Colin Cowherd Podcast Prime Cuts - College Football Playoff Reaction, Bills A “One & Done” In Playoffs? Steelers & Tomlin Headed For Divorce?

Summary

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The Herd with Colin Cowherd – Prime Cuts:

College Football Playoff Reaction, Bills “One & Done” In Playoffs? Steelers & Tomlin Headed For Divorce?

Episode Date: January 3, 2026

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Episode Overview

Colin Cowherd is joined by John Middlekauff for a sharp, opinionated rundown of the latest big games and storylines at the intersection of NFL and College Football. This “Prime Cuts” episode breaks down the wild College Football Playoff semifinals, analyzes whether the Buffalo Bills are built for a playoff run, and digs into the Pittsburgh Steelers’ mounting end-of-season frustrations (and what it means for Mike Tomlin’s future). The conversation is lively, deeply informed, and keeps the Herd’s signature bold, conversational tone.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

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1. Eagles vs. Bills: NFL Week 18 Breakdown

[03:51 - 16:04]

• Going for Two: The Right Call for Buffalo?

  • The Bills, trailing 12–13, went for a two-point conversion rather than the tie. Cowherd approves:
    • “I like going for it. I think that’s the play at home… you have Josh Allen, you have momentum.” (Colin Cowherd, 03:51)
  • Middlekauff agrees, emphasizing poor special teams as the real culprit for Buffalo’s predicament.

• Eagles’ Talent Wins Out, But Offense is Streaky

  • Philly’s superior roster and pro bowl defenders (including Cooper DeJean’s “unbelievable” performance) keep them afloat, but they grow conservative with leads and stop “throwing to AJ Brown” in the second half.
    • “Their offense just dies. The offense just dies.” (Colin Cowherd, 06:38)
    • “With 11 minutes left in the fourth quarter, Hurts was 0 for 6… that’s one reason I don’t think Philadelphia wins the Super Bowl.” (John Middlekauff, 07:55)

• Bills’ Roster Limitations & Josh Allen’s Burden

  • Both agree Allen is forced into “Superman” mode to keep Buffalo competitive—his supporting cast is weak, and the WR group is “maybe the most average in the league.”
    • “I’m thinking, guys, this is an average roster. You have a good left tackle and James Cook’s a nice player. That wide receiving core is Hammond Eggers…” (John Middlekauff, 05:31)
  • Allen’s injury and a shaky O-line are major red flags. Middlekauff doubts Buffalo can get past the first round.

• Are the Bills a One-and-Done Playoff Team?

  • Both hosts project a short postseason for the Bills:
    • “It would not stun me at all if they’re a one and done team, which is crazy to say because they have this quarterback in his prime.” (Colin Cowherd, 15:39)

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2. Steelers Collapse: Loss to Cleveland and Tomlin’s Reign

[16:04 - 25:30]

• Pittsburgh’s Stumble in a Must-Win, Playoff-Deciding Game

  • The Steelers’ loss to a depleted Browns team exemplifies a frustrating trend:
    • “Steelers are winless in their past five games against teams entering eight-plus games below .500—longest streak in NFL history. Mike’s always been a great underdog… but his motivational rah rah stuff doesn’t work [as a favorite].” (John Middlekauff, 16:04)
  • The Steelers’ offense is toothless without DK Metcalf (suspended) and tight end Darnell Washington (injured).

• Tomlin’s Tenure: Is It Time to Move On?

  • The hosts acknowledge Tomlin’s strengths but highlight a lack of playoff wins and repeated late-season fizzles:
    • “There’s a group of people in the media out there that will just defend Mike Tomlin to the end… but today is one of the reasons Tomlin gets heat—it’s the way seasons end perpetually. No playoff wins in eight years.” (John Middlekauff, 21:24)
  • Cowherd notes, “This thing’s run its course, hasn’t it?” (24:18)

• Aging Roster and Vision for the Future

  • Both agree Pittsburgh needs to pivot, as the current mix is “beholden to every game, every year” with diminishing returns.

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3. College Football Playoff: Indiana’s Rise, Miami Dominance, and Alabama’s Downfall

[30:28 - 54:48]

• Indiana’s Physical Dominance over Alabama

  • Indiana dismantled Alabama with a relentless pass rush and a highly disciplined, physical brand of play.
    • “This is the best coached team in the country… They run an NFL operation. They bring an offensive lineman in the backfield. They have a physical presence in their run game.” (Colin Cowherd, 31:22)
  • Coach Kurt Signetti is highlighted as a “CEO type” who has mastered every aspect of program-building.
    • “When I watched Signetti’s team, I’m like, it’s like Saban without the yelling, without the volume. He just sits on that sideline. He’s almost a mad scientist.” (John Middlekauff, 33:18)

• Fernando Mendoza: The New Prototype QB

  • Indiana’s Mendoza is “the number one pick” in their eyes:
    • “He doesn’t miss the layups… this kid gives me—he’s like Herbert. He doesn’t miss the layups. All the stuff underneath, the drag routes, the flats, he’s 100 for 100.” (John Middlekauff, 38:37)
    • Cowherd: “He’s just a high level guy… If he didn’t play football and had gone to Cal, Indiana would be running, taking over for Jamie Dimon in 15, 20 years.” (40:25)

• Miami Pushes Around Ohio State

  • Miami out-physicals and “bullies” Ohio State, exposing problems at the tackle positions and leaving young QB Julian Sayin looking overwhelmed.
    • “Ohio State scored 14 points against Texas, 10 against Indiana, and 14 against Miami.… they almost intimidated Ohio State’s offensive line.” (John Middlekauff, 43:41)
  • Mario Cristobal’s team building and trench emphasis is praised as “the Harbaugh mold.”

• New Era for College Football Playoff

  • The hosts love the unpredictability:
    • “This new college football is a little like the NFL. You have to watch all the games…. You didn’t have to watch them all [before], if Alabama beat LSU and Georgia…” (John Middlekauff, 51:57)
  • “If you aren’t a physical team in the trenches, you’re not… Alabama can’t run the ball.” (Colin Cowherd, 52:22)
  • The best teams (Indiana, Miami) are tough, disciplined, and loaded on both lines rather than finesse-driven.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote | |-----------|---------|-------| | 03:51 | Cowherd | “I like going for it. I think that’s the play at home… you have Josh Allen, you have momentum.” | | 06:38 | Cowherd | “Their offense just dies. The offense just dies.” (On Eagles’ second half) | | 07:55 | Middlekauff | “With 11 minutes left in the fourth quarter, Hurts was 0 for 6… that's one reason I don’t think Philadelphia wins the Super Bowl.” | | 13:08 | Cowherd | “Houston already did kick their ass on a Thursday night game.” (On Bills’ playoff chances) | | 16:04 | Middlekauff | “Steelers are winless in their past five games against teams entering eight-plus games below .500… Mike’s always been a great underdog.” | | 21:24 | Middlekauff | “There’s a group of people in the media out there that will just defend Mike Tomlin to the end… but today is one of the reasons Tomlin gets heat—it’s the way seasons end perpetually.” | | 31:22 | Cowherd | “This is the best coached team in the country… They run an NFL operation… They have a physical presence in their run game.” (On Indiana) | | 33:18 | Middlekauff | “When I watched Signetti’s team, I’m like, it’s like Saban without the yelling, without the volume…he’s almost a mad scientist.” | | 38:37 | Middlekauff | “He doesn’t miss the layups… this kid gives me—he’s like Herbert. He doesn’t miss the layups.” (On Mendoza) | | 51:57 | Middlekauff | “This new college football is a little like the NFL. You have to watch all the games….” |

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Timestamps & Segment Guide

• Eagles-Bills Deep Dive: 03:51 – 16:04
• Bills Playoff Ceiling: 10:54 – 16:04
• Steelers’ Collapse & Tomlin’s Future: 16:04 – 25:30
• Indiana-Alabama Playoff Analysis: 30:28 – 41:53
• Mendoza’s NFL Projection & QB Talk: 37:00 – 41:53
• Miami-Ohio State, New Playoff Dynamics: 43:41 – 54:48

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Final Thoughts

This episode encapsulates The Herd’s signature style: incisive, unsparing, and deeply engaged with today’s most meaningful football storylines. Whether discussing the hyper-dependence on quarterbacks like Josh Allen, the cultural crossroads for the Steelers, or the ways the College Football Playoff is upending dynasties, Cowherd and Middlekauff emphasize that great teams—pro and college—are still built in the trenches and led by head coaches with total command. It’s a must-listen for fans who crave more than just box scores.

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Transcript

[Podcast Host]

This is an iHeart podcast, guaranteed human.

[Katie Couric]

If you only listen to one thing to make sense of the news this year. Make it this the final episode of this season of Next Question pulls together the most important conversations of the year. You'll hear David Graham on Project 2025, Liz Oyer on the plethora of presidential pardons, Tina Brown on the year's biggest scandals here at home and across the pond, plus much, much more. It's a crash course in the last 12 months, how we made it through the year, and a look at what might be coming in 2026. Listen to next Question with me, Katie Couric on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Colin Cowherd]

What's up?

[Cam Jordan]

It's Cam Jordan. I'm back with season three of your favorite podcast, the off the Edge with Cam Jordan Podcast. Tap in every Wednesday to hear conversations with my friends and stars from the NFL, the sports world in general, and entertainment about anything from teams and players making waves to pop culture. And I'll take you inside my journey through my 15th season in the NFL. Looking forward to you joining me this season. The season of More on the off the Edge with Cam Jordan Podcast. Catch new episodes every Wednesday on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[John Middlekauff]

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[John Middlekauff]

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[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, I think you go for it, especially because win or lose, you're not going to win the division with the Patriots playing the Dolphins next week. So you're locked into a wild card. I think the way you look at it now, you're in that position because your field goal unit couldn't convert an extra point. Right. And you could also argue, you know, the Eagles, they had nine more first downs the Bills did than the Eagles. Yet the Eagles going into the fourth quarter up 13 to nothing. I thought in the first half, I mean, they're just getting worked. If you would have told me with going into the fourth quarter that the Bills would have a chance, I get it's only 13 to nothing. But the way they look, Josh Allen was gimpy to have a chance to win the game. Pretty remarkable. I mean, the guy's kind of superhuman.

[John Middlekauff]

I mean, listen, the Eagles had four defensive players make the pro Bowl. The Bills didn't have any. Cooper De Jean today was unbelievable. He was all over the field. I mean, I think we could both admit this is that Philadelphia's got the better roster. I mean, they really do. They. I mean, that's worse. I think, like I'm the same thing. They don't have a defensive Pro Bowler in Buffalo. You know, once again, the Eagles. I thought the first half, it was a complete utter mismatch. I'm like, are they going to win this thing like 27 to 3? But again, I think Philadelphia, and you can complain about it, but they got really conservative. Their takeaway was, we're going to make him drive down the field. I mean, you could argue the Brandon Cooks catch and the Shavers catch. You know, those are really uniquely not lucky. These are pro athletes. Brandon Cook's been around the league, bounced around forever. But you may not complete. If you did that five times with that coverage with both, you wouldn't get completions.

[Colin Cowherd]

They ran a hook and ladder on the last drive.

[John Middlekauff]

Colin.

[Colin Cowherd]

It would look like Boise State against Oklahoma.

[John Middlekauff]

I mean, three really tough plays for Josh Allen. The interception, the huge loss on the sack, and then the missed two point conversion. So again, but they put so much on Josh Allen. At one point they took a shot of the offensive coordinator upstairs and Josh had missed on something. They're kind of complaining like, what are you doing, Josh? And I'm thinking, guys, this is an average roster. You have a good left tackle and James Cook's a nice player. That that wide receiving core is Hammond Eggers. I mean, that's just bounce around the league, guys. I'm surprised Brandon Cooks was thinking of retiring years ago. You know, he had some concussion issues. He's a real grinder. Loves the. But a lot of people thought years ago he was going to leave just because the concussions, but he bounces around because he's a good teammate, hard worker, diligent. As Tom Brady talked about the broadcast. But I don't know, I watched that game. You know, it's funny, in the first half I thought Hertz made really good throws. Crappy weather. I would like a couple of them like to A.J. brown, where even the incompletion, what looked like A.J. brown's hand was being held. I'm like, boy, Jalen is in a rhythm. But it's weird with Philadelphia, John. You know, it well, it just dies. The offense just dies. Dies.

[Colin Cowherd]

Well, their offensive line's not as good, so they can't just lean on the run game. I mean, that's A killer for them. Last year they could just hammer Saquon and he would go. He had 19 for 68, the 20, 24 version of this team. I think he has 20 carries for 150 yards. You know, I think that's the big difference. They just can't lean on you. And he's not breaking off these 40 yard runs and just ending the game, which he was doing last year. I'm with you. The first half, my takeaway was I don't know if I'd want to play this Eagle team. I mean, you. Because Jalen Carter's back. Their defensive line looks fantastic. The Hunt kid, who I think's a third rounder, you got Jordan Davis, you got, you know, Bond, the linebacker. The DBs like you said, DeJean, Vic Fangio, you're like, this unit is fantastic. And offensively, there's no disputing their talent. You know, AJ Devonte Goddard. Oh, yeah, that touchdown. I mean, I thought the play calling on the one drive, even Tom Brady was like, they, you know, they ran like a AJ Brown on a big post to the left and then they had a play action play that got him a first or a touchdown. It was like, you know, when they run drives well, you go, this is one of the best teams in the league. And then they have halves where they get 17 yards with a $50 million quarterback, two $30 million wide receivers, and a $25 million running back. It doesn't really make sense, but it happens over and over.

[John Middlekauff]

Well, when they get leads and get conservative, what they do is stop throwing to AJ Brown. Like AJ Brown in the first half, crucial second half. Where's AJ Brown? Why aren't you throwing the ball to AJ Brown? He is a much better athlete than the guys covering in the secondary. Like, it's one thing if you don't want to throw the ball to the bill receivers because the two Pro bowl corners for the Eagles in the pass rush. But if you're Philadelphia, throw the ball to A.J. brown. He's. He's dealing with guys that aren't in his class. So it just, you know, it's in the second half. I wrote it down here. With 11 minutes left in the fourth quarter, Hertz was 0 for 6. And I'm like, they were doing all this smart short stuff in the first half, getting AJ Goddard, like, really clever stuff. Three step drop, get it out. And they just stopped doing it. I was like, just go back to the stuff you were doing in the first half. So that's one of the reasons I Don't think Philadelphia wins the super bowl is. I don't every. Seattle's about the only team that doesn't have a huge hole. That doesn't mean Seattle's great at a bunch of stuff, but they don't have a huge hole. Texans offense, you know, Rams special team. The Eagles have these halves where they just don't throw the ball to A.J. brown.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah. One note I had at halftime was Jalen is playing really well. Making Pro bowl level throws.

[John Middlekauff]

Yes.

[Colin Cowherd]

You know, in, in those conditions, too. So part of the reason it was so impressive. You're going to this place that has some of the worst weather in America. It's pouring rain. Brady keeps harping on it. These guys wore the wrong gloves. Balls are going right through. The Eagles are just dialed in, moving the ball, you know, at will. Relative to them, their quarterbacks in complete control. And their defense, you know, that, that play you mentioned where Josh Allen scrambled around and got sacked. I, I could kind of live with that. It's like, yeah, Steph Curry's going to miss some 35 foot threes. He takes a lot of them. You know, it's.

[Atlanta Is Podcast Host]

They have to.

[Colin Cowherd]

He makes a lot of those plays into touchdowns.

[John Middlekauff]

You know, I don't think he takes that sack if he psychologically believed in his roster. I think Josh feels like I've got to make a play. I mean, that receiving core is just not good. I mean, it's funny, we thought New England had this bad receiving core this year. I look at New England's, I'm like, williams, Diggs, booty Diggs. And I'm like, no, it's fine. It's actually really good, even compared to like average receiving. Course, Buffalo's maybe the most average in the league, I think, Josh, when I watched that sack, I'm like, you can't take that sack. And I was thinking about it, he's like, well, I have to take one or two of those game. I have to make some big. I mean, they're, they're big plays. Think about it. Hook and lateral. Clever call. And then two deep balls. One felt like luck and the other one was a. I don't remember the last time Brandon Cook had a catch that big and that good in the game. Like, that's, that's their offense. Kind of like sometimes it's just. You have to generate it doing either unique stuff or you feel like they had a. They got a pass interference break. I didn't like that call at all.

[Colin Cowherd]

That.

[John Middlekauff]

And then they got the, the ball down the right sideline the next play that was, that was a weird drive. Until that point they didn't really have, they didn't threaten much. And the other thing is even when going for two, I'm like I wasn't sure they were going to make it on the sneak. I'm like, oh, I was a 50, 50 proposition.

[Colin Cowherd]

Like totally. And let's be real too. I, I was it the Browns game where he kind of did that move and rolled his ankle. It almost was a safety. He clearly rolls his ankle again. I mean he, he's kind of like a younger version back when Cam went in prime. It's hard to tell what percentage he is, but he's clearly not 100% run around out there. And I just think that, listen, I think it would be an incredible story. I'm a huge Josh Allen fan. It's hard to watch that team and go they got three victories to the super bowl with that roster. The way they play, how dependent they are on him to be Superman where he's probably 70, 80% and the roster around them. If you can just sell out if James Cook is not going to get I would say 120 plus yards. Their receivers, I mean they got their tight ends okay and obviously they had an injury today. But their offensive lines, that's another issue. Today, halfway through the game when the Eagles are really humming, they felt a little bit like again, it was a Thursday night game but the Texans have an elite pass rush. Remember that Thursday night game? I remember a buddy in the league text me if you sack Josh 7, 8, 9 times. That might as well be 25 because he's a hard guy to sack and today they sacked him five times. Against a normal quarterback that number is probably like eight or nine. And there were a couple times late in the game where he's making some great plays getting out of it. I mean the Eagles are all over this guy. I just think their offensive line underrated part not playing that well. I don't know if guys are banged up, they are just not as dialed and he is under constant pressure against the better competition. It's I listen, you're not going to bet against them probably in the first round. We'll have to see who they end up playing especially if they get the Steelers or the Ravens. But I just, I have a hard time seeing this team run.

[John Middlekauff]

I think Denver would beat him. I think Jacksonville would beat him. Oh yeah, I think, listen, everybody thinks.

[Colin Cowherd]

Houston, Houston already did kick their ass on a Thursday night game.

[John Middlekauff]

Yeah. And by the way, you know, I Watched New England today. I mean, New England's had one bad half in three months at Buffalo. They had a great first half in that game. Controlled it. They had a terrible second half against Buffalo. But the, but the previous three quarters against Buffalo, they were the better team. Yeah, I can see Buffalo being a one and done team. I've had them in the hurt hierarchy around 8, 9, 10. It's hard for me. I just, I think Josh Allen and their left tackle and, and James Cook. But I again, I'll give them credit. I thought the hook and lateral was such a clever call. It was so smart. But again, you had to kind of go to an exotic. You had to go to a trick play because you can't trust any receivers down the field. I honestly at the end of that game, I felt that Buffalo was lucky to be going for the win. I didn't think they should have been in 100%.

[Colin Cowherd]

Totally. I mean they had. I thought they got worked in the first half. I mean it was 13 and nothing. But you're playing the Eagles, just don't score that many points. It felt like they were just overwhelming you with the talent gap. And your quarterback, you know, he was having for his standards, not as great as game as he sometimes has and you have no chance. Your defense actually played pretty well in the second half.

[Brad Palumbo]

Yeah, yeah.

[Colin Cowherd]

But still, I mean, to score well, they end up scoring 12 points at home. I mean, it's just, it's tough, you know, man and Colin, they had zero for the majority of the game. You know, this is part of the weather and this is kind of. I was really young with those Marv Levy teams, but they were a tough, physical team with a dominant running back that they leaned on. And then Jim Kelly could make big plays. Obviously Josh, you know, is much more mobile, I think than that version of Jim Kelly, but you got it. And this is the packers problem. You know, historically, sometimes those Rogers teams, your weather should be in your advantage to play like the Eagles. We're just going to overwhelm you physically and lean on you and ugly up the game. Well, the Bills don't want to play that way. The Bills want to play in a dome like, like the Lions or something. Right? They would love to just sling that thing around. And even Brady mentioned that Joe, the OC for the Bills were like, we don't want to get into a place where we're just passing it non stop. It will not go well for us. So he knows. But the problem is they, they. You neutralize the run a little Bit and Josh's run because he's rolled up his ankle. He's not a huge threat in this game against them. Their team speed is excellent. All of a sudden it's like, God, your offense looks putrid.

[John Middlekauff]

Listen, I.

[Colin Cowherd]

They might play New England. They might play New England. As of right now, again, these teams might throw. They're technically the set they're the seventh seed at, you know, the Texans are the five, the Chargers are the six, and the Bills are the seven. So if they, if they go to New England, even if they play in the jags as the 6 3, it would not stun me at all if they're a one and done team, which is crazy to say because they have this quarterback in his prime.

[John Middlekauff]

All right, Cleveland, their biggest win in a long time at home, beats the Steelers 13 to 6. So Pittsburgh will face Baltimore for the division title in week 18. What a mess this is. It was so classic. Tomlin. Tomlin has there. I want to read this. This, this record is, this record is crazy. The Steelers are winless. 0, 4 and 1 in the past five games against teams entering eight plus games below.500, longest streak in NFL history. So Mike's a motivator, but it doesn't work when they face an awful team. Right? Mike's always been a great underdog. But when Mike's a big favorite or a favorite against the crappy team, his motivational rah rah stuff doesn't work. You just, it was one of those games. This is why Seattle got rid of DK Metcalf. So DK doesn't play today because he's suspended for the altercation with a fan. And the reason Darnold, by the way, and JSN now are a great, great combination. But they got rid of DK because DK could be. I was told maintenance, he, he, you know, didn't run the specific route tree. He was a big play guy. But they felt there was some maintenance with dk.

[Colin Cowherd]

He didn't lead the league in personal fouls for like a two year stretch.

[John Middlekauff]

And penalties for a receiver. So because he punches a guy, he's out. And you saw today they just. There's a reason Aaron Rodgers doesn't throw the ball down the field. They have a really weak receiving core after DK Metcalf, just tight ends. Friar Moose, excellent. But you know, you're watching them today and you're like, they're 0 and 2 in the red zone. I don't know why. They were picking on Denzel Ward three straight times at the End of the game, I probably the last corner on Cleveland, I'd pick on. I didn't get that at all. But if you took DK Metcalf out, you know, it's just. This is so Mike Tomlin a week ago, we're celebrating this great victory. And then you watch the next week and you're like, as a. As a favorite against the bad team, and you're like, they laid a complete egg.

[Colin Cowherd]

I mean, Colin, they scored six points in a game where if they win it, they win the division. I mean, they scored six points, 0 for 2 scoring.

[John Middlekauff]

They got two turnovers, didn't score on either one against a bad team.

[Colin Cowherd]

They're playing a 3 and 12 Cleveland Brown team with, you know, their star running back that they just drafted. Broke his leg last week. He's gone. This is a team that couldn't really run the ball today. Shador's throwing them the ball through the multiple picks. Tried to throw another one that I think, you know, one of the linebackers dropped. I thought today was pretty embarrassing. It was. As just a football consumer, it was a hard game to watch. It was ugly.

[John Middlekauff]

And give Cleveland credit. First two drives, that's Kevin Stefanski. That's on script. Those first two drives for Shador and Cleveland, they march right down the field. Again, that's on script. That's. That's where I think Stefanski is really good. These young quarterbacks, especially rookie quarterbacks, they really rely on those first couple of drives, like, that's a big part of. So, I mean, I just. I look at.

[Colin Cowherd]

That was big, though, Colin. I mean, now dk, it's not like they get him back next week. He's gone. And the big tight end, Darnell Washington, broke his arm. So I don't know how you play with a broken arm. Seven days later, I would imagine he's out. So you're relying on Scotty Miller, mvs, who I think we could argue how good he ever was, but definitely at this point in time, not great. You know, if you just kind of can neutralize those two running backs, their offense was awful. Now, the Browns defense came to play today in these games, but you can. You can get after, you know, Aaron, they were hitting him a lot. He was getting rid of the ball. You know, the one thing the Ravens got a little mojo. Now after that, you know, that Steelers went or. I mean, that Packer win, I think the Steelers are in major trouble. And we're going to go at one point in time last week, I'm like that they're going to end up 11 and 6. Pretty impressive. Pretty impressive year with how weird it went. Now it feels like they're going to end up nine and eight missing the playoffs. I don't know about you. I'm out on them this week. I'm out on them this week.

[John Middlekauff]

I don't care.

[Colin Cowherd]

Snoop Huntley plays, Lamar plays. Derek Henry plays quarterback. What I witnessed today and the injury they had and I'm going to assume T.J. watt, I mean, he's just. I can't assume he's coming back with this with his lung issue. So he's been mia. They have other injuries and dk, they are so dependent. No team. This includes Minnesota, this includes Jamar Chase and is more dependent on one wide receiver than the Pittsburgh Steelers on DK Metcalf that most people in the league probably wouldn't even consider a top 10 wide receiver.

[John Middlekauff]

Yeah, well, all year I defended Aaron Rodgers. People like, pff was like, he doesn't throw downfield. And I'm like, who does he throw to? I mean, he, he and DK early in the year just. I mean, there's nobody to throw to. Like DK was it. And you can't just have that relationship over time because DJ DK again, doesn't run the route tree. That's not what he does. He's a big play guy. So, like, like. And, you know, and if you don't trust the offensive line, it's hard for a guy to get deep. So Aaron's 42. He doesn't want to get hit early in the year. It's like, I'm not throwing the ball deep down the field. We're going to do stuff underneath. And then they started, you know, then you trust the offensive line more. You play with a little momentum. But, I mean, it's the file finer, the final Aaron Rodgers drive that didn't pan out. I mean, he went to Friarmouth two times. Like, that's his guy. Like that's who you have to go.

[Colin Cowherd]

He made some beautiful throws on that drive. Yes, that was. It was nice until the end.

[John Middlekauff]

You know, there's a group of people in the media out there that will just defend Mike Tomlin to the end. And last week, it was their classic moment in the sun. How can you fire this guy? But I think today is one of the reasons that Tomlin gets heat is that it's the way seasons end perpetually. Like no playoff wins in eight years. It just feels like at the end of the year there's more smart offensive coaches. You have these Performances where you. I'm sitting there watching it and I'm like, I mean first of all they made Aaron throw 39 times. It's not, that's not what you want to do with a 42 year old quarterback on the road with Miles Garrett about to break the all time record. So Shedeur by the way was I think 17 of 23. I mean listen, it's. He was good in the first couple drives after that. I just think he's at a point right now where he needs to be on script. He's got to get out of that running backwards thing like that's. That was a Colorado issue. It's clearly one of those things. He needs an off season to just get that out of his game.

[Colin Cowherd]

Well they before because there's only the two games in the afternoon. There was a big gap and they go to the. On the CBS crew. They went to Bill Cower and he's like I'm a little perplexed why they didn't run the ball more. Jalen Warren was having success. He only had 12 carries for 60 yards. You know to, to force Aaron Rodgers 42 with the group of guys he's throwing to to have almost 40 pass attempts. It, you know in a crappy. It wasn't great weather, you know, just ugly up the game. It was low scoring anyway. It felt like they thought they were down 25 to 6 instead of guys you're just down one score here. This Cleveland's doing nothing on offense. Just what are you doing especially with their identity. And who knows maybe it's Aaron checking do these calls at the line of scrimmage. But you know when you. They've been so dependent on these three tight ends, right? That's been their thing. Well, the Rams do it too. Three times. The Rams also have Puka Nakua and Devonte Adams, you know, so it's. It's a little. Even if only one of them is on the field. Those guys and make dominant plays and.

[John Middlekauff]

They also Kyron Williams, Blake Corum, especially in the second half. Blake Corum. They run the ball consistently. The Rams consistently run the ball.

[Colin Cowherd]

And I also think the reality is most people don't go out like John Elway on the deus getting the super bowl trophy. Most people go out legendary players. Michael was on the Wizards. I wasn't alive but I heard Willie Mays played for the Mets. You know this situation isn't as ugly as like Michael Jordan on the Wizards but if they lose next week, pretty embarrassing. And I do think Aaron Rodgers career Probably ends. Even though, like, he's not. It's not like he's not an NFL player, but it's like he's going to come back for.

[John Middlekauff]

For what?

[Colin Cowherd]

In this situation? Because I think Pittsburgh is going to have to seriously answer. Ask themselves the question, which they already kind of put out through Schefter a month ago. Like, Tomlin's contract situation. We're not going to fire him, but hell, we'll be open. Like I. John, if not now, then when? Colin. I mean, he can go to the Giants. It's not like he's going to be out of work. But this thing's run its course, hasn't it?

[John Middlekauff]

Let me cam Hayward's old. T.J. watt, D.K. metcalf's an older player. Aaron Rodgers, Jalen Ramsey, they're old. Like, it's, I mean, to me, you start looking at the teams that I really like in this league, and they're, they've got a great mix of young and experienced. Like, Philadelphia's got good veterans. They have great young players. Rams have great young players. I mean, you know, Detroit, for all their struggles. Green Bay, great young players. Yeah, I, you know, it's, it's.

[Colin Cowherd]

The 49ers did it last year when they hit eject. Like they let everyone walk because they said we have to pivot.

[Brad Palumbo]

Yep.

[Colin Cowherd]

Even if we take a little bit, step back for the next five years. And the Steelers, they're just kind of beholden to, like, every game, every year. And it's like, you don't get credit anymore for going nine and eight and okay, you have a much better record. Some team that won five games, who cares? You know, it doesn't matter at this point.

[John Middlekauff]

Yeah, they're not going to fire him. And so, you know, to me, I don't have any sympathy for people that keep doing the same shit and get the same results. Like, I, I got no sympathy for Pittsburgh.

[Podcast Host]

Get a jump on next summer with vrbo's early booking deals. Don't wait to claim your dream summer spot, whether that includes a good porch swing or a poolside lounger. When you book early, you get the best places at the best prices. But back to the poolside loungers. With vrbo, you don't have to reserve any loungers. They're all yours. In fact, the whole private home is yours. Book with early booking deals and you can lounge around all summer long however you please.

[Katie Couric]

@Vrbo.Com as we head into 2026, it's safe to say that 2025 was a year like no other. So much news, so much disruption, and yes, so much division. That's why we're wrapping up this season of Next Question with a look back at everything that's happened. Things are coming at us with such a velocity, we thought it was important to take a moment, connect the dots and explore what it all means. We're summing up the first year of Trump's second term with David Graham on Project 2025 and how many of the goals have been implemented. Richard Haass on foreign policy and the changing world order. Jessica Valenti on reproductive rights and the terrifying consequences of abortion bans. Tina Brown on the year scandals here and across the pond. The president has upended everything from pardons to the press, so we're covering it all. Listen to Next Question with me, Katie Couric on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Atlanta Is Podcast Host]

Like, if we're on the air here and I literally have my contract here and I'm looking at, you know, as soon as I sign this, I'm gonna get a seven figure check. I've told them I won't be working here in two weeks. From the underground clubs that shaped global music to the pastors and creatives who built a cultural empire, the Atlanta Is podcast uncovers the stories behind one of the most influential cities in the world. The thing I love about Atlanta is that it's a city of hustlers, man. Each episode explores a different chapter of Atlanta's rise, featuring conversations with Ludacris, Will Packer, Pastor Jamal Bryant, DJ drama, and more. The full series is available to listen to now.

[John Middlekauff]

I really just had never experienced anything.

[Colin Cowherd]

Like what was going on in the.

[John Middlekauff]

City as far as, like, you know, seeing so many young, black, affluent creatives in all walks of life.

[Colin Cowherd]

The church had dwindled almost to nothing. And God said, this is your assignment. And that's like, how you know, like, okay, are you from Atlanta for real?

[John Middlekauff]

I ain't gotta say too much.

[Colin Cowherd]

I'm Grady, baby. Shut up.

[Atlanta Is Podcast Host]

Listen to Atlanta is on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Brad Palumbo]

The social media trend that's landing some gen zers in jail. The progressive media darling whose public meltdown got her fired.

[Colin Cowherd]

I'm going to take Francesca off the network entirely.

[Brad Palumbo]

The massive TikTok boycott against Target. That makes no actual sense.

[Colin Cowherd]

I will continue getting stuff from Target and I will continue to not pay for it.

[Brad Palumbo]

And the MAGA influencers whose trip to the White House ended in embarrassment.

[John Middlekauff]

So refreshing to have the press secretary after the last few years who's both intelligent and articulate.

[Brad Palumbo]

You won't hear about these online stories in the mainstream media, but you can keep up with them and all the other entertaining and outrageous things happening online in media and in politics with the Brad vs. Everyone podcast, hosted by me, Brad Palumbo. Every day of the week I bring you on a wild ride through the most delulu takes on the Internet, criticizing the extremes of both sides from an independent perspective. Join in on the insanity and listen to the Brad vs. Everyone podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Radhi Devlukya]

Hi, I'm Radhi devlukya and I am the host of a really Good Cry podcast. This week I am joined by Anna Runkle, also known as the Crappy Childhood Fairy, a creator, teacher and guide helping people heal from the lasting emotional wounds of unsafe or chaotic childhood. We talk about how the things we went through when we were younger can still show up in our adult lives, in our relationships, our reactions, even in the way we feel in our own bodies. And Anna opens up about her own story. What helped her notice the patterns she was stuck in and how she slowly started teaching her body that it is safe now.

[Anna Runkle]

So when I got attacked, it was very random. Four guys jumped out of a car and just started beating me and my friend and they broke my jaw and my teeth. I was unconscious. Then I woke up and I screamed. And I screamed because even though I didn't know who I was or where I was, something in me was just like, hold on, wait, they could kill me. And I'm not going to let that happen. I'm not going to let that happen. I'm going to get through this.

[Radhi Devlukya]

And I did listen to a really good cry on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

[John Middlekauff]

The Indiana route of Alabama. There's a lot to talk about. Let, let's start with Indiana. It's, it's, you know, there's two. I had two strong feelings going into today. I didn't have a strong feeling on Oregon, Texas Tech. I thought it would be ugly and low scoring and it was for Texas Tech. I thought nine and a half to Miami was the side and I thought Indiana was going to blow out Alabama. I've watched Alabama play. This is probably the sixth time I've yet to watch him play a complete game. Even the games in which I love their game plan, John, they can't run the football and Ty Simpson to me. If you Pressure him. I just thought Indiana was going to get a big, relentless pass rush and I was going to have. I think Mendoza is great. I think he's really good college quarterback. Are you shocked Indiana, we're doing this now when they lead 24, nothing. It's not competitive. Are you shocked by the ease of it?

[Colin Cowherd]

Well, I'm not once you watch it. But going into it, you have these long breaks between. This isn't the NFL right where you play every week. So you kind of forget. And then I go, oh, yeah, they were the team that just beat Ohio State and have as good of a defense. They hit Colin like they're the University of Miami. Yeah. And the brand, let's face it, once you don't watch them for a couple of weeks, it kind of seeps back in. And then you realize, no, this is the best coach team in the country. Right. And I'm sure we'll get into usc. They would die to have a coach this physical. I mean, one thing, you watch Signetti, he runs an NFL operation. They bring an offensive lineman in the backfield. They have a physical presence in their run game. They run. You know, Fernando Mendoza is an extremely talented player, but he excels because they have a great defense, a great running game, a physical, you know, just operation. And then he dominates within that. And to me, they're, they're coordinators and their head coaches mentality. You might as well just take Indiana away and throw a blue blood brand on it. For those of us that have been watching college football forever because we're thrown off by Indiana, but they're as good as any team we've seen the last several years. They just have a different brand.

[John Middlekauff]

Yeah. And I think if you watch their tackling, they're the best tackling team I've seen in college football. I mean, I keep, I keep thinking over the last 24 hours, Miami and Indiana are the two most physically capable teams in the country. I think Georgia's good, but I've seen Georgia struggle offensively for long stretches. Indiana runs the ball on everybody. And Indiana, they're receivers. I don't know how great they are. They make tough catches. I mean, they just. That team catches the ball, they tackle exceedingly well. They've run on everybody to some degree. And I was sitting there, I was talking to an NFL GM today about Kurt Signetti and he knew him and he said his dad is coaching. He said what he basically has done. He's the opposite of Lane Kiffin, where, you know, he had, you know, a dad that Coached, but he wasn't this like high flying hot candidate. He just did everything. He's run recruiting, he's a CEO that's been in every department of the company until he gets the company. And he's so well versed in recruiting and o line play and like, I mean just everything. They're so buttoned up. I told a buddy today, they remind me you would remember this kind of the Don James Huskies. When Washington was a national power. They had very good talent, not always the best, but very good talent. An NFL quarterback, but they always won special teams, they were great tackling, they ran on everybody and they'd hit on occasional big plays and it didn't matter who they were playing. It could be usc, but you always felt like you had the best coach. And when I watched Signetti's team, I'm like, it's like Saban without the yelling, without the volume. Like he just sits on that sideline. He's almost a mad scientist. He's always got a scowl. I'm just, I think Signetti's teams are so tight and so smart. John When Alabama tried that fake punt early in the game and they were going to punt, then they moved Ty Simpson up to the line and Hoosier players were all like, it was almost. They were so prepared for it and then they didn't bite on like three fakes. And I was like, okay. A lot of college teams would bite on this. This team is coached almost professionally at Indiana.

[Colin Cowherd]

To me, two things always stand out for physical football teams because, you know, any team with good defensive linemen can look like a physical team. Do your defensive backs hit theirs? Do. And can you? And can you run the ball in any situation? They can. And obviously their quarterback factors into the run game as well because he can take off at any moment. But they had the offensive lineman in the Big Ten of the year. You know when you think who has the best offensive lineman in the Big Ten, what do you think? Iowa? Michigan? You know, historically Pete's teams would have had a bunch of them back in the day, right? Oregon's had a ton of offensive linemen. No, it's the Indiana left tackle. And you know what's funny is I start texting around, I'm like, is this guy a blue chip, you know, high round pick? They're like, well, we don't know if he's going to come out, but he's probably going to be a guard. So it's not like he's doing this with a guy that's going to Go number. You know, it's. This isn't Joe Alt playing left tackle. So there is, listen, I work for Pat Hill, who used to employ Kurt Signetti's brother Frank. And my cousin was on those teams in the mid-2000s. He's like, you know what's funny is hearing Kurt talk. Frank was a lot. They have a little arrogance about him. They've been around football their entire life.

[John Middlekauff]

That's right.

[Colin Cowherd]

And like you said, this guy wasn't handed. Like, even when he got to work for Nick Saban, he had already kind of worked his way up. I saw Philip Rivers. Did you see the clip? He was Philip Rivers quarterback coach and offensive coordinator at Phil about 20 years ago. That was before Nick Saban. But then he took, you know, Nick Saban said, you know, I remember on game day earlier this year, he said, I used to present my coaches sometimes, you know, these jobs. Hey, Jimmy came to me so and so, jobs open and everyone in the room would laugh, you know, like Iupi. And the one guy that used to always, Kurt Signetti was always interested in like, I'm ready, I want to. Because I want to be a head coach. And you and I talk a lot about this with the coordinators thing in the NFL. You know, Fangio floor is about to get. These coordinators are now making five, six million dollars. Like you can be a coordinator for a long time and make millions of dollars. You know, in college historically, like sometimes if you weren't getting a call, you might have to take a lower tier job and it could shoot you right up. And it took him a long time. Like when he said google me, everyone laughed, rightfully so, because it was funny. But when you did google him, it's got a little Kalyn DeBoer. Like all he did was win at a lower level. That usually translates.

[John Middlekauff]

So Mendoza is so interesting to me against the blitz today. At the time we're doing this, he was six for six. And what's the two things that jumped out about this game? Coming into this game, every team with a bye was.06. And what you would noticed, and you saw this with Ohio State, they weren't physically ready. They got pushed around for the first quarter because when you have 2, 3 weeks off, you don't tackle a lot. And you watch the first two series, Indiana, Alabama, Indiana was tackling Indiana. You could tell Kurt Signetti their time off. They hit, they did hitting. And that's what's really the difference is you just don't tackle much when you have time off. You're giving 19, 20 year old kids three, four weeks off. They may, you know, they may be a little undisciplined. Right. They're with their buddies, they're hanging out, they're not hitting as much in practice. So that's the first thing. The second thing with Mendoza, I know he doesn't, he reminds me a lot of Andrew Luck. Now Luck I think was a better scrambler, but Mendoza, and I'm watching this here live, Mendoza on two or three times today, decided, I'm going to run. John, he's big. He is a big. And when you're six, five and you run and you just lean forward, you see this with Josh Allen or Ben or Cam Newton, it's an extra three yards. These guys are big. Mendoza has a way of running. He doesn't blow you away, but he leans into it and all of a sudden you look up and you're like, oh, he got seven yards running. And the other thing that jumps out to me about him, he doesn't miss on the bubble screens, on the stuff out of the flat. Like it's a little the opposite of Kayla Williams where you love the high side. You don't know about the layups this kid gives me. He's like Herbert. He doesn't miss the layups. All the stuff underneath, the drag routes, the flats, you know, all your bubble stuff, he's 100 for 100. He just hits on all of that stuff. I don't know. I know a lot of people say they have questions about him, but 68% career completion percentage, he's unbelievable against the blitz. That's a little Drake May, by the way. Drake May is very good against the blitz, which usually year two in the NFL you're not. I don't, I can't believe he would not be the number one pick.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, I mean, I haven't talked to anyone with questions anymore. I mean, I think he cemented as the number one guy. I think after today, again, I'm not trying to overreact to one game, but I think most people are kind of universally rooting for Dante Moore to go back to school. Yeah, he doesn't have to go to the jets because at the end of the day when you're coming out as a quarterback, these guys are making millions of dollars in college and you get, you get a raise when you're a top pick. But ultimately you're, you're trying to play in the NFL for a decade plus and make hundreds of millions of dollars. And we now have a couple recent examples Trey Lance, Anthony Richardson and Dante Moore's better than those guys. But like their career's done ever making money like that, that rookie contract. So you see Fernando Mendoza, like you know this game against the Raiders and the Chiefs, I mean the Chiefs right now have the ninth pick. They are incentivized to lose because depending on how it shakes out, they could be as high as eight. Well it's not just drafting eight. Well, they only would have to give a second round pick maybe to move up three or four slots to get the best defensive player on the board. It's a. Or they go back like that's a prime position. I mean the Chiefs have been drafted 32, so 80. Reid is incentivized to lose this game against the Raiders. Now potentially if the Giants lose the Cowboys, I think the Raiders can still keep it win or lose the game. But like that's a guy. And then obviously the character, how smart the kid is, I mean he's just a high level guy. When they told the story about him getting all the guys in the Heisman, everyone who was going to attend, their background information, you know what that sounded like a guy that if he didn't play football and had gone to Cal, Indiana would be running, taking over for Jamie dimon in like 15, 20 years and would be one of those. He, he would be, he would crush it in life. He just happens to be 6, 5 athletic, big arm, likes football. That same, same thing with Andrew Luck. Andrew Luck could have easily just never played football, ran an architecture firm. Not, not ran Stanford football, but ran Stanford the university. And that's what to me and people like he's kind of goofy, you know, kind of likes goofy coaches. They don't want to have to worry about you, you know, you know the Cousins thing. Look, the knock on Cousins was he was, wasn't that he was like goofy and religious. It was he wasn't good enough. That that was the people love the guy from the jump. It was. He wasn't talented enough that that's not the case here. He's playing with NFL wide receivers too. The Surrot kid definitely is. I mean Becker, the little white guys making plays left and right. That goes okay because Indiana looks like an NFL team. They like to run the ball. They have a couple wide receivers. They run NFL schemes with. Signetti.

[John Middlekauff]

Yep.

[Colin Cowherd]

It immediately translates to me the question is like if I'm him. Hey spy tech Tom Brady, can we clean up the organization a little bit before I just sign up to come here? Because I'm not signing up for everything that's going on there right now.

[John Middlekauff]

Yeah. I talked to an NFL head coach three weeks ago and he told me that Mendoza is one of the easiest quarterbacks to profile going into a draft because Indiana runs so much NFL stuff. He goes, it's so easy. He goes, you can watch 25, 35 plays of Indiana and you know what throws he can make and what he, what he can and can't do.

[Colin Cowherd]

He goes, I mean, he made every throw today that you would see on an NFL game Saturday or Sunday.

[John Middlekauff]

And by the way, everybody loves a Ty Simpson. I talked to a general manager two weeks ago. I said, I don't get it. I think he's just a guy. And the GM said he is just a guy. Bama's got great, great wide receivers. Kaylin DeBoer is an excellent offensive coach. He couldn't do anything today. And when you juxtapose him with Mendoza, it's a different looking player.

[Atlanta Is Podcast Host]

They're not close.

[Colin Cowherd]

I would say, I would put say in there too. I mean, Mendoza looks physically different than saying he looks much more poised under pressure. That's the other thing. He moves forward. You watch Ty Simpson and saying they kind of go backwards or sideways. Mendoza is looking to go forward and that is a big deal for sacks. I mean, yesterday sand was sacked like five times for like almost 50 yards. You know, you can't take seven eight yard sacks in college, let alone in the NFL. They're driving. I think 95% of drives end on a punt when you take a sack. So when you see Mendoza, like there were plays where Bama was close to him, he moved away, he moved forward. Isn't he a good example too of. We've seen this now with Burrow, you know, Baker years ago, guys to just stay in college, get better, work on their craft. And now with the transfer portal, you can really line yourself up. Kind of a unique situation. People go, why weren't all these other teams interested? His brother was on the team, so there was obviously connection with the family, but he definitely made the right decision. If other people were calling.

[John Middlekauff]

Ohio State gets thumped by Miami 24 14. You know, it was interesting. So Ohio State scored 14 points against Texas, 10 against Indiana and 14 against Miami. Now some of it is they lost Judkins and Travion Henderson, two great running backs. You have to go back to Sony Michelle and Nick Chubb at Georgia where you had a college team with two big time backs. I think their offensive line in a couple of spots is not very good. I think Julian saying is a kid. I mean, he's a kid. I mean he's, he needs two more years in college. And he's not hyper athletic. He's a sit in the pocket and throw guy. They have very good wide receivers. Everybody knows that. But I would say one of the things I like about this tournament, and I'm going to pat myself on the back. When the college football playoff came up, I said, this is going to be better for college football. Do you want Bama, Georgia, Clemson in three of the next four national champions in college football until the last two years, you kind of knew in October who the best two teams were. I mean, Ohio State lost to Michigan last year as a 20 point favorite, reeled off multiple wins. Wins. The Natty, you didn't know until the national championship was over. Oh my God, Ohio State's the best team in the country right now today. Is it Miami? Is it Indiana, is it Georgia? We know it's not Bama. That's the NFL, John. You don't know. And I don't know who the best team in the NFL is until, until usually late third quarter super bowl. And you're like, oh, okay, all right. That's why. Same with the world Series. We didn't know until game seven, final out, the Dodgers were better than the Blue Jays. And so, you know, I have no problem saying, I kept saying, folks, what are you holding onto? The sport's broken. The ratings were down, the attendance was down. Well, now the attendant is up. The ratings are up. This is why it's great, because college football never allowed you to grow. If you had an awful loss in October, like Miami loses to Louisville, it was over. John wrecked your season, your Fiesta bowl tops. And I'm watching Miami wreck Ohio State. And my takeaway today is Miami's going to face Indiana in the national championship. They even more than Indiana, they almost intimidated Ohio State's offensive line.

[Colin Cowherd]

Well, let's use your NFL example. Take the Rams. If they played the Eagles in the first round, not crazy. They lose. Also not crazy. If I told you in three weeks they're in the super bowl. And that is what the NFL brings to the table, which college football never did. To me, the thing that stood out, I mean, the difference in the game were the two tackles for Ohio State. One skates all night long and that was the difference in the game. And Mario's a good example of, you know, a guy who's viewed a little bit like a meathead by the media and people just around college football. But there is no disputing his understanding of talent and building a team like obviously where we sit today. Dan Lanning and Lincoln Riley, I think they were hired the same cycle. It's not even close. Right. But at the time they were hired, Dan Lanning's job at Oregon was. Came equipped. Why? Because Mario was a. I mean I think he's known as one of if not the best recruiters in the country.

[John Middlekauff]

Yeah.

[Colin Cowherd]

And the team that he built and he's a former lineman, the on the trenches they dominate. And I give him credit like Carson Beck was good last night. I think he was 50% on third down. He made some huge plays with his legs.

[John Middlekauff]

Yep.

[Colin Cowherd]

You watch saying and Ty Simpson, they kind of look frazzled. He's very under control, very poised. I don't know. Been there before. Right. With Georgia, his record against the top teams. Mario crystal ball built a team to make a run in the playoffs. Ohio State in theory does. But when you have bad tackles, you got to play some of these teams. Indiana, same thing. Where could they take advantage of them? Line of scrimmage. And it's harder now because you can't stack. I bet historically it was like Orlando pace and the backup was Orlando Pace 2.0. Well, those days are done. It's harder to keep those guys. And so if you get an injury we saw last year, it's harder to piecemeal it even for the elites. And there's like, I don't put that loss as much. On Ryan Day I was like, bad play calling. Because there's nothing you can do when you find yourself in a situation where they have NFL high end pass rushers and your tackles are just completely. You can't call plays. Meanwhile, Mario, did you see the size of his two tackles? They both look like Trent Williams. They are massive. I had, I had NFL scouting directors texting me, did you see the right tackle shove that guy? I'm like, that guy has to weigh 350 pounds. And what did Mario talk about it after the game? He talked about it was saving this morning. The mass, the size, the toughness. And he kept using this term violence. Violence. Mario's kind of like from the Harbaugh mold and it's not as pretty and he's lost some weird games, blowing it late. But in terms of the teams he built, like I would say even last year they were excellent on offense. Their defense was terrible. Well now their offense, you know, is getting better and their defense is. I don't. It doesn't get any better. Like I would say Indiana and Them feel like near the top, but Miami's got a few more juice with some high end NFL guys. Now Indiana's well coached and they're tough, but there's a like, yeah, Miami's well coached and tough too, but they got a guy that's going to go in the top six rushing the passer.

[John Middlekauff]

I had a pretty good source inside the Miami. I will just say I had a really good source inside of Miami. And their takeaway was going into the game. They felt they were going to bully Ohio State and they also felt Indiana was the best coach team they've seen this year. So the Miami people like they have respect for everybody, right? But they're like, they know how well Indiana's coached. They, they, they thought Indiana was going to thump Alabama and Miami felt that game was exactly what Miami thought they were going to do. They didn't think Ohio State was going to be able to move the ball. So Miami's got great confidence on what they do. That game turned out like Miami. People thought it was going to turn out well.

[Colin Cowherd]

They gave the stat last night that Ohio State hadn't been down 14 points in like three years. Most of their games playing Iowa's and the Rutgers. Yeah, they don't play Oregon every year. They bully a lot of people.

[John Middlekauff]

Listen, Chip Kelly left, Brian Hartline got that job left. In the last couple of games, Ryan Day has done the play calling and they've scored 10 and 14 points and.

[Colin Cowherd]

Physically shoved around and physically shoved around.

[John Middlekauff]

In those two games. That's not a knock on Ryan Day. But when you don't call plays all year and then you're given play calling as a head coach, it's just different. You're asked to do a different responsibility. And so the two games in which Ryan Day took over the play calling, all that talent, 24 points total. By the way, the other thing I love about college football now, that was never the case is you have to watch all the games. And I was kind of one of those guys that thought maybe Notre Dame should get in over Miami even though Miami had beaten them. I was like on the fence on it. I think head to head matters, it can't be the only thing. And then I watched, I watched John Miami Thump Pittsburgh 38, 7 dominate time of possession. And I sat there and I wanted to watch that game and I thought, shit, warm weather team Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh's decent. And then I started going and looking at the Notre Dame, Miami heads the heads. And I'm like, no, Miami's a better team. They Beat him head to head when you look at similar opponents. And then. But the truth was you have to watch all the games. And so college football, you didn't have to watch them all. If Alabama beat LSU and Georgia near, you know, or it felt like before the playoff you kind of had a sense of who was the best team. You kind of knew it was baked in unless they were knocked off, right? And even if they lost close late, you're like, well, Bama, lsu, Clemson, they're still the team. This new college football is a little like the NFL. You have to watch all the games. I mean, four weeks ago we both thought the Rams were easily the most complete team in the league. I mean, they're only a touchdown favorite over the awful Arizona Cardinals Sunday. Like, I don't even know if they're the first or second best team in their division. They could be the third best team in their division. Miami, Week seven against Miami today, this Miami team would have beaten this, that Miami team by three touchdowns. You got to watch the games.

[Colin Cowherd]

Now I think two things can be true. One, and Miami played Notre Dame and beat him. They played a game and they beat him. Alabama had to get in because as we sit right now and these conference championships still exist in the manner in which they do, you couldn't knock a team for going because next year teams would bow out if they were in a situation, right? But if we're, if you and I were sitting here ranking the teams because it turns out Oklahoma, the quarterback, I don't know what happened to him, but he fell off a cliff. They're not very good. I mean their defense is good, but their offense is, I mean, pretty low level. Right. If you were ranking Miami, Notre Dame and Alabama, Alabama would be third because you would say the one thing Notre Dame brings that is translating to this tournament, which I say all the time. I bet if we went and talked to Carson Palmer in Southern California, you got to be good on defense, obviously you got to score points high, high level, high school, high level, college, high level pro. If you aren't a physical team on the line of scrimmage, you're not, Alabama can't run the ball. I, I'm a Kalyn Dubois guy, but I can imagine Nick Saban looking going, guys, what is going on? We can't just this pass happy offense, it's just not going to work out in this conference. And when you play the other best teams in the country from whatever conference, they're going to have NFL guys on both lines of scrimmage and you can't be a finesse team. Look at Oregon. I would say Oregon has really turned into a physical. I mean, that's the Dan Lanning mindset that he's brought from Saban and Kirby Smart. It's going to translate as they keep getting high end players.

[John Middlekauff]

Yeah.

[Colin Cowherd]

God.

[John Middlekauff]

This will be down 38 to 3 now. Alabama.

[Colin Cowherd]

You know what's funny is my wife, I walked in as they were doing like the pregame warmups. I went on a coffee run and she's like, it's really cool, you know, root for this little underdog. I'm like, well, historically they are, but they're a touchdown plus favorite in this game, you know? You know, this is a team I'm pretty sure they say, I don't think they'd ever been to the Rose bowl. Right. And I mean, shit, Bama now has been to two of the last three. Now it's a little different with the playoffs, but you just see this little brand. It doesn't happen very often in college sports that because, you know, Oregon slowly moved up right in the late 90s and the early 2000s. Indiana went from like 0 to 100 overnight to all of a sudden be. I mean, for the last two years, I mean, you could argue they're like one of the premier programs. And this year, if they want it all, you could argue they had the best two year run of any team in country right there with Ohio State.

[John Middlekauff]

The volume.

[Podcast Host]

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