MIAMI INDIANA PREVIEW - 2026 COLLEGE FOOTBALL NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

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And I assume it's brought to you by Twisted Tea, because none of my other shows have presenting sponsors right now, because apparently January doesn't exist. But I assume this one still does. So hi, we're brought to you by Twisted Tea, the delicious and incredible drink that goes perfectly with college football. I got it right in my hand there, so does T-Bob, and it's never far from Casey or Big Ev either. Twisted Tea brings you this podcast every single week. We have arrived, kinda, we're within a week of National Championship game. It isn't National Championship week yet, I guess, because. It's on a Monday night, but whatever. I got two things. Hi, Casey. Hi, T-Bob. Hi, Blutman. Hi, Big Ev. Sup? I got two little conversations I wanna have before we. And I'm not staying long. I left the Yak early today, 'cause I had a migraine. I miss Wub. Sorry about that, T-Bob. I'm fighting through it, but whatever. No, please. You work, like, 36 hours a day. You're all good. Yeah, it's fine. I just. I don't use. You know, I usually get them at night, not in the morning. I got one in the morning. It was weird. Anywho, I had two things, and they're both Transfer Portal-related. Here we go. Today, Dante Moore announced, and I assume I'm not getting ball-sacked. I believe Dante Moore announced he is, in fact, coming back to school. He will be back at Oregon next year. Now, this comes a couple days after Dylan Riola said, "Hey, I'm going to Oregon to be the starting quarterback." All right? We'll see if you still feel that way in the morning. But right now, Dante Moore is coming back to Oregon. My question is this: With all the money. With all the money that the Transfer Portal promises these players, and it is good that they get paid, is it also upsetting the natural order of things when a quarterback plays a career like he has played, and then he puts himself in line to be a top one or two pick? Because he would probably be a top two pick in this year's draft. And instead, he's going back to Oregon. Does it upset the natural order of things of guys going to the NFL when their time has come? No, I don't think so, because I think he's someone who. I have to imagine someone. If I'm in Dante Moore's shoes, the reason you come back I think are evident in the sense of maybe you're not quite ready, you don't think you still can make a nice trick of change in college. There's a lot of this correlation that's being talked about amongst how many starts you've had in college, correlating to your immediate success in the NFL. The Jets may be part of it. Now, I don't overblow the Jets thing. I think the Jets thing might be a. Maybe just a very small part. I don't think the Jets was his determining factor, but obviously I have no idea. But no, I don't think it upsets the natural order, because I think he's someone who probably long-term would benefit from another year starting. So I don't think it does. And even the Raiola thing. In the Raiola, Moore's situation is a little different, because Raiola was basically a two-year starter, where Moore started like five games at UCLA. But he was the guy who humbled himself and took a year and sat behind Gabriel, and then had a great year this year. So I see a guy like Raiola, where his dad was, I think, playing in the NFL for like a decade, was a good player, where he's just like, "Hey, maybe take a year. If Moore leaves, then you play. And if he doesn't, then you take a year, you learn, maybe your red shirt even, and become a better quarterback between the years. And then you come back and you play the next year, and you're great." But no, I guess the answer, I don't think it throws off the realm of how things are supposed to go or whatever. Most of the show is going to be about the Indiana-Miami game, so we're not going to spend a lot of time. He's the only one that got that question. T-Bob, you get the next question. Transfer portal related. And when you do answer your question, please unmute your mic so you don't look like a moron. Yeah, look, okay. I got Bobby in the room with me. He's going to be hanging out all the show, so I will be muting. I'm muting, but I won't forget to. No, no, no. You let that boy hang out. You let that boy podcast, okay? Okay, cool. Podcast? Okay. If he has shit to say, let him say it. All right. Here's your question, T-Bob. Yeah. LSU just landed, well, actually, they landed three quarterbacks in the transfer portal, it looks like. It looks like they landed the. Elon, the Elon quarterback. And then they landed Longstreet from USC. I don't know if that was official, but it looks like it's about to be if it isn't. And then, of course, they landed the big prize, which is Sam Leavitt. Sam Leavitt, of course, the number one quarterback in the transfer portal. And here's your question. Sam Leavitt, number one transfer portal quarterback. What the fuck? Yeah. I don't see it. Hold on. Hold on. I don't see it. I've seen so many transfer portal quarterbacks, like Mendoza won the Heisman, Clayton Daniels won the Heisman. I watched this guy in Starkville get beat by Mississippi State's defense when he passed for 80 yards. Is this really the number one transfer portal quarterback? If he is, I'm not entirely sure how they're arriving there. I mean, you look around and really just objectively he. Because I was preparing a segment that we never got to on this morning show, looking at all the quarterbacks and their stats and everybody who's gone everywhere is like, if you look at Mastemaker, you look at Hoover, you look at Byron Brown, all three of those guys' stats smash what Sam Leavitt even put up two years ago. I don't know who was injured this year, but especially this year. It kind of seems like a step back year in some ways. Brendan Soresby's stats are not great, but they still smash that of Sam Leavitt. Raiola doesn't, I suppose. So it's a weird thing, Brandon, where I think a lot of. That scouting report or that number one ranking does come from either hype or what people view as potential. And you can see the potential, right? You saw it two years ago at Arizona State when they went on that run. He had the big game against Texas along with. Oh my God, I'm going to blink. Thank you. Geez, wow. So yeah, I don't. I'm with you. Now, I will say this. If we're talking. I don't know how he gets the number one rating. I mean, before he goes to LSU, but if we're talking about, am I excited now that he's at LSU? Absolutely. I mean, you're talking about a guy that you can see the natural ability in terms of arm talent, in terms of being a true dual threat who can use his legs. We know he's tough. And now you put him in a Lane Kiffin offense with Lane's ability to develop quarterbacks. That makes me very excited. But it is a bit odd to your point that the number one ranking comes before that combination is unlocked. Casey, here's your question. Are you ready? I'm ready. Is Lane mad at Mincy? He was very mad at Mincy, yes. I have not checked in recently about that necessarily. But yes, it was not just for content. As I told Mincy, as I got Mincied before we started recording this in the Chicago office, Lane was actually very mad at him. Not because of the FaceTime, because he didn't tell him he was being recorded. The amount of times I repeated that exact sentence while I got Mincied was, Mincy, it wasn't the FaceTime. It was the FaceTime. It was the FaceTime. It was the FaceTime. You simply have to tell someone they're being recorded. Maybe he's over it now. I don't know. Blutman, here's your question. You ready? That was my question. It's better than Blutman's. Hey, Blutman, you ready? Yep. How you doing, player? Not great. Tired as ever. I'm exhausted. So is Brando. So I get it. Can I clean up the Rayola question? Yeah. Yeah. He went to Oregon with the understanding that there was a pretty decent chance he was going to be backing up in 2026. It's not like he went there planning to start. People seem to forget Rayola has a broken fibula and needs to recover. I'm so tired, dude. Dylan Rayola needs to recover, rehabilitate, and get back to normal in addition to just needing to refine himself and properly develop. Gear off is a smart play from him. But yeah, he's got a broken fibula. He's still six-month recovery, no? Fibula can be. six three seven well no i mean i don't know does he have ligament damage because like doctor no no i i didn't know if it was public because if you're talking about just a broken fibula i snapped my fibula i got to play a few screws in there that was actually the easiest surgical recovery i had because it's just a bone healing if he doesn't have ligament damage like your acl that i had that took like six months uh the labrums took four to six months i i feel like the the fibula maybe took like six to eight weeks um but but but i don't know but but your point stamps like everything you said is still absolutely jerrola i have a question for you liam what do you know about drew merringer uh because i don't know are we just taking it for granted that oregon's going to continue to be this incredible veteran quarterback turnaround factory without will stein because i mean what will stein did with beau nix and dylan gabriel was uh unreal into dante moore like can they keep that going uh without will stein i i guess it remains to be seen i guess we'll see uh i don't i don't know i didn't i didn't know if you knew i didn't know if you knew anything about merner i know he's a tight end coach that's been on the staff every year landing's been there so he obviously trusts him he thinks he's the guy i'm not crazy educated yeah well it's just something to watch out for for anybody i'm not either but if you're if you're thinking about oregon you have to remember will stein no longer there i think that's potentially very important casey do an ad and then we'll dive into indiana miami i have a question coming i have to pause i almost had some really weird language i have a question for you brandon after i read this ad game time what happens when you lock 18 co-workers in an office for one week to compete for a quarter million dollars of cash this is surviving barstool season five presented by rumble premium each episode released three hours early so get it ad free before anyone else only when you join rumble premium surviving barstool premiere sunday august 9th at 5 p.m on rumble premium and everywhere else at 8 p.m okay brandon my question for you and i know that this is almost a tired conversation because everybody in college football and in sports has been having it but it does feel like until the national championship actually happens it's a fair conversation to have it is insane that we have to wait until next monday for this game and i know that the the college football calendar is broken dan lanning talked like it's a thing that we always talk about in the last two years with the the 12 team playoff it's even you know longer and and the delays and all of that but it it can't just be something that we bitch about and then kick it down the the curb or kick it down the block whatever and do the same thing next january this has to be fixed this is crazy so in college football season in football season there is a beautiful rhythm to saturdays are for college football sundays are for the nfl saturdays are for college football sundays are for the nfl obviously there's some thursday night games for both there's some monday night games for nfl but that's your rhythm bang bang bang bang i'm reacting to this one day i got this the next day bang bang since indiana beat oregon there will have been two full weeks and 10 nfl playoff games 10 what was it 10 10 times six six this weekend for this coming weekend there will have been 10 times the nfl has a chance to steal a spotlight from college football the one thing i look back at and say college football used to be a lot more broken than it is now and people think oh it's broken now it used to be way more broken we used to have bowl games where we had the best team from the midwest going out to california the best team from the south going out in new orleans and then we'd guess who the national champion was and we would wait for sports writers to vote that was the dumbest thing imaginable we did that all the way in 1997 okay so it used to be way more broken but the one thing they had right was the college football season ended on january 1st and if the powers that be in college football took this one idea and and built the sport around it and they said no matter what if it's a 12 team playoff a 16 team playoff a 2018 playoff this season is going to end with a national title game on january 1st i think the sport would get a lot better i think it would tighten up december and it would get get rid of the distractions and you're no longer competing with the nfl playoff just the fact that the the semis were on a on a and then we have to wait for the next monday and i know everybody's talking about it but dave said it perfectly on wub on monday too it's like the fact we have two full rounds of the nfl playoff before we even know who's going to win the college football national title that just sucks and it like for us who live and breathe college football we're going to be locked in but for the casual fan and for the people who who aren't as locked in it's just it kind of does lose its luster um i just don't i don't want it to be a situation where everybody bitches and moans and then we forget and we're having the same conversation it needs to be fixed like well i mean it's not just that it is not just the casual fans it is functionally coaches have to take new jobs players find new homes uh everything that happens you know school doesn't stop for football players and we think it does but it doesn't like these guys need to be able to enroll in new schools or enroll in their other schools coaches or how many coaches do we have pulling double duty like the other day oregon had two coordinators pulling double duty trying to pull in double duty and they're not pulling double duty to launch their entire career with their new head coaching job while also balancing the fact that they're playing for a national title so like it would help everybody it would help players it would help coaches it would help fans tighten it up tighten it up so what's so what's the friction then i mean it's it's it's the the tv schedules the tv partners the bowl partners i i don't william do you know well there is one obstacle because in brandon's scenario if the national championship was on new year's eve or it was on new year's day sorry national champion would be the rose bowl every single year so there's right the rose for so many years it was like january 8th january 9th like i'm even okay with that like just move it and i know dan lanning talked about like maybe week zero is week one and i don't know if he said it but there's been a thought out there that army navy is in standalone like there are a lot of things you can do to fix it but i mean t-bob as much as we loved the soap opera of what happened with lane and it was great to watch unfold and social media and all that the fact that he even had to make that decision with old miss in the playoff and had to quote abandon his team to go take the lsu job that sucks like that that shouldn't happen no i mean again this is one of those weird problems that i think crop up in life every now and then where everybody feels like it's wrong everybody feels like it needs to be changed there's all the reasons we just laid out why it should change but i i i i just don't know if it will because who changed it like who's in control of college football it remains one of the ultimate issues with the modern days how much does everybody want to talk about the portal nil that's what's wrong with the sport in my opinion what's wrong with the sport is there is no guiding voice there's no overarching person or group that controls the sport which is kind of insane to say for the second biggest sport in the country like can you imagine if the nfl didn't have a commissioner it's fair i know i i think really i mean the the obvious like the nil the supreme court ruling i think really cut them at the knees yeah the nfl can't do anything powerless they are and i think once that like they already were just a shitty organization but i mean that really just they just they're they're they're a limp dick after that like they just they they're like they're basically their their pillars were essentially just crumbled in that moment of like you're everything you're doing stupid and also this this really probably doesn't have much to do with the actual the structure of the calendar but i do think oregon indiana being such a bad game made it that much longer and that much worse yeah it's probably true yeah that's fouled another thing to do to just that break that we have in december we go two weeks without these you know without so many of these teams playing their key playoff games that that's a lot that's 14 days that we could cut down right there yeah landing is right with uh moving it up in august i guess a bit bittersweet is so many of those great rivalry games on the thanksgiving weekend are now going to hurt there there will be we will have to have some sacrificial lambs like without a doubt right there there will be a lot of fallout but if we're gonna do this big playoff thing i do think it's objectively for the best still blue coffee ready to drink can lattes are officially available nationwide at target that's right whether you're making a target run for toothpaste paper towels or somehow spending two hundred dollars on toothpaste you're going to have to make a donation if you don't have any of those you'll have to make a donation if you're making a donation if you're making a donation stop by the coffee section and see why everyone is turning to stella blue the cans are made with a hundred percent columbian coffee real dairy real sugar and contain 190 milligrams of caffeine they've got dessert level flavor with coffee level function you can choose from espresso sweet cream or espresso cafe mocha and once you try them you'll understand why they're the best canned lattes out there here's the best part a hundred percent of proceeds will go toward our we brew to rescue mission in which we're funding the adoption of 1 000 pets across the country grab a stella blue at target taste the difference and make a difference stella blue coffee all right so i want to do a couple things uh a i want to play devil's advocate for the miami hurricanes right now that game came out as a seven and a half point uh spread is now eight and a half it feels like a lot of people watch those two semi-final games and they watched miami uh mistake its way to a four-point win over ole miss and they watch indiana bludgeon to death the oregon ducks they also watch indiana bludgeon to death, the Alabama Crimson Tide. And they came to the conclusion, congratulations, Indiana. This is one of the best teams we'll ever see. We're talking about them with 2019 LSU. We're talking about them with 2001 Miami. Those are both conversations that better be had after the game. Having them before the game is a bad idea. It's a bad idea for anybody. It would have been a bad idea if Ohio State were here and undefeated. It's a bad idea. Let's let them get through. And if you are putting together a team to take down this undefeated monster, this perfect monster that doesn't make mistakes, what do you want? You want to be able to control the offensive and the defensive line. If you can control the line of scrimmage, well, guess who can control the line of scrimmage? Miami's offensive line and Miami's defensive line. Mesador seems like he's good to go. Everybody seems like they're good to go up front. Miami can wreck you at the line of scrimmage. What else do you need? You need a quarterback with the ability to beat a big-time team. Miami's starting quarterback is 38-5 as a starter. He's 16-3 against AP-ranked teams. As much as we make fun of him sometimes, as bad as he looks occasionally, the guy is not scared to beat a ranked team. I think the – Indiana looks amazing, but the recipe for an upset is on the stove and it's starting to smell, delicious, Big Ev. Am I crazy? No, I don't think you are. I think I've – even the last few days, I've started to have that same kind of thought where I'm like, are we just crowning Indiana too early? Are we just – are we just writing off Miami a little too fast? Because I've always said in NFL terms, no team's ever as good or as bad as you think they are. And with these high-level teams, I'm starting to think a little bit about them. We're like, as Indiana – as amazing as they look, and they deserve all the flowers, they do. They had dogfight with us. They had a dogfight with Iowa. They had a dogfight with Penn State. Why can't they have a dogfight with Miami? I'm not even sitting there picking them to lose. But now the narrative is – like you talked about, trying to say are they the best coachable team of all time? And that's scary before the game. I think Miami can keep it close. I've started to think like if their defense – they just have to avoid the bad mistakes because you think Indiana is not going to make them. And that's the X factor. If Miami cannot turn the ball over, they can make this a game. Because I think this could be – it could be like a 23-20 kind of game. I think it's going to be lower scoring. I think defense will prevail. You've seen it with – the close games Indiana had, they've been low scoring. They've been 13-10 with Ohio State. They're 24, whatever it was, 21 with Penn State. It was like 17 to – whatever it was, they won by five. It was both under 20 in the Iowa game. Like they've been low scoring games. So I kind of think a 23-21, 23-20. I think Indiana – I do just trust them more ultimately because as much as we're talking about Miami's offensive and defensive line, Indiana has – they got the goods on both sides of the line scrimmage as well. But I do – there's part of me that thinks this game – this game in the middle of the game in Indiana at Oregon, it was like four and a half, five and a half, and it's went up to eight and a half. So does anybody else, the three of you left, want to take the other side that, guys, you can talk yourself into whatever, Indiana, Casey's hand is raised, go. Yeah, I don't think it's going to be a blowout. I don't think it's going to be as bad as we've seen the last year. I don't think it's going to be as bad as we've seen the last two games that Indiana has played. But I just think Indiana is so damn perfect. And I'm not going to say they're one of the best college football teams of all time until after they win. But the way that they've been playing, they just have no flaws. They have nothing that you can point at on the field and say, this is where I'm a little bit concerned about Indiana. And we've seen that almost all year, and they played Ohio State closely. But the way that they've continued to build on that and all the narratives as well, if you have a bye, you're going to lose. It's like they just keep crushing that every time. And I feel – like for me personally, it would be foolish to sit here and say, a team that I'm seeing play perfect football, a quarterback that's playing perfect football and across the board is going to potentially lose this game. I don't think they're going to. But I do not think it's going to be a blowout like it has been in the last two games. But I do think that they're going to win, and I think that it's foolish to say they're the best team of all time before they win. But after they win, I do think that they can be in a conversation with the early 2000s Miamis, 2019 LSU, and they don't have to look the same but they should be in those conversations. Yeah, I'll add some context to what Big Ev was talking about there. He mentioned the three teams that Indiana got in dogfights this year, right? Penn State, Iowa, Ohio State. What was the common denominator in those games? Indiana rushed for less than three and a half yards per carry. They're the only times where they've been kept to a number that low and every single time the entire offense kind of halted because of it. Well, Penn State, 56th. Ranked rush defense of the country. Iowa, 17th rush defense. Ohio State, 7th best rush defense. Miami, 6th best in the entire country. Only 86 yards a game, 2.8 yards per carry. So in that sense, Miami feels well-suited to potentially battling with Indiana on the line, shutting down that very good inside-outside zone rush attack. Also, how do you stop an elite quarterback that is absolutely dialed? We've seen this every level of football. We've known this since the Brady days, whenever Brady would lose a Super Bowl, like to the Giants. A four-man rush that can get pressure while you drop seven into coverage. Well, you look at Miami, you go look at their PFF grades. What are they? They're the highest-graded pass rush team in the entire country with an overall pass rush grade of 92.5. 54 sacks in the year, most in the country. Bain and Mesidor individually are second and fifth in the country. So they do seem well-suited to attacking Indiana's offense. And on the flip side, you mentioned the word control, Brandon, and that's what this is all about. These are two teams that have made a lot of hay this year, controlling the flow of the game. Fifth and sixth in time of possession, respectively. They most average over 33 minutes a game. Miami, ever since they discovered their identity that we talked about, that smash-mouth, efficient, road-grader run team, like that's a great way to not only put yourself in third and manageable, maybe convert some first downs, get this very good Indiana defense, but it's also an excellent way to keep Fernando Mendoza and company off of the field. And then when they get on, maybe all the defensive stuff we just talked about makes them sputter a bit. So I'm with you. The more I've thought about this game, I think the number is a bit too big. I think this is a close game. I think this is a three-point game. I think maybe it gets to 10 with like a late Indiana touchdown or something, but I don't feel like it's going to be a game that Indiana just controls from beginning to end. And the reason why, though, I still find myself going to Indiana at the end of the day, because they look so even in so many different areas, like a skill boost to everything. I do think Fernando Mendoza is just better than Carson Beck. And I like the maturity that Beck's been playing with it. We celebrated him, the $4 million drive, putting his body on the line. But Fernando Mendoza is all of that and then some. And he's as locked in as we've ever seen a player on this stage. We all know the eight touchdowns, the five incompletions. So I'm just providing some context. I agree with both of y'all's takes. I think this is going to be closer than people give any credit for, but I do think that Indiana ends up winning in the end. Blutman, everybody's all over the place here. Casey, after Blutman talks, I'll be going to bed. Y'all can do all the nuanced stuff and get into the stats if you want, whatever. But Blutman, two sides of the fence. Do you have a side that you're going to go hang out with and barbecue? Yeah, I mean, my side of the fence is the Indiana Hoosiers side of the fence. As I've thought about it more over the days, T-Bob touched on it at the end there. It is the time of possession. It's a massive time of possession game. How much can Miami ball control? When T-Bob was talking about the best way to stop a red-hot quarterback in his offense, four-man pass rush is correct. It's also time of possession and how often you can keep them off the field. This is going to be a massive thing to watch is what down and down distance Miami is getting in their third downs. And if Indiana is able to get off the field, that's what I'm looking for. I were a broken record, but they're mistake-free. They're as perfect as perfect could be. I don't want to have this are they all-time good debate going on before or after the game because I don't think they are that. I think that they're a really, really, really good team. I think they're tough. They're going to win a national championship. I do think it will be by double digits, but I don't think we need to have this 2019 LSU debate and early Miami debate, et cetera, et cetera. Let's just let this play out. Let's crown champion. Let's move on to fixing the sport for the better in this offseason. Brandon, last thing I'll say, and then I'm going to leave without anybody here being able to rebut this. So I'm going to leave now. Okay, but also make your score prediction before you leave. So we have it for social media. Still blue coffees, new can. Lattes are here crafted with a hundred percent Colombian coffee. Each can is a good source of protein and comes in two smooth flavors, espresso, cafe, mocha, and espresso, sweet cream. And whether you're braving your morning commute or chasing your pup, Stella blue cans are for those always on the go. And for those who care, Stella blue is more than just great coffee. It's about giving back. I named the brand after my rescue dog, Stella, who inspired our mission to help more dogs find their forever homes. Every purchase supports animal rescue organizations. when you drink Stella Blue, you're not just fueling your day you're saving a dog's life try the new cans today taste the difference and make a difference all new stale blue coffee canned latte is now available at stale blue coffee.com or subscribe on amazon for 10 off you know what no no i'm not ready it's wednesday it's when give me give me give me let's all put it out on social media monday on your account can we do that lukey can we do that oh lukey says we can do that yes we can do that for a graphic you're muted i'll give you a score prediction but i gotta be able to well he i asked him because it's a social it's a paid thing listen if it wasn't paid i wouldn't ask lukey but it is okay fair enough fair enough i didn't know we had ads in january okay my last thing that i'm gonna say is i'm a little sick of every single time a team is real good and wins a national title we can pair them to 2019 lsu 2019 lsu could score a lot of points but that defense gave up a lot of points too okay there's been 2001 miami there's been some elite elite elite elite elite teams in this world why does it always fall back to lsu they scored a lot of points and they were pretty but i don't think they're the best team in college football history and i'm tired of people acting like that and fuck lsu fans that's what i say goodbye everybody feel better brandon you know i mean i don't want to have the conversation but well he's gone and the reason why people talk about lsu that way is just because what the guys went on to do in the nfl well i also do think that the way that like it the thing with college football and i i put 2019 lsu up there because of how good the offense was like that was an elite all-time offense in college football you're allowed to say that it's okay to say that but when you have a perfect team and i know liam you just said you don't want to have the conversation it's really hard when you have a a perfect team regardless of it's because their offense their defense both sides of the ball if you're perfect in this day and age in college football and you're able to especially in a 12 team playoff you do have to have those conversations even if you disagree with it well yeah i think at lsu i think it was see i would lean more obviously how great the offense was but i think it was more they were dominant throughout the season like even obviously their two playoff games they won by big margins oklahoma and clemson both were never close so i think that plays into it too i think that leave that being the last two images of seeing that team in your mind are them just bludgeoning oklahoma what he throws seven touchdown passes in the first half or something yeah i mean and then clemson with lawrence who obviously is very good and they had a lot of nfl talent on that team and they just bludgeoned them as well although it should have been ohio state we got fucked i'm not even sitting here saying we would have beat lsu but we should have we got fucked against clemson last thing on this it is also i mean it's just the fact that burrow's stat line was 60 touchdowns to five oh yeah like that plays on like the human psychology yards yeah anyway like western kentucky not at lsu and brandon also is not here to to to have a rebuttal to this but when we put out our list throughout the years he always has uh 2019 lsu like second behind miami so anyways before we get anything more in liam i have a question for you after this we have to talk about iq bar this episode is brought to you by iq bar which is our new snack and coffee sponsor and uh i mentioned this last week i was exhausted so it didn't really come out as as well as i wanted it to but they have instant coffee in little packets that you can just take wherever and it doesn't have to be in hot water it can be in cold water i have been on record for a couple of weeks now and it's been a long time since i've had a hot coffee and i don't like 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podcast listeners 20 off all iq bar products including the ultimate sampler pack plus free shipping to get 20 off text roughness to 64 000 again that's text roughness to 64 000 roughness to 64 000 message and data rates may apply see terms for details liam but i have a question for you when you look at this national championship and throughout the year you know we all argued you know indiana ohio state whatever it may be but when you look at this miami team and we and we've talked about if carson beck doesn't turn the ball over and you and i seem to be the reason i'm asking you this first because you and i seem to be on the same page uh that you know we're on indiana's side of the fence if miami is going to beat indiana and i know t-bob and everybody else has mentioned the rush defense and all of that but if you're looking at carson beck and let's picture next monday what does carson beck need to do what does his statline need to look like not you know specifically but in your head to beat indiana honestly dead honest yeah like a 16 for 21 for 160 in a touchdown because that means they had so much success on the ground and that he took what the defense gave him underneath because that that to me is so key here that and it's the same stat we've all everybody's brought up throughout the year big of that when they did lose those games they had no business losing it was because he turned the ball over and i think i've said it a hundred times now six turnovers in two games so we know they have to protect the ball but there's also that carson beck factor that we saw in the fiesta bowl 10 12 however many days ago it was like he does have that next level athleticism that he can bring out so it's like if they can beat indiana he's gonna have to do something special at some point right i i don't think so really i don't think yes i don't think he has to be like special i kind of agree more with liam that like he needs to just control the game and not turn the ball over and make it a low scoring game and who knows what happens at the very end um yeah because i think if you're going to beat indiana you're going to have to do something special at some point ask him to do too much would be a problem i think if they're able to establish the run and he's able to just like hit check downs make a throw and third down here and there when he needs to and again just not turn the ball over if he if he has no no fumbles no picks i think this is a close game see i i think i'll actually i'll actually go i think i'll go the opposite way here where i don't know that miami's going to be able to establish the run it is one of the two games where they're going to have a distinct size advantage when you're talking about their own line going against that indiana d line now alabama's online had that too but they weren't any good to begin with miami's is um however this indiana team man they just play bigger than they are it's because they play their scheme and technique uh you know at a 90 plus percent rate and they just don't miss tackles in fact that's another thing to watch like will malachi tony be able to force the missed tackles they notice every single week against the team that just does not miss tackles and so if you can't establish to run and if we're giving credence to indiana and signetti as being these game planning experts which we believe them to be and i believe them to be and they see miami team and they know that carson beck when this when they got good is when they stopped asking him to be explosive and started asking him to take what they're giving him and throw the ball underneath and and not really try the defense or rely on the running game i think indiana is going to put everything into trying to force carson beck into being explosive and so i kind of feel if miami is going to create this upset they're going to have to come up with some explosive plays against an indiana team that just doesn't give up much because otherwise i do feel like indiana's got a bit of a what's the old like belichick philosophy it's it's basketball it's everything i can't attribute it's about it's like take away the guy's right hand he likes your right take away his right hand because they know miami wants to run this smash mouth style of football and the key for miami then is can they take the top off the defense or at least appear to have the threat to because then that could come back and get the run game going again so i i i think that beck is going i don't know about stats but i think he's going to have to create some big plays that he hasn't been asked to uh as much yet on this on this playoff run i think miami needs one really long touchdown drive a half minimum yeah i think like each in each half and i'm talking like just just to make it like a game like keep it like make this competitive close football game they have a chance to win they need like at least one like seven eight minute touchdown drive a half they got to keep the ball out of their hands there's the indiana's too efficient and i agree with you i'm not sure if they're going to be able to establish the run miami but i think they're gonna but i really think to win the game they're gonna need to i don't know if they can i think they have a chance to because maybe they can use the size against them they could look maybe maybe yeah like maybe they do just come out and they just run it well and they don't have to take off the top i just i just believe that it they may have to go tarps off to get that run game going it's fair that's fair they might they're gonna hit it one or two probably keep them honest well there liam there was that the graphic going around the stack going around that because and t-bob just mentioned the size advantage that miami has there was like yeah it was yeah it was from us what was the the numbers on that again luki it was something crazy it was the the old lineman from miami the way he's like six nine is it like like 380 yeah 75 or something crazy they're biggest d linemen's like six three like 303 and change like 30 something i mean yeah those those posts just have a way of doing numbers no meaning or nothing just a straight up fact they make people so mad and it's just numbers but i mean what is it lukey you have it you're pulling it up i mean look at that that's crazy like that is objectively crazy six nine three forty five and i think what does it say six feet six foot three or two which that can't be their biggest alignment is not six foot no chance that's true they don't have a defensive lineman that's over six feet tall there's no way there's no because camara's tiny this was based on weight okay okay oh so that's their heaviest line no no 302 is small for your heaviest alignment yeah that's small who what's the tallest do we have a talk like and i obviously they gotta have a guy at six three six four like six three but in in two hundreds that's not true 270 i mean that's that's like a good dn that's a good size dn i love that the first response to this is the subtle manipulation of this one is hilarious he knew what he was doing he did the judge altuve meme yeah yeah and it is just a subtle manipulation of the edit lukey hats off to you you know how to do this uh rocket money have you ever had a moment when you realize you need to help your get your finances under control rocket money is a personal finance app that helps you find and cancel your unwanted subscriptions monitors your spending and lowers your bills so you can grow your savings i say this around this time of year every year because rocket money has been a part of this podcast for a long time after the super bowl things start looking a little bit different you know in football season you start clicking some things you subscribe to some things and maybe it's time uh to to get rid of those subscriptions and rocket money can help you look exactly where those are and not only that they can cancel them for you which is absolutely huge but the app also consolidates checking savings loans and investments into a single day of your life and gives users a clear view of their financial picture also it can talk about your net worth on there if you own a home all of those different things are all right there and you can set budgets and goals and get personalized insights and regular reports let rocket money help reach your financial goals faster join rocket money.com slash rough again that's rocket money.com slash rough rocket money.com slash rough i know t-bob you're new to the rocket money game you've been really loving it yeah it's been great for me i'm trying to like everybody else you know life's very trying to tighten up the budget and i immediately cut out like uh a few hundred dollars worth of stuff that i had no idea i've been paying for uh for years even in in some cases it is crazy how easy it is to subscribe to things like especially like on different platforms and i've noticed and i like my son is almost three he turns three in february but he has started to learn how to click around on the tv remote uh which i've been told is also very dangerous in that game once they start to have an understanding of you can just press okay and the next thing you know you have a subscription that you had no idea existed uh these are things i have to pay attention to now yeah and and it even goes into like um it's really good just about budgeting you see like holy shit like we're spending too much on groceries like we should probably dial it back or we're spending too much here there see i'm a massive rocket money proponent you should all take advantage okay so uh we have you know one game to talk about here and then obviously for just from a national championship on monday so i'm gonna i know t bob you're a big stack guy liam ev i'm just gonna as brandon normally does just leave the floor open for your last thoughts on this wednesday we do have like five days until the game is actually played but on this wednesday talking indiana miami liam i'll start with you what are your last thoughts on this before we see ball played in miami my last thoughts on this are consistent with my last thoughts on the last show we did what is this stadium gonna look like it's a miami home game but how how much of this stadium is going to be filmed with indiana crimson i'm so excited to just see that first that first crowd shot as they pan in over the stadium look around give us a good look right before kickoff and that roar that pop on the opening kick is gonna be it's it's gonna hit different so i mean we've talked extensively about the game but the game inside the game what that stadium is gonna look like if indiana takes over miami in their own place you gotta talk about the indiana fans it's maybe one of the greatest fan bases of all time you gotta put 2025 indiana up with i don't know some smu pony express fans or something hey i mean ev you've won national titles pretty recently uh t-bob you have as well but brandon said this perfectly on the last episode when we talked about this when you've never been there i mean indiana has quite literally never been here and they were the worst program like everybody goes every single person goes because i mean you know even just being in the playoff like the first time we'd ever been in the playoff this year like everybody was in college station and i can't even imagine what it would be like to be in a national title so i agree with liam i i think it's going to be very interesting you see i know that the tickets were crazy expensive so i don't know how much that plays into it but in the microcosm just buy tickets for everyone the microcosm of the audience i'm also very excited to see the dynamic of michael kadic white boy rick and danny boy kane like we saw what happened with danny boy kane at the fiesta bowl but but those three also very interesting to me and i think it's going to be a very interesting time for okay ev what are your last thoughts oh go ahead well no just on the crowd stuff real quick we got to remember too you mentioned everybody wanted to be there and then indiana is anywhere from the first to third largest alumni base in the entire country so they have a shit ton of people who could find their way there um think about what an indiana home game fills up they pretty much double that when they're down there in the south last week yeah yeah we're getting bigger home crowds at neutral sites than their actual stadium because they're shutting everything down it's like the you know the the shows and the movies where like the the town shut down for like the high school football games like nothing's open i have to imagine that's what bloomington's like when these games are happening they just shut everything down and then they moved high school basketball games that's like unheard of like these like these like sanctified like rivalries that apparently are just like go on for like a hundred years where they fill up more people not high school gym they move these games for the last iowa indiana game which apparently is just like on uncharted territory for that it's not hyperbole to say that it is like one of those movies where they shut this down so and i'm sitting really far away because i'm sitting in titus's seat right now but uh are the lovely darren revel everyone's favorite he said that the worst seat the current to get in for the worst and including fees is 3600 is that right that's crazy well look revel says living alumni base i thought it was the largest but michigan and penn state always push back on that that's the ohio state ohio state's up there too i know and texas and a&m are also both up there i mean just the the sheer size of the state 3600 to sit in like as i'd assume nosebleeds is insane and i again you want to be in the the stadium for those type of things you don't know when you're ever going to be back but that a couch sounds far better than nosebleeds for 3600 especially if it goes wrong for your team what revel doesn't tell you is the mincey game plan you gotta wait it out yeah you gotta wait out to the last second maybe i'll find the ticket for 700 maybe you'll find the seat for free what's the capacity of hard rock it's not i mean you're on 70 i looked at that also plays into this too it's not 65 000 65 so that plays into this as well like that's like half of some of these stadiums all right i have to i'm about to have to leave in like three minutes well yeah we're anyway you're gonna bring alice to hockey give your thoughts uh one more on the home stadium thing the only because i don't think they're gonna have a crowd advantage miami there might be something to be said for being in your building where everything is completely familiar right football coaches crave routine and having the exact same game day that you have for every single home game and being in the same locker rooms like there is some intangible effect there that could potentially be small advantage miami but ultimately this indiana team remember was was uh wasn't like being rusty supposed to be a disadvantage for them beating a second team twice with a very good team twice supposed to be a disadvantage like i just don't see it last matchup i wanted to highlight here uh bane and mesut are like we said second and fifth in the country on pass rush grades who's the second best offensive tackle in the entire country carter smith indiana's left tackle 93 7 grade so like if you want to watch a line play while the quarterback's dropping back before he throws the ball instead of just watching the ball he's going to be the second best offensive tackle in the entire country the quarterback stand there zero in on the left tackle from indiana and whichever one of these two he's doing battle with because that is nfl good on nfl good as i said i think this game is close uh so i think miami probably covers but i do think that indiana ends up as 16 and 0 national champions okay i'll go uh 20 you don't have to do it yet 21 17 is how i feel today so when the graphic that lukey said we can put out for brandon it comes out on monday it could be different uh okay i know you have to go uh ev i'll give you the last the last say and then i'll do an ad and we're out of here yeah i mean liam brought up the game within the game within the fans and i think that's valid i kind of like the game within the game within the coaches Big Cignetti's been such a killer, and talk about for the last game, where a lot of people thought, ooh, like Oregon, maybe it's an advantage for them to play them again, and then Cignetti, I think, just got more data, and just the gap just widened even that much more. Obviously, they haven't played Miami, so it's a little different, but I wonder, as good as Miami looked in the last game, I mean, they should have won the game by way more, and the fact they let Ole Miss even have a chance was crazy with how much they should have dominated all the picks they dropped, things like that. So I'm curious, can Christobal kind of, I know he's definitely got rid of the Christofraud name, like getting to a national title in this kind of run, the teams he beat, very impressive, but I wonder how big that gap is going to be with Cignetti and even having a little extra time to prepare, but it was a true week, week, week and a half, basically. How much of an edge that will be, or if Christobal, can you choose not to be Christofraud and have a good game plan and execute it? And make this a game? But that's the part, if I had any hesitations about betting Miami, even with the points, it would be Cignetti just having like an insane game plan and just running everything to a tee, and even if Miami doesn't make the mistakes, they're just able to execute. So I think that's the thing that I'm most, not most excited, but I think like a big X factor that hadn't gotten mentioned throughout the show yet so far. Yeah, there's like little storylines throughout the bigger storyline, and it's definitely that, and you talk about two coaches who, you know, get the ball, and they're like, they get a lot of attention for the way they act on the sideline, and in press conferences, and in interviews, like these two guys are that, and so I agree with you. That's a very interesting storyline. I will give my last thought, after I talk about DraftKings, obviously the college game of the week, it's the only one that we have left, so it is the national championship next Monday. Make sure you go on to the DraftKings sportsbook, and you opt in, and you can use a single-use profit boost token for that game. So whether you're betting on this game, or the NFL playoffs, or the NBA, whatever it may be, it's yours, to own with the DraftKings sportsbook. Download the DraftKings sportsbook app, and use code ROUGH, that's code ROUGH for all customers, to get a special profit boost on the college game of the week, the national championship, in partnership with DraftKings sportsbook, the crown is yours. So my last thought on this game, and this is something that, and I know, Liam, you know, you're somebody that wants the purity of college football, and the evolution sometimes upsets you, and things change, but this Indiana team, and Kurt Signetti, and what he's done in his second season at the historically worst, college football program in history is proof that college football has changed so rapidly, and it's something I've said all year, when we talk about Lane, and LSU, and Ole Miss, and Kurt Signetti not taking the Penn State job, this is why he is absolute proof that anybody in the country, if you can build in the transfer portal, and you can get help in the NIL, and you can build a roster, and get those guys to all be playing well, you can win a national title at anywhere at these big, big schools in the power four, and it may not happen overnight, instantly like it did at Indiana, but I truly believe that what we're seeing with him, and this is why he will be talked about for a long time in the history of college football, is that you don't have to be at a brand name, you don't have to be at a Blue Blood, you don't have to be at somebody who says, oh, look, you know, you're buying a Miami shirt at Target, or whatever, because you were a member of those teams back in the early 2000s, you can build, when you get the right coach, the right support, and the right transfer portal guys, you can build, a national championship caliber team, I believe they will win the national title this year, but even if they don't, the fact they were in the national title two years after being an absolute mockery of college football, that to me is why this is changing, and Kurt Cignetti has completely changed the game in coaching, and I don't believe that coaches have to, especially making lateral in-conference moves, to be able to have their team in these conversations, because Kurt Cignetti is living proof of that, Fernando Mendoza is living proof of that, and I am so excited to see the way that this moves for college football, Liam, I know you don't necessarily agree with me, but it's pretty awesome that we can now see the evolution happening, that you don't have to be Ohio State, you don't have to be the University of Texas, you don't have to be all these, you know, go down the line, you can be Indiana, and you can win a national title, and that's pretty cool to me. Yeah, I love that part of it. Well, good, I'm glad you like that. And I'll tell you this, we're coming too. And we're coming too, baby, okay? We're all coming, listen, listen, I know you're a winner, okay, you're a winner, you know how it feels, we're coming. We're coming, we're coming, baby. Last week, I'm just, me and Lukey just trying to enjoy these, bask in these last few days of the champs, because we're the champs, you ain't the champs no more, and until Monday night at about 11, 12 p.m., 11, 30 p.m., we're the champs, so me and Lukey, we're basking in it, we're enjoying the last fruits of our labor before, we're just not the champs anymore. Listen, you're like the, you're like, you know, the beauty queen, right, that you're wearing the crown until you physically put it on the next winner's head. We're like J.R. Smith just running around for like a year straight with no shirt on after winning the championship. Hey, I'm all for it. Me and Lukey, we're wearing nothing but tats and liquor. I, I, uh, I know we've had this argument. That's our diet for the next, next four or five days. We've had this argument on the college football show, you are the, you know, the reigning national champ until you are no longer, and I know Dave always said that with Michigan, and, you know, it was poo-pooed a little bit, but if, I'm just letting you know, if I was in your position, Ev and Lukey, I would be doing the same thing, like it's my crown until someone actually feels it. Physically wins it off of my head. So we will be live after the game on Monday. Um, I know some of us will be streaming it as well. So make sure you tune into that. And that is unnecessary roughness. We're, uh, we're going to cook up a quick parlay though, Casey. Oh, oh, you guys got a parlay? Maybe three, maybe three touchdown scores. I feel like that would, uh, you know, I'll throw my, I'll throw my hat in the ring for one of them. Um, I want to throw Elijah Stratton there. Cause when I watched this guy, I see like an Anquan Bolden. I see like a Keenan. An Allen type. I've seen people say, um, he's the kind of get that, that back shoulder fade the way he just, it doesn't even matter if he's covered or not. He just Mendoza makes a throw. He makes the catch. So I'll throw, I'll throw Elijah Surratt in there to find Peter on Monday night. All right, Liam, what do you got? Well, you know what? Plus four 50. Give me Riley. No, a cow ski, the H back, the tight end for Indiana. Why not? Old number 37. What is a Fernando Mendoza's odds? Or I guess we probably shouldn't have three Indiana guys, huh? Should we not? Fernando? I want to know what his odds are. I, I, I love Fernando Mendoza so much. I mean, can we have plus 300 the last game? Lukey, can we do all three Indiana or should we throw a Miami guy in there? You guys want to do, should we do all three Indiana? You do it. Yeah. Do what you want to Mendoza. I want Fernando Mendoza. I, I just fucking love Fernando Mendoza. And if I'm going to be sure, I'm on Indiana. I want my boy K to be happy, but I also just want Fernando Mendoza to be happy. So, okay. Liam, what are, what are the odds on those three? So we're just doing an Indiana touchdown parlay. Yeah. It's already six to one. All right. Six to one. Hey, we, I don't think we hit one all season. So maybe I've seen crazier things. Unless we should throw Miami guy in there too, on behalf of T-Balvin, Brandon. Okay. Should I take out and go? Should we just go all big, like big dogs? Listen, I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't hate it. You know, all right. Take, I bet Saran's like not a crazy, like not like good juicy. Yeah. He's wise. One 15. Yeah. Yeah. All right. So I'll take, you know what? I called it last time and it hit an insane number. Give me Carson back to find. Oh, geez. A hundred 71. I love it. Let's go big baby. It all clears out there. Like just like last time, everything clears out there. They're, they're, they're focusing on Tony so much. Then the sea just parts and veteran Carson back just takes it himself. Okay. So, so Liam recap it for the people. So this is our touchdown parlay. Thanks to DraftKings for the national championship. It's both quarterbacks, Fernando Mendoza and Carson back and Riley Noah Kowski. And what are the odds on that? You said 171 plus Brandon's face right now. You put 10 bucks on that. You're walking away with 1.7 K one. What a Monday night. For you. If this hits, you're an honorary national champion. Think about that. The entire off season until that crown comes off in 2027. You are a national champion too. If this parlay hits. Love it. Okay. Ride with us on the DraftKings sports book and we will be back on Monday. Now that was unnecessary roughness.