Latest / The Lunch Rush with Trent Condon / Iowa falls at Purdue, Jeff Hughes on the Bears & Big 12 Hoops talk with Matt Postins

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Iowa falls at Purdue, Jeff Hughes on the Bears & Big 12 Hoops talk with Matt Postins · The Lunch Rush with Trent Condon

0:09
Alright, good afternoon. Welcome Miller and Condon on a
0:12
Thursday. The Iowa Sports Radio Network.
0:15
Trent Condon, Ken Miller for the next two hours talking sports
0:19
with you. Here's what's coming up on our
0:21
program, our first guest on our show.
0:24
We'll be here in about 25 minutes.
0:26
We're going to talk some Bears and the Rams coming up with Jeff
0:30
Hughes de Bears blog.com 1225 Jeff Hughes de Bears blog.com
0:35
Bears 3 1/2 point dog in this one.
0:37
That is the final game of the four that will take place this
0:40
weekend. Matt Poston covers the Big 12
0:43
for Heartland College Sports. He was a Hilton Coliseum for the
0:46
first time. He made it up last week for the
0:48
Oklahoma State game. So we'll get his review of of
0:51
the facility and aims Thatcher from Matt Poston's and talk Big
0:55
12 with Matt coming up here. 1245 David Eicholt on the
0:59
Hawkeyes at 1:00. I look forward to catching up
1:02
with David recap the Purdue game.
1:04
Obviously the transfer portal. It closes tomorrow.
1:07
See if there's any late minutes editions.
1:08
Are they waiting on anything? We'll ask David Eicholt those
1:11
questions when he joins us to kick off our number 2.
1:15
And then our final guest of the day will be Dave Sinican.
1:18
He's an Indiana grads who will preview Indiana Miami with him,
1:22
but we will recap the pack season as it came to an end at
1:25
the hand of those Chicago Bears of this past weekend.
1:28
Dave Cynic and the head cheese.com zonecoverage.com.
1:32
Trent will make some picks and we'll slide on out of here make
1:34
way for her off the bench with Sean and Lucas too until 5.
1:38
How are you, Trent Condon? Doing well?
1:40
How about yourself? Good, good, good, good.
1:42
Yep, everything's good as we inch our way to a football and a
1:45
pretty fun weekend. Five games and then we're down
1:47
to two games and then we're down to one game.
1:50
So it's going quick, but this weekend should be pretty
1:53
special. All coming in, culminating, of
1:55
course, on Monday. We haven't spent a ton of time
1:58
on that game. We've been, you know, focusing
2:00
on the NFL with the Bears being still alive, etcetera, and where
2:04
everybody's off on Monday. So there won't be any preview of
2:06
that game Monday with all of the shows being off for MLK Day.
2:13
It's just Indiana and is there's no sense talking any much about
2:17
it. Or can you make a case for
2:18
Miami? I'm trying my darndest.
2:21
There's a few things that I'd point to 1st with Indiana, we've
2:26
seen it a couple of times. Yeah, we've seen them.
2:28
Someone here? Yeah, I've saw it certainly in
2:30
Iowa City, saw it at State College, two teams that we don't
2:33
think our national championship contenders that pushed him to
2:35
the brink that. Was throw, by the way, State
2:37
College. Let the catch the.
2:39
You have to catch on the Yeah, well, maybe so I'd say more the
2:42
catch, maybe the throw. Yeah, maybe.
2:44
So to get the feet down and get 8 foot down and get that
2:46
touchdown, both of those were on the road.
2:48
This one was going to be on the road.
2:50
Now, not a true Rd. environment, but still a road trip against a
2:54
team. I'll be sleeping in their own
2:55
beds. That'll be going through the
2:57
normal routine that they normally do before a home game.
3:00
They will be much more used to it and ready for that.
3:02
In comparison to Indiana, we see Mendoza struggle a little bit
3:06
and Miami, they can play bully ball, they can play physical,
3:09
they can go right at them. Another thing is, and I can't
3:13
remember the exact number, but I just heard something about the
3:16
number of fumbles times that they fumble this year and got
3:19
the ball back and got the ball back.
3:21
And it's an ungodly number in comparison to where it's usually
3:24
about a 5050 proposition. Historically, that has not been
3:27
the case for Indiana. They put it on the turf once it
3:29
goes the other way. We saw the pick six against Ohio
3:32
State that Miami had. Goofy things I think have to
3:35
happen if it's just a straight up football game.
3:37
Yeah, Indiana, I think it's a lot better, but they still got
3:41
dudes on that defensive line and they can still make some plays
3:44
out there and and suddenly you kind of go through.
3:46
I think there's only one realistic path here for Miami
3:50
and it is that ugly slugfest type of game.
3:53
A 2320 squeak one out at the end, something like that.
3:56
I think that's the only path to get there.
3:59
But will you be taking the point?
4:01
God no, absolutely not. I am not getting in front of
4:04
this Indiana tree. You know, I've, I've said all
4:06
week long that I'm going to, I'm not going to either, but I'm
4:08
starting to think I just might end up grabbing the.
4:10
Point. Just because everybody is on
4:12
Indiana, everybody. It's a fate of the public,
4:14
that's what entirely. Yes, Malachi.
4:17
Tony's a superstar, he's a freshman, he's a hell of a
4:19
player. And those two guys coming off
4:21
the edge, Mysa Doran, of course, Ruben Bayne, 2 phenomenal
4:25
players, both going to be playing on Sundays.
4:28
And Carson Beck has been better, maybe, than we thought all year
4:32
long. Was not.
4:34
Hurting his team. Wasn't good against A&M.
4:36
He wasn't even very good against Ohio State.
4:39
He was good against Old Miss. He was also a bad Ole Miss
4:41
defense throughout the season. But good enough to win those
4:45
games. Good enough to win those
4:46
started. Quarterback, yeah.
4:47
I I think that's even giving him too much credit.
4:49
He's fine, made some plays against Ole Miss late.
4:52
Credit to him. He is not a top level
4:55
quarterback. He's not a guy that I put in the
4:59
echelon, certainly if a Mendel. Was I?
5:01
No, I'm not putting him there by any means, but I thought he was.
5:03
He's been better, he's protected the ball better.
5:06
Well, that's important. For here absolutely huge for him
5:10
and that scramble to score that touchdown don't see a ton of
5:13
that out of him but he didn't I mean he couldn't help it to him
5:16
there was nobody in front of him when he walked out one and well
5:19
we'll see it's going to be I just hope it's a close game What
5:23
is the number is it starting to tick down a little bit I thought
5:26
I saw that yesterday let me let. Me.
5:28
Caesar's got it at 7 1/2. Everybody.
5:30
Everybody else. And a half.
5:31
Everybody else is 8 1/2, but there was a nine.
5:34
And obviously it's. Going South points, got that.
5:36
But yeah, nothing available here.
5:37
Nothing. Yeah.
5:38
But 8 1/2 is the consensus number, so for.
5:42
Our intents and purposes. Yes.
5:45
I can use the S .9 number. We do.
5:48
We do allow that in our contest as we come down to the wire
5:51
here. By the way, you and I got
5:53
accused of cheating in this thing.
5:54
Well. It's from Sean.
5:56
I mean, Sean is not a very bright guy when it comes to
5:58
gambling. I mean let's be honest, he
6:01
doesn't know what the hell is going on.
6:03
We have done this for years. We use wager talk and lines that
6:06
are available. Grab whatever 1 you want,
6:07
whatever one's best for you. Our contest is presented by
6:10
Circa Sports. And you go up to the window and
6:13
you talk to your son, Kale. You talk to Jeff Benson, who
6:16
runs a sport book. What would he tell you?
6:17
You talk to Mike Palm, the vice president of operation.
6:20
You talk to Derek Stevens, the owner.
6:23
Every one of those people will tell you no.
6:25
Just bet with us. No Shop for the best.
6:28
And all of those people will tell you we cannot bet here,
6:30
period, right? Absolutely, and they have to go
6:32
other places to shop for the best numbers that they want.
6:35
But everyone, because that is the reality of a gambler.
6:39
And even if you don't have the Circuit app and you're dumb if
6:41
you don't, but if you don't have yourself multiple outs and this
6:45
is what we do, this is the way we do it.
6:47
We are going with what is out there and the best way to
6:50
gamble. Now overall, we're both 5048 and
6:52
2 not even making money. Am I down to that now?
6:56
Good God, you've taken a. Big step back.
6:58
I'm staggering to the finish line.
7:00
By the way, there's a major gambling scandal in college
7:02
basketball. You wear this.
7:03
This is huge. Look, here's I I just can't get
7:08
past this. Who in their right mind thinks
7:12
that if you bet $500,000 on Nicholas State over Northwestern
7:17
State that that's not going to raise a red flag everywhere?
7:22
I mean, when you're betting that much money on a small
7:25
meaningless game, no offense, anybody that went there, played
7:27
there or currently does, that's going to that's going to
7:33
instantly put up a red flag and people are going to be looking
7:36
into these things. There's no doubt it is the
7:39
easiest thing and it goes all the way back.
7:41
I still think one of the most incredulous things was the
7:44
college baseball betting scandal that we had.
7:47
And the Alabama coach, I told his buddy up in Ohio to go in
7:52
there. He walks into I think was the
7:53
Caesar's up there not. Sure which one it was.
7:55
He walks in and he tries to get half a mill down on a college
7:59
baseball game. Come on.
8:02
And they've never seen him before, and he's never been.
8:04
Before and he. Does he's a $10 better?
8:06
On top of it, he was talking about how he had inside tip that
8:09
he this was Oh yeah, absolutely he was he he was walking around
8:13
cock sure that he had this thing figured out.
8:15
He was telling everybody in the book about it that this was an
8:17
absolute luck, that one Class A's buddies putting what kind of
8:24
what kind of money were they getting down on those single?
8:26
Pitch bats, and I think that they were.
8:28
What were how much was their kickback?
8:31
These guys are making 1520 million.
8:33
Well, Class A certainly is and they're getting 20,025 grand for
8:37
doing that on on top of their per diem, which is, I don't know
8:41
what is it MLB player per diem a day now grand a day to try and
8:45
get by when you're on the road. Tough to do really.
8:48
And if you don't have to pay for your room, that's just for your
8:50
food. But it's going to raise like
8:52
there's multiple companies out there that that's what they do.
8:56
They're integrity firms. I worked with a guy that opened
8:59
up one US integrity. He's subsequent Matt Holtz, his
9:02
name look him up Matt Holt Holt. He subsequently sold US
9:06
integrity to a man a billion dollar make millions on on doing
9:11
that. But that's what they do.
9:12
And then they alert the authorities if they see
9:14
something instantly like a bet on a small school cop and state
9:19
and Alabama State. You want to bet the quarter of
9:21
$1,000,000? No, anyways, you're not.
9:25
It's, you're going to get caught.
9:26
You're going to get caught. And that's, that's what that's
9:30
one of the positives of having, you know, regulated legal sports
9:34
wagering In the past, you might, you might have got away with it,
9:37
but no longer. All right, let's get to Iowa and
9:39
Purdue from last night. And I think one of the stories,
9:42
at least one of the stories I see on message boards is how
9:44
many people are actually new to watching Iowa basketball or any,
9:48
any school on the road, the Big 10.
9:51
This has happened forever. You're going to get a bad
9:54
whistle now. There was a ton of them last
9:55
night. There was a the Cooper Koch one
9:57
just, I mean, I still can't figure that out.
9:59
And he was going to block the guy out.
10:01
How many times have you seen it every single game?
10:02
Yes, absolutely. Whether it's high school,
10:05
college or NBA, the ball's going out of bounds and it's going to
10:07
be your ball. You impede the guy going out.
10:10
Yep. Nope, it's a foul.
10:11
No, as he tries to run through you.
10:13
Not just a foul, though. It was an emphatic call.
10:16
Oh, yeah, that official weigh in.
10:17
Yeah, he was. He was ready for that cheer.
10:20
He was playing out of the crowd. Yes, he was.
10:23
I that that was that one jumps off the page.
10:26
What are the most dangerous plays?
10:29
Sturz getting tackled. Absolutely.
10:31
From behind, yeah. And did you see afterwards, did
10:34
you see Smith and Sturz laughing about it, chuckling about it?
10:38
They were standing, I'm not sure who was shooting free throws.
10:40
I think it was Iowa actually got to the line to to shoot a couple
10:44
of free throws and Sturtz and Smith were standing.
10:48
I don't know where they were behind the behind the behind the
10:52
free throw shooter. And you could see them laughing.
10:56
And I'm guessing that probably was what it was about, right?
10:59
I don't know, but maybe not. They were laughing at the call.
11:02
Just a man. I didn't mean to hurt to hit you
11:04
like that because I think they obviously they know each other,
11:06
they respect each other. But look, here's the bottom
11:09
line. I would played well enough to
11:11
win the basketball game for a long time, but they have a nine
11:14
point lead in the second-half and and couldn't close the deal.
11:18
They kept going back and forth. I was who's going to be the
11:20
first one to blink? They score Iowa scores, they
11:23
score. I I mean, it was crazy the
11:26
number of shots and not just, you know, layups.
11:28
These were some 3 pointers mixed in as well.
11:31
And they just kept exchanging backs buckets and who's going to
11:34
finally miss And obviously was I would have finally missed and
11:37
Purdue kept making and Purdue is able to win the game.
11:41
And you know, it's jumped off the page to me just and this is
11:43
nothing new, Just just how big Purdue is when it comes to and
11:47
how many and and how I was going to, you know, be in that spot
11:50
through most of the Big 10 play. They don't have that guy.
11:52
There's. A couple of things that jumped
11:54
out in yes, officials were not the reason.
11:56
Got a bad whistle? OK.
11:58
It's life on the road in the big.
12:00
Absolutely. When it comes to the free throws
12:02
though, I mentioned last week I talked to coach Williams, he was
12:05
asking me about that. We've heard him call him now
12:07
multiple times, including last night in the post game press
12:09
conference. Bring that is up up.
12:11
Just trying to figure it out, still learning.
12:16
Somebody asked him, you know how you get over the hump.
12:17
I think it was don't fall too much and figure out how we can
12:20
get to the free throw line. It's something that is
12:22
definitely sticking with them and he hope it's also not these
12:25
new Big 10 officials that he's seen for the first time for the
12:27
most part and. They're seeing him, too.
12:29
That All right, well, there, here's the new guy.
12:32
He's got to learn. Come on.
12:33
No, appreciate the game that you see and let's hope that's not
12:36
the case. But that aside the defense a
12:39
lot. Of those guys saw him in the
12:40
valley too, because they. Moved around?
12:41
Yeah absolutely. But just go through the first
12:43
time regardless. It's an excuse.
12:45
Doesn't need to be. Iowa has only shot more free
12:48
throws in the Big 10 against UCLA.
12:50
That's it, That's it. Even the home game, the home
12:51
game against Illinois, against Maryland, who went to the line,
12:54
what, 40 times? Buzz Williams towards the end
12:57
was telling the official stop calling from he was.
13:00
He was incredulous himself about it as they were getting the foul
13:03
line. So much so it is something.
13:05
But there's also a reason. It's not just that Hawkeye fans,
13:08
I'm sorry, the officials are not out to get you.
13:11
Don't fall into that path. There's a lot of fan bases that
13:13
believe it. Don't become that fan base.
13:15
It's a bad look. And as you know, Ken, as we've
13:17
been working for a long time, I hate blaming the officials and
13:20
more in basketball than anything, because it's an
13:22
incredibly difficult sport to officiate.
13:24
It's the most difficult sport to officiate.
13:26
It is going to happen and this is the reality of it.
13:29
However, in order for you get to the free throw line, you know
13:33
what you have to do. It'd go strong to the rim.
13:36
You can't be lollygagging, you can't be double pumping, You
13:38
can't go up there and you have an open shot and you're going to
13:40
pass it up. Now, a part of that also is
13:42
because it's not a real big team because of that and it comes
13:45
back to their best player. It comes back to me to Bennett
13:49
Sturtz. Enough of this hero ball.
13:51
Enough of this chucking, those were.
13:53
Awful. There was a lot of bad shots.
13:54
Yep, awful shots. 2 for 9 from 3.
13:57
Some terrible shots. I agree with you.
13:58
Those were not in the system, not in the offense.
14:02
After the second awful 1, you saw McCollum give him a will
14:04
holler on the television broadcast.
14:05
You can see that he was not pleased with him, Bennett
14:08
starts. You want to be an All American.
14:09
You want to be All Big. 10 can't be like this.
14:12
You need to be aggressive. You need to be the guy to employ
14:15
your team. You need to be the guy that's
14:17
going to the rim and taking the contact and getting to the free
14:19
throw line. He is the one that needs to do
14:22
it and he's not. And he has played poorly here
14:25
recently. You know he has not.
14:26
Trouble again, early. Not to his credit.
14:28
You got those two fouls in the That was 5 minutes.
14:30
That was it. That was it.
14:31
But four straight games now that he has dealt with foul trouble
14:34
one way or the other, the first half Disrupt did.
14:36
Not call that against him in the Valley.
14:38
Did he get away with that stuff? Don't know, don't, don't
14:41
remember well enough is what it was.
14:43
McCollum was asked about that I think before the game he
14:46
mentioned. No, it was in the post game I
14:48
was listening to last night and he said and the first one, he
14:50
just can't have it. He just reached in.
14:52
There was no need for it. You get one and then the second
14:54
one that was a foul and you're playing defense and that's gonna
14:56
happen. But you can't have the first one
14:58
because if you don't have the first one, the second one
15:00
doesn't matter. But it did.
15:02
Kale Combs was tremendous. He was best game best game as a
15:04
hawk. But certainly and shooting the
15:06
ball. But he had careless turnovers,
15:08
13 turnovers in general, not that big of a deal in college
15:11
basketball. But when you play like Iowa,
15:13
when you play limited possessions, 13 turnovers,
15:16
that's like 20 for some teams or 18 for a lot of teams.
15:19
You can't afford it. And it's a sloppy passing.
15:21
It's the carelessness with the ball.
15:23
Kale's Kale Combs had one of those.
15:25
Sturtz had a couple of those. It is when you're playing this
15:27
action. Banks.
15:28
You got to be crisp and they just weren't crisp enough and
15:31
certainly on the defensive end, and that was one thing that
15:34
really jumped out. When Purdue start going, you're
15:37
going out, you're playing well for 30 minutes, 28 minutes
15:40
defensively at Manoa and Vulgaris.
15:44
They're not playing ball screens and they're just dropping down.
15:46
And you can't do that against Purdue.
15:48
And we saw what happened. Well, they held Braden Smith in
15:50
the first half to 0 points somehow.
15:53
Well, it's Cale Combs. Cale Combs on the defensive end.
15:56
He was outstanding. He was he.
15:57
It was his best game, I thought as a as a hawk.
15:59
Cooper Catch has not got to knock down open threes.
16:01
Yep, that's why he's out there. Yep, he has to be able to knock
16:04
them down and that hasn't been the case here recently.
16:06
There's a lot to go around. There's a lot there that you can
16:08
point to this team. I still think they're close.
16:12
I still think that they're close to.
16:14
What? To being a very solid team.
16:17
This is not Sky is falling. They're gonna miss the
16:19
tournament. There's work to be done, as we
16:20
talked about yesterday. So what?
16:21
Was second tier Big 10 team or certainly A-Team that's
16:24
comfortable. Well, with 18 teams, second tier
16:27
is. What is that?
16:29
Yeah, well, there's there's one tier, there's only a couple of
16:32
tiers, only a couple of teams before you get to that second
16:34
team, right. It's Michigan.
16:36
It's Purdue. It's the middle of the pack.
16:37
It's Michigan. Yeah.
16:38
And are they better than the other middle of the pack teams?
16:41
Well, they got to prove it. I think they can.
16:43
But three losses on the road to the teams that they lost to the
16:46
other at home against Illinois, I don't think it's a huge
16:49
indictment. No, I don't think so.
16:50
Either. And you know what?
16:51
There was a long time last night I thought they're gonna find a
16:53
way to win this game. Yeah, I thought that they were
16:55
leaving West Lafayette with a win.
16:57
I really did. And when Purdue made that run,
16:59
other teams would have tucked their tail.
17:01
This team does, Yeah. And I like that about this
17:04
group, their tournament team. Now they gotta go out there and
17:07
win the games. And Saturday is very winnable.
17:09
Yes it is. Indiana's got issues themselves.
17:12
Yes, it's a road game. But after what you did on this
17:15
one, it shouldn't be that we should win.
17:17
But absolutely, this is a realistic opportunity for a
17:19
victory. That'll be a quad one victory at
17:21
the end of the year. Now go out and prove it.
17:23
You know, and we keep saying when, when, when are they going
17:25
to get that marquee victory. Thought for a while it might
17:27
come yesterday, but in the end they lost what?
17:30
There was a 577 in the end, 79 72 and they went over the total
17:34
as well. All right, we're going to talk
17:36
to Jeff Hughes, the bears blog coming up next.
17:40
The the more I think back to that game and and I saw with my
17:43
own two eyes, I'm still not sure the bears won the game a lot of
17:45
ways, right? I mean, the 25 points that they
17:49
put up, obviously Brandon McManus was a major, major
17:52
factor in the bears getting what they did 2 for six on 4th down
17:56
conversions, the turnovers. But what?
17:59
How did they what adjustment did they make from the first half to
18:05
three and out, Three and out, one first down, punt, 3 and out.
18:09
For a team who was going up and down the field in the 1st 30
18:13
minutes, what did they do? Differently, they started
18:14
applying more pressure. It was a lot more blissing in
18:16
the second-half. I mean, just for my layman eyes,
18:18
I definitely could see that, that they were applying more
18:20
pressure and it wasn't just bringing an extra guy a couple
18:22
times, it was bringing a couple of extra guys, but.
18:25
The floor couldn't figure that out.
18:26
Apparently not. What do?
18:28
Why Packer fans aren't real happy with him?
18:29
Yeah, and he's coming back by the sound.
18:31
By the way, John Harbaugh, if you hadn't just seen the news,
18:34
he is the next head coach of the New York Football Giants.
18:39
I think he's probably a good hireright.
18:40
It's fine, yeah. I think it.
18:42
Is a lot of disappointment though with Harbaugh.
18:44
I've lost a lot of money on the Ravens throughout the years too.
18:47
They've had some really good teams and he was on the
18:50
precipice of getting fired, but 7-8 years back before Lamar
18:54
saved it and he's had an MVP cat and date a lot of times at the
18:58
quarterback spot a guy that's won at MVP and hasn't been able
19:01
to get over the hump. Was he the how long?
19:04
No, I'm trying to figure out was he there when they probably
19:08
improbably had that Passover? The Was it Raheem Moore for the
19:12
Broncos second day? Yeah, yeah, He was the coach.
19:14
That was the Super Bowl. Super Bowl, Yeah, With Flacco.
19:16
With Flacco, the hardball. Had a 99.9% chance to win the
19:22
foot. Who caught the ball?
19:24
Jones was his last name, wasn't it?
19:27
Jones. Don't remember.
19:29
Just unbelievable. Anyways, Miller and Condon, glad
19:32
you're with us. We'll come back, we'll talk to
19:34
Jeff Hughes, the Bears blog on the other side and then Matt
19:39
Poston's Heartland College Sports.
19:41
Before we go to break, let's give you a chance to win $1000
19:44
in this nationwide contest. Head to kxno.com right now.
19:48
The keyword this hour is happy. Happy at kxno.com,
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happy@kxno.com. Your chance to win $1000.
19:55
More opportunities coming up throughout the afternoon both
19:59
with Trent and I and then with the boys from 2:00 until 5 off
20:03
the bench. Miller and Condon on a Thursday.
20:06
Glad you're with us on Des Moines.
20:07
Sports station one O 6.3 K accident
20:27
I'm Mary Condon coming up on 12:30.
20:29
The Iowa Sports Radio Network, wherever listening in the state
20:31
of Iowa. However you're listening, we're
20:33
grateful that you are. Let's get to Jeff Hughes de
20:36
Bears blog.com de Bears March on.
20:39
Here comes the Rams. Here comes the cold weather and
20:42
what a game we have in store. Hello Jeff Hughes, Trenton Ken,
20:46
thanks for coming on. How are you?
20:48
Always a pleasure guys and and very happy to be talking
20:52
divisional weekend for the first time.
20:54
I, I don't know, since the first Bush administration.
20:57
I mean, it's got to be now decades feels like really since
21:00
I was 6, we've been this deep in the playoffs in north, I guess
21:03
2010 where they beat a crap Seattle team to get there.
21:07
It just feels like things have changed and I'm glad to be
21:09
talking about positive. Things, absolutely.
21:12
I still don't know how they won. I watched the game with my own
21:15
two eyes. Green Bay just dominated that
21:17
first half. McManus, he made the field goal
21:20
but there was a time out, came back and missed it, so that was
21:23
a fortuitous time out. Not that three points
21:25
necessarily would have made a difference, but then the defence
21:27
just ratcheted up and forced what 3 out of the first four
21:31
drives ended in three and out the other when they picked up
21:34
one first down before they punt. Defence in the start of the
21:37
second-half was a massive, massive turning point in the
21:40
game. They just changed the scheme.
21:42
I mean, they they were getting torn apart in the first half.
21:45
They had to change their approach in the second-half.
21:48
They did. But I, but I think, and I've
21:51
watched that game five Times Now and I I'm not proud of that fact
21:54
that I've watched that game five times.
21:56
And what this team does is kind of miraculous in the sense that
22:01
they turn it on in a way in the fourth quarter that not only do
22:04
they score on seemingly every possession, but they put so much
22:08
pressure on the opponent to do the same.
22:12
And then it's not surprising to me that all of a sudden in the
22:15
fourth quarter of this game, Jordan Love is missing throws
22:18
and Jaden Reed is dropping passes and McManus is missing
22:21
easy picks. Because when when you play this
22:23
Bears team in 2025, you have to be prepared no matter what the
22:28
score, that they are not going to stop upcoming at you.
22:32
And we've seen teams buckle under that pressure.
22:35
Now for three months, I've been having these fights on Twitter
22:38
with fans who want to say they need to play a complete game.
22:41
They got to be better on defense.
22:42
Not going to happen, folks. This is what this team is and
22:46
it's got them in the division round.
22:48
Here they are with a shot at home against the Rams.
22:51
We'll get to that game momentarily, but to also do it
22:53
in that fashion against the Packers for the better part of
22:57
30 years and 35 years now, this organization has absolutely
23:02
owned the Bears. It felt almost therapeutic.
23:04
I mean, the crowd shot watching prime afterwards and just seeing
23:08
the crowd behind it. The Green Bay sucks chance.
23:10
Everything that went along with it, it was it was more than just
23:13
a playoff victory. It felt like this rivalry.
23:16
It hadn't been a whole lot of high level moments.
23:18
In fact, just the third ever playoff game between the two
23:21
teams that it felt like it added some importance to it.
23:23
Jeff. It was catharsis and I didn't
23:27
want to play the Packers in the first round of the playoffs this
23:30
year for that exact reason. I did not want the inflated
23:34
pressure of it being the rival and it meaning more than just a
23:37
playoff game. I would have loved for a round
23:39
one game against the Niners or a team that doesn't have this
23:42
baked in historic pressure attached.
23:46
But the way, again, the way they want it was the catharsis.
23:50
I don't think there's a Bears fan you'll talk to in the world
23:54
who wasn't nervous and on edge when that game kicked off.
23:58
I don't think you're going to see the same thing at Soldiers
24:00
Field this week. I think Sunday night, it's going
24:03
to be a celebration. Now it's going to be a very cold
24:05
celebration, but I think it's going to be a celebration.
24:08
This season now is officially, officially great.
24:13
Whatever they do from here on out, this season has been
24:16
stamped as a massive success. Now we're trying to see is this
24:20
going to be a historic success? And that's what the next couple
24:24
of weeks tell. Fascinating, by the way, you
24:27
were the first one I heard you. I heard compare Caleb Williams
24:30
to John Elway and I'm hearing it a lot subsequent to that from
24:34
our discussion last week, just with his propensity to come from
24:38
behind like #7 did. And and certainly Williams had a
24:42
ton of help. I mean, I I can't get over how
24:44
well Colston Loveland played in that football game.
24:48
He has become such a weapon. I don't know if he's got
24:51
another, you know, Buck 40 or whatever it was that he had in
24:54
him last week, but man, oh, man, he has certainly arrived.
24:58
And you know, for all those people that thought they drafted
25:00
the wrong tight end and Warren's a nice player, but Loveland, my
25:04
God, he shut some people up. I I think what the most
25:06
important thing about Folst and Loveland is the the way Caleb
25:11
Williams turns to him in seemingly every big moment.
25:15
There is a confidence in the quarterback when he turns and
25:18
looks at 84. And in the history of the sport,
25:22
we have seen when the quarterback, the great
25:25
quarterback. And by the way, I don't think
25:26
anybody should be doubting anymore what the Bears have at
25:29
quarterback. They've got a guy who's going to
25:30
be great for a long time. When he's got that guy at tight
25:34
end, when he's got that guy he can rely on on the big fourth
25:38
down on the 3rd and 8th, that is one of the most dangerous
25:41
weapons in this league. He's got it with Goulston Lovin.
25:44
And I want to say something about Ben Johnson really
25:47
briefly. A young coach in a normal
25:50
situation would have forced a lot of these guys into action
25:54
early and tried to win quickly. He didn't force Colston Loveland
25:57
or Luther Burden or Kyle Manongai into early games.
26:01
Go look at their stat lines in September.
26:03
Non existent for any of them. He gave these guys time to
26:07
develop into the season, to find their footing, to get
26:11
comfortable and they have. And it's paying off when it's
26:15
paying off in December and January, something a lot of us
26:18
are weren't used to. But now we're seeing what the
26:21
message of the madness early in the year was for Ben Johnson.
26:24
He let these guys get comfortable.
26:27
So here we are against the Rams, a match up that certainly I
26:30
believe is the most complete team in the NFL still and this
26:34
year this is don't complete teams really overall in the NFL.
26:37
Everybody has their warts, everybody has their issues.
26:39
You get them in the cold weather matchups that concern you
26:43
though. Obviously Pookaduku, what he can
26:44
do and offense overall with Stafford and Williams running
26:47
the ball. You can throw against this team,
26:49
but what does concern you most against the Rams?
26:52
I think to beat the Rams you have to be able to attack them
26:56
down the field. To attack them down the field
26:59
you have got you become susceptible to the strength of
27:01
their defense, which is their pass rush.
27:04
That is where this game is going to be decided.
27:06
Forget about Puka Duko, he's going to have 165 yards and
27:09
probably 2 touchdowns. This they're going, if the
27:12
weather is not so frigid they can't move, put put the Rams in
27:16
the mid 20s right now, that's where they're going to be.
27:18
If the weather is tolerable, put them in the low 30's.
27:22
The Bears are going to have every opportunity to meet that
27:25
number and to pass that number, but they're going to have to
27:27
attack them down the field. I would love to say to you right
27:30
now they've got to start better. They're just not going to.
27:34
So just forget it. It's not who they are.
27:36
It's not in their DNAI would be worried a little bit about the
27:40
left tack. I mean, Ozzy Tributo has played
27:43
very well. His injury is devastating for
27:46
this offensive line. Is it going to be bracketed
27:48
Jones coming in? They would not commit to Theo
27:51
Benedict in the position that is going to be for Sean McVay.
27:54
You're going to attack that left tackle early and often and
27:57
you're going to see if that's a vulnerable spot because if
27:59
they've got a shield cover to push coverage protections to
28:04
help out a left tackle, it's going to limit what they can do
28:07
down the field. And this team for the Bears has
28:09
to be won down the field. Cairo Santos going to have to
28:12
make some kicks in all likelihood, as he's been doing
28:15
consistently really most of the season.
28:18
I didn't think he was a guy that you could count on.
28:20
He's become that Jeff. He really has, and the fans
28:24
don't love him because he's not one of these guys who bombs the
28:27
60 fives. But he's steady from 55 in and
28:31
now they're learning, you know, you throw them out there from 51
28:34
and you're confident. And Cairo Santos is also
28:36
somebody. I've been tracking how this new
28:39
kickoff works because that's the kind of nerd I am.
28:42
And one of the things I've noticed with Cairo Santos is he
28:45
tries like 3 different kinds of kickoffs every week.
28:49
And I don't think they settled on the one that works.
28:51
But Cairo is a good player. Devin Duvernay is a good player.
28:54
Special teams, by the way, if you're looking for a mismatch
28:57
this week, special teams for the Rams has been devastating that
29:01
team for three months. That is a significant place
29:05
where the Bears can get a leg up.
29:06
And if you're looking for a wild card player to really change
29:10
this game, it's Devin Duvernay on the Returns.
29:13
One final thing, there's been a lot of airwaves talked about, a
29:16
lot of ink spilled talking about the rivalry and Ben Johnson in
29:20
the locker room blank, the Packers, the handshake heard
29:24
round of the world for the third time, the blow by that happened
29:27
there. What's your take away of this?
29:30
I don't know that I can care about anything less.
29:32
I mean, I could, I could try to think of things that I care
29:35
about less, maybe professional chess, but I don't think I care
29:40
about anything less. Listen, that team in Green Bay
29:44
has been beating the Chicago Bears handily for four decades,
29:49
4 decades. And now we're going to be upset
29:53
because the Bears coach, remember their quarterback was
29:56
on TV telling everybody that he owns the Chicago Bears
29:59
franchise. And now we're going to get a
30:01
little bit. Now we're going to start
30:02
clutching curls because the handshake's not appropriate and
30:05
the guy uses foul language. I hope the younger fans who are
30:09
getting mad about the foul language do some research about
30:12
Mike Ditka and Buddy Ryan and Bill Parcells and some of the
30:16
older coaches who the F word was the third word out of their
30:18
mouth in all scenarios. I think it's famous as a as a
30:22
sports media made me toughen up a bit and say the rivalry is
30:26
alive and well. I'm glad that Ben embraced it
30:29
and I don't care. I do not care how long the
30:33
handshake. Lasts Jeff Hughes The Bears
30:35
blog.com The Bears blog.com Jeff, thanks for jumping on.
30:38
Appreciate it. Enjoy the game on Sunday night,
30:41
Jeff. I'm guessing you will.
30:42
Thanks Bud. I certainly will.
30:44
Guys, take care. Yeah, good to talk to Jeff
30:46
Hughes, the Bears blog, as we check in on the finale of the
30:49
four games, four NFL games this weekend.
30:52
All right, Big 12 conversation next with our buddy Matt Postons
30:55
from Heartland College Sports, Miller and Condon on the Iowa
30:58
Sports Radio Network. Hi, Mary Condon, welcome back
31:17
12:45. Iowa Sports Radio Network, Trent
31:20
and I with you until just before 2.
31:22
As promised, our friend Matt Poston's going to join us.
31:24
Give us a few minutes on the Big 12 as we catch up on that
31:28
conference. Matt Poston's was in Ames last
31:31
week. That was your first trip, you
31:33
said correct, Matt Poston's to Hilton.
31:35
If So, what were your takeaways? Yeah, first trip to Hilton and
31:40
really loved the place. I mean, it didn't have all the
31:43
students there, class wasn't quite in session yet, so you
31:46
don't get a full picture of it. But, you know, I'm glad I got to
31:49
see a men's game and a women's game on different days because
31:53
it gave me a chance to kind of compare and contrast.
31:55
Because, you know, one of the things I hear so much about, you
31:57
know, the fan support there is that it's pretty equal across
32:01
the board for the men and the women.
32:02
And I got a sense of that over the weekend.
32:04
But I, I love how they've taken arenas to me should always be
32:09
living history lessons of that program and a lot of how they've
32:13
done that on the inner concourse inside the arena as opposed to
32:16
doing on the outside. I mean, the outside concourse is
32:18
really kind of no Furls honestly.
32:20
But inside you got the statue of Johnny or you have all the
32:23
artifacts related to Hilton magic and stuff like that.
32:26
So it was a really, really neat place, really fun atmosphere.
32:29
Really enjoyed my time there. You look at the game and there
32:33
was another one afterwards, but it was kind of the case of what
32:35
we saw against Kansas, Another slow start from the Iowa State
32:37
men against Oklahoma State. Ken and I both mentioned though,
32:40
this Oklahoma State team, they're trending at least in the
32:43
right direction with the new coaching staff.
32:45
They're going into the second year with Steve Lutz taking over
32:48
the program. But that aside, the slow starts
32:50
for Iowa State and this overall, they take the first loss of the
32:53
season. Your take away on the Cyclones
32:55
and are there any concerns for you with this squad and what
32:57
we've seen here recently? Yeah, I mean, I love the way
33:01
they're able to adjust, you know, at halftime.
33:03
And you saw it even last night or the other night in the loss
33:06
to Kansas. I mean, they came out first 5-6
33:08
minutes in the second-half. They looked like they had things
33:10
under control. I think they got it down to 11
33:13
at one point. But, you know, if if there's
33:15
anyone distinct take away, it's that they've they've got to do a
33:18
better job of getting out of the gate.
33:19
I mean, you know, you can you can get away with that in some
33:23
conference games. You can even get away with that
33:25
in games like against Kansas if you don't do fall too far
33:28
behind. But those are the kinds of
33:30
things you really can't get away with in the NCAA tournament.
33:33
And that's, you know, that's one of those things where, you know,
33:36
you can work on that kind of stuff in practice.
33:38
You can, you know, get the ball maybe to Mom Solovitch more
33:42
often and kind of get him going earlier in the game.
33:45
That's an area where I think Bateman can help them earlier in
33:48
the game, bringing him off the bench.
33:49
He's kind of a he kind of has that microwave scoring mentality
33:53
that you want out of a bench player.
33:54
So, yeah, they they've got the tools to to to fix that issue.
33:58
But that's the one thing I see right now.
34:00
I mean, they're still playing defense the way you would
34:02
expect. I think they're a better
34:04
offensive team than they were a year ago.
34:05
It's just, you know, getting off to a better start, getting a
34:08
little bit better control of the game early on and, you know,
34:11
getting that offense to be a little more assertive in the
34:13
first 5-6 minutes of the game. And sharing the sharing the
34:16
court with, I would say it was Kansas at fog hours.
34:20
And maybe I don't know if we're giving him enough credit because
34:22
I was just blown away by this Kansas team.
34:24
I'd see him a couple of times early in the year.
34:27
I only watched the first half and they were crushing North
34:29
Carolina and they got beat badly in the second-half.
34:32
And then I saw some of the UConn game as well.
34:35
And this was really my first, you know, getting back, getting
34:38
back in front of the TV to watch Kansas.
34:41
But Ding, I thought was terrific.
34:42
Obviously, Peterson's, Peterson, but counsel and White and the
34:45
kids off the bench. McDowell, who seemingly had, I
34:48
don't know how many assists he ended up with, but a bushel of
34:50
them. This was obviously their best
34:53
game of the year. Fair to say the self got more
34:56
out of his guys than he'd been able to get out of them all year
34:58
long for the full 40 minutes. Yeah, I would say so.
35:02
And what's funny is you hear the lead up of the game.
35:04
Apparently there was a players only meeting on Monday that Self
35:07
wasn't even aware of until after the game.
35:09
Self also told ESPN that he felt like his starters got absolutely
35:13
rode in practice by the scout team that Monday.
35:16
So I think between, obviously between Morgantown and Lauren,
35:19
somebody got their tails chewed out and their defensive effort
35:23
was much better. And I think you saw what they
35:27
have to do if they want to make a deep run in the NCAA
35:30
tournament. You know, obviously Peterson's
35:32
got to be that guy. But they need counsel, they need
35:34
White, they need McDowell, they need 5 or 6 guys firing on all
35:39
cylinders at the same time. And that's part of the reason
35:41
why they were able to win that game going away.
35:43
Everybody was doing their part, firing on all cylinders.
35:47
Everything looked great offensively.
35:49
The one quibble I have is I, I, Bill Self does this from time to
35:53
time. He'll ride like a seven man or
35:56
an 8 man rotation. And if he rides A7 man rotation
35:59
all the way into March, that's going to wear his guys out.
36:02
I know people say, well, they're 1819 year old, 20 year old kids
36:05
and like, yeah, but you know, you get to March, you don't want
36:08
your guys worn down. So hopefully the tight rotation
36:11
was a product of the way they played in Morgantown and him
36:14
trying to get things right. But they're going to need a
36:16
couple more guys off the bench to help them out for 5/10/12
36:19
minutes a game as they get further and deeper into Big 12
36:22
play. Because as they made the point
36:23
during the broadcast, you think January is tough, their February
36:27
schedule. Is brutal you?
36:29
Know freshman a better conversation of getting college
36:31
basketball and the guy that I know Ken and I haven't talked a
36:33
ton about is coept out at Arizona.
36:36
Now we'll see them face off. Against the second, his first
36:38
game he played as a freshman, remember?
36:40
That they played Florida, played really well there.
36:42
They beat UConn earlier this season on the road.
36:44
They got some nice wins, but it almost feels like they've been
36:46
kind of out of mind. I watched, I don't know, a
36:48
couple minutes of them flipping around last night against
36:50
Arizona State as they were in a bit of tussle against their in
36:53
state rivals. But this Arizona team overall,
36:55
yeah, they're undefeated, of course, an undefeated team.
36:58
With the wins they have, they can win a national championship.
37:00
What makes in your mind, though, this Arizona team elite?
37:04
I I think what makes them elite is what you saw last night if
37:08
you managed to watch the whole game.
37:10
You know, Kelly Pete got off to a slow start in that game.
37:13
I think he made one of his first six shots.
37:16
Brandon Burris, I think he had four points the entire game.
37:20
Their big guy got into foul trouble so they had to have
37:22
somebody step up and Toby Walker was that guy.
37:25
He had a career high 23 points last night.
37:27
He helped them get through the first half when their offense
37:30
wasn't firing. You know, the thing about
37:32
Arizona is they got 8 or 9 guys they can go to that that are
37:37
consistent scores. I mean, not even talking about
37:40
Jaden Bradley, I mean he had a rather pedestrian game, but he
37:43
had a big shot at the end of the game that kind of made it, you
37:46
know, put the thing on ice. They've got so many options
37:48
offensively that, you know, you can take one or two guys away
37:52
from them, but they've got guys that can step up.
37:54
It's kind of the exact opposite to what Kansas has.
37:57
Kansas right now really only has about 3 or 4 guys they can lean
37:59
on. Arizona has nine guys.
38:02
So if you get into those games in March and you know one guy is
38:05
inspiring, another guy can step into that role.
38:08
The same they have to avoid is foul trouble.
38:10
I think there were, I think there were six guys in that came
38:13
with four fouls last four or five minutes to that game.
38:16
And they're big guy. You know, he's a he's a great
38:18
player, but I think he only played 20 minutes because of the
38:21
foul trouble. They need him on the floor
38:23
because you can't coach 7 foot 2 and in the tournament a guy like
38:25
that can be incredibly valuable to you.
38:28
Jerome Tang in trouble trending in that direction, Yeah.
38:32
Yeah, Oh yeah. I I don't understand what is
38:34
happening with this team. I mean, they're not the most
38:38
talented team in the conference, but I figured by now Tang would
38:42
have a sense of how these guys play together and more
38:44
importantly, these guys would have a sense of how they should
38:46
play together. And that just doesn't seem to be
38:49
what's happening right now. I mean, when you hear him after
38:52
the Arizona State game say that his players are playing like
38:55
they don't like each other, I'm like, I don't think I've ever
38:58
heard a coach say that before. And you know, the other night
39:01
there, they had trouble the other night as well with
39:03
rotations and chemistry and things like that.
39:05
This team just is not, it's not there.
39:08
It might end up being with Utah, the worst team in the
39:11
conference. And I, I don't think, I don't
39:14
see how Tang rescues himself after a season like that.
39:17
When you think about how high they were three years ago
39:19
getting to the Elite 8 and they haven't sniffed the NCAA
39:22
tournament since then. I know he's got a big contract
39:24
and I know he's got a significant buyout, but this may
39:27
just be one of those things where Kansas State just has to
39:29
eat it and move on. Because whatever mojo he had
39:32
year one, a lot of it apparently was due to Marquis Noel and
39:36
Kiante Johnson, because they haven't had anything close to
39:39
that sense. We're about halfway through the
39:41
year, quarter of the way through the conference schedule.
39:43
Who is the Big 12 player of the year at this point?
39:46
A lot of great contenders. Oh gosh.
39:49
Yes. I mean, yeah, it's really not
39:53
fair. I mean, there are guys at the
39:55
end of the year we're going to have guys that should be third
39:57
team players on it that don't even make honorable mention.
40:00
This conference is so deep from a talent standpoint.
40:03
But if I'm thinking about player of the year right now, I'll give
40:07
you 3 guys because it's so hard to apply.
40:10
Josh, Joshua, Jefferson and Iowa State.
40:12
I think he's got a fantastic year and I think if I have a
40:14
state wins the conference, he's going to be a big reason why I.
40:20
I look at I look at JT Top and the Texas Tech and same thing.
40:24
If they end up winning the conference, he's going to be a
40:25
big reason why. And then Arizona, I think, you
40:29
know, I think you might look at Coapete.
40:31
I mean, I think I think right now he's kind of going through a
40:33
little freshman valley right now midway through the season.
40:36
You kind of expect that from a true freshman.
40:38
But I think he's the kind of player, I mean, even with the
40:40
slow start last night, he scored like 2223 points.
40:44
I think by March he could be back on an upswing and that
40:46
might put him in a position where he could be potentially
40:48
both the freshman of the year and the player there in this
40:50
conference. Those are the kind of the three
40:52
guys I gravitate toward right now.
40:54
But like you said, I'm leaving probably a half dozen without
40:57
that had just as good a credential to to be that guy.
40:59
And Peterson stock is on the rise as well.
41:01
Hey, Matt, we're out of time, buddy.
41:03
Thanks for doing this, as always, Matt Poston's Heartland
41:05
College Sports. Matt, thank you.
41:06
We'll talk to you down the road. All right.
41:08
Appreciate it guys. Good to talk to you.
41:09
Our two next Miller and Condon right back after these messages.