1 00:00:07,360 --> 00:00:10,560 You're listening to the Back Home Network presented by Home 2 00:00:10,560 --> 00:00:21,800 Field Apparel. Had one person in the comments 3 00:00:21,800 --> 00:00:23,720 one time. Be like the Crimson cast theme 4 00:00:23,720 --> 00:00:25,720 is a banger. I think Mitchell Page agrees 5 00:00:25,720 --> 00:00:29,560 with this here. Oh man, how can you not? 6 00:00:30,400 --> 00:00:33,440 It's a great night baby it's AI know it's nuts. 7 00:00:33,520 --> 00:00:35,800 I'm I'm so happy we're getting started this way I'm Galen 8 00:00:35,800 --> 00:00:39,720 Clavia this is Crimson cast. It is Sunday, December 15th, and 9 00:00:39,720 --> 00:00:43,440 as our guest on the podcast today notes, it's game week. 10 00:00:43,480 --> 00:00:48,640 Yes, as Indiana. Indiana getting ready for 11 00:00:49,440 --> 00:00:54,160 perhaps the most important game in program history and certainly 12 00:00:54,160 --> 00:00:57,400 an accomplishment just in in and of itself being in this game 13 00:00:57,400 --> 00:00:59,520 that I don't think anybody would have even thought would happen 14 00:00:59,520 --> 00:01:01,120 at the beginning of the year. They'd go to the College 15 00:01:01,120 --> 00:01:03,680 Football Playoff, taking on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish night 16 00:01:03,680 --> 00:01:08,600 game, Notre Dame Stadium. This is what it's all about. 17 00:01:08,600 --> 00:01:10,960 I think, as they say, if I can get any more cliche, I'm not 18 00:01:10,960 --> 00:01:14,440 totally sure, but we got Mitchell Page back, one of our 19 00:01:14,440 --> 00:01:19,520 most requested return guests. Yeah, no, I had a bunch of 20 00:01:19,520 --> 00:01:23,520 people be like, we need Mitchell Page back on the show. 21 00:01:23,520 --> 00:01:25,800 And so we got him, folks. He's here. 22 00:01:26,240 --> 00:01:27,680 Good to see you again. How you doing? 23 00:01:28,360 --> 00:01:31,360 I'm awesome man, it's been an awesome couple weeks. 24 00:01:31,760 --> 00:01:35,680 Lots happened since we last chatted, but can't wait for 25 00:01:35,680 --> 00:01:36,880 Friday. We're going to be up there 26 00:01:36,880 --> 00:01:41,960 early, hopefully in attendance for the live show, so if we got 27 00:01:41,960 --> 00:01:43,440 some listeners going there, we'd love to meet. 28 00:01:43,480 --> 00:01:49,840 Everybody just can't even believe that this is a our 29 00:01:49,840 --> 00:01:51,960 reality, right? It's crazy. 30 00:01:52,200 --> 00:01:53,280 That's a great way of putting it. 31 00:01:53,280 --> 00:01:56,560 Now it, it just feels like something that happened to other 32 00:01:56,560 --> 00:01:59,200 people but didn't happen to you. And then all of a sudden you're 33 00:01:59,200 --> 00:02:00,680 living at it. It's like, I don't know what to 34 00:02:00,680 --> 00:02:02,080 say. I don't know what to do with my 35 00:02:02,080 --> 00:02:04,600 hands. It's it's it's got that vibe to 36 00:02:04,600 --> 00:02:06,960 it, but we're going to talk all about that. 37 00:02:07,560 --> 00:02:09,560 And and Mitchell mentioned something that I was going to 38 00:02:09,560 --> 00:02:11,600 mention the top of the show. So real quick, just a reminder, 39 00:02:11,600 --> 00:02:14,120 folks were brought to you here on the back home network by home 40 00:02:14,120 --> 00:02:16,320 field apparel, your place to go for the finest in college 41 00:02:16,320 --> 00:02:18,960 fashions, the softest fabrics, the coolest designs. 42 00:02:19,360 --> 00:02:20,920 They just launched some knit sweaters. 43 00:02:20,920 --> 00:02:22,800 I don't know if you saw these. So. 44 00:02:23,120 --> 00:02:27,440 Sweet, just amazing looking and I think if you're looking for 45 00:02:27,440 --> 00:02:30,760 holiday gift ideas, maybe look no further. 46 00:02:31,280 --> 00:02:34,240 Go to homefieldapparel.com. Check it out, use the code home 47 00:02:34,240 --> 00:02:37,080 23. Get 15% off your first order. 48 00:02:37,080 --> 00:02:39,640 Again, that's home field apparel.com. 49 00:02:40,480 --> 00:02:43,880 Also folks, just a reminder as as was just mentioned, we're 50 00:02:43,880 --> 00:02:46,640 going to be live in a bunch of places this week. 51 00:02:46,640 --> 00:02:50,120 So on Tuesday night of this week, come to the Upstairs Pub 52 00:02:50,840 --> 00:02:54,080 from 8:00 to 9:00 PM, right during $2.00. 53 00:02:54,200 --> 00:02:56,000 We're going to be doing a live show. 54 00:02:56,360 --> 00:02:59,800 It'll be me, Joe Cronin, some special guests joining you, 55 00:02:59,800 --> 00:03:02,960 talking about this particular matchup, Indiana versus Notre 56 00:03:02,960 --> 00:03:06,600 Dame and a way to kind of send off the semester as well here in 57 00:03:06,600 --> 00:03:09,520 Bloomington. Then on Thursday at 7:00 PM, 58 00:03:09,520 --> 00:03:11,520 I'll be live at Corby's. I don't know if we're doing a 59 00:03:11,520 --> 00:03:14,000 live show or just a meet and greet, but we've teamed up with 60 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:16,560 the IU Alumni Association. We'll be up in South Bend for 61 00:03:16,560 --> 00:03:20,000 that. Again, 7:00 at Corby's in South 62 00:03:20,000 --> 00:03:24,400 Bend on Thursday, and then Friday at noon, you can join me 63 00:03:24,400 --> 00:03:27,920 at Social Cantina in Mishawaka, as we'll be doing a meet and 64 00:03:27,920 --> 00:03:30,960 greet there from noon until about 2:00 and then see where 65 00:03:30,960 --> 00:03:32,360 the afternoon and evening takes it. 66 00:03:32,360 --> 00:03:34,480 So a lot going on here on Crimson Cast this week, but 67 00:03:34,480 --> 00:03:36,800 there's a lot going on with IU football and IU athletics. 68 00:03:37,360 --> 00:03:40,880 And Mitchell, as you said, a lot's happened since you and I 69 00:03:41,200 --> 00:03:44,440 first got together and did a podcast earlier this year. 70 00:03:44,880 --> 00:03:47,480 And I don't even remember exactly when that was. 71 00:03:47,480 --> 00:03:49,920 I think it might have been post Maryland game that we had 72 00:03:49,920 --> 00:03:52,840 connected. And we did a show shortly after 73 00:03:52,840 --> 00:03:55,320 that. And we have no idea what awaited 74 00:03:55,320 --> 00:03:59,200 us as we went into October. We thought it could be good. 75 00:03:59,280 --> 00:04:02,120 I don't think that we thought it would end up being as good as it 76 00:04:02,120 --> 00:04:04,280 ended up being. What has been your reaction, 77 00:04:04,640 --> 00:04:07,680 let's say from the Nebraska game on with what's going on with 78 00:04:07,680 --> 00:04:09,960 Indiana football? Yeah, I think that was the first 79 00:04:09,960 --> 00:04:13,560 time that I let myself actually consider that that was a 80 00:04:13,560 --> 00:04:15,640 possibility, that this was a possibility. 81 00:04:16,399 --> 00:04:22,079 I think so many of us die hard fans have watched IU football 82 00:04:22,079 --> 00:04:26,560 with excitement, but don't let yourself get ahead of yourself, 83 00:04:26,560 --> 00:04:29,120 if that makes sense. Because I mean, I played on a 84 00:04:29,120 --> 00:04:31,280 lot of teams that would be winning in the fourth quarter by 85 00:04:31,280 --> 00:04:33,200 a couple touchdowns and find a way to lose. 86 00:04:33,600 --> 00:04:37,480 And it didn't feel like this team had that in them. 87 00:04:38,840 --> 00:04:40,560 But it's IU. So maybe. 88 00:04:43,160 --> 00:04:46,200 And all they've done is just continued to be the team that 89 00:04:46,200 --> 00:04:48,600 we've seen all year. I mean, you talk, everyone wants 90 00:04:48,600 --> 00:04:51,680 to talk about they got beat pretty bad by Ohio State on the 91 00:04:51,680 --> 00:04:55,000 scoreboard for sure. But if you watch the game, 92 00:04:55,000 --> 00:04:59,160 particularly on defense, we can play with these big boys, right? 93 00:04:59,200 --> 00:05:02,840 It's it's given me so much confidence going into this week. 94 00:05:03,280 --> 00:05:05,720 I think Notre Dame, I've watched him a couple Times Now, is 95 00:05:05,720 --> 00:05:09,560 against Navy and Army, but they're tough, they're big, 96 00:05:09,640 --> 00:05:13,880 they're physical similar to Michigan, but with a little more 97 00:05:13,880 --> 00:05:17,400 offense and maybe not quite as good on defense. 98 00:05:17,400 --> 00:05:22,600 So just a a physical kind of bruising team that if you want 99 00:05:22,600 --> 00:05:24,800 to be at this level, this is the kind of game that you have to be 100 00:05:24,800 --> 00:05:29,240 able to to compete and win one-on-one matchups. 101 00:05:29,240 --> 00:05:32,520 That's where all the the difference between all these 102 00:05:32,520 --> 00:05:37,760 really big schools that have been the big schools forever and 103 00:05:37,760 --> 00:05:40,800 a team like Indiana even when I was there, is winning one-on-one 104 00:05:40,800 --> 00:05:44,160 battles and that's offense, defense, special teams, winning 105 00:05:44,160 --> 00:05:47,680 the one on ones and competitive plays when it matters. 106 00:05:47,920 --> 00:05:52,440 And these guys have done it. But you got a big test coming 107 00:05:52,440 --> 00:05:53,880 up. I I think Notre Dame's about as 108 00:05:53,880 --> 00:05:56,320 good A-Team as as there is in the country. 109 00:05:56,320 --> 00:05:59,800 So going to be a tough matchup. Yeah, and on the road, and 110 00:05:59,800 --> 00:06:02,280 obviously that's, you know, always a bit of a struggle 111 00:06:02,280 --> 00:06:04,440 regardless 'cause, you know, it's just it's harder to win 112 00:06:04,440 --> 00:06:06,440 away from home. But it is going to be 113 00:06:06,440 --> 00:06:08,040 interesting I think, on a number of levels. 114 00:06:08,520 --> 00:06:13,480 First of all, the confidence that Indiana had throughout most 115 00:06:13,480 --> 00:06:16,400 of the season looked like it had been shaking a little bit with 116 00:06:16,400 --> 00:06:18,520 what happened in the Michigan game and then certainly what 117 00:06:18,520 --> 00:06:20,600 happened in the Ohio State game. And it's funny, you mentioned 118 00:06:20,600 --> 00:06:22,600 like kind of expecting the other shoe to drop. 119 00:06:22,920 --> 00:06:26,360 I was kind of nervous going into the Purdue game because it's 120 00:06:26,360 --> 00:06:27,840 like, well, the weather's not going to be great. 121 00:06:28,200 --> 00:06:31,000 Indiana's coming off a game where they they played the worst 122 00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:33,440 that they played all season, made a lot of uncharacteristic 123 00:06:33,440 --> 00:06:36,760 mistakes, and then they go out and they just obliterate Purdue. 124 00:06:37,160 --> 00:06:42,560 And I got to think that putting 66 points on the board, shutting 125 00:06:42,560 --> 00:06:45,800 an opponent out, like doing all of that in front of a big crowd 126 00:06:45,840 --> 00:06:49,720 in that kind of environment in a rivalry game, that is about the 127 00:06:49,720 --> 00:06:52,760 best way you can go into an extended break like Indiana's 128 00:06:52,760 --> 00:06:54,480 had here. Because it allowed them, I 129 00:06:54,480 --> 00:06:57,800 think, to kind of maybe regain some of the mojo that they look 130 00:06:57,800 --> 00:06:59,800 like they lost, especially on offense. 131 00:07:00,320 --> 00:07:02,560 That's a great word. I I was going to say rhythm, but 132 00:07:02,560 --> 00:07:04,120 it doesn't sound as good as Mojo. 133 00:07:04,760 --> 00:07:06,720 They it, they just have been out of sorts. 134 00:07:06,920 --> 00:07:10,760 I I think it's, it's not easier on defense to get yourself back 135 00:07:10,760 --> 00:07:13,640 in rhythm, but a lot of that is just playing really fast and 136 00:07:13,640 --> 00:07:15,960 physical. If you make a mistake on 137 00:07:15,960 --> 00:07:20,600 defense, but you do it really fast, you can cover that up a 138 00:07:20,600 --> 00:07:24,800 little bit right If you shoot the wrong gap as AD lineman, but 139 00:07:24,800 --> 00:07:27,240 you do it really aggressively. You probably take a lineman with 140 00:07:27,240 --> 00:07:28,720 you and then a linebacker can fill. 141 00:07:29,000 --> 00:07:32,680 But especially in the passing game, if you're a step short or 142 00:07:32,680 --> 00:07:36,720 step slow out of your break, if you miss an assignment blocking 143 00:07:36,720 --> 00:07:40,160 against some speed like they had against Ohio State, things can 144 00:07:40,160 --> 00:07:44,040 go bad in a hurry. And we saw that over and over 145 00:07:44,040 --> 00:07:46,080 again. It felt like against Ohio State. 146 00:07:47,600 --> 00:07:49,920 But it allows you to regain some confidence. 147 00:07:49,920 --> 00:07:52,880 OK, we can do this. Purdue wasn't great this year. 148 00:07:52,880 --> 00:07:56,840 Obviously everyone knows that. But they have division or it's a 149 00:07:56,840 --> 00:07:59,920 big time Division One program. I just saw some mock drafts. 150 00:07:59,920 --> 00:08:02,720 They have a guy that's projected to go in the first round like 151 00:08:02,720 --> 00:08:06,640 they're still good players on that team and you torched them 152 00:08:07,240 --> 00:08:09,440 up and down the field consistently. 153 00:08:09,640 --> 00:08:13,360 Ones twos, threes, whole team was getting after it. 154 00:08:15,200 --> 00:08:18,160 You had every excuse as well, like you mentioned, bad weather, 155 00:08:18,560 --> 00:08:23,480 bad team to just come out and beat them, but don't beat them 156 00:08:23,480 --> 00:08:27,200 to a pulp. They chose they chose the 157 00:08:27,200 --> 00:08:29,920 ladder. Yeah, they chose a ladder big 158 00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:31,400 time. Yeah, absolutely. 159 00:08:31,440 --> 00:08:35,640 You you have to be feeling good and I think the amount of break 160 00:08:35,640 --> 00:08:38,840 is just right. I if you had an extra week of 161 00:08:38,840 --> 00:08:44,320 practice, I think it allows some complacency to kind of seep in 162 00:08:44,320 --> 00:08:45,920 because you don't have a game for so long. 163 00:08:46,280 --> 00:08:49,440 But this you get a get right week, get your body feeling good 164 00:08:49,800 --> 00:08:52,080 and then they're back. They're this is going to be a 165 00:08:52,080 --> 00:08:56,120 full speed practice game week already. 166 00:08:56,320 --> 00:08:58,880 So it doesn't allow you to get out of your rhythm of the season 167 00:08:58,880 --> 00:09:02,560 because there are two very different rhythms from kind of 168 00:09:02,560 --> 00:09:08,560 offseason even waiting for a bowl game to game week after 169 00:09:08,560 --> 00:09:10,640 each other, right. It's more just a bye week that 170 00:09:10,640 --> 00:09:15,280 they had. I think it sets up perfectly and 171 00:09:15,800 --> 00:09:19,560 I'm not so sure that the that the Hoosier faithful won't be a 172 00:09:19,560 --> 00:09:22,440 much larger contingent than I think people are ready for, 173 00:09:22,440 --> 00:09:25,240 especially the people up north. You know, I spend a lot of time 174 00:09:25,240 --> 00:09:28,160 on Twitter, way too much time on Twitter. 175 00:09:28,160 --> 00:09:30,360 I should. I'd be so much better at my job 176 00:09:30,360 --> 00:09:32,600 if I deleted my Twitter, but then I would be so much less 177 00:09:32,600 --> 00:09:36,360 happy. There's a lot of Notre Dame fans 178 00:09:36,360 --> 00:09:40,880 that think that this is, and I think they're kind of MO is nice 179 00:09:40,880 --> 00:09:43,040 and easy. They're excited to be there. 180 00:09:43,920 --> 00:09:47,040 I think we're going to bring some rowdiness up to South Bend. 181 00:09:47,040 --> 00:09:48,440 I'm really excited to be a part of it. 182 00:09:48,560 --> 00:09:51,160 Didn't think I was going to get to go but in the last week. 183 00:09:51,920 --> 00:09:53,840 Yeah, I know. We were, we were texting back 184 00:09:53,840 --> 00:09:57,280 and forth and it it seemed I, I figured I had a sneaking 185 00:09:57,280 --> 00:09:59,120 suspicion you were going to make it up there. 186 00:09:59,120 --> 00:10:02,440 But well, let's talk about that. And we're kind of bounce back 187 00:10:02,440 --> 00:10:06,080 and forth on some topics here. I'm I am really interested. 188 00:10:06,080 --> 00:10:10,760 It seems like most of the people that I've known over the last 15 189 00:10:10,760 --> 00:10:13,880 years related to IU or I or sports media are going to be 190 00:10:13,880 --> 00:10:15,960 there. The the number of people who 191 00:10:15,960 --> 00:10:18,280 have said they've bought tickets, especially in the last 192 00:10:18,280 --> 00:10:21,280 few days as ticket prices have fallen, has been immense. 193 00:10:21,280 --> 00:10:23,640 And I'm just like, well, if I know all of these people are 194 00:10:23,640 --> 00:10:26,720 coming, think of all the people I don't know that are also going 195 00:10:26,720 --> 00:10:28,880 to be there. There's an IU Alumni Association 196 00:10:28,880 --> 00:10:32,440 event in the afternoon on Friday, much like there was if 197 00:10:32,440 --> 00:10:34,360 you went to the UCLA game, they had one there. 198 00:10:34,600 --> 00:10:36,960 I checked yesterday, there were like 1100 people already 199 00:10:36,960 --> 00:10:39,600 registered for that, which I think is, I think that's it. 200 00:10:39,600 --> 00:10:42,320 I think it's tapped out. I tried to get a ticket and was 201 00:10:42,320 --> 00:10:43,440 not allowed I. Can't do it. 202 00:10:43,440 --> 00:10:44,960 Yeah. So, so. 203 00:10:45,320 --> 00:10:48,040 And people forget. I mean, South Bend is, is really 204 00:10:48,040 --> 00:10:50,560 an Indiana city. There's a, there's a, there's a 205 00:10:50,560 --> 00:10:53,120 regional campus there. You, you get a ton of people 206 00:10:53,120 --> 00:10:55,240 that come down from there and come to IU. 207 00:10:55,560 --> 00:10:57,080 You got Northern Indiana in general. 208 00:10:57,080 --> 00:10:59,360 You got all the folks from Chicago, you got the folks from 209 00:10:59,360 --> 00:11:01,960 Fort Wayne. There are so many Indiana 210 00:11:01,960 --> 00:11:07,560 University fans in that vicinity and they'll, they're going to be 211 00:11:07,560 --> 00:11:09,760 very interested in coming. They're driving a lot of the 212 00:11:09,760 --> 00:11:12,680 ticket sales that are happening right now on StubHub. 213 00:11:12,960 --> 00:11:16,280 I am really curious what proportion of the crowd we get 214 00:11:16,280 --> 00:11:18,520 and what that atmosphere is going to be like, 'cause we have 215 00:11:18,520 --> 00:11:23,040 seen Mitchell Notre Dame Stadium get taken over by opposing fans 216 00:11:23,040 --> 00:11:25,800 every once in a while. It happened with Georgia there. 217 00:11:25,840 --> 00:11:28,440 You know, there've been a couple of other situations like that. 218 00:11:29,200 --> 00:11:32,040 This is like, I think for Notre Dame fans, it's great that 219 00:11:32,040 --> 00:11:35,520 they're in the playoff, but it's not resonating perhaps the same 220 00:11:35,520 --> 00:11:38,200 way with the whole fan base the way it is with Indiana. 221 00:11:38,200 --> 00:11:41,480 Because for Indiana, this is like, wow, we finally got into 222 00:11:41,480 --> 00:11:44,000 the ball and and that is probably, I think it's going to 223 00:11:44,000 --> 00:11:46,320 be an interesting thing to watch dynamic wise that day. 224 00:11:47,240 --> 00:11:51,120 Yeah, it's I, I can't wait to get I might get there at 6:00 in 225 00:11:51,120 --> 00:11:53,440 the morning. I, I, I might actually go 226 00:11:53,440 --> 00:11:55,880 tonight. I haven't decided yet, but I 227 00:11:55,880 --> 00:11:58,640 might be there all week. It it just if you're exactly 228 00:11:58,640 --> 00:12:00,480 right, they're they're supposed to be here. 229 00:12:00,480 --> 00:12:04,200 And I think that I referenced Twitter a lot, but that's kind 230 00:12:04,200 --> 00:12:07,600 of the interactions that I've had like, oh, lowly Indiana just 231 00:12:07,600 --> 00:12:10,440 excited to be here being a little obnoxious. 232 00:12:10,800 --> 00:12:15,040 Mostly that's just me. I am obnoxious, but this is a 233 00:12:15,040 --> 00:12:18,480 whole new territory. And it can, this can be a 234 00:12:18,480 --> 00:12:21,960 program. It already has been a program 235 00:12:21,960 --> 00:12:24,920 shifting momentum, shifting season. 236 00:12:25,800 --> 00:12:28,080 But you go beat A-Team like Notre Dame that recruits 237 00:12:28,160 --> 00:12:32,280 nationally, they're in the running for five stars every 238 00:12:32,280 --> 00:12:37,280 year, and you go into their building and show that we're not 239 00:12:37,280 --> 00:12:39,880 just a flash in the pan, catch lightning in a bottle, whatever 240 00:12:39,880 --> 00:12:43,360 cliche you want to use. This is a real team, and I think 241 00:12:43,360 --> 00:12:47,400 the way that we're going to do it is not with flashy trick 242 00:12:47,400 --> 00:12:49,680 plays. We're going to go up there and 243 00:12:49,840 --> 00:12:52,680 stick to the game plan of smashing the mouth like they 244 00:12:52,680 --> 00:12:54,440 have all year. And then when you win a game 245 00:12:54,440 --> 00:12:59,320 like that, that shows a trajectory that we haven't seen 246 00:12:59,320 --> 00:13:02,760 in Indiana in a long time. Now it's true and you mentioned 247 00:13:02,760 --> 00:13:05,320 right off the top the idea of can you win the one-on-one 248 00:13:05,320 --> 00:13:07,320 matchups? You know, what's what's made 249 00:13:07,320 --> 00:13:10,800 Indiana so effective for the longest part of the season is 250 00:13:10,800 --> 00:13:13,320 how efficient they've been in executing. 251 00:13:13,480 --> 00:13:16,360 And you know, I've had some struggles obviously with the 252 00:13:16,360 --> 00:13:20,920 Michigan and Ohio State games. But you look at Notre Dame, 253 00:13:20,920 --> 00:13:22,400 they're a different type of team. 254 00:13:22,520 --> 00:13:26,880 You know, they are physically very imposing, but they're you 255 00:13:26,880 --> 00:13:31,480 look at what they've done on the course of the season and you you 256 00:13:31,480 --> 00:13:33,240 can look at the numbers as they compare with each other. 257 00:13:33,240 --> 00:13:35,120 It's like, well, there's some opportunities here for Indiana 258 00:13:35,120 --> 00:13:38,160 if they play up to what they've done over the course of the 259 00:13:38,160 --> 00:13:40,800 year. And you know what's interesting 260 00:13:40,800 --> 00:13:43,360 and, and I wanted to get your perspective on this as a, as a 261 00:13:43,360 --> 00:13:46,880 former wide receiver, One of the areas where Indiana has 262 00:13:46,880 --> 00:13:48,840 struggled a little bit from an efficiency perspective on 263 00:13:48,840 --> 00:13:51,040 offense is there been a lot more drops. 264 00:13:51,520 --> 00:13:53,080 The passing game's been disrupted. 265 00:13:53,080 --> 00:13:55,400 Some of that's been pressure, but some of it's just been guys 266 00:13:55,400 --> 00:13:58,000 not catching balls. And that was not happening 267 00:13:58,360 --> 00:14:00,920 through like the 1st 2/3 of the season. 268 00:14:01,160 --> 00:14:03,600 What have you seen? Like what would you attribute 269 00:14:03,640 --> 00:14:05,640 that to? What do you think is causing the 270 00:14:05,640 --> 00:14:08,160 problems in the passing game now that we didn't see before? 271 00:14:08,720 --> 00:14:14,560 Yeah, I think it all started in Michigan and it's all time it it 272 00:14:14,560 --> 00:14:18,080 seems so simple like hey, just catch the ball no matter where 273 00:14:18,080 --> 00:14:20,480 it is. Of course they're trying to do 274 00:14:20,480 --> 00:14:25,320 that. But passing and down the field 275 00:14:25,320 --> 00:14:29,720 offense all over college football is so much timing, ball 276 00:14:29,720 --> 00:14:32,960 placement, rhythm, right? Especially your back shoulder 277 00:14:32,960 --> 00:14:35,960 throws. Some of the RPO action that 278 00:14:35,960 --> 00:14:39,320 they've done so effectively all year. 279 00:14:40,080 --> 00:14:42,800 All that is based on the quarterback being able to take 280 00:14:42,800 --> 00:14:46,600 snap, get his read, make his steps and deliver an accurate 281 00:14:46,600 --> 00:14:51,080 ball when you're ready for it. Early in the season especially, 282 00:14:51,080 --> 00:14:54,360 I'm thinking back shoulder throws especially that's a 283 00:14:54,360 --> 00:14:57,440 timing route. It's most of the time 7 steps 284 00:14:57,440 --> 00:15:01,000 after a release and then your receivers head is back and the 285 00:15:01,000 --> 00:15:04,000 ball has to be there. If the ball is not there, that 286 00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:07,360 gives corners a chance to get more into you and then it 287 00:15:07,360 --> 00:15:12,200 becomes a true 5050 ball versus the kind of 7030 balls that we 288 00:15:12,200 --> 00:15:13,600 are getting when we are in rhythm. 289 00:15:14,120 --> 00:15:17,000 I think they got back to that a lot against Purdue. 290 00:15:17,200 --> 00:15:19,240 I think there was a lot more space and I think we handled 291 00:15:19,240 --> 00:15:23,400 them up front a lot better. But everything, the foundation 292 00:15:23,800 --> 00:15:27,920 is the guys up front. I was able to have success when 293 00:15:27,920 --> 00:15:30,400 we blocked really well. You can. 294 00:15:30,400 --> 00:15:33,440 The fastest way to disrupt an offense is to get the 295 00:15:33,440 --> 00:15:38,080 quarterback off his timing, off his grass, see when he's able to 296 00:15:38,080 --> 00:15:41,120 sit back there and process. I mean, think about what Will 297 00:15:41,120 --> 00:15:43,480 Howard was doing for Ohio State versus US, right? 298 00:15:43,480 --> 00:15:46,480 We have been really effective getting to the quarterback. 299 00:15:46,880 --> 00:15:49,600 And for a lot of that game, he was getting the ball out of his 300 00:15:49,600 --> 00:15:53,040 hands quickly because they were able to block well enough that 301 00:15:53,040 --> 00:15:55,880 he could go through his rhythms. There's just a lot of space out 302 00:15:55,880 --> 00:15:57,720 there. When you have athletes, if you 303 00:15:57,720 --> 00:16:00,080 can get in rhythm, those catches become a lot easier because 304 00:16:00,080 --> 00:16:02,480 they're running. You're not waiting for the ball, 305 00:16:02,480 --> 00:16:04,160 you're not fighting, hand fighting. 306 00:16:04,360 --> 00:16:07,640 When the ball's on time, everything gets a lot easier. 307 00:16:08,280 --> 00:16:11,240 You don't get stale, and I know what happens in a blink of an 308 00:16:11,240 --> 00:16:12,800 eye. But when you run a stop route 309 00:16:12,960 --> 00:16:15,440 and the ball is not on you, you're just waiting, waiting, 310 00:16:15,440 --> 00:16:18,320 waiting, waiting and your hands get kind of tight and stale. 311 00:16:18,440 --> 00:16:21,480 It just makes that hard a lot that play a lot harder. 312 00:16:22,160 --> 00:16:26,160 So being able to protect is going to be paramount to moving 313 00:16:26,160 --> 00:16:28,120 the ball as it has been all year. 314 00:16:28,440 --> 00:16:30,200 Yeah. And Kurt Zignetti talked in his 315 00:16:30,880 --> 00:16:34,760 press conference last week about how they've really, they were 316 00:16:34,760 --> 00:16:37,600 really stymied because of having to switch to the silent count 317 00:16:37,760 --> 00:16:40,760 against Ohio State very early. Ohio State was able to figure 318 00:16:40,760 --> 00:16:43,800 out how to time things, and that really disrupted what Indiana 319 00:16:43,800 --> 00:16:46,040 was trying to do. They've been practicing. 320 00:16:46,040 --> 00:16:49,240 We know because we've seen video against a lot of crowd noise in 321 00:16:49,240 --> 00:16:52,600 Memorial Stadium, but they're going to a stadium that isn't 322 00:16:52,600 --> 00:16:56,360 quite as imposing from a noise perspective as Ohio Stadium was. 323 00:16:56,360 --> 00:17:00,120 I mean, you got 3530 whatever, some 1000 fewer seats in there 324 00:17:00,480 --> 00:17:03,080 and there's going to be a non 0 number of IU fans in the 325 00:17:03,080 --> 00:17:04,440 building. We know that as well. 326 00:17:04,440 --> 00:17:08,440 So you hope that between being better prepared for that type of 327 00:17:08,440 --> 00:17:12,400 an environment and the fact that now they've practiced that 328 00:17:12,400 --> 00:17:14,599 they're they know that they have to be conscious of it. 329 00:17:14,920 --> 00:17:17,640 Maybe some of that timing is able to come back and and maybe 330 00:17:17,640 --> 00:17:19,880 they can make some quicker decisions about where the ball's 331 00:17:19,880 --> 00:17:21,400 supposed to go. I think that was probably the 332 00:17:21,400 --> 00:17:26,119 biggest frustration, you know, in that Ohio State game was they 333 00:17:26,119 --> 00:17:29,120 didn't seem to be able to adapt in the moment to, you know, 334 00:17:29,440 --> 00:17:32,000 running a lot of draws or running screens or trying to do 335 00:17:32,000 --> 00:17:34,480 things where they could get the ball out very quickly. 336 00:17:35,160 --> 00:17:36,920 A lot of it just was like they weren't being able to 337 00:17:36,920 --> 00:17:39,160 effectively cite where the pass rush was coming from. 338 00:17:39,400 --> 00:17:41,720 I have to think, I mean, they've had almost a month since that 339 00:17:41,720 --> 00:17:45,040 game that they've spent a ton of time figuring out what to do 340 00:17:45,040 --> 00:17:48,600 again in those situations. Yeah, and this is really into 341 00:17:48,600 --> 00:17:52,280 the weeds, but when you watch the Ohio State game, it was all 342 00:17:52,280 --> 00:17:54,440 timing. They didn't mix up. 343 00:17:55,320 --> 00:17:57,920 And you can, it's hard to say, snap count with a silent count. 344 00:17:57,920 --> 00:18:01,560 But if you watch it, every time that Curtis Work was ready, that 345 00:18:01,560 --> 00:18:04,040 guard threw his hand out and center snapped it immediately. 346 00:18:04,920 --> 00:18:08,480 Defensive lineman key on that after one drive, they're going 347 00:18:08,480 --> 00:18:10,560 to get their cleats in the ground and they're going forward 348 00:18:10,560 --> 00:18:15,440 fast for the entire game. And as an offensive lineman, 349 00:18:15,440 --> 00:18:18,520 you're going backwards. Their time in your snap count, 350 00:18:18,600 --> 00:18:20,680 you have to wait and see the ball. 351 00:18:20,920 --> 00:18:24,040 It just is that half a second is massive. 352 00:18:24,040 --> 00:18:27,320 So I'll be curious if they do something a little different. 353 00:18:27,320 --> 00:18:31,360 I know when we were running our offense when I was in school, it 354 00:18:31,360 --> 00:18:33,680 was quarterback would point to the ground centers looking 355 00:18:33,680 --> 00:18:36,920 between his legs. Soon as the quarterback points, 356 00:18:37,640 --> 00:18:40,680 then it's on the center. He snaps it whenever he's ready. 357 00:18:40,680 --> 00:18:44,400 So it it mixed up the timing and teams had a lot harder time 358 00:18:45,160 --> 00:18:49,560 timing up the count versus throw your arm out there and as soon 359 00:18:49,560 --> 00:18:51,280 as you see the arm then you're snapping it. 360 00:18:51,520 --> 00:18:53,840 My guess is they'll add in some variety. 361 00:18:54,040 --> 00:18:57,160 Maybe stick with, I'm not saying the arm from the guard is bad, 362 00:18:57,520 --> 00:19:02,080 but give the center a little more wiggle room for when he 363 00:19:02,080 --> 00:19:04,600 snaps the ball because it's going to come down to that. 364 00:19:04,600 --> 00:19:05,880 They're going to be on a silent count. 365 00:19:06,360 --> 00:19:11,280 You have to make it so the defensive lineman can't pin 366 00:19:11,280 --> 00:19:14,840 their ears back, and a lot of that starts with maintaining 367 00:19:14,840 --> 00:19:18,920 momentum with your drives. As soon as you got down 21, 368 00:19:18,920 --> 00:19:20,160 seven, they knew we were throwing. 369 00:19:20,160 --> 00:19:23,040 It made them come off the ball even faster because they were 370 00:19:23,400 --> 00:19:25,440 getting after us. They were always on the front 371 00:19:25,440 --> 00:19:29,360 foot, especially up front. You've got to do something to 372 00:19:29,360 --> 00:19:31,680 mix that up a little bit. And my guess is they have. 373 00:19:31,680 --> 00:19:33,960 I mean, it's not like Kurt Zignetti hasn't done an 374 00:19:33,960 --> 00:19:35,560 unbelievable job. My guess is they're going to 375 00:19:35,560 --> 00:19:38,520 have something ready for it, but something to keep an eye on for. 376 00:19:38,520 --> 00:19:39,680 Sure. Yeah, absolutely. 377 00:19:40,800 --> 00:19:45,840 Pulling back the the lens a little bit, obviously this is a 378 00:19:45,840 --> 00:19:47,880 big moment in IU football history. 379 00:19:48,120 --> 00:19:51,320 What has been the discussion with you and and some of the 380 00:19:51,320 --> 00:19:54,960 other former players over the course of, I guess first of all, 381 00:19:54,960 --> 00:19:58,880 seeing Indiana officially in the CFP and now the build up and now 382 00:19:58,880 --> 00:20:02,160 only being five days away from this game kicking off? 383 00:20:02,160 --> 00:20:04,400 Like what what's what's been, the vibe and the dialogue there 384 00:20:04,400 --> 00:20:05,920 with you and some of the other guys that have played? 385 00:20:06,280 --> 00:20:09,240 Yeah, I think I want to zoom it out even farther. 386 00:20:10,680 --> 00:20:13,360 I moved away for a while, so I wasn't able to go to a ton of 387 00:20:13,360 --> 00:20:17,360 games, but even when I was here and we were losing, I was in the 388 00:20:17,360 --> 00:20:21,320 stadium just I'm at Psycho. I loved it, but a lot of my team 389 00:20:21,320 --> 00:20:25,520 mates didn't want to drive, deal with all the parking, deal with 390 00:20:25,520 --> 00:20:28,120 everything because there wasn't an exciting product. 391 00:20:28,120 --> 00:20:32,880 It just was a fact. As the game, as the season's 392 00:20:32,880 --> 00:20:35,080 gone on. I would say right about the 393 00:20:35,080 --> 00:20:40,800 Nebraska game days coming to Washington, guys that I haven't 394 00:20:40,800 --> 00:20:44,720 heard from in forever. We're in Group chats. 395 00:20:44,720 --> 00:20:46,360 Hey, what time are you getting to the game? 396 00:20:46,360 --> 00:20:48,360 What are you going? How are we going to get there? 397 00:20:48,360 --> 00:20:53,240 Do you want a carpool? And the excitement that all of 398 00:20:53,240 --> 00:20:56,200 these guys have had. I mean, I saw even at the Purdue 399 00:20:56,200 --> 00:20:59,720 game, it's a Blizzard. Purdue is one in 10. 400 00:21:00,880 --> 00:21:04,400 I'm pretty sure 70% of the guys that I played with were in the 401 00:21:04,400 --> 00:21:10,120 stadium. There's just so much pride that 402 00:21:10,120 --> 00:21:11,800 I can't, I can't even explain it. 403 00:21:11,800 --> 00:21:17,520 There's people are just proud to say they played there and I can 404 00:21:17,520 --> 00:21:19,320 understand why you wouldn't have been. 405 00:21:19,320 --> 00:21:22,880 There wasn't anything to really be proud of, especially in the 406 00:21:22,880 --> 00:21:25,320 last couple years. I, I don't know if I said it on 407 00:21:25,320 --> 00:21:27,600 this podcast, but on some others I have. 408 00:21:27,600 --> 00:21:32,000 It was like 3 weeks ago I got a just this post. 409 00:21:32,040 --> 00:21:35,200 This time last year I was just begging for some fight. 410 00:21:36,200 --> 00:21:38,560 That's it. I didn't expect to win the game. 411 00:21:38,560 --> 00:21:40,600 I expected to lose by multiple touchdowns. 412 00:21:40,600 --> 00:21:48,080 But let's just fight and to come now to where let's not only 413 00:21:48,080 --> 00:21:50,880 fight, let's go into Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff 414 00:21:52,000 --> 00:21:57,360 and beat their butts. Like what it's I think that's 415 00:21:57,360 --> 00:22:00,320 the word that I want to use. There's just so much pride in 416 00:22:00,320 --> 00:22:04,200 the former players and how excited they are that the 417 00:22:04,200 --> 00:22:08,280 program that we felt like, I mean, we didn't this, this has 418 00:22:08,280 --> 00:22:10,240 nothing to do with us. This is all these guys. 419 00:22:10,240 --> 00:22:12,920 But we felt like we had some things start rolling when we 420 00:22:12,920 --> 00:22:14,840 were there. We are scoring a lot of points. 421 00:22:14,840 --> 00:22:16,400 We were just missing a couple pieces. 422 00:22:17,160 --> 00:22:19,120 There is some pride like, hey, we are part of this. 423 00:22:19,320 --> 00:22:21,600 Right. And to be a part of that, it's 424 00:22:21,600 --> 00:22:25,840 just been really, really cool. It is it's fascinating to watch 425 00:22:25,840 --> 00:22:28,440 just as a fan and someone that's been, you know, talking about 426 00:22:28,440 --> 00:22:30,240 the team for a while, but I can only imagine. 427 00:22:30,240 --> 00:22:35,920 I mean, it's it the it's been so fast and like you said, like it 428 00:22:35,920 --> 00:22:38,080 wasn't even like, oh, everybody went into the season with Great 429 00:22:38,080 --> 00:22:40,600 Expectations. I remember I went back and 430 00:22:40,600 --> 00:22:43,560 listened to the last podcast we did right after the bucket game 431 00:22:43,560 --> 00:22:45,200 last year. And there, there was just this 432 00:22:45,200 --> 00:22:48,800 kind of sense of distance. Like I'm not going to let myself 433 00:22:49,520 --> 00:22:52,040 crisis. I would actually say it was 434 00:22:52,040 --> 00:22:53,640 beyond that. It was just kind of like, I 435 00:22:53,640 --> 00:22:57,160 don't really want to affiliate. I, I, I want to see something 436 00:22:57,160 --> 00:23:00,000 like give me something to justify the time and the 437 00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:02,120 emotional energy that I'm spending on this. 438 00:23:02,120 --> 00:23:06,120 And I, I was going back. I, I put together an Instagram 439 00:23:06,120 --> 00:23:08,880 reel yesterday of like the, I was going to do the whole 440 00:23:08,880 --> 00:23:10,920 season. And then I realized like there's 441 00:23:10,920 --> 00:23:14,760 like 3 natural break points in the year and that Northwestern 442 00:23:14,760 --> 00:23:18,320 game felt like one where it's like, OK, they're six and O, 443 00:23:18,320 --> 00:23:22,160 they're bowl eligible and something special could happen. 444 00:23:22,760 --> 00:23:24,240 Something special has already happened. 445 00:23:24,240 --> 00:23:27,960 They're they're bowl eligible. And then I think about that and 446 00:23:27,960 --> 00:23:29,360 the fact there was a buy after that. 447 00:23:29,360 --> 00:23:31,480 And then it was like the thing just got into a different 448 00:23:31,480 --> 00:23:32,840 stratosphere. And a lot of what you're talking 449 00:23:32,840 --> 00:23:35,960 about with your, your former teammates and other people that 450 00:23:35,960 --> 00:23:39,120 I know that have been affiliated with the program, it's like now 451 00:23:39,120 --> 00:23:41,360 I feel like I can get emotionally invested and it's 452 00:23:41,360 --> 00:23:44,360 not gonna hurt me the way that it's hurt me in the past. 453 00:23:44,360 --> 00:23:48,680 Or I see something here that is worth not just supporting, but 454 00:23:48,760 --> 00:23:51,720 strongly supporting. And that is cool to watch. 455 00:23:52,040 --> 00:23:54,560 I think hearing you talk about that and, and how your former 456 00:23:54,560 --> 00:23:56,840 teammates have reacted to it and some of the people we've talked 457 00:23:56,840 --> 00:23:59,200 to elsewhere on the pod, that's probably the one of the things 458 00:23:59,200 --> 00:24:01,720 I've enjoyed the most is watching all these people kind 459 00:24:01,720 --> 00:24:06,120 of open themselves up again and and be willing to put themselves 460 00:24:06,120 --> 00:24:09,320 emotional maybe for the first time fully into the fold of IU 461 00:24:09,320 --> 00:24:12,680 football. I this is a stupid thing that I 462 00:24:12,680 --> 00:24:15,080 did, but you want to talk about being invested. 463 00:24:15,600 --> 00:24:18,400 I have. So my territory for work is 464 00:24:18,440 --> 00:24:21,120 Indiana and Michigan. And over the last couple weeks, 465 00:24:21,120 --> 00:24:23,640 for whatever reason, I've spent a lot of time in South Bend, 466 00:24:23,640 --> 00:24:28,160 Elkhart, Mishawaka. I had a meeting last Thursday 467 00:24:29,160 --> 00:24:35,480 and I wore my leather jacket, an IU polo and an IU beanie. 468 00:24:36,240 --> 00:24:38,800 These people don't even watch football, but I'm just so proud. 469 00:24:39,000 --> 00:24:42,160 I wanted the stadium. I wanted the city to know that 470 00:24:42,160 --> 00:24:46,280 we were coming. And I think that's a pretty 471 00:24:46,280 --> 00:24:51,520 universal sentiment that we're just, we've waited so long for 472 00:24:51,520 --> 00:24:56,120 this and you talk about pouring everything into something that 473 00:24:56,120 --> 00:24:58,800 you love. It's been really hard over the 474 00:24:58,800 --> 00:25:05,480 last, jeez, however long 30 years to be able to just give 475 00:25:05,480 --> 00:25:09,960 yourself 100% to something. My whole family's texting me 476 00:25:09,960 --> 00:25:11,880 about all this. Hey, what are we doing? 477 00:25:11,880 --> 00:25:14,800 I was recruiting text that I had never gotten before. 478 00:25:16,040 --> 00:25:18,720 When you have and I, I think for the whole athletic department, 479 00:25:18,720 --> 00:25:22,160 when you have a football team like this, it opens so many 480 00:25:22,160 --> 00:25:26,920 doors for so many other things in the university that I think 481 00:25:26,920 --> 00:25:30,120 we're starting to see that. And I don't want to take a shot 482 00:25:30,120 --> 00:25:32,040 at the basketball team. I know nothing really about 483 00:25:32,040 --> 00:25:35,480 basketball. But you see Assembly Hall, when 484 00:25:35,480 --> 00:25:37,000 I was there, they were, they were good. 485 00:25:37,000 --> 00:25:38,840 I think that was Yogi Ferrell time. 486 00:25:38,840 --> 00:25:41,320 So they were good team, but didn't matter who they're 487 00:25:41,320 --> 00:25:43,440 playing. Sold out, sold out, sold out, 488 00:25:43,440 --> 00:25:47,200 sold out. And now you're getting some of 489 00:25:47,200 --> 00:25:48,880 those football crowds. Right. 490 00:25:49,760 --> 00:25:52,000 Everybody's, I mean, we watch Nebraska. 491 00:25:52,240 --> 00:25:55,480 They didn't make shots, whatever happened, didn't make shots down 492 00:25:55,480 --> 00:25:57,880 the stretch when it mattered. That happens. 493 00:25:58,760 --> 00:26:01,720 But I just just kind of changed the channel afterwards. 494 00:26:01,720 --> 00:26:04,040 Like that's fine. I'll care about this in a couple 495 00:26:04,040 --> 00:26:08,800 weeks when Indiana's national champions it's it's what a a 496 00:26:08,800 --> 00:26:11,600 switch, I know. I just the. 497 00:26:11,600 --> 00:26:16,200 Way I feel about Indiana University and I, I think it's 498 00:26:16,200 --> 00:26:18,480 also important. So we talk about most important 499 00:26:18,480 --> 00:26:23,120 game in the program history and I, I kind of disagree that it's 500 00:26:23,120 --> 00:26:27,120 the most important, the most important game. 501 00:26:27,440 --> 00:26:30,760 I think there were you talk about the changes in the 502 00:26:30,760 --> 00:26:34,200 trajectory and the emotion with the program. 503 00:26:34,200 --> 00:26:37,120 I think the most important games have already happened. 504 00:26:38,000 --> 00:26:40,080 This is kind of icing on the cake. 505 00:26:40,240 --> 00:26:43,040 And I'm saying this, this is not what the team saying, I promise 506 00:26:43,040 --> 00:26:46,240 you that. But everything that we get from 507 00:26:46,240 --> 00:26:50,080 here is kind of gravy. We've shown a model that's 508 00:26:50,080 --> 00:26:52,200 proven. We have proven that this works. 509 00:26:53,400 --> 00:26:57,080 Indiana is exciting. If you want to be in a really 510 00:26:57,080 --> 00:27:00,960 exciting place with psycho fans that will fill the stadium up on 511 00:27:00,960 --> 00:27:03,200 a beautiful campus. If you're an 18 year old kid, 512 00:27:04,320 --> 00:27:07,360 just come and see it. And I think we've already proved 513 00:27:07,960 --> 00:27:09,480 there's proof of concept already. 514 00:27:10,640 --> 00:27:12,760 Come and see it and I think we'll really start to see that 515 00:27:12,760 --> 00:27:15,320 after the College Football Playoff. 516 00:27:15,320 --> 00:27:18,520 Everything plays itself out, however it does this next cycle 517 00:27:18,520 --> 00:27:22,360 of recruiting, whether it's transfer portal, the high school 518 00:27:22,360 --> 00:27:25,480 kids for next season, you're going to see a huge uptick 519 00:27:25,480 --> 00:27:30,000 already regardless of what happens now, let's take a step 520 00:27:30,000 --> 00:27:34,240 back. You win some games now some some 521 00:27:34,240 --> 00:27:36,320 serious, serious stuff starts happening, right? 522 00:27:36,560 --> 00:27:41,640 But it's we've made it here already and it feels like the 523 00:27:41,640 --> 00:27:45,560 important ones are behind us. So now let's go get some some 524 00:27:45,560 --> 00:27:47,880 Christmas presents for the next couple of years. 525 00:27:48,120 --> 00:27:50,800 I like, I like your overall attitude on this and I agree, I 526 00:27:50,800 --> 00:27:53,640 think that the building, the foundational building has 527 00:27:53,640 --> 00:27:55,880 occurred already. And what you get here, it's 528 00:27:55,880 --> 00:27:59,000 like, well, what else can we add to the building before we take a 529 00:27:59,000 --> 00:28:00,800 break and then come back the following year? 530 00:28:01,000 --> 00:28:02,280 Last thing I wanted to ask you about. 531 00:28:02,840 --> 00:28:06,040 So, you know, there had been once, once Indiana won the 6th 532 00:28:06,040 --> 00:28:08,600 game, you know, once they went into all of that, that went on 533 00:28:08,600 --> 00:28:11,200 in October, you started to hear people be like, oh, Kurt 534 00:28:11,200 --> 00:28:13,080 Zignetti is going to leave for another school. 535 00:28:13,600 --> 00:28:17,440 And then Indiana steps up, signs him to a long term extension, 536 00:28:17,760 --> 00:28:20,960 pays him significantly more than I ever thought Indiana would pay 537 00:28:20,960 --> 00:28:24,240 a football coach. And then even the assistants you 538 00:28:24,240 --> 00:28:26,080 hear about, they're going to have this larger assistant pool. 539 00:28:26,080 --> 00:28:30,080 They lose Tino Senseri as offensive coordinator now at 540 00:28:30,080 --> 00:28:33,200 UCLA, but they signed the other 9 to extensions as well. 541 00:28:33,640 --> 00:28:36,920 I mean, what was what was your reaction when you heard the 542 00:28:36,920 --> 00:28:39,960 Signeti news that he had extended and and how impressed 543 00:28:39,960 --> 00:28:43,000 have you been at the investment that I use made not just in that 544 00:28:43,000 --> 00:28:45,720 position, but in all of the support positions that surround 545 00:28:45,720 --> 00:28:49,360 it? It's a plus top to bottom. 546 00:28:49,800 --> 00:28:53,880 It's it's almost unheard of to have a season like you just had 547 00:28:54,560 --> 00:28:56,360 and not get poached for everybody. 548 00:28:56,720 --> 00:28:58,480 It it's just the way of college football. 549 00:28:58,480 --> 00:29:00,600 Even the Alabama teams, it was a dynasty. 550 00:29:01,040 --> 00:29:02,560 Those coaches are getting poached. 551 00:29:03,200 --> 00:29:06,600 Probably their whole staff is pretty turned over every couple 552 00:29:06,600 --> 00:29:09,800 of years. So the fact that you have Bryant 553 00:29:09,800 --> 00:29:13,680 Haynes who's if he doesn't win assistant coach or what are the 554 00:29:13,680 --> 00:29:16,240 Broyles award, I don't know who else is going to win that. 555 00:29:16,400 --> 00:29:19,360 It's it feels like he's has to be a lock. 556 00:29:19,840 --> 00:29:22,760 And there's probably schools that were saying, hey, come be 557 00:29:22,760 --> 00:29:28,200 the head coach, come on. And for him to look at Indiana 558 00:29:28,680 --> 00:29:31,000 the way that I think Kurt Zignetti is looking at Indiana, 559 00:29:31,000 --> 00:29:34,960 seeing the investment, seeing the possibilities that do exist 560 00:29:35,200 --> 00:29:38,760 when you're top ten in NIL, which was a stunning number or 561 00:29:38,760 --> 00:29:42,200 whatever it may not have been top ten, 13 million ahead of 562 00:29:42,320 --> 00:29:45,000 Oregon and some other like. What? 563 00:29:45,000 --> 00:29:47,640 Yeah, I know it's. Like, what are what? 564 00:29:48,440 --> 00:29:51,200 But it shows. I mean, Kurt Zignetti called it 565 00:29:51,200 --> 00:29:53,560 a sleeping giant and he's thinking it's waking up. 566 00:29:53,880 --> 00:29:55,880 That's exactly what it is. It's the third largest alumni 567 00:29:55,880 --> 00:29:58,520 base. There are successful people that 568 00:29:58,520 --> 00:30:01,800 are Indiana University grads, Indiana University fans. 569 00:30:02,520 --> 00:30:05,480 When you have a season like this and you're all over the place on 570 00:30:05,480 --> 00:30:08,720 ESPN, you get game day a couple times, big new kick off a couple 571 00:30:08,720 --> 00:30:12,160 times. We haven't arrived, but we're 572 00:30:12,240 --> 00:30:14,760 we're on a rocket ship and people want to be associated 573 00:30:14,760 --> 00:30:19,360 with that. To keep your entire staff is I 574 00:30:19,360 --> 00:30:22,080 mean, it's another. However, I feel like Kurt 575 00:30:22,080 --> 00:30:24,400 Signetti gets complimented enough. 576 00:30:24,760 --> 00:30:27,560 Right. But how can you not be so 577 00:30:27,560 --> 00:30:30,840 impressed that his staff, his entire staff, is as bought in as 578 00:30:30,840 --> 00:30:32,800 they are? It's it's almost unheard of in 579 00:30:32,800 --> 00:30:35,440 college football. Yeah, it's it's a fascinating 580 00:30:35,480 --> 00:30:37,160 circumstance. And like you said, I mean, 581 00:30:37,160 --> 00:30:40,360 Indiana has really stepped up and, and we've talked about on 582 00:30:40,360 --> 00:30:43,960 the show before, they had to like, you can't afford to not be 583 00:30:43,960 --> 00:30:46,320 competitive in football in the current landscape. 584 00:30:46,320 --> 00:30:49,280 It's why Purdue fired Ryan Walters the day after the bucket 585 00:30:49,280 --> 00:30:51,400 game. It's why North Carolina just 586 00:30:51,400 --> 00:30:54,480 committed essentially $50 million to hiring Bill Belichick 587 00:30:54,480 --> 00:30:56,120 and and trying to get their NIL up. 588 00:30:56,520 --> 00:30:59,480 You know, it's you're, you're, and I think Indiana deserves a 589 00:30:59,480 --> 00:31:03,240 lot of credit for, you know, making the ride higher and then 590 00:31:03,240 --> 00:31:07,040 realizing the best formula is to try to keep the band together. 591 00:31:07,360 --> 00:31:10,040 Do what you need to do. You're, you're probably never 592 00:31:10,040 --> 00:31:13,960 going to completely out resource the top teams in college 593 00:31:13,960 --> 00:31:17,760 football, but I think what you saw this year was you don't 594 00:31:17,760 --> 00:31:20,120 necessarily have to completely out resource them. 595 00:31:20,400 --> 00:31:22,840 Indiana's in the College Football Playoff and none of 596 00:31:22,840 --> 00:31:25,320 these things were in place when this season started. 597 00:31:25,480 --> 00:31:28,440 One can only imagine what it'll look like as you move forward 598 00:31:28,440 --> 00:31:33,080 with these things in place. Yeah, You built this from scraps 599 00:31:34,320 --> 00:31:37,520 and now you gave him the keys to a Ferrari essentially. 600 00:31:38,040 --> 00:31:41,840 And he seems like an F1 driver that's going to drive it pretty 601 00:31:41,840 --> 00:31:45,400 fast. So I, I just, you're no matter 602 00:31:45,400 --> 00:31:48,600 what happens Friday, I think they're going to win and I think 603 00:31:48,600 --> 00:31:52,360 they're going to dominate. Maybe not win by 50, but I think 604 00:31:52,360 --> 00:31:56,120 it will be a physically dominating game for Indiana. 605 00:31:56,120 --> 00:31:58,800 That's their identity. And I think they will be better 606 00:31:58,800 --> 00:32:01,560 prepared going into an environment like that with 607 00:32:01,560 --> 00:32:06,680 everything that's on the line. But the outlook of the program, 608 00:32:06,680 --> 00:32:11,000 my gosh, I don't know what I'm going to do when January 20th 609 00:32:11,000 --> 00:32:13,280 has happened. Indiana hangs holds up the 610 00:32:13,280 --> 00:32:16,960 College Football Playoff trophy and now we got to wait till 611 00:32:16,960 --> 00:32:18,960 August. I know I'm, I'm already 612 00:32:18,960 --> 00:32:20,720 struggling with that, just in general. 613 00:32:20,720 --> 00:32:23,480 I was, as you know, the bowl season officially started 614 00:32:23,480 --> 00:32:26,120 yesterday. And I, I look, I've been a 615 00:32:26,120 --> 00:32:27,520 college football fan my whole life. 616 00:32:27,840 --> 00:32:29,960 I, I've liked college football as much as I've liked college 617 00:32:29,960 --> 00:32:32,120 basketball. Now I find myself liking college 618 00:32:32,120 --> 00:32:34,640 basketball less and I'm like, I don't know what I'm going to do 619 00:32:35,040 --> 00:32:38,080 once this season's over. This is a huge void. 620 00:32:38,360 --> 00:32:42,000 I'm I'm so pleased we've got at least one more game, probably 621 00:32:42,000 --> 00:32:45,080 four more games, you know, for Indiana this year. 622 00:32:45,400 --> 00:32:50,000 And it's going to be a big step back in terms of like, what do I 623 00:32:50,000 --> 00:32:52,480 focus on? This is probably the most the 624 00:32:52,480 --> 00:32:55,600 most that we'll see Indiana fans ever interested in the portal 625 00:32:55,600 --> 00:32:57,640 and recruiting and and spring ball. 626 00:32:57,880 --> 00:33:01,080 And that's great. Like, this is the awakening of a 627 00:33:01,080 --> 00:33:06,480 fan base that has never really been taught how to be football 628 00:33:06,480 --> 00:33:08,440 fans. You know, this is, this is the 629 00:33:08,440 --> 00:33:11,040 stray dog that you brought in and like, you have to train it. 630 00:33:11,320 --> 00:33:13,920 But I think Indiana fans are going to figure this out 631 00:33:13,920 --> 00:33:16,200 quickly. You know, and, and I'm already 632 00:33:16,200 --> 00:33:20,800 seeing in online conversations, Indiana fans starting to figure 633 00:33:20,800 --> 00:33:23,760 out like how to talk about this and what to do and, and, you 634 00:33:23,760 --> 00:33:25,600 know, what sorts of things to pay attention to. 635 00:33:25,800 --> 00:33:28,720 It's been a lot of fun for me. I I know it's been a lot of fun 636 00:33:28,720 --> 00:33:30,640 for other people too as they found this thing that they can 637 00:33:30,640 --> 00:33:32,840 now get emotionally and mentally invested in. 638 00:33:33,280 --> 00:33:35,080 Yeah. And I think the biggest 639 00:33:35,080 --> 00:33:38,680 challenge, yeah, there's going to be reset expectations. 640 00:33:38,680 --> 00:33:40,560 But I mean, you see what happens. 641 00:33:42,160 --> 00:33:46,000 Let's talk the basketball team for, I mean, what's in whatever 642 00:33:46,000 --> 00:33:48,600 you want to say. Like they're a pretty successful 643 00:33:48,600 --> 00:33:51,880 program relative to the rest of the country. 644 00:33:52,320 --> 00:33:55,760 Pretty successful. And that's about as doom and 645 00:33:55,760 --> 00:34:00,000 gloom. IUBB, if you want to look that 646 00:34:00,000 --> 00:34:03,160 hashtag up on Twitter and be sad, pretty easy to do it. 647 00:34:03,440 --> 00:34:07,120 The challenge is going to be continuing. 648 00:34:07,120 --> 00:34:09,920 This is the most positive. I've had more fun interacting 649 00:34:09,920 --> 00:34:14,920 with IU fans on the street on Twitter than I've maybe ever had 650 00:34:14,920 --> 00:34:18,199 with any. Like it is just so fun because 651 00:34:18,199 --> 00:34:21,719 everyone's just so positive and there's going to be bumps it 652 00:34:21,719 --> 00:34:23,880 doesn't contain. It does not continue like this 653 00:34:23,880 --> 00:34:26,600 forever. Probably even, I mean, think 654 00:34:26,600 --> 00:34:29,360 about Georgia. Georgia had a down year and 655 00:34:29,360 --> 00:34:30,800 they're still one of the best teams in the country. 656 00:34:30,800 --> 00:34:36,040 So it doesn't just maintaining the positive energy I think is 657 00:34:36,040 --> 00:34:37,639 going to be the biggest challenge going forward for the 658 00:34:37,639 --> 00:34:40,560 fan base because you saw how powerful, and that's what 659 00:34:40,560 --> 00:34:43,880 Signetti was trying to argue, how powerful the fan base can be 660 00:34:44,080 --> 00:34:47,760 in creating excitement and creating an environment where 661 00:34:47,760 --> 00:34:52,400 people want to come. We hold so much more power than 662 00:34:52,400 --> 00:34:55,520 I think we realize, especially in football because there's 663 00:34:55,520 --> 00:35:02,280 60,000 of us in the stadium. So it understanding that power 664 00:35:02,400 --> 00:35:07,040 and using it effectively, I think is is going to be the the 665 00:35:07,040 --> 00:35:12,720 next step as we go season 2345. Last thing we'll say here, I 666 00:35:12,720 --> 00:35:15,080 agree with all of that. There was a an interesting 667 00:35:15,080 --> 00:35:19,400 article in the Indy Star this morning from Michael Nizziolek, 668 00:35:19,400 --> 00:35:23,320 who writes for the Herald Times. It had a quote from Fred Glass. 669 00:35:23,320 --> 00:35:24,960 You mentioned you think Indiana's going to go up and 670 00:35:24,960 --> 00:35:26,840 down, and I don't know if you've seen this quote yet, but I'm 671 00:35:26,840 --> 00:35:29,240 going to read it. One of my favorite people, so I 672 00:35:29,240 --> 00:35:30,560 can't wait to hear what Fred says. 673 00:35:30,720 --> 00:35:33,720 Here's what Fred said. Quote, I think all the pressure 674 00:35:33,720 --> 00:35:35,600 to win the game is on Notre Dame. 675 00:35:35,920 --> 00:35:38,880 A lot of people nationally don't even think IU belongs in the 676 00:35:38,880 --> 00:35:41,800 College Football Playoff under all those circumstances. 677 00:35:41,800 --> 00:35:44,400 If Indiana beats Notre Dame at Notre Dame and knocks them out 678 00:35:44,400 --> 00:35:46,560 of the National Championship Playoff, I think that would be a 679 00:35:46,560 --> 00:35:50,400 historic humiliation of epic proportions for Notre Dame. 680 00:35:50,800 --> 00:35:52,880 I think the pressure is completely on them. 681 00:35:53,280 --> 00:35:56,440 End Quote. All right, Fred, just don't miss 682 00:35:56,440 --> 00:35:57,120 words. Tell us. 683 00:35:57,120 --> 00:36:00,640 What you're up all right, not sure if we needed that to be 684 00:36:00,640 --> 00:36:03,760 hanging under the play like a champion today sign as they walk 685 00:36:03,760 --> 00:36:07,640 out, but he's exactly right. We're playing with house money 686 00:36:07,640 --> 00:36:09,160 and that's kind of what I referenced earlier. 687 00:36:09,160 --> 00:36:12,040 All of our quote UN quote important games, most important 688 00:36:12,040 --> 00:36:15,760 game in program history, I think are behind us now is this. 689 00:36:15,800 --> 00:36:18,720 This is the biggest game. I don't even think you can add 690 00:36:18,720 --> 00:36:22,640 up the rest of them together and touch how big of a game this is 691 00:36:22,640 --> 00:36:28,120 for Indiana. But we go in there, house money, 692 00:36:28,960 --> 00:36:32,120 everything that happens out there is icing on the cake and 693 00:36:32,120 --> 00:36:34,360 when you can play that free, that's dangerous. 694 00:36:35,160 --> 00:36:37,480 That's why you see so many upsets when the team comes in 695 00:36:37,480 --> 00:36:40,640 and plays free. That's that's going to be the 696 00:36:40,640 --> 00:36:43,120 one thing and this is where the start of the game is going to be 697 00:36:43,120 --> 00:36:44,600 really important. We'll talk about this more 698 00:36:44,600 --> 00:36:45,720 throughout the course of the week. 699 00:36:45,720 --> 00:36:48,360 But you know, it's where if Indiana can go out, score a 700 00:36:48,360 --> 00:36:52,240 touchdown early, get on the board and and try to dictate a 701 00:36:52,240 --> 00:36:56,000 little bit of the flow of the game, Does Notre Dame tighten 702 00:36:56,000 --> 00:36:57,360 up? And and again, we don't know. 703 00:36:57,360 --> 00:36:59,760 It's tough to go on the road. It's tough to go into this type 704 00:36:59,760 --> 00:37:01,320 of an environment. This is one of the most storied 705 00:37:01,320 --> 00:37:03,440 stadiums in in college football history. 706 00:37:03,640 --> 00:37:05,640 You're under the lights. You're the first College 707 00:37:05,640 --> 00:37:09,400 Football Playoff game of the whole cycle, and game day is 708 00:37:09,400 --> 00:37:11,560 going to be there like all of the trappings are there. 709 00:37:12,120 --> 00:37:15,000 Indiana has done a great job for the most part of handling that. 710 00:37:15,720 --> 00:37:17,520 Let's see what they're able to do in this one. 711 00:37:17,640 --> 00:37:19,440 I think it's going to be fascinating to watch how Notre 712 00:37:19,440 --> 00:37:21,640 Dame responds just as much as it's going to be to watch how 713 00:37:21,640 --> 00:37:24,800 Indiana responds. Yeah, they're just 18 to 22 year 714 00:37:24,800 --> 00:37:27,320 old kids too. Just 'cause they play at Notre 715 00:37:27,320 --> 00:37:28,440 Dame, they're going to get nervous. 716 00:37:28,640 --> 00:37:31,280 They're as nervous as we are. I can promise you that. 717 00:37:31,560 --> 00:37:34,640 Probably more so. So I can't. 718 00:37:34,880 --> 00:37:36,440 It's gonna be I might go tonight. 719 00:37:36,560 --> 00:37:39,320 I might just sleep on the sleep outside the stadium. 720 00:37:39,360 --> 00:37:41,640 I just cannot wait. I can't wait. 721 00:37:42,000 --> 00:37:45,680 I'm, I'm going up Thursday, so I'll, I'll find you wherever 722 00:37:45,680 --> 00:37:47,080 you're sleeping on the street South. 723 00:37:47,080 --> 00:37:50,800 Probably an icicle by then, but come throw me out. 724 00:37:51,080 --> 00:37:53,440 Before we get them in there, I need to throw them out a second 725 00:37:53,440 --> 00:37:54,960 time. The game's looking pretty cold, 726 00:37:54,960 --> 00:37:56,720 but we'll talk about that a little bit later on as the 727 00:37:56,720 --> 00:37:59,640 forecast formalizes. Anyway, Mitchell, it's always a 728 00:37:59,640 --> 00:38:02,400 great pleasure to have you on the show and we'll look forward 729 00:38:02,400 --> 00:38:03,760 to having you on again sometime soon. 730 00:38:04,040 --> 00:38:06,120 Yeah, can't wait. And hopefully at least see you 731 00:38:06,120 --> 00:38:07,320 Friday. Oh, yeah. 732 00:38:07,680 --> 00:38:08,440 Oh, yeah. No worry. 733 00:38:09,000 --> 00:38:11,760 We'll, we'll, we'll, we'll we'll definitely find each other. 734 00:38:11,760 --> 00:38:13,200 Don't, don't worry about that. I love it. 735 00:38:14,440 --> 00:38:16,520 Mitchell Page joining us here on Crimson Cast. 736 00:38:16,520 --> 00:38:19,400 This kicks off game week. We'll have plenty of podcasts, 737 00:38:19,400 --> 00:38:21,800 including all the live events throughout the course of the 738 00:38:21,800 --> 00:38:24,320 week. I'm Galen Clavio, 4 Crimson 739 00:38:24,320 --> 00:38:25,200 cast. We'll catch you folks. 740 00:38:25,200 --> 00:38:27,040 On the flip side, bring back the Bison. 741 00:38:27,040 --> 00:38:29,120 They kind of did already stay. Never daunted. 742 00:38:29,840 --> 00:38:30,600 So long, everybody.