory press conference. And again, obviously for the 356 00:17:37,080 --> 00:17:39,520 Hawaii game. So even that's going to take a 357 00:17:39,520 --> 00:17:41,880 little time to get used to. But after a while, all that will 358 00:17:41,880 --> 00:17:44,920 kind of start blending together. But I think it's more so when we 359 00:17:44,920 --> 00:17:48,480 start seeing some of these other teams in the Big 10 that they're 360 00:17:48,480 --> 00:17:50,840 playing against, especially some of these more historic teams 361 00:17:50,840 --> 00:17:54,560 that have tons of history, obviously Ohio State, Michigan 362 00:17:54,560 --> 00:17:57,360 among them. Yeah, It it, it's, it's it's 363 00:17:57,360 --> 00:17:59,960 going to be kind of eye opening to realize this is where college 364 00:17:59,960 --> 00:18:02,440 football is at this point in time. 365 00:18:03,320 --> 00:18:06,400 What do you, what have you noticed as an excitement level 366 00:18:06,400 --> 00:18:10,520 for this team to have? You know, it's the NBC, the 367 00:18:10,520 --> 00:18:13,080 white slate. Their first Big 10 game is kind 368 00:18:13,080 --> 00:18:16,280 of under that pedestal. Yeah, I think for the for the 369 00:18:16,280 --> 00:18:19,080 guys and even Coach Foster, they're kind of downplaying it a 370 00:18:19,080 --> 00:18:20,520 little bit, right? I think it's just kind of 371 00:18:20,520 --> 00:18:24,360 business as usual for them. It was funny because even when 372 00:18:24,360 --> 00:18:27,560 you listen back to some of the the the media, the media 373 00:18:27,560 --> 00:18:32,600 availability that they had on Monday, you know, Deshawn Foster 374 00:18:32,600 --> 00:18:36,120 was just kind of saying, yeah, you know, this, it was just, it 375 00:18:36,120 --> 00:18:39,120 was just a bye week, but we treated like a game week. 376 00:18:39,120 --> 00:18:41,920 You know, it was just still kind of high paced, wasn't a whole 377 00:18:41,920 --> 00:18:43,120 lot. I think if anything, maybe they 378 00:18:43,120 --> 00:18:45,680 just switched to days and gave them a little bit of rest at the 379 00:18:45,680 --> 00:18:47,240 beginning. But even then, he wanted the 380 00:18:47,240 --> 00:18:49,840 guys to be mentally taking those reps as well. 381 00:18:49,840 --> 00:18:53,520 So even Carson Sweshinger, one of the guys on defense 382 00:18:53,520 --> 00:18:56,520 mentioned, yeah, I mean, we had a little rest, little recovery. 383 00:18:56,760 --> 00:18:59,880 Obviously you're coming back from that trip from Hawaii and, 384 00:18:59,880 --> 00:19:01,720 and you're you're hitting that that time zone now. 385 00:19:01,720 --> 00:19:03,560 You're going to be hitting some of these other time zones here 386 00:19:03,560 --> 00:19:06,040 soon. So I think if anything, it was 387 00:19:06,200 --> 00:19:08,520 it was kind of just a learning lesson for them as far as 388 00:19:08,720 --> 00:19:10,200 getting into the habit of traveling. 389 00:19:10,200 --> 00:19:12,480 And obviously they're playing at home against Indiana this week, 390 00:19:12,480 --> 00:19:15,200 but they're going to be back on the road here pretty soon. 391 00:19:16,400 --> 00:19:19,720 Now what are you mentioned that Hawaii game week 1 Bruins have 392 00:19:19,720 --> 00:19:23,960 to travel out to Honolulu get the 1613 win want to know on the 393 00:19:23,960 --> 00:19:26,240 season because they had that bye week this past week. 394 00:19:26,240 --> 00:19:28,840 I mean, what did you notice from that week one game? 395 00:19:30,640 --> 00:19:32,560 You know, it, it was kind of the same thing with the rest of 396 00:19:32,560 --> 00:19:34,680 college football and it was just kind of funny because everyone's 397 00:19:34,680 --> 00:19:37,760 like, oh, look, so and so team's going to be bad because this and 398 00:19:37,800 --> 00:19:39,640 I'm like, it's week one, it's week 0. 399 00:19:39,640 --> 00:19:42,760 Like what these things are all going to be kind of plain sloppy 400 00:19:42,760 --> 00:19:45,360 the first week or so. So obviously I think there, 401 00:19:45,360 --> 00:19:47,040 there was a lot. The the biggest change maybe 402 00:19:47,040 --> 00:19:49,960 we'll we'll talk a little bit more about is Eric B Enemy and 403 00:19:49,960 --> 00:19:52,800 and him being the offensive coordinator and adding that to 404 00:19:52,800 --> 00:19:55,120 UCLA's. You know, it's kind of different 405 00:19:55,120 --> 00:19:57,960 than what Chip Kelly was doing with his offense a little bit 406 00:19:57,960 --> 00:20:00,240 just in terms of probably mindset, I would imagine. 407 00:20:01,560 --> 00:20:05,000 But yeah, just kind of seeing how the offense started to come 408 00:20:05,000 --> 00:20:09,480 together and they're kind of getting their first live action 409 00:20:09,480 --> 00:20:12,200 using that offense, right. So obviously there's still going 410 00:20:12,200 --> 00:20:14,120 to be some growing pains, different things like that. 411 00:20:14,120 --> 00:20:16,680 J Michael Sturdivant is considered their number one 412 00:20:16,680 --> 00:20:19,920 receiver, but you know, you weren't seeing a lot of 413 00:20:19,920 --> 00:20:21,760 production out of him, but then you're seeing a guy who 414 00:20:21,760 --> 00:20:25,280 transfers in like. Rico Flores, junior from Notre 415 00:20:25,280 --> 00:20:29,400 Dame, true sophomore comes in and just, you know, go goes 416 00:20:29,400 --> 00:20:32,720 ahead and had AI believe over 100 yards, if I'm not mistaken, 417 00:20:32,720 --> 00:20:35,920 did have a touchdown. So there were some bright spots, 418 00:20:35,920 --> 00:20:38,520 right And I I think it's going to take a little time. 419 00:20:38,520 --> 00:20:43,840 But The thing is, you know, Indiana's is, is going to be the 420 00:20:43,840 --> 00:20:48,880 next possible win for them here anytime soon because, I mean, 421 00:20:48,920 --> 00:20:51,760 coming up, they have a three-game stretch that, you 422 00:20:51,760 --> 00:20:54,640 know, they, they may not tell you they're nervous about, but 423 00:20:54,640 --> 00:20:56,440 I'm sure the fans are going to be nervous about it. 424 00:20:56,440 --> 00:20:59,600 You have Oregon, Penn State and LSU, maybe not in that order, 425 00:20:59,600 --> 00:21:01,200 but you have those 3 coming along. 426 00:21:01,200 --> 00:21:05,120 So, yeah, I, I, I think they need to work out whatever groin 427 00:21:05,120 --> 00:21:07,680 pains, whatever kinks that they have, they need to have that 428 00:21:07,680 --> 00:21:09,200 address. And and hopefully that's what 429 00:21:09,200 --> 00:21:12,120 they did during the bye week, but hopefully they make the most 430 00:21:12,120 --> 00:21:15,560 of that against Indiana and learn from that as they get 431 00:21:15,560 --> 00:21:17,240 ready for this tough stretch following that all. 432 00:21:19,720 --> 00:21:23,200 Right and welcome. Well, let's unmute and talk 433 00:21:23,200 --> 00:21:25,760 again here. Thank you, Joe Good interview. 434 00:21:26,400 --> 00:21:30,640 And as we think about this match up, it's an interesting one 435 00:21:30,680 --> 00:21:35,680 because obviously there's going to be some question marks just 436 00:21:35,680 --> 00:21:40,480 in terms of what UCLA really looked like in that game versus 437 00:21:40,480 --> 00:21:42,800 Hawaii. Was that really just first game 438 00:21:42,800 --> 00:21:45,720 jitters or was that something that was more significant and 439 00:21:45,720 --> 00:21:47,880 more concerning? I don't think anybody really 440 00:21:47,880 --> 00:21:51,520 knows at this point. And when you look at UCLA, it's 441 00:21:51,520 --> 00:21:54,280 like it was a team that was OK last year, but certainly not 442 00:21:54,760 --> 00:21:56,480 among the top teams in Division One. 443 00:21:57,720 --> 00:22:00,120 Yeah, it is interesting. And they found themselves down 444 00:22:00,120 --> 00:22:03,480 10 O at half time against Hawaii was able to, you know, come back 445 00:22:03,480 --> 00:22:07,120 1613 as the final score and was it is just kind of that first 446 00:22:07,160 --> 00:22:11,480 game sloppiness and it's just kind of a test of not many teams 447 00:22:11,480 --> 00:22:14,440 play well at Hawaii. That's a tough place to go and 448 00:22:14,440 --> 00:22:16,480 play at your your different time zone. 449 00:22:16,480 --> 00:22:18,880 Obviously UCLA is going to have to get used to playing in 450 00:22:18,880 --> 00:22:21,720 different time zones this year with their schedule, but I don't 451 00:22:21,720 --> 00:22:23,040 know if it really says all that much. 452 00:22:23,040 --> 00:22:26,160 I'd say with their quarterback they offer, it's Ethan Garber. 453 00:22:26,160 --> 00:22:29,320 It's just a dual threat capability and I asked Signetti 454 00:22:29,320 --> 00:22:31,840 about this on Monday and it's just really what's stopping the 455 00:22:31,840 --> 00:22:33,480 run containing them in the pocket. 456 00:22:33,480 --> 00:22:35,000 That's going to be their main focuses. 457 00:22:35,240 --> 00:22:38,240 They have some decent guys on the outside, but I don't know 458 00:22:38,240 --> 00:22:40,480 how much of A handful will be for the guys in the outside on. 459 00:22:40,480 --> 00:22:43,680 I use corners, whether it's the Angel pawn Sync, Renetti, Jimer 460 00:22:43,680 --> 00:22:45,880 Johnson, any of them. I mean, it should be an 461 00:22:45,880 --> 00:22:47,560 interesting game. Nonetheless. 462 00:22:47,600 --> 00:22:49,480 These two teams have never played each other. 463 00:22:49,640 --> 00:22:53,080 So it it's just not a lot of film on UCLA for this season. 464 00:22:53,080 --> 00:22:55,240 And with IU, it's just so much new. 465 00:22:55,240 --> 00:22:58,920 So either team's not really seeing a lot of consistency. 466 00:22:59,720 --> 00:23:02,640 Audrey, as we think about this match up, I mean, one of the big 467 00:23:02,640 --> 00:23:06,880 things is obviously how well does Indiana's offense that 468 00:23:06,880 --> 00:23:08,920 there has been pretty good so far in these first two games 469 00:23:08,920 --> 00:23:12,520 travel and how do they travel? I mean, this is not a program 470 00:23:12,520 --> 00:23:14,320 that's had a lot of success on the road. 471 00:23:15,040 --> 00:23:17,080 You know, they, they wanted Michigan State a couple of years 472 00:23:17,080 --> 00:23:18,760 ago and there hasn't been a whole lot beyond that. 473 00:23:19,440 --> 00:23:21,680 You know what, what are you anticipating or what are you 474 00:23:21,680 --> 00:23:24,880 going to be most watching out for as we go into this game? 475 00:23:25,600 --> 00:23:28,160 Yeah, I think it's gonna be super interesting to see how 476 00:23:28,160 --> 00:23:30,280 they gel. I think James made a good point 477 00:23:30,360 --> 00:23:33,520 with UCLA is that they don't know if they have, if there, if 478 00:23:33,520 --> 00:23:36,480 there is any gelling to do. But I think in both sides, on 479 00:23:36,480 --> 00:23:38,960 both cases, I mean, they're both in a similar position. 480 00:23:38,960 --> 00:23:40,920 I mean, they both have a new head coach now. 481 00:23:40,920 --> 00:23:43,200 Indiana has a completely different team, completely 482 00:23:43,200 --> 00:23:45,960 different offense. So you don't know how completely 483 00:23:45,960 --> 00:23:49,360 they gel each and every time if they're on the road at home, how 484 00:23:49,360 --> 00:23:51,200 different that is. So I think this will definitely 485 00:23:51,200 --> 00:23:53,920 be the biggest test overall. I think it'll be interesting to 486 00:23:53,920 --> 00:23:55,520 see, especially if Donovan Macaulay played. 487 00:23:55,800 --> 00:23:57,920 I mean, they've had a lot of stability with that wide 488 00:23:57,920 --> 00:24:00,560 receiver room. I think it'll be really that'll 489 00:24:00,560 --> 00:24:03,520 be something I'm watching out for personally is seeing if they 490 00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:06,320 are gelling as well as they are at home and if they do have that 491 00:24:06,320 --> 00:24:09,120 edition of Donovan McCauley. So I don't know, just seeing how 492 00:24:09,120 --> 00:24:12,000 Curtis work plays on the road, I think will be very interesting 493 00:24:12,000 --> 00:24:13,800 to see. Obviously he's delivered here at 494 00:24:13,800 --> 00:24:17,640 home, but it's it's it's going to be just up to how a. 495 00:24:18,720 --> 00:24:20,840 Couple comments from the audience we wanted to get into 496 00:24:20,880 --> 00:24:23,000 from from our buddy Hooperazzi earlier. 497 00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:26,360 The running game is crucial with this IU team and gives the 498 00:24:26,360 --> 00:24:29,000 defense time to rest. This team is coached in the 499 00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:30,680 basics. It's an interesting point going 500 00:24:30,680 --> 00:24:34,880 into this game, which is going to be played at a higher 501 00:24:34,880 --> 00:24:36,760 temperature than what Indiana's face. 502 00:24:36,760 --> 00:24:39,360 Well, they faced probably around the same in the FIU game. 503 00:24:39,360 --> 00:24:40,680 It was it was maybe a little bit cooler. 504 00:24:40,680 --> 00:24:43,920 It's going to be in the mid 80s. Shouldn't be a huge amount of 505 00:24:43,920 --> 00:24:46,160 humidity. Southern California, at least I 506 00:24:46,160 --> 00:24:47,480 hope there's not a huge amount of humidity. 507 00:24:48,080 --> 00:24:51,800 If there is, there's maybe bigger problem than the, but 508 00:24:52,920 --> 00:24:57,560 the, the, the running game being so good two games in a row, 509 00:24:57,680 --> 00:25:01,000 again, not something this IU team has been used to over the 510 00:25:01,000 --> 00:25:04,440 course of the past few seasons. Joe That's going to be critical, 511 00:25:04,600 --> 00:25:09,560 not just for gaining yards, not just for giving Curtis work time 512 00:25:09,600 --> 00:25:13,280 and options, but also to keep the defense fresh going up 513 00:25:13,280 --> 00:25:16,880 against the UCLA team that you know, might be fairly, you know, 514 00:25:17,120 --> 00:25:20,760 adept at offense in certain ways. 1st, I want to talk about 515 00:25:20,760 --> 00:25:24,000 the weather first. I I think this team is getting 516 00:25:24,000 --> 00:25:26,760 very lucky. It was 105 in Pasadena 517 00:25:26,760 --> 00:25:29,400 yesterday. That was when I talked to James. 518 00:25:29,400 --> 00:25:30,760 He was like, yeah, it's scorching here. 519 00:25:30,760 --> 00:25:32,920 And I think it's supposed to dip down in the, like you said, the 520 00:25:32,920 --> 00:25:35,520 mid 80s. So, yeah, the run game has been 521 00:25:35,520 --> 00:25:37,720 what they've leaned on these first two games. 522 00:25:37,720 --> 00:25:42,440 And it's it's so hard to really pinpoint like what exactly the 523 00:25:42,440 --> 00:25:45,800 offensive consistency is going to be with those with FIU and 524 00:25:45,800 --> 00:25:48,160 Western Illinois. But like, Tyson Lawton got 16 525 00:25:48,160 --> 00:25:51,600 carries in League One, the ground game at over 300 yards 526 00:25:51,600 --> 00:25:55,040 against Western Illinois. Now, once again, considering the 527 00:25:55,040 --> 00:25:57,200 opponent and everything. But yeah, they're going to try 528 00:25:57,200 --> 00:25:59,320 and run the ball. Tyson Lawson, Justice Ellison, 529 00:25:59,320 --> 00:26:00,880 that's a good 1-2 punch right there. 530 00:26:00,880 --> 00:26:04,600 And the offensive line has created very good holes through 531 00:26:04,600 --> 00:26:08,040 those two weeks. Once again, it's all it's all 532 00:26:08,040 --> 00:26:10,880 the match ups, but this is going to be that first. 533 00:26:10,880 --> 00:26:15,920 Hey, this is a power four team. This is a a conference opponent. 534 00:26:16,200 --> 00:26:19,280 So it's interesting to see how those offensive lineman will do. 535 00:26:19,280 --> 00:26:22,680 A lot of them have that Power 5, Power 4 experience like Kadig, 536 00:26:22,680 --> 00:26:26,040 Trey Weddig coming over from Wisconsin and then the running 537 00:26:26,040 --> 00:26:28,640 back duo, Justice Ellison coming from Wake Forest and Tyson 538 00:26:28,640 --> 00:26:30,440 Lawton. He obviously was at JMU, but 539 00:26:30,600 --> 00:26:32,160 he's been getting good reps so far. 540 00:26:32,160 --> 00:26:34,160 So I think they'll be pretty solid on the ground. 541 00:26:34,160 --> 00:26:35,920 I think it's where the passing game will be interesting, 542 00:26:35,920 --> 00:26:39,720 especially if McCoy doesn't play and then just the timing of 543 00:26:39,720 --> 00:26:43,280 those mid, mid to deep distance rounds, whether it's up to Sarat 544 00:26:43,280 --> 00:26:45,160 or getting Miles price in the mix. 545 00:26:46,320 --> 00:26:49,160 I'm going to blow my screen up here real quick because I want 546 00:26:49,160 --> 00:26:51,960 to show the forecast for Pasadena that you can all see 547 00:26:51,960 --> 00:26:53,400 here. This is really high tech stuff. 548 00:26:53,440 --> 00:26:55,680 You can see. I'm glad they're not playing 549 00:26:55,680 --> 00:26:59,920 today because it's 95, but it's going to be an estimated high of 550 00:26:59,920 --> 00:27:03,600 81 and that'll dip down a little bit because obviously the game, 551 00:27:03,640 --> 00:27:05,440 the tail end of the game is going to be a little more in the 552 00:27:05,440 --> 00:27:08,440 evening. So that's exciting, you know, 553 00:27:08,520 --> 00:27:10,960 and that's actually a big benefit, I think, for Indiana. 554 00:27:11,160 --> 00:27:13,960 Not that anybody's used to playing in 110° temperatures, 555 00:27:13,960 --> 00:27:16,960 but certainly Indiana would be less ready for that, I think, 556 00:27:16,960 --> 00:27:19,920 than UCLA. We had another comment from from 557 00:27:19,920 --> 00:27:23,320 Ross and Audrey, we can kind of talk about this in a little bit. 558 00:27:23,320 --> 00:27:27,000 Is there some rationale for IU traveling so late in the week? 559 00:27:27,360 --> 00:27:30,960 And you know, my take on this and I'm curious to get yours is 560 00:27:30,960 --> 00:27:33,680 like goes back to what Signeti said about this being a business 561 00:27:33,680 --> 00:27:36,160 trip. You don't need to travel early. 562 00:27:36,360 --> 00:27:39,720 You just want to treat it like you were going to Wisconsin or 563 00:27:39,720 --> 00:27:41,840 going to Northwestern or someplace like that. 564 00:27:42,200 --> 00:27:45,000 Yeah, and I I think that kind of goes back to what he said last 565 00:27:45,000 --> 00:27:48,120 week heading into this matchup against Weston IL And he said it 566 00:27:48,120 --> 00:27:49,640 doesn't matter what day he plays. 567 00:27:49,640 --> 00:27:51,520 They just put it on the schedule and they're ready to play. 568 00:27:51,800 --> 00:27:54,480 So I don't think it really matters as much for at least 569 00:27:54,480 --> 00:27:58,000 Coach Signeti and and this team. But I mean, I think it'll be 570 00:27:58,000 --> 00:27:59,800 interesting to see how they do perform. 571 00:27:59,800 --> 00:28:03,440 But I don't think that there is any difference in the way that 572 00:28:03,440 --> 00:28:06,360 they're preparing for this and the way that they're really 573 00:28:06,360 --> 00:28:11,080 their mentality heading into it. Made another comment this from 574 00:28:11,080 --> 00:28:15,360 from Caleb slightly concerned about the largely untested 575 00:28:15,360 --> 00:28:18,920 defensive backs taking on better wide receivers in the defense 576 00:28:18,920 --> 00:28:21,960 that kind of leaves them on an island to win one V1 hoping they 577 00:28:21,960 --> 00:28:24,480 can get home up front more often than not. 578 00:28:24,800 --> 00:28:26,240 I mean, Joe, let me start with you about that. 579 00:28:26,240 --> 00:28:29,000 I mean, that is a concern now you know, it is, it is going to 580 00:28:29,000 --> 00:28:32,240 be interesting when you think about the fact that, you know, 581 00:28:32,240 --> 00:28:35,840 UCLA, we, we have seen them once and we've only seen them once. 582 00:28:35,840 --> 00:28:37,840 And I, and I thought James brought up some good points, but 583 00:28:37,840 --> 00:28:42,200 in that game, I mean, they only passed for 272 yards, 2 584 00:28:42,200 --> 00:28:46,720 touchdowns, excuse me, two 2 interceptions, 1 touchdown was 585 00:28:46,720 --> 00:28:50,600 not a banner day per SE for their receiving core. 586 00:28:51,320 --> 00:28:55,640 Only one guy over 42 yards in in receiving and that was Rico 587 00:28:55,640 --> 00:28:59,680 Flores junior and it's hard for me to envision Hawaii having 588 00:28:59,680 --> 00:29:03,120 better DBS than Indiana. It's it's going to be 589 00:29:03,120 --> 00:29:05,720 interesting scheme wise though to see how all of this plays in 590 00:29:05,720 --> 00:29:09,560 and and how the talent interacts with what UCLA is trying to put 591 00:29:09,560 --> 00:29:11,960 out on the field. Schematically, it will be 592 00:29:11,960 --> 00:29:15,040 interesting what Bryant Haynes decides to put everything 593 00:29:15,040 --> 00:29:17,160 together. I think having a guy like Aiden 594 00:29:17,160 --> 00:29:19,160 Fisher in the middle that it, that's a rock right there. 595 00:29:19,200 --> 00:29:21,000 You know you're going to have a good run stopper. 596 00:29:21,000 --> 00:29:22,760 Obviously, this is more about the pass game. 597 00:29:22,760 --> 00:29:26,240 And I talked to to Fisher in Big 10 media days and he said the 598 00:29:26,240 --> 00:29:28,520 thing he's been working on the most is he's breeding that 599 00:29:28,520 --> 00:29:31,520 passing defense, finding those lanes in the zones and could be 600 00:29:31,520 --> 00:29:33,600 interesting. And then for the quarterback one 601 00:29:33,600 --> 00:29:37,040 DeAngelo Ponds, obviously it's so early, but he really has a 602 00:29:37,040 --> 00:29:40,000 chance to be one of the more impactful guys in this defense. 603 00:29:40,000 --> 00:29:42,720 The way he jams, he's very physical, not a tall guy, but he 604 00:29:42,720 --> 00:29:45,200 has that low center of gravity that he's going to jam you real, 605 00:29:45,320 --> 00:29:46,720 real tight at the line with scrimmage. 606 00:29:47,200 --> 00:29:49,880 Could Joel at least the wide receiver one for UCLAI mean 607 00:29:49,880 --> 00:29:53,280 Jamere Johnson not as tested in these past couple weeks, but 608 00:29:53,640 --> 00:29:57,000 he's had some good reps so far. I think overall up front is 609 00:29:57,000 --> 00:29:58,520 where the damage is going to be done. 610 00:29:58,680 --> 00:30:02,160 And this Hoosier, this Hoosier front on their on the defensive 611 00:30:02,160 --> 00:30:06,680 line are proven guys, James Carpenter, Michael Kamara, Jacob 612 00:30:06,680 --> 00:30:09,680 Mangum, Farr transferring over to that stud position where he's 613 00:30:09,680 --> 00:30:11,720 playing majority defensive end this year. 614 00:30:11,880 --> 00:30:14,240 Those are guys that are going to be able to put some pressure on 615 00:30:14,240 --> 00:30:17,560 to Garber's. I think I just considering 616 00:30:17,560 --> 00:30:19,720 they're going to have this four man rush consistently, I think 617 00:30:19,720 --> 00:30:21,680 they're going to be able to get a handful of sacks. 618 00:30:22,360 --> 00:30:24,560 Audrey, I want to, I want one last thing up here. 619 00:30:24,560 --> 00:30:27,600 And this is courtesy of our buddy Taylor Layman over at Bite 620 00:30:27,600 --> 00:30:31,200 Sized Bison. The the statistical breakdown of 621 00:30:31,200 --> 00:30:34,400 this game and I'll the numbers may be a little hard to see here 622 00:30:34,400 --> 00:30:38,000 for you folks at home, but the one thing I want to really zoom 623 00:30:38,000 --> 00:30:40,080 in on is the fact that this is not going to zoom. 624 00:30:40,080 --> 00:30:44,240 Of course, there we go. The the the green numbers are 625 00:30:44,240 --> 00:30:46,080 good. The purple numbers are bad and 626 00:30:46,080 --> 00:30:50,560 it's only one week, but man, UCL as offense look bad against 627 00:30:50,680 --> 00:30:53,000 Hawaii. What I'm really fascinated by in 628 00:30:53,000 --> 00:30:56,120 this matchup is Indiana's offense versus UCL as defense. 629 00:30:56,120 --> 00:30:58,800 I mean, the one thing we saw statistically in this offseason 630 00:30:58,800 --> 00:31:02,640 looking back at last year was UCL as defense was really good. 631 00:31:02,640 --> 00:31:04,840 I mean, they were like a top 25 defense. 632 00:31:05,480 --> 00:31:08,920 How does Indiana's new found offensive approach and the skill 633 00:31:08,920 --> 00:31:12,240 position players they've got, you know, not just the running 634 00:31:12,240 --> 00:31:14,840 backs, but obviously Elijah Serrat, If Donovan Mccully 635 00:31:14,840 --> 00:31:19,040 plays, he's in the mix, Curtis Rourke, that whole crew, you 636 00:31:19,040 --> 00:31:21,400 know who wins that battle? Like, what do we what's going to 637 00:31:21,400 --> 00:31:24,680 be the the breaking point one way or another as IU tries to 638 00:31:24,680 --> 00:31:26,560 take on that defense? Yeah. 639 00:31:26,560 --> 00:31:29,040 Well, overall, I think from the outside looking in, I think you 640 00:31:29,040 --> 00:31:32,160 would think that UCLA has this has this advantage heading into 641 00:31:32,160 --> 00:31:33,720 the game. But I personally think that 642 00:31:33,720 --> 00:31:36,200 Indiana has the advantage. I mean, they had that one game 643 00:31:36,200 --> 00:31:39,400 that was not an easy win and they have a lot of they had a 644 00:31:39,400 --> 00:31:42,000 lot of kinks to work out. Maybe it was first game jitters, 645 00:31:42,000 --> 00:31:45,200 but Indiana has had these two games to figure themselves out. 646 00:31:45,400 --> 00:31:47,680 You saw a completely different game and they didn't. 647 00:31:47,680 --> 00:31:50,600 They barely had any penalties. That big issue that first game 648 00:31:50,600 --> 00:31:53,240 was those penalties and then what did they have one? 649 00:31:53,240 --> 00:31:55,240 I think it was a pass interference early in the game. 650 00:31:56,040 --> 00:31:59,240 They have figured out some of those kinks that they need to 651 00:31:59,240 --> 00:32:01,640 work on. And I think that is something 652 00:32:01,640 --> 00:32:05,520 that this Indiana team is good at doing is figuring out where 653 00:32:05,520 --> 00:32:08,600 they went wrong. So I think just overall, it'll 654 00:32:08,600 --> 00:32:11,200 be interesting. I personally do think that this 655 00:32:11,200 --> 00:32:13,920 Indiana offense has had a lot more time to figure themselves 656 00:32:13,920 --> 00:32:16,600 out and I think it'll it will be their biggest test. 657 00:32:16,960 --> 00:32:20,080 But I think that Indiana does have that advantage heading 658 00:32:20,080 --> 00:32:22,760 one-on-one because they they know how they work. 659 00:32:23,000 --> 00:32:25,760 And if Donovan Macaulay does come in, that'll be a really big 660 00:32:25,760 --> 00:32:28,920 addition as well. Well, we'll see what happens. 661 00:32:28,920 --> 00:32:31,160 It's going to be a really fascinating match up and it's 662 00:32:31,160 --> 00:32:34,080 the national game on NBC. It's the, this is the really the 663 00:32:34,080 --> 00:32:38,960 debut of Indiana in in the prime time window on the East Coast 664 00:32:39,320 --> 00:32:43,400 and a great spotlight for the program just in general should 665 00:32:43,400 --> 00:32:46,560 be really fascinating. Audrey, any final thoughts 666 00:32:46,560 --> 00:32:48,840 before we wrap up? Yeah, well, I don't know. 667 00:32:48,840 --> 00:32:53,600 I I think that if Indiana does pull this one out, I think that 668 00:32:53,600 --> 00:32:57,640 this will make everything click for some IU fans, Hoosier fans, 669 00:32:57,640 --> 00:32:59,680 that there is something to be excited for. 670 00:32:59,680 --> 00:33:03,720 And I think right now they're these are some 2 easy wins, but 671 00:33:03,960 --> 00:33:06,760 this is their first big test. If they can do it on the road, 672 00:33:06,760 --> 00:33:09,880 which was a lot of problems in these earlier seasons, they 673 00:33:09,880 --> 00:33:12,480 can't get it done on the road and they play all four quarters. 674 00:33:12,480 --> 00:33:14,840 I think it'll really start to click with everybody that there 675 00:33:14,840 --> 00:33:17,560 is something the lookout for here and it should be really 676 00:33:17,560 --> 00:33:20,080 interesting to see how they really handled this test. 677 00:33:21,200 --> 00:33:24,720 Joe, final thoughts from you. Yeah, just got two things. 678 00:33:24,720 --> 00:33:28,200 One, UCLA schedule after this is brutal. 679 00:33:28,200 --> 00:33:31,200 You heard James say it. They go out to LSU next week, 680 00:33:31,360 --> 00:33:33,800 then they host Oregon, and then they're back on the road against 681 00:33:33,800 --> 00:33:36,800 Penn State. That is a brutal schedule. 2 top 682 00:33:36,800 --> 00:33:38,920 ten teams. Whether they're overlooking 683 00:33:38,920 --> 00:33:42,000 Indiana or not, this is really a must win for them to start to 684 00:33:42,000 --> 00:33:43,480 get some consistency on the year. 685 00:33:43,600 --> 00:33:48,240 And the second thing is students are even back at UCLA yet, so 686 00:33:48,360 --> 00:33:52,480 don't really expect a big crowd. And I honestly wouldn't be 687 00:33:52,480 --> 00:33:56,600 surprised if the IU contingent is stronger at the Rose Bowl 688 00:33:56,760 --> 00:34:00,640 than the UCLA fans are. Yeah, it's, it's going to be 689 00:34:00,640 --> 00:34:03,040 interesting. I've heard from a ton of people 690 00:34:03,040 --> 00:34:06,320 who are going and I'm looking forward to seeing what the IU 691 00:34:06,320 --> 00:34:09,239 contingent looks like. IU almost always travels well 692 00:34:09,239 --> 00:34:12,800 with any sport. It's the execution after the 693 00:34:12,800 --> 00:34:14,840 fans show up that's been the problem. 694 00:34:14,840 --> 00:34:17,840 And, and whether that's football or basketball or, or whatever 695 00:34:17,840 --> 00:34:20,880 sport, a lot of disappointment for a lot of people on some of 696 00:34:20,880 --> 00:34:24,120 these trips. So my hope is, I say that as 697 00:34:24,120 --> 00:34:26,040 someone who's been on many of those trips myself. 698 00:34:26,040 --> 00:34:29,639 But you know, I really, I really like this opportunity for IU. 699 00:34:29,639 --> 00:34:32,719 And we said this earlier this year on Crimson Cast. 700 00:34:33,440 --> 00:34:36,400 If they lose, but they're competitive, fine. 701 00:34:36,600 --> 00:34:37,800 Yeah. I think what you want is a good 702 00:34:37,800 --> 00:34:40,040 showing. I'm sure Kurt Zignetti is not 703 00:34:40,040 --> 00:34:42,000 saying that in the locker room like he's saying, guys, we can 704 00:34:42,000 --> 00:34:44,560 go win this game. And and look, I I think all the 705 00:34:44,560 --> 00:34:47,679 numbers and everything, the fact that Indiana's a favorite is not 706 00:34:47,679 --> 00:34:49,960 a fluke. It's betters looking at how 707 00:34:49,960 --> 00:34:52,400 these two teams have played, looking at the statistics and 708 00:34:52,400 --> 00:34:55,679 making an educated guess where they say we actually think 709 00:34:55,679 --> 00:34:58,640 Indiana is the better team. They obviously have to go prove 710 00:34:58,640 --> 00:35:00,080 that. It's still a team that's 711 00:35:00,120 --> 00:35:01,200 gelling. It's still a team that's 712 00:35:01,200 --> 00:35:04,000 figuring out who they are and what they're going to be. 713 00:35:04,480 --> 00:35:08,160 But I love the fact that they get this particular test at this 714 00:35:08,160 --> 00:35:12,480 point, it's it's not, you know, it's like borrow the 33 little 715 00:35:12,480 --> 00:35:13,920 Bears. Like it's not too hot and it's 716 00:35:13,920 --> 00:35:15,720 not too cold. Like it's kind of just right. 717 00:35:15,720 --> 00:35:18,120 It's not an overwhelming opponent talent wise. 718 00:35:18,560 --> 00:35:22,080 It's a cool venue, but one that will probably the Sheen will 719 00:35:22,080 --> 00:35:24,800 wear off a little bit very early on because there aren't going to 720 00:35:24,800 --> 00:35:28,160 be very many fans except IU fans and there's no students. 721 00:35:28,160 --> 00:35:30,320 As you mentioned earlier, Joe, the students aren't going to be 722 00:35:30,320 --> 00:35:33,240 there for UCLA. So it's a really great 723 00:35:33,240 --> 00:35:35,560 opportunity for IU. We'll look forward to seeing 724 00:35:35,560 --> 00:35:40,680 what they're able to do with it as it's it's going to be quite a 725 00:35:40,680 --> 00:35:42,200 fascinating thing. We did have one last thing. 726 00:35:42,200 --> 00:35:43,920 I'll ask you 2 to answer and then we'll wrap up. 727 00:35:43,920 --> 00:35:48,240 David asking what what's the feeling of students like heading 728 00:35:48,240 --> 00:35:51,160 into this game, You 2 being students? 729 00:35:51,160 --> 00:35:54,040 I mean, are people interested in IU football and this game in 730 00:35:54,040 --> 00:35:55,760 particular? Is there buzz about this at all 731 00:35:55,760 --> 00:35:58,600 on campus? Well, I went around to some of 732 00:35:58,600 --> 00:36:01,280 the tailgates this past week and I think it was a little bit of 733 00:36:01,280 --> 00:36:03,200 half and a half. There are some people that 734 00:36:03,520 --> 00:36:06,240 didn't even couldn't even name a single person on this team. 735 00:36:06,480 --> 00:36:09,800 And there was someone that was pretty much just went going on 736 00:36:09,800 --> 00:36:11,640 to Curtis Rourke. So I think there's certain 737 00:36:11,640 --> 00:36:13,400 people that people are really excited for. 738 00:36:13,600 --> 00:36:16,160 Mostly everybody's very excited for Coach Zignetti. 739 00:36:16,160 --> 00:36:19,120 So I think it should be, I don't want to say they're completely 740 00:36:19,120 --> 00:36:21,640 fired up just yet. I think that they will be fired 741 00:36:21,640 --> 00:36:23,600 up if Indiana does put out this one on the other side. 742 00:36:24,760 --> 00:36:27,920 Yeah, I think there's still a little bit of a dormancy for 743 00:36:27,920 --> 00:36:30,320 that, for that flame around this team. 744 00:36:30,320 --> 00:36:33,560 I've been, I've been seeing more of the signetti shirts on 745 00:36:33,560 --> 00:36:36,320 students around campus and it's more common. 746 00:36:36,320 --> 00:36:39,280 I mean, I wasn't seeing any Leo shirts these past couple years. 747 00:36:39,960 --> 00:36:43,400 I mean, a few conversations like, oh, I used playing in the 748 00:36:43,400 --> 00:36:44,680 Rose Bowl. That's cool. 749 00:36:44,680 --> 00:36:47,080 I mean, they'll be playing in this Rose Bowl instead of the 750 00:36:47,120 --> 00:36:50,440 actual Rose Bowl game. Just jokes made like that. 751 00:36:50,960 --> 00:36:55,840 I think a win this upcoming week, that's when you start like 752 00:36:55,840 --> 00:36:58,880 with Signetti talking week 1 about oh, the fans need to stay. 753 00:36:59,160 --> 00:37:00,360 That's when that needle starts to get. 754 00:37:00,560 --> 00:37:03,240 That's when fans realize, oh, this team is trending up. 755 00:37:03,240 --> 00:37:06,200 This team is three and oh and not three and oh on three by 756 00:37:06,200 --> 00:37:08,480 games they have a big 10 win under their belt. 757 00:37:08,800 --> 00:37:11,800 So I think that's, I mean, if you want to get fans this day at 758 00:37:11,800 --> 00:37:15,400 Memorial Stadium, you go out to UCLA and I mean, in the words of 759 00:37:15,400 --> 00:37:18,320 cursing, you kick some fill in the blank. 760 00:37:18,720 --> 00:37:20,880 Right. You go and take care of business 761 00:37:20,880 --> 00:37:22,880 on the business trip. And so we'll watch to see what 762 00:37:22,880 --> 00:37:26,400 Indiana is able to do with that. Be sure to follow along with all 763 00:37:26,400 --> 00:37:30,240 of our student media outlets as they will be on site covering 764 00:37:30,240 --> 00:37:32,680 the game. IUSTV going to have folks out 765 00:37:32,680 --> 00:37:35,600 there who's your network, Indiana Daily Student and Wiux 766 00:37:35,600 --> 00:37:39,640 going to call the game as well. So be sure to hop on social 767 00:37:39,640 --> 00:37:44,080 media, follow those accounts. I'll be out there giving on the 768 00:37:44,080 --> 00:37:48,880 site witty observations via X and other venues, so you can 769 00:37:48,880 --> 00:37:51,280 watch me there as well. But anyway, we'll go ahead and 770 00:37:51,280 --> 00:37:53,680 wrap up. Our thanks to James Williams 771 00:37:53,680 --> 00:37:56,000 from USA TODAY for joining us on the show. 772 00:37:56,000 --> 00:37:58,840 Our thanks to you, Audrey Marr, for being a part of the show. 773 00:37:58,840 --> 00:38:00,440 Please come back on at some point soon. 774 00:38:00,440 --> 00:38:03,560 We'd love to have you. Our thanks in the background, 775 00:38:03,560 --> 00:38:06,360 Emily Fox, our producer, once again doing a great job behind 776 00:38:06,360 --> 00:38:08,680 the scenes. And my thanks to you, Joe 777 00:38:08,680 --> 00:38:10,440 Cronin. As always, thanks to all you 778 00:38:10,440 --> 00:38:13,440 folks for watching as well. Whether you're watching live or 779 00:38:13,440 --> 00:38:16,000 whether you're watching after the fact or if you're listening 780 00:38:16,160 --> 00:38:19,080 on any of the podcast feeds, we appreciate that as well. 781 00:38:19,080 --> 00:38:21,760 For all of those people. I'm GAIL and Clavio saying 782 00:38:21,760 --> 00:38:23,160 thanks for joining us on Tuesday night. 783 00:38:23,160 --> 00:38:25,080 Buy some chat. We will catch you folks on the 784 00:38:25,080 --> 00:38:26,600 flip side. So long, everybody.