← The Bill and Doug Show: Ohio State Football Talk
The Bill and Doug Show: Ohio State Football Talk
Former Buckeye Joshua Perry of NBC Sports on how Ohio State trying to repeat is different from 2015
00:29:19
Joshua Perry, national champion linebacker from Ohio State's 2014 team, joins Doug Lesmerises on this episode of The Bill and Doug Show to compare Ohio State's repeat attempt this year to Ohio State's repeat attempt when he was on the team in 2015.
Loading summary
Transcript53 lines
- [00:02]
A
Some things in life are just made for each other. Peanut butter and jelly, macaroni and cheese Modelo and College Football College football season is Modelo season and the season has officially kicked off. The Modelo recruiter is back in action looking to reward full time fans who give their all for their team and their school week in and week out. If you're listening to this, you've been recruited. So lace em up and get out there and don't forget to make time for a well deserved ice cold reward because college football wouldn't be the same without you. So grab yourself a Modelo and enjoy the official beer sponsor of the College Football Playoff Modelo. Tis the season of gifting and holes to deck and the who's in Whoville were in love with new tech. Where can we find Sonos and Samsung and Nintendo? They shouted. Would they find it in one place? This they questioned and doubted when suddenly a who yelled walmart's the place to start. And each who added headphones, TVs and games to their carts. With Walmart, their shopping was done in a flurry. They cried out who knew? And ordered their gifts in a hurry. Shop the latest tech gifts in the Walmart app.
- [01:32]
B
Welcome back to the Bill and Doug Show. Douglas Marie is joined by a very special guest. He's he's as good as it gets. He's Joshua Perry, former Ohio State Buckeye great linebacker, national champion leading tackler, now media mogul with NBC Sports. Joshua, thank you for joining us here on the Bill and Doug show and.
- [01:51]
A
I appreciate your time. I've been anxious to come on this show. As you know, we've got a relationship that goes back some years, but have always appreciated the work that you've done. So excited to be here.
- [02:03]
B
Well, I just back in the day I thought to myself, this is the best dressed leading tackler that I've ever come across. I can always just remember Joshua Perry. You get on the field, he'll wrap you up and take you down. But put off the field, it's all put together. So you're doing a great job with NBC Sports. Excited to see all the success you've had in your career. We're going to talk a little ball here. And Joshua, I do want to start off, I know that you know the entire sport. You talk about everything on NBC Sports with you and Nicole Auerbach and the entire team over there. But I do want to delve into your Buckeye roots here for a second, if you don't mind. Bill Landis and I have kind of thrown out this theory this year about this Ohio State team trying to repeat as national champions. And we have kind of come around to the idea that actually having so many guys in starting roles who were not there a year ago, you would have maybe would have thought and said, oh, man, they lost eight starters on defense and they lost the quarterback and they lost the two running backs and, and a Mecca Buka and all these guys. And you would have maybe thought that was a negative. But I think the way it's turned out, you actually can feel some of the energy of guys like Jermaine Matthews and Arvell Reese and, and guys who did not have as big a role as last year. Carnell Tate and I feel like it's helping to drive this team a little bit. When you guys were trying to repeat in 2015, so many of you were back and you thought, man, look at all this talent that's back from a national championship team. Do you think there could be anything to the idea of actually having a few some guys on the way up in, in new roles can actually maybe help a team when they're trying to do it back to back?
- [03:38]
A
Yes. I was actually workshopping that idea earlier in the week. We've got ucla, Ohio State on NBC and primetime this week. And so, you know, we're trying to. To dive into how this team for Ohio State has been built and then their chances repeat. And it's the thing that I think about. So, to your point, you have a bunch of guys who in the off season basically were like, we haven't won a thing.
- [04:01]
B
Right.
- [04:01]
A
There were, there were great players from last year's team that aren't here. We haven't done very much. So we desire to, as a completely different team, feel the glory that those guys were able to achieve last year. And we were a part of it, but we weren't really in the mix. And in 15, we, we. We had everybody back. Ezekiel Elliott's back, Mike Thomas is back, Darren Lee's back. I'm back. You know, Joey Bose is back. You go through the whole list of names, guys who were impact players on a championship team. And our off season sounded very different, right? It was, who's going to NBA All Star during the off season? And we've got a trip to make to the ESPYs because we were nominated for team of the year. You know, who is Jerry Emig going to pick to go out there to LA and the schmooze with all of the biggest athletes in the sport during that event? Right. And so We're, I think we got to a point where we believe we hung the moon and you can't get there so early in the year. Maybe there were some issues that we overlooked because we said we're veteran and we're just more talented than everybody. And you get to that critical game where you're facing a Michigan State who is a team that, that isn't going to quit and they're going to fight whether they have a backup quarterback plan or not. And you're just not on your A game. The game plan's not coming together the way you thought and you're not prepared to, to get into a dog fight like that. I don't see that in this current team. Because, because so many of these guys have things to prove. They don't have a legacy from a year ago that they can hang their hat on and say, I was truly the reason why. One of the big reasons why. So I, I do think it's actually a benefit to them. Like you don't they, the coaches could go into that room anytime. Those guys think that, that they're just balling. Arvell Reese is potentially the, the top NFL prospect this year. And Matt Patricia and Ryan Day have the opportunity to go into the room and look at him and say, you think you're good. You haven't done a thing yet. You're, you, you might be the top prospect. What have you done? What awards have you won? What championships have you brought back here? And I think it's an intriguing spot for those guys to be in because that's part of the motivation.
- [06:12]
B
Yeah. And I, and I really do think that it is going to affect how I view every champion in college football. Maybe in other sports, but probably more in college football, because it is young people. There is such a, it's, you know, change is part of college football. But in the past, I would have said, man, there's so much back that's great. I think going forward, I'll think, man, it's, it's great to have a guy like Caleb Downs back and a guy like Davis and Igbignosan back and a guy like Sonny Stiles and Jeremiah Smith. You don't want to be all new guys, but, but it, you can feel, I think, the energy of, in this team and it, it feels like they've almost hit the sweet spot because the talent is still immense. Joshua, like, obviously we're running through guys, but there's nothing that. It's not old hat. And like when you, when you watch, when you Watch this Ohio State team. They're not perfect. Of course they're not perfect. But, I mean, you do go through things. It's. It's hard to find fatal flaws or things that you really like. Oh, is that, like, when you watch Ohio State, what are the things that. There's no guarantees, bounce of the ball. There's other great teams out there. Indiana is great. Somebody from the SEC is going to rise up and play well in the playoff. Do you see things like, what do you think could hold Ohio State back at this point?
- [07:25]
A
You know, it's. That's one of the more interesting questions because I. I am a full believer that there's still another level to the scene that just hasn't been revealed. And people have talked about the pace of play. Jake Butt did a phenomenal job on the broadcast last week when Ohio State was playing Purdue, talking about how they've played. And I think part of it is schematically you kind of see new wrinkles that'll pop up as they get deeper into the year. But the idea is they've played so slow on purpose that, you know, if, if there is a game where they decide we're going to go tempo, we're going to max out reps, etc, like, I mean, they're probably hitting Jeremiah over the top three or four times in that case. And Carnell Tate's getting his as well. And, you know, the defense is going to get him the ball back. Now, when I watch, I think defensively, one of the things that is the give and take there is when you have a coordinator that is so multiple and you mix up personnel and you mix up alignments, sometimes a guy is not where he's supposed to be pre or post snap, and that can lead to a crease. Now, this is a defense that doesn't really give up anything. And part of the reason is you've got dudes that cover up mistakes. Arvell Reese's closing speedy covers up mistakes. The same thing with Sonny Styles on the linebacker level, covers up mistakes. And then Caleb Downs is the big eraser when he's playing from deep. So it doesn't necessarily kill you, but do you get into a matchup where maybe talent's equated and all of a sudden a guy's not there and that can become a big play? It's a question I have. It's not been an issue. The biggest question for me is the offensive line and the run game for Ohio State and what they're doing at right guard. And I was watching The Purdue tape and one of the things Purdue did really well was they moved their off their defensive line a ton. Those guys were stunting, they were switching out gaps. And so you've got the offensive linemen now that have to move their feet maybe in a way that they didn't believe they did. You've got linebackers that are able to get downhill aggressively and that can be a problem. So I think the offensive line has to get better. I think that defenses are, are going to try to be as chaotic as possible to cause some issues in the run game. But the thing that to me, I think is a positive in the run game. Those backs are rarely in a situation where they're falling backwards when they get tackled. You know, they, they finish plays. They, they have really good finishers. And so that takes a two yard run into maybe like a three and a half yard run. And maybe you were looking to get five or six but you're still in a manageable down and distance situation. So again, like their issues I feel like are, are things that we want to nitpick. Right? And it's like I felt it as a player. It's what I do now when I'm in the media. But like you, when, when you're looking at Ohio State, the biggest thing you're doing is nitpicking like, oh, you know, what about this, what about that? They're really good football team. But if there were concerns, those would probably be the two things.
- [10:20]
B
For me it is hard. It's like, oh, the number one defending national champs, only 19 of their 22 starting spots are playing elite level football. Like, let's go through the, the three where it's like, ah, that could be a little bit better. It is a difficult thing. It's hard to find context sometimes. But I think you know this Joshua. The thing about Ohio State is the best standard for Ohio State is Ohio State. And that Ohio State has created a standard for itself. And a lot of times, especially in the Big Ten and obviously you see Indiana rising up. You know what Oregon is now. Michigan just won a national champ. There are other great programs. But to try to compare like, well, Ohio State, if you were another team, like you'd feel pretty good about this. The Ohio State standard is Ohio State. And so, and they like, right. You knew that as a player. These coaches and players know that you want to be held to the highest possible standard. But sometimes that can feel like nitpicking a little bit. But it's sort of life in life in the big city. As Urban used to say, right? That's life at Ohio State, no doubt.
- [11:22]
A
And like I, I think it's interesting listening to Ryan Day this year where like I think he's fully embraced this idea of we, you know, we, we've got to get better incrementally in the margins and, and there's not, there's not a ton that has to change, but those, all those little things that you dial in end up being something pretty big. And so he's nitpicking now where he talks about changing the way that he grades out champions. It's not 80 anymore. You got to grade out 83 or better. Right? And it's just, you know, he's, he's like, you know, don't, don't feed into all the great things that people are saying. Like you have to look at yourself as critically as possible and it's, it's, it's what you have to do because unfortunately the standard has been elevated. Right? Like when, when I was playing there, we were, you know, double digit wins, like we knew that was what it was. We're, we're competing for a championship, but we were also in a spot where it's like if we can win the Big Ten and playing a new year six bowl game like that, we, we're checking boxes of like really good year, new Year six really doesn't exist in the, the way that it used to anymore. That's unfortunate to me. But like these guys are, are like we're winning a title or like we're back to the drawing board. It's, it's a narrow scope of success and it's a hard way to live, but these guys are leaning into it completely because it's, it's the thing that they chose, they chose greatness when they chose Ohio State.
- [12:45]
B
That is, that is the life chance for a really interesting Big Ten title game here, Joshua. And we're not going to assume anything, but we do have the number one and two teams in the country who are undefeated in Big Ten play. They're not playing in the regular season in Ohio State and Indiana. You and I were talking about expansion and this 12 team world and that kind of stuff a little bit before the show. So my two part question is, is this, what do you think an Ohio State, Indiana, Big Ten championship game if we do get a 120120 game between those team, you know, in the state of Indiana, a home state game for the Hoosiers? Ohio State. Indianapolis is practically Ohio State's second home when it comes to Football games. What would that mean? But also, do you the idea that probably the winner of that game, not probably the winner of that game will be the one seed in the playoff, the losers probably the three seed and both get buys. The way they change the playoff structure this year, is it possible that even as great as that game was, has the potential to be on the field? Will there be something lacking? Because the stakes are not super high. What. Where's your mind about a potential Buckeyes, Hoosiers matchup in Indy?
- [13:55]
A
I'll go to the second part first. It's one of the, the things that I've been troubled with in terms of playoff expansion is this idea of, well, we have more important games and like, what does that more important game look like? Well, it's, it's Vanderbilt playing Missouri that all of a sudden has stakes and like people are supposed to be bought into that. But we're, we're going to play a game in Indianapolis where a champion will be crowned for the Big Ten. There was a trophy. There's going to be confetti that falls on the field. I have some of the confetti from over a decade ago in my home currently. Right. Like, it's a big deal. Yeah. And there are people who are like, which, which part of the bracket do you want to be? And I'm looking at the top part with the number one team. When they're doing the release yesterday, I'm like, man, they're, they're going to be in hell. You got Georgia, Alabama, as it stands right now, and Oregon over there. And on the bottom, you've got some teams where it's like, I feel like I got a better shot. So people are doing that. They're, they're, they talk about resting starters, which is something that I can't even wrap my mind around for a conference championship game. And so that's been minimized. And there are people that are throwing around different structures to try to, to create more buy in for conference championship weekend. The idea to me, though, is that the stakes certainly aren't as high as they are historically in the Big Ten. Now, you know, for the Big 12 championship game, that's going to be a big deal. Right. Like, you, you feel like that's huge. ACC might be their only shot is whoever wins that conference. So it absolutely is a big deal there for the big 10 sec. Nobody gives a damn anymore. And that's unfortunate. Now, in terms of Ohio State, Indiana being the matchup, it's for two things. For me, it stands out Is number one. This Indiana thing that happened a year ago and now has sustained, right? Like, I think we as a viewing public have to change the way that we think about and talk about Indiana. And part of that to me is, you know, close win against Iowa, close win against Penn State. And the way that we talk about that with Indiana versus if it was Ohio State that did the same thing, right? Like, our minds still haven't completely wrapped around this idea that Indiana is every bit as good as any of the other contenders, right? Like, you can put them in the conversation next to Georgia and Alabama and Ohio State. And I think we still struggle to conceptualize that thing. The other part about it is Ohio State back in the Big Ten championship game, right?
- [16:22]
B
It's been a while, man.
- [16:23]
A
It's been a little bit. And it feels weird that we, we have to say it like that, but like, for as good as Ohio State has been in the Ryan Day tenure, it's been a little while since the Buckeyes have been back to Indianapolis. So to me, that's always going to.
- [16:36]
B
Be a big deal.
- [16:36]
A
And it's one of the goals that they talk about achieving there. And the thing that would stand in the way of them doing that is the thing that has hurt them the last handful of years. It's the Michigan game, right? And so I think there's so much excitement there about that potential matchup in the roads of how the teams get there. But I think in the big picture, right, like Ohio State's in right now in the big picture, Indiana's in right now, and. And that's just kind of the way it is.
- [17:07]
B
Here we have the Limu emu in its natural habitat, helping people customize their car insurance and save hundreds with Liberty Mutual. Fascinating. It's accompanied by his natural ally, Doug Limu.
- [17:23]
A
Is that guy with the binoculars watching us.
- [17:25]
B
Cut the camera. They see us. Only pay for what you need@libertymutual.com Liberty, Liberty, Liberty. Liberty Savings Fairy undertaken by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company affiliates. Excludes Massachusetts.
- [17:35]
C
This is the story of the 1. As a maintenance supervisor at a manufacturing facility, he knows keeping the line up and running is a top priority. That's why he chooses Grainger. Because when a drive belt gets damaged, Grainger makes it easy to find the exact specs for the replacement product he needs. And next day delivery helps ensure he'll have everything in place and running like clockwork. Call 1-800-GRAINGER click granger.com or just stop by Granger for the ones who get it done.
- [18:07]
B
Do you think I've, I usually talk about these situations in the context of, okay, it, it's not as punitive for the loser in situations like this. It's not a knockout game, your season's not ruined. And that's the, the main change for everything that's happened in college football. That one game isn't ruining your season the way that for most of the sport that's how it was. But I always say, okay, like if your favorite thing about the sport is, I loved it when one loss would ruin somebody's season. I love seasons being ruined. It's like, is that really what you loved? And then Also for that three and a half hour span when you get the two teams on the field, if you have two 12, 0 teams on the field, I always think the fans are really going to care and more importantly, the players and coaches are really going to care. They're going to want to win that game. Is it, what would it even look like? Do you, as, as a player, you understand this far better than I would. Could you go into the game and think like, well, this game matters, but actually we're still going to be in the playoff no matter what. Like, somehow that will affect how I play. Is that possible as a player that maybe I would hold back in some way? Or is that impossible that once the ball is snapped and you're out there in a big time game, you're just.
- [19:26]
A
Going, yeah, I think you're just going. Like, I, I don't know what that, for me, I don't know if that, that could ever creep in. Like it's, you know, football inherently. You have to play as hard as you can to be successful and it's a dangerous sport if you're not playing as hard as you can. It's dangerous already. So I think from that standpoint, everybody's bought in. Like, do you, like, the thing that would have to happen is the coach would just have to make a decision and say we're rolling with the backups.
- [19:51]
B
Yes.
- [19:52]
A
In a situation where it's like, are we in or are we out? Right. Like, does it matter if we win the game? And I don't, I don't think anybody's ready to do that quite yet. We see it in the NFL where teams have already made the playoffs and you get to that last week of the regular season and they're just, they're rolling with the backups. I'm not sure that college football is at that point. I don't want it to be at that point. Real quick on the One loss ruins the season thing. I don't think anybody ever was like, I want seasons ruined. But I think we appreciated urgency, which feels like it's, it's not as. It doesn't feel as urgent sometimes the outcomes of games where teams aren't knocked out. But I also think that we as a college football viewing public had an understanding that not everybody can be or should be a championship contender, that this sport isn't built off of this idea that everybody's good enough to win a title. I think for a long time we got very comfortable saying that we had, you know, the high bowl games, the New Year's six or whatever it is, and then you had the tier below that and teams are going to outback Bowler Gator bowl and would hang a banner for that. And then you had, you know, some of the other games and if you were a team that was six and six, you were very happy to be there. And if you were a team that was 10 and two, you were happy to be in whatever bowl you got. And maybe there were a handful of teams that came up short on conference championship weekend, which we did in 2013, didn't beat Michigan State in the Big Ten title. And we're playing an Orange bowl and we're kind of pissed about that. But it was probably two or three teams that felt that way and two or three fan bases that felt that way. And most of the rest of college football was like, yeah, I'm perfectly fine understanding that we don't have to win a title. And I think we've gotten to a place now where Penn State fires their coach and says that the next coach has to win a title. And LSU is a place that's won titles, but they're looking for a championship coach, and so is Florida. And the question that I would ask is there's only one championship every year. Like, yeah, is, is everybody, is that, should that be the goal for as many programs as that is the goal for now?
- [21:54]
B
Yeah. I, I do think we have to, as a sport appreciate making the playoff. You know, I always say, like in college basketball, the hang Sweet 16 banners, the hand Final 4 banners, it, it isn't championship or bust. When you talk about Mike Krzyzewski, you don't only talk about championships, you talk about other levels of achievement. I do think college football has to get there. I do think some of the trade off and everything about college football right now is about trade offs, right? Is that you certainly have lost some urgency from the regular season. You couldn't deny that but then I think, for instance, the urgency of the four game run that Ohio State made in the playoffs last year, like that's what you gain. It's like, okay, well, we lost, maybe we lost some September, October, November urgency, but we've added a level of December, January urgency that never existed in this report before. So it is all about trade offs. If, if you were in charge of college football, what would your playoff be? Would it be four? Would it be 12, would it be 16? What would you do?
- [22:51]
A
I'm taking it back. I'm shrinking off. I am. And I think anytime we brought up expansion, and I'll just put this out here, the first beneficiary of college football playoff expansion sitting right here, we're not winning A title in 14 if it didn't go to four teams that year, right? So like I, I understand what this does for the sport and how maybe there are some teams that aren't number one or number two that are, are capable of winning a title and should have the opportunity. 6 always felt like the number for me. I feel like the cut line every year is somewhere in that four to maybe six, seven, eight range. And so the seventh and eighth team, I, I am not going to feel bad. And that was Ohio State last year, by the way. So which, if they would have straight seeded it, different thing. But anyway, like, can't feel bad if you don't get in. But you can, you can talk me into this idea of maybe six teams that are year in, year out. You're like, that team absolutely can win a title and you can set it up to where the number one and number two teams get a buy. And you've got three and six and four and five playing. The, the thing that's going to happen is we're going to go to more teams which give me as much football as possible. Like all the complaining that I'm doing. Guy number one that's going to be sitting in a stadium or in front of a TV watching the games is me. Like, I'm never going to be mad that I get to watch the sport that I love, but I feel like we're getting a little bit carried away here. We gotta, we gotta measure what we're doing as a sport.
- [24:24]
B
And Doug, here we have the limu emu in its natural habitat, helping people customize their car insurance and save hundreds with Liberty Mutual. Fascinating. It's accompanied by his natural ally, Doug.
- [24:40]
A
Limu is that guy with the binoculars watching us.
- [24:42]
B
Cut the camera. They see us. Only pay for what you need. @liberty mutual.com Savings very underwritten by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company affiliates excludes Massachusetts.
- [24:52]
C
This is the story of the one as a maintenance supervisor at a manufacturing facility, he knows keeping the line up and running is a top priority. That's why he chooses Grainger. Because when a drive belt gets damaged, Grainger makes it easy to find the exact specs for the replacement product he needs. And next day delivery helps ensure he'll have everything in place and running like clockwork. Call 1-800-granger. Click granger.com or just stop by Granger for the ones who get it done.
- [25:25]
B
It's, it's hard because it's like I, I like 12, but then I wouldn't like 24. It's like, okay, well we're all like, everybody draw draws a line somewhere. I think they've done a pretty decent job. I think there are some high stakes games here in the last three weeks of the regular season as people are fighting to get in or make sure they don't fall out. If you go too far, you could get to the point where you have 14 teams by the end of October who know they're in the playoff. If you're in a 2014 playoff and then what is November about like that? I do think they have to be careful and are you nervous? You and I were talking about a little bit like we know the money in the sport. We know that when you all of a sudden finally, thank goodness, are paying your labor force, that changes the economics of everything. But it feels like there is a lot of like desperation for every last dollar that I do think. Do you think it could harm the sport if we're not careful? If the people in charge aren't careful?
- [26:20]
A
I, I think it would, it would sterilize the sport. Right? And that's what, the thing that makes college football different than watching the professional version of the sport is stadiums and bands and atmosphere and urgency. Right? Like we, we watch in the NFL where there are teams that are, that have a record below.500 that make it to the playoffs. And we are okay with that because we understand that it's balanced league and there's parity. Whatever the case is, that just feels wrong to me in general. Like, if you can't have success in the regular season, I certainly don't want to watch you in the postseason. And I don't want to water down or sterilize the sport of college football. I want the, the, you know, rabid fans to be out there. I want the urgency. I want people on Twitter Freaking out. I, I love the lunatic fringe. It's. I love that kind of stuff. Like you, You're. You're cutting their legs out, and these people are. They're lunatics. I'm one of them. I'm one of the people. So they're gonna find things to whine about. But, like, you know, that's part of what makes this thing really good. I'll say this. It's not just the money in the sport, though. The money is part of how we get to this. Everything has to. To make economic sense. And we live in a society where you have to maximize the economics of every situation. But it's the fact that there's not really a centralized way to govern this sport. Yeah, the conferences all operate independently and try to come together and make decisions. By the way, when they come together, it's basically Sanki and Petiti that are telling everybody else what they want with maybe some input. And I think that the sport would be much better if you can centralize power and not have conferences that are advocating for their own selfish wants and needs of how it would enrich them and make them better. So, again, like, I think college football, one of the, the. One of the flaws of the sport is the structure was so rigid for so long that when it had to change, the sport was not prepared.
- [28:28]
B
Agreed.
- [28:29]
A
It wasn't prepared for conference expansion, wasn't prepared for nil there, wasn't prepared for transfer portal, wasn't prepared for a society that said, we can't just have kids out here that are basically under the thumb of a large institution working for free with no ability to move. It wasn't ready to address any of that. And so now we're in a scenario that's very chaotic.
- [28:50]
B
Yeah, we went from completely rigid to completely wide open. It's like now everybody, if you want to change conferences, if you want to change teams as a player, if you want to have an nil contract, but then leave for somebody else and still get paid, and no one's in charge of enforcing anything that, you know, I understand why it swung that way because it was the other way for too long. But we've got to get back to a middle. But again, throw. The way that you get back to that is with some kind of structure and governance, which is people in charge who are thinking about holistically for the sport, and then some kind of bargaining between the people, you know, the ads and the school presidents and the labor force who have representation. And you get to that point where you're coming to Agreements and compromises. And right now, that's not how the sport runs.
- [29:31]
A
So let's talk about that real quick. The, the idea of collective bargaining in collegiate athletics scares the hell out of me because it, I look at it, the NFL, to me, has one of the weakest player unions because it's such a big league. There are a lot of players and there, it's, There's a wide gap in income where you've got guys that are making over $50 million a year and you've got guys who are on minimum contracts. And so how would you bargain? Is it a conference to conference thing? And then you do it through individual sports? Is it a. A university. University thing? I don't, I don't think that I would like for the. And this is no shade to any of the programs, but the, The Purdue linebacker is not bargaining on my behalf. We're. We're not the same.
- [30:17]
B
Right, Agree.
- [30:17]
A
And so, like, this is part of the thing that I'm talking. I just. You look at all of the, the obstacles to the new world of this sport right now. It's really intriguing when you start to really dig into it.
- [30:29]
B
Yeah, I hope I, I have a belief that they'll figure it out one way or another. But a lot of the things, it feels like, unfortunately in college football, some of the best things they stumble into and it's like, man, now this seems to be working. It's like, was this a plan? It's like, oh, no, this was not a plan at all. I don't know.
- [30:43]
A
End up making a lot of money, which is insane. Like, I wish I could stumble into a check like that.
- [30:48]
B
Last thing before I let you go. I think neither you nor I love the. Let's hand Fernando Mendoza the Heisman because they had a drive at the end of the Penn State game. I just keep thinking, you know, what's going to decide the Heisman? The Ohio State, Indiana, Big Ten Championship game. Because are you gonna. If Ohio State beats Indiana, are you going to vote for Fernando Mendoza over Julian saying? Or, or vice versa. And people got a little over their skis, did they not?
- [31:11]
A
Yeah, they did. And I've had Indiana fans blowing me up, which I, I love to see that. Like, again, this is part of one of the benefits of this, this expanded playoff era that I, I don't love very much is you have an Indiana that's like, you know, their fans are all in it, and, and they've been really good. They've done what they need to do a Heisman moment to Me, I think, is an overrated way to look at that award because you have these. These vast bodies of work for players. And we're going to distill it down to, you know, a minute and forty seconds that happened in one game. That's an insane thing to do to begin with. But for that moment to be considered in a game where the quarterback threw an interception that led to points. He was 9 of 19 in the second half of that game. And it was against a team that was three and six in. In four of the six losses came where they had a lead under five minutes. A team that just cannot close out games. That, to me, does not feel like a Heisman moment. This isn't saying I think any less of Fernando Mendoza after that.
- [32:07]
B
Agree.
- [32:07]
A
I think he's right there in the mix. You're not gonna see me crowning him after what he did on that field. That's just not enough for me.
- [32:13]
B
Yeah, great job by the players. Sometimes the way the media reacts is nuts.
- [32:19]
A
Was insane.
- [32:20]
B
Gus, we love Gus. There's nobody who's more prisoner of the moment than Gus Johnson, which is what makes them great. But also, don't listen to. Don't listen to him. For Heisman Advice. Joshua Perry, NBC Sports. You can find him on Twitter. Mr. Joshua Perry, we know you're busy. We love what you're doing. Congratulations on everything and thanks for joining us here on the Billet Doug Show.
- [32:38]
A
I appreciate your time.
- [32:45]
B
Limu Emu. And Doug, here we have the Limu Emu in its natural habitat, helping people customize their car insurance and save hundreds of. With Liberty Mutual. Fascinating. It's accompanied by his natural ally, Doug.
- [33:03]
A
Limu is that guy with the binoculars watching us.
- [33:06]
B
Cut the camera. They see us. Only pay for what you need@liberty mutual.com Liberty, Liberty, Liberty. Liberty Savings Fairy underwritten by Liberty Mutual Insurance company and affiliates.
- [33:15]
C
Excludes Massachusetts. This is the story of the 1. As a maintenance supervisor at a manufacturing facility, he knows keeping the lumber mine up and running is a top priority. That's why he chooses Grainger. Because when a drive belt gets damaged, Grainger makes it easy to find the exact specs for the replacement product he needs. And next day delivery helps ensure he'll have everything in place and running like clockwork. Call 1-800-granger. Click granger.com or just stop by Granger for the ones who get it done.