Latest / Podcast on the Brink / POTB 578: Alexis, Daley and Wyatt are currently eligible plus IU football, hoops talk with Zach Horwitz

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POTB 578: Alexis, Daley and Wyatt are currently eligible plus IU football, hoops talk with Zach Horwitz · Podcast on the Brink

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Welcome back to a new episode of podcast on the
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: brink Wednesday, September 23rd.
• 0:05
  Speaker 2: It just so happens that.
• 0:26
  Speaker 3: We had scheduled this podcast for about 1230 PM Eastern time,
• 0:30
  Speaker 3: about 30 minutes before we were scheduled to start recording,
• 0:33
  Speaker 3: had some big news in the IU football, IU basketball world.
• 0:37
  Speaker 3: We'll get to that with today's guest on podcast on
• 0:40
  Speaker 3: the brink, Zach Horwitz, one of our two students, uh,
• 0:44
  Speaker 3: helping us with our coverage this season with both basketball
• 0:47
  Speaker 3: and football on site. Really excited. I know we talked
• 0:49
  Speaker 3: to Ian a couple of weeks ago and people had
• 0:51
  Speaker 3: a ton of good feedback on his, uh, almost encyclopedia-esque
• 0:56
  Speaker 3: knowledge of IU football. That was a really fun episode
• 0:59
  Speaker 3: talking to Ian. I know we're going to have a
• 1:00
  Speaker 3: lot of fun today with Zach as well. Before we
• 1:03
  Speaker 3: get to Zach, I wanted to remind you quickly, if
• 1:05
  Speaker 3: you enjoy the show over on Apple Podcasts or Spotify,
• 1:08
  Speaker 3: leave us a rating and review. We appreciate the support.
• 1:10
  Speaker 3: If you're watching on YouTube, like the video, subscribe to
• 1:13
  Speaker 3: the channel. We always appreciate the support. If you could
• 1:15
  Speaker 3: send the link to another IU or Big Ten fan
• 1:19
  Speaker 3: that may enjoy the content, We would really appreciate that
• 1:22
  Speaker 3: as well. Zach, welcome to the show. We were just
• 1:26
  Speaker 3: talking a little bit beforehand. How is it going in Bloomington?
• 1:31
  Speaker 3: You're a senior now covering IU football, I think for
• 1:34
  Speaker 3: the first time. What's it been like just having a
• 1:37
  Speaker 3: chance to go to game day at Memorial State in
• 1:40
  Speaker 3: these last three weeks?
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: First of all, thank you for having me on. First time.
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: I'm excited to be here. Crazy how this has changed. Yes,
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: this is my first year covering Indiana football. I've gone
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: to every single home game since I've been a student.
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: Even my freshman season, when they were 3-9, I was
• 1:59
  Speaker 2: at the four-overtime game against Akron, which I believe is
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: three years to the day that we're recording this. So
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: crazy how times have changed. These past three games, I
• 2:10
  Speaker 2: think each one has had a different feel. Obviously coming
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: off the national championship, the North Texas game, a lot
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: of excitement. It was a scorcher that day. I know
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: they had the temperature on the field at 152 degrees.
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: So we'll get into the crowd aspect, but I know
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: that that game kind of emptied out around halftime. Then
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: you get Howard, not as exciting, of course. And then
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: Western Kentucky this past weekend, a little bit of an
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: eerie feel in there. And I've been lucky enough that
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: in my classes, which are all sports media classes here
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: at our wonderful media school in Bloomington, We've talked about
• 2:46
  Speaker 2: the feeling inside the stadium. It was a 4 p.m. start,
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: a little bit strange. Indiana up 7-0 for the majority
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: of the half. It ended 14-0 thanks to Isaiah Jones
• 2:56
  Speaker 2: on that interception, brought it back to around the two-yard line,
• 2:59
  Speaker 2: punched it in to go up 14. So you have
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: the student section who's almost freaking out. They haven't seen
• 3:04
  Speaker 2: anything like this. Like, wow, we're playing a close game.
• 3:07
  Speaker 2: And then you have the older fan base that's on
• 3:09
  Speaker 2: the side of the press box that's like, Well, here
• 3:12
  Speaker 2: we go again. This is the old Indiana football that
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: we feel a little bit, obviously, peddled to the metal
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: in the second half, ended up getting a win handedly.
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: But each game has felt different.
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: I definitely appreciate this Friday night game, open Big Ten
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: play against Aiden Childs, a quarterback they've seen a couple
• 3:30
  Speaker 2: times now. He was at Michigan State. So the vibes
• 3:34
  Speaker 2: are high, big game. I know Indiana should win this one. Obviously,
• 3:38
  Speaker 2: the expectations are extremely high. But it's exciting that we're
• 3:42
  Speaker 2: in the Big Ten play now and not with these,
• 3:45
  Speaker 2: what Kurt Cignetti called his exhibition games and then his
• 3:48
  Speaker 2: sauna games.
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: So now we're in the thick of it.
• 3:51
  Speaker 3: Absolutely. Before we dig in maybe a little bit to
• 3:54
  Speaker 3: the Northwestern matchup and maybe even talk a little basketball
• 3:57
  Speaker 3: later in the show to close, I wanted to talk
• 3:59
  Speaker 3: about the news of the day. Obviously, Mike Nizilek of
• 4:02
  Speaker 3: the Bloomington Herald Times, I think, was the first to
• 4:04
  Speaker 3: kind of get it out there, uncover it. But There's
• 4:07
  Speaker 3: been a kind of a change in the status of
• 4:10
  Speaker 3: the eligibility of several athletes across the country. I think
• 4:14
  Speaker 3: 97 are involved in this case in Monroe Circuit Court
• 4:17
  Speaker 3: and obviously of importance to Indiana fans. Kellen Wyatt and
• 4:21
  Speaker 3: Stephen Daly, Bayou Football involved in this, and also from
• 4:25
  Speaker 3: a basketball perspective, Sam Alexis. So as of now, those
• 4:30
  Speaker 3: three are eligible to compete. And based on the reading
• 4:34
  Speaker 3: of the court documents, haven't gone through all of them,
• 4:36
  Speaker 3: it sounds like that will remain the case until this
• 4:41
  Speaker 3: case proceeds to trial and the trial is complete. And
• 4:44
  Speaker 3: I believe this was kind of a similar thing that
• 4:46
  Speaker 3: happened last year when Lou Moore of IU football kind
• 4:50
  Speaker 3: of went through the same process in court and ultimately
• 4:54
  Speaker 3: was able to play throughout the season. I'm sure all
• 4:57
  Speaker 3: of these athletes are hopeful that the outcome is going
• 5:00
  Speaker 3: to be the same. We're not legal experts here. We
• 5:03
  Speaker 3: kind of have no idea, which I think everyone, as
• 5:05
  Speaker 3: they follow all of these cases with the NCAA, it
• 5:08
  Speaker 3: just kind of seems like a hodgepodge of different things
• 5:10
  Speaker 3: across the country that different rulings, different temporary restraining orders,
• 5:16
  Speaker 3: different injunctions. So I think the big problem with all
• 5:21
  Speaker 3: of this from kind of a big picture perspective is
• 5:23
  Speaker 3: there's no uniformity in terms of how these class of
• 5:26
  Speaker 3: 2022 athletes are being handled. But from a competition standpoint,
• 5:31
  Speaker 3: which is what we're going to talk about, how impactful
• 5:33
  Speaker 3: is this in your mind, Zach, in terms of IU
• 5:36
  Speaker 3: football and what Daly and Wyatt are going to be
• 5:38
  Speaker 3: able to bring as long as they're eligible to play?
• 5:41
  Speaker 2: So obviously these guys are great players, and they had
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: some success on the team. Both got injured, or, well,
• 5:48
  Speaker 2: Wyatt especially. But you get this now sort of continuity
• 5:54
  Speaker 2: that you didn't have. These first three games, I don't
• 5:57
  Speaker 2: want to keep calling them the exhibitions.
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: I'll put it in quotes.
• 5:59
  Speaker 2: The exhibition games that they played, you have a bunch
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: of different guys in there. Now that you get into
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: Big Ten play, the real season, you need some guys
• 6:07
  Speaker 2: that are going to be out there together It's drive
• 6:09
  Speaker 2: after drive, and they're just kind of putting the series together.
• 6:12
  Speaker 2: You've got these transfers, and I think Kurt Cignetti's done
• 6:15
  Speaker 2: a great job over his tenure here at Indiana, where
• 6:19
  Speaker 2: you get the guys in the transfer portal, but the
• 6:21
  Speaker 2: returners are still in it. So you've got Chitty and Toby,
• 6:26
  Speaker 2: who came over from Kansas State. Those are your edge guys.
• 6:30
  Speaker 2: Tyreek Tucker and Mario Landino, your tackles that have returned.
• 6:34
  Speaker 2: So now you just add another layer of depth.
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: Onto this.
• 6:37
  Speaker 2: You're not going to have Wyatt and Daly jump in
• 6:39
  Speaker 2: there and be the starters right away and jump these
• 6:41
  Speaker 2: guys that they pursued in the portal. So I think
• 6:45
  Speaker 2: Signetti's done a good job. He's been fair about that.
• 6:48
  Speaker 2: And it gives guys rest. It gives you a different
• 6:50
  Speaker 2: look in the fourth quarter of a close game, which
• 6:53
  Speaker 2: you could get plenty of times. Indiana's schedule, especially in
• 6:56
  Speaker 2: the bulk of the season, that's going to be a
• 6:58
  Speaker 2: tough stretch once we get into it a little bit more.
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: But you're going to need a guy on a third
• 7:04
  Speaker 2: or fourth down play in the fourth quarter of a
• 7:06
  Speaker 2: Big Ten game against Ohio State, and these guys are
• 7:08
  Speaker 2: a little bit more fresh. So I think the continuity
• 7:11
  Speaker 2: and just having the depth aspect of it, I think
• 7:13
  Speaker 2: that's the biggest part with getting Daly and Wyatt back.
• 7:16
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I think you make a great point about the
• 7:18
  Speaker 3: depth because I think one thing that for a long time,
• 7:22
  Speaker 3: maybe not so much now as Indiana football continues to
• 7:25
  Speaker 3: acquire talent and build more depth through not only the
• 7:28
  Speaker 3: portal but traditional high school recruiting, I think one thing
• 7:32
  Speaker 3: in previous years of IU football that they've really been
• 7:35
  Speaker 3: unable to sustain themselves when they do have key injuries,
• 7:39
  Speaker 3: having that depth, particularly on a unit as important as
• 7:43
  Speaker 3: the defensive line, inevitably in any college football season, and
• 7:46
  Speaker 3: we saw it last year with Wyatt and Daly both
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  Speaker 3: getting hurt, Indiana had other guys that were able to
• 7:51
  Speaker 3: step forward. So it's important to have that depth. And
• 7:55
  Speaker 3: I think, as you mentioned, these guys are experienced. They
• 7:58
  Speaker 3: know the system. They're also talented and can make big plays.
• 8:01
  Speaker 3: So I think Brian Haynes and Kurt Cignetti have to
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  Speaker 3: be thrilled with this news in terms of the depth
• 8:06
  Speaker 3: that it's going to provide. I do want to touch
• 8:08
  Speaker 3: quickly on the basketball angle because I think that's also
• 8:11
  Speaker 3: important from a Sam Alexis perspective. Obviously, a little bit
• 8:15
  Speaker 3: more time here before basketball starts, but looking at IU
• 8:18
  Speaker 3: basketball from a depth perspective on the front line, Samet
• 8:22
  Speaker 3: Igatoglu and Aiden Shirell were obviously going to be counted
• 8:26
  Speaker 3: on to carry a bulk of the production in the
• 8:28
  Speaker 3: front court, which I think those two are probably still
• 8:30
  Speaker 3: going to start in the front court. But you can't
• 8:32
  Speaker 3: really look at this Sam Alexis news as anything other
• 8:39
  Speaker 3: than a major positive because he was extremely productive for
• 8:41
  Speaker 3: Indiana last year. Had a field goal percentage. I believe
• 8:45
  Speaker 3: he set the single season record for IU basketball for
• 8:47
  Speaker 3: field goal percentage in a season. He was so efficient
• 8:51
  Speaker 3: around the rim. A guy that's really well liked by
• 8:53
  Speaker 3: his teammates in the locker room, because if he wasn't,
• 8:56
  Speaker 3: I don't think they would have had any interest in
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  Speaker 3: bringing him back for another year. And they've been working
• 8:59
  Speaker 3: on this, obviously, for a while. He went down with
• 9:02
  Speaker 3: the team to Peru and played in those games. in
• 9:06
  Speaker 3: the FISU America game. So I think getting Sam Alexis
• 9:09
  Speaker 3: is a huge deal for IU basketball's depth on the
• 9:12
  Speaker 3: front court. Any thoughts on kind of how that maybe
• 9:14
  Speaker 3: changes your outlook or how you're thinking about the team
• 9:17
  Speaker 3: with Alexis in the fold now?
• 9:19
  Speaker 2: Yeah, you brought up his personality and the way that
• 9:23
  Speaker 2: he works. I sit courtside for the pregame warmups, which
• 9:27
  Speaker 2: is always one of my most enjoyable parts of going
• 9:30
  Speaker 2: to an Indiana basketball game. Sam Alexis always takes time
• 9:33
  Speaker 2: to give fist bumps to everyone down the line. He's
• 9:36
  Speaker 2: the loudest guy on the floor. You know, he's the
• 9:39
  Speaker 2: high five guy. Like he's always, when he is on
• 9:41
  Speaker 2: the bench, he's got the towel up. He's the first
• 9:43
  Speaker 2: one to stand. It's these little things that you don't
• 9:46
  Speaker 2: really see that are a big part of a team.
• 9:49
  Speaker 2: And Samuel X is certainly someone that you want to
• 9:51
  Speaker 2: bring back. And I know I touched on my football
• 9:54
  Speaker 2: where freshman year, Indiana was three and nine. And I
• 9:57
  Speaker 2: think back to basketball as well.
• 9:59
  Speaker 1: I was amazed.
• 10:00
  Speaker 2: I'm a South Florida kid. I I've grown up going
• 10:02
  Speaker 2: to the university of Miami basketball games where the capacity
• 10:05
  Speaker 2: of the stadium is about 7,000, 8,000. I come to
• 10:07
  Speaker 2: assembly hall for the first time and I was amazed.
• 10:10
  Speaker 2: And so now you see this in each year with
• 10:14
  Speaker 2: the way that Indiana basketball is loved here in this city,
• 10:18
  Speaker 2: in this state. Um, you get to the point where
• 10:22
  Speaker 2: the team has to perform. And each year, I feel
• 10:25
  Speaker 2: like they've gotten better. They haven't made the tournament since
• 10:28
  Speaker 2: I've been here. But last year, you had Reed Bailey
• 10:31
  Speaker 2: and Sam Alexis as your two bigs. Now you get
• 10:34
  Speaker 2: Aiden Shirell and Simon Igitolo. And then you can have
• 10:36
  Speaker 2: Sam Alexis come off the bench. A guy that started
• 10:38
  Speaker 2: for you last year can add another layer and come
• 10:41
  Speaker 2: in off the bench. We saw plenty of time with
• 10:44
  Speaker 2: foul trouble last year on the bigs. I think that
• 10:47
  Speaker 2: was prominent in the Umar Balo times as well. I
• 10:52
  Speaker 2: think that adds an extra layer that can move. Let's
• 10:55
  Speaker 2: say if Indiana makes the tournament, that's a seed mover
• 10:58
  Speaker 2: right there. You're a much better team with Sam Alexis
• 11:02
  Speaker 2: as coming off the bench.
• 11:04
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I think you make a great point just about
• 11:06
  Speaker 3: the energy he brings. You can't have too many guys
• 11:09
  Speaker 3: that are out there having fun, right? You want a
• 11:10
  Speaker 3: guy that other people want to be around. You want
• 11:13
  Speaker 3: someone that's enthusiastic. Every time I've Again, I don't know
• 11:16
  Speaker 3: Sam Alexis, but every time I've been around and listened
• 11:18
  Speaker 3: to him talk, he seems just like a guy who's upbeat, positive.
• 11:22
  Speaker 3: He won a national championship at Florida. I know he
• 11:24
  Speaker 3: was hurt towards the end of that season, but he's
• 11:26
  Speaker 3: been around programs that know what it takes to win.
• 11:28
  Speaker 3: So I think it's a huge positive as long as
• 11:31
  Speaker 3: this remains in effect and he can play. I think
• 11:33
  Speaker 3: it's a great thing for Indiana. Shifting gears a little
• 11:36
  Speaker 3: bit now back into football, this Friday night matchup, I
• 11:41
  Speaker 3: think coming into the season, everyone kind of circled it
• 11:43
  Speaker 3: and said, oh, this should be an easy win for Indiana.
• 11:45
  Speaker 3: I think the point spread still kind of reflects that.
• 11:47
  Speaker 3: But Northwestern, to their credit, they really took care of
• 11:51
  Speaker 3: business in the last game against Colorado at home. Really,
• 11:55
  Speaker 3: that was not a contest. I believe the score was 41-7.
• 11:57
  Speaker 3: Correct me if I'm wrong, but it was a convincing win.
• 12:01
  Speaker 3: So Northwestern seems to come in, obviously, with a lot
• 12:04
  Speaker 3: of confidence. They really have nothing to lose. Everyone's coming
• 12:07
  Speaker 3: into this game thinking that Indiana will take care of business.
• 12:10
  Speaker 3: So the pressure's on Indiana at home to obviously perform.
• 12:13
  Speaker 3: What do you see, I guess, when you watch Northwestern?
• 12:17
  Speaker 3: And what do you maybe think the keys are from
• 12:19
  Speaker 3: an Indiana perspective for them to go ahead and take
• 12:21
  Speaker 3: care of business and start 1-0 in Big Ten play?
• 12:24
  Speaker 2: Well, I think it'll be fair to start with Aiden Childs,
• 12:28
  Speaker 2: obviously a quarterback. Indiana's seen twice when he was at
• 12:31
  Speaker 2: Michigan State. In those two games against Indiana, he's 31
• 12:35
  Speaker 2: of 46 passing for 514 yards, four touchdowns, passing touchdowns,
• 12:41
  Speaker 2: two of those actually to Nick Marsh, who is now
• 12:43
  Speaker 2: obviously a part of Indiana, zero interceptions against Indiana, three
• 12:47
  Speaker 2: rushing touchdowns through those two games. So he's been great
• 12:51
  Speaker 2: this past few games. Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week,
• 12:55
  Speaker 2: he had... He had 241 yards, only five incompletions against Colorado.
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: He was fantastic.
• 13:01
  Speaker 2: And I think that he's just a discussion point. The
• 13:04
  Speaker 2: way that he's improved over the past few years, I
• 13:06
  Speaker 2: think he has a better team now with Northwestern than
• 13:08
  Speaker 2: he did at Michigan State. 2024, he threw 11 interceptions
• 13:11
  Speaker 2: in the season. Only three last season and zero so
• 13:15
  Speaker 2: far through 46 pass attempts at Northwestern. I think that's
• 13:19
  Speaker 2: a big boost for Chip Kelly, who's the offensive coordinator.
• 13:23
  Speaker 2: Kurt Cignetti talked Monday about how the scheme is much different.
• 13:27
  Speaker 2: He can roll out of the pocket much more play action.
• 13:30
  Speaker 2: And so this adds a new dynamic to his game.
• 13:36
  Speaker 1: On defense. I think one thing to.
• 13:39
  Speaker 2: Note with Northwestern, the quarterback is one And another layer
• 13:43
  Speaker 2: of this is their defense. Northwestern's red zone defense is
• 13:46
  Speaker 2: worth bringing up. Opponents have reached the red zone eight
• 13:49
  Speaker 2: times against them this season and have scored only one touchdown.
• 13:53
  Speaker 2: Indiana on offense this season, they are 10 for 10
• 13:57
  Speaker 2: in the red area with nine touchdowns.
• 13:59
  Speaker 1: So one field goal, nine touchdowns.
• 14:02
  Speaker 2: I don't think they'll have much problem getting down the
• 14:05
  Speaker 2: field when you look at it in the entire game,
• 14:07
  Speaker 2: 60 minute aspect of it. But they've got to convert
• 14:10
  Speaker 2: in the red zone. And I think Niko Radicic, the kicker,
• 14:13
  Speaker 2: has been injured. He's missed the last two games. You
• 14:16
  Speaker 2: want to put six on the board and not three
• 14:18
  Speaker 2: in a Big Ten game. So the red zone and
• 14:21
  Speaker 2: stopping Aiden Childs using his legs as well as the arm,
• 14:25
  Speaker 2: I think those are the big two key takeaways that
• 14:28
  Speaker 2: I'd say to win this game Friday night.
• 14:31
  Speaker 3: So you're an IU student. I want to ask you
• 14:33
  Speaker 3: kind of about a hot topic this week has been
• 14:36
  Speaker 3: obviously the fan attendance. We saw the first three weeks.
• 14:40
  Speaker 3: And I understand it. I was once an IU student.
• 14:43
  Speaker 3: It was a long time ago. But I understand the idea,
• 14:47
  Speaker 3: particularly when temperatures are over 100 degrees and the game
• 14:50
  Speaker 3: is not competitive on the field. The natural instinct is
• 14:53
  Speaker 3: to go somewhere and leave the stadium. And I totally
• 14:58
  Speaker 3: get it. I also understand from Kurt Cignetti's standpoint, he's
• 15:01
  Speaker 3: trying to build, he's already built, obviously, a national championship
• 15:04
  Speaker 3: caliber program. He's trying to change the mindset with the
• 15:08
  Speaker 3: fans and the students of IU football that, you know,
• 15:11
  Speaker 3: no matter who the opponent is, we kind of need
• 15:13
  Speaker 3: you for all 60 minutes. They didn't really need him
• 15:16
  Speaker 3: for all 60 minutes the first three games because it
• 15:17
  Speaker 3: could have been an empty stadium and they're still going to,
• 15:20
  Speaker 3: you know, bulldoze those teams, but he's right in that
• 15:23
  Speaker 3: they may need the support as we kind of get
• 15:26
  Speaker 3: into the meat of the schedule, particularly looking ahead to
• 15:28
  Speaker 3: next month, October 17th, the Ohio State game. That's obviously
• 15:31
  Speaker 3: going to be one that everyone, not just in Bloomington
• 15:33
  Speaker 3: or Columbus, everyone in the country has their eyes on
• 15:35
  Speaker 3: that game, but What's kind of your sense of how
• 15:40
  Speaker 3: that messaging is received among the students at IU? And
• 15:46
  Speaker 3: what do you think the response will be? Obviously, Friday
• 15:49
  Speaker 3: night's a completely different scenario because the temperatures. He mentioned 70s.
• 15:52
  Speaker 3: I looked at the forecast. I saw more 60s. So
• 15:56
  Speaker 3: it's actually probably going to be even a little bit
• 15:58
  Speaker 3: more pleasant, maybe even throw on a nice sweatshirt and
• 16:01
  Speaker 3: be out there and enjoy the game. So I think
• 16:03
  Speaker 3: the turnout obviously is going to be there from the start.
• 16:06
  Speaker 3: and hopefully more towards the finish as well.
• 16:08
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think the way that Kurt Cignetti phrased it
• 16:11
  Speaker 2: was absolutely perfect. I think he understands that scheduling these
• 16:14
  Speaker 2: games at the beginning of the year is not all
• 16:16
  Speaker 2: that exciting, especially with the heat. So there was no
• 16:20
  Speaker 2: hostility at all in terms of the way that he
• 16:23
  Speaker 2: explained it and echoed the message that he needs the
• 16:27
  Speaker 2: crowd this weekend. And Isaiah Jones did the same when
• 16:29
  Speaker 2: we spoke to him and Charlie Becker yesterday, talking about
• 16:33
  Speaker 2: the 12th man on defense this When you get to
• 16:35
  Speaker 2: a third down, that's your 12th defender is the crowd.
• 16:40
  Speaker 2: I think everyone understands that. The way that the message
• 16:43
  Speaker 2: was sent is well-received. I think everyone will be there early.
• 16:47
  Speaker 2: It's going to be loud. A night game is a change.
• 16:51
  Speaker 2: I think this is the first Friday night game under
• 16:54
  Speaker 2: Kurt Cignetti. You don't get these too often. I think
• 16:58
  Speaker 2: we may have one other throughout this season. We have Rutgers, obviously,
• 17:02
  Speaker 2: on the road. And then at the end of the year,
• 17:05
  Speaker 2: possibly some of these games that are at home, whether
• 17:07
  Speaker 2: it's Minnesota or Purdue, could be a night game. I
• 17:09
  Speaker 2: saw Purdue last year was a night game. So you
• 17:12
  Speaker 2: never know. I do think that the crowd will be great.
• 17:14
  Speaker 2: I think it's a huge factor for the team. And
• 17:18
  Speaker 2: I think now that we're past these first three non-conference games,
• 17:20
  Speaker 2: everyone feels that they need to make an impact.
• 17:25
  Speaker 3: In terms of the other comment that I think kind
• 17:28
  Speaker 3: of made the news this week with what Signetti was
• 17:30
  Speaker 3: talking about, the scrutiny on Josh Hoover, which It seems
• 17:34
  Speaker 3: like through the first three weeks of the season, there's
• 17:38
  Speaker 3: not been a lot to actually talk about in terms
• 17:40
  Speaker 3: of the team. So the discussion obviously is going to
• 17:44
  Speaker 3: focus on Hoover for several reasons. One, he's the quarterback,
• 17:48
  Speaker 3: so it's natural to talk about that position because it's
• 17:50
  Speaker 3: in many ways the most important one on the field.
• 17:53
  Speaker 3: Indiana's replacing not only the number one draft pick in
• 17:56
  Speaker 3: the country, but a guy that won the Heisman Trophy,
• 17:58
  Speaker 3: was the best player in college football last season. So
• 18:01
  Speaker 3: obviously there's a ton of interest in what's Indiana going
• 18:04
  Speaker 3: to look like at that position this year and dissecting
• 18:08
  Speaker 3: Hoover's performance over the first two weeks. I don't really,
• 18:11
  Speaker 3: I've looked at the numbers. I mean, I'm not a
• 18:13
  Speaker 3: football nerd. I'm not a guy that dissects football stats.
• 18:16
  Speaker 3: I'd be the first to admit that. I've not seen
• 18:18
  Speaker 3: a ton of fault in how he's played early in
• 18:20
  Speaker 3: the season. I also think Indiana's probably intentionally kept things
• 18:23
  Speaker 3: pretty buttoned up and vanilla because they're not, they don't
• 18:27
  Speaker 3: want to show teams exactly what they're going to be
• 18:29
  Speaker 3: doing when they get into the bulk of the schedule,
• 18:30
  Speaker 3: which I understand. I've not seen a ton to look
• 18:33
  Speaker 3: at with Hoover's performance and say, there's a lot to
• 18:38
  Speaker 3: say that he's done wrong. I mean, there was, he
• 18:40
  Speaker 3: talked after the game about these missed throws and then
• 18:43
  Speaker 3: Signetti defended him in his press conference saying that, you know,
• 18:46
  Speaker 3: he really missed one throw kind of what's in your,
• 18:50
  Speaker 3: in your mind, what's maybe driving Signetti's defense, maybe to
• 18:54
  Speaker 3: come and talk about Hoover like that. And, And is
• 18:57
  Speaker 3: this something a couple weeks from now I think we're
• 19:00
  Speaker 3: talking about less maybe as the games get a little
• 19:02
  Speaker 3: bit more interesting?
• 19:04
  Speaker 2: I think it's really just a tactic to back his quarterback.
• 19:09
  Speaker 1: Josh Hoover's numbers are excellent. I mean, I'll read it off.
• 19:13
  Speaker 2: 37 of 51, 649 yards, 10 touchdowns, and zero interceptions.
• 19:19
  Speaker 3: Again, he's had 10 touchdowns. He's not played a complete game, really.
• 19:23
  Speaker 3: I mean, he's been on the bench.
• 19:24
  Speaker 1: Exactly. Yeah.
• 19:25
  Speaker 2: And he's completed 72.5% of his passes. In retrospect, you
• 19:30
  Speaker 2: look at Fernando Mendoza and his numbers were better than
• 19:34
  Speaker 2: Josh Hoover's. He's 55 of 76, 708 yards, nine touchdowns,
• 19:38
  Speaker 2: zero interceptions at this time after three games. Mendoza started
• 19:43
  Speaker 2: picking up steam, I guess, in the second half of
• 19:45
  Speaker 2: the year when everyone realized that Indiana was for real,
• 19:48
  Speaker 2: that the 2024 run lost an Dame in the first
• 19:50
  Speaker 2: round of the playoff, that that wasn't just a fluke year,
• 19:53
  Speaker 2: that they had a good team and they're going to
• 19:55
  Speaker 2: take a step back. So I think everyone thinks of Mendoza,
• 20:00
  Speaker 2: obviously the first pick, the Heisman winner, they think of
• 20:02
  Speaker 2: how incredible he was towards the back half of the season.
• 20:05
  Speaker 2: He had growing pains to start. And Josh Hoover was
• 20:08
  Speaker 2: has hung in there. I think he's done a phenomenal job.
• 20:11
  Speaker 2: He's missed a couple throws. I don't know if he's
• 20:13
  Speaker 2: missed one throw last game. It was probably a bit
• 20:15
  Speaker 2: more than that. But he's looked good. He's done everything
• 20:19
  Speaker 2: asked of him. He's been a serviceable quarterback. He's been fantastic.
• 20:23
  Speaker 2: Across the country, there's not many guys that have stood out,
• 20:26
  Speaker 2: and he's definitely in that top category of quarterbacks after
• 20:29
  Speaker 2: the first three weeks.
• 20:31
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I agree with all of that 100%. So I'm
• 20:34
  Speaker 3: not going to ask you to make a prediction, but
• 20:37
  Speaker 3: Friday night's game, you talked about some of the keys,
• 20:41
  Speaker 3: but how do you see this playing out? Is this
• 20:43
  Speaker 3: a game where Indiana is going to have to play
• 20:46
  Speaker 3: a full 60 minutes to win? Do you see it
• 20:47
  Speaker 3: maybe being more competitive than the line indicates? I'm just
• 20:51
  Speaker 3: curious for your thoughts just overall on the matchup and
• 20:53
  Speaker 3: how it might play out.
• 20:54
  Speaker 2: You brought up the point spread, and I know it's
• 20:56
  Speaker 2: three touchdowns. I think the line's moving down. I think
• 20:59
  Speaker 2: it was open at 23. It's down at 21. I
• 21:02
  Speaker 2: think that it might be tough. Indiana hasn't covered a
• 21:04
  Speaker 2: spread yet. Obviously, these first three games don't mean too
• 21:07
  Speaker 2: much to just kind of blow out the opponent. Another
• 21:11
  Speaker 2: tidbit that I'm going to bring up, Indiana's defense. They're
• 21:15
  Speaker 2: 12 of 44. So opponents are 12 of 44, which
• 21:18
  Speaker 2: is 27% on third down against Indiana. They haven't played
• 21:21
  Speaker 2: strongest teams, but that's a big thing. Only nine penalties
• 21:25
  Speaker 2: against Indiana for three games. That was one huge thing.
• 21:29
  Speaker 2: across the run last year that they weren't penalized, that
• 21:32
  Speaker 2: they played smart football, and that starts up top. Kurt
• 21:35
  Speaker 2: Cignetti is that kind of guy to me because players
• 21:38
  Speaker 2: aren't making stupid mistakes. They aren't getting taunting, excessive celebration,
• 21:43
  Speaker 2: any of this stupid stuff that can really impact the game.
• 21:46
  Speaker 2: And then as well, one turnover versus forcing five so
• 21:50
  Speaker 2: far this season. So that's a big difference. When you
• 21:53
  Speaker 2: look at the game itself, I think Northwestern is much
• 21:56
  Speaker 2: better than a three-touchdown deficit. In a Friday night, Friday
• 21:59
  Speaker 2: nights are like little fluke games sometimes. You see some
• 22:03
  Speaker 2: crazy stuff happen. I don't think Indiana's going to lose
• 22:05
  Speaker 2: the game, but I do think it'll be within 10,
• 22:08
  Speaker 2: 14 points throughout. I don't know what the reaction from
• 22:11
  Speaker 2: the crowd would be if it is within a one
• 22:14
  Speaker 2: or two possession game, but I think it won't be
• 22:18
  Speaker 2: a handedly win where they just crush them off the bat.
• 22:21
  Speaker 2: I mean, that would be incredible on a Friday night game,
• 22:24
  Speaker 2: but I do think it'll be much closer than many expect.
• 22:28
  Speaker 3: Zach, hopefully you don't end up in one of those
• 22:30
  Speaker 3: recap videos for IU football with that after another. I
• 22:36
  Speaker 3: keep thinking back to last season before the Illinois game
• 22:40
  Speaker 3: and everyone thought Illinois was, they were the hot team, right?
• 22:43
  Speaker 3: They were the top 10 team coming in. Everyone thought, oh,
• 22:45
  Speaker 3: Indiana last year was a fluke. And I guess I've learned,
• 22:51
  Speaker 3: which again, I think your analysis is more than fair.
• 22:55
  Speaker 3: And I think it makes a lot of sense.
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: I just have a.
• 22:59
  Speaker 3: Hard time seeing a team coming into Memorial Stadium and
• 23:02
  Speaker 3: giving Indiana a challenge when.
• 23:07
  Speaker 1: I think Cignetti....
• 23:09
  Speaker 3: Obviously, I think the Ohio State game and some of
• 23:11
  Speaker 3: these other games at home are going to be competitive.
• 23:14
  Speaker 3: I think he's going to have them ready to go
• 23:17
  Speaker 3: from the get-go, and I think they're going to come
• 23:19
  Speaker 3: out and play really well. I don't know if they
• 23:21
  Speaker 3: cover the spread. I just don't see them having a
• 23:24
  Speaker 3: ton of issue with this game.
• 23:26
  Speaker 1: I think....
• 23:28
  Speaker 3: There's just something about the way he prepares teams. And
• 23:31
  Speaker 3: I'm sure there's, there's buttons he's pushing this week to say,
• 23:35
  Speaker 3: you know, someone's so-and-so's, you know, we dropped it. We
• 23:37
  Speaker 3: dropped a spot in the polls, you know, we're not
• 23:40
  Speaker 3: doing this as well as we did last year. I
• 23:42
  Speaker 3: think there's going to be a little extra motivation for
• 23:44
  Speaker 3: them to come out and make a statement and say,
• 23:46
  Speaker 3: we're here again. So we'll see how it all plays out.
• 23:48
  Speaker 3: And I'm only, I don't want kidding when I say that,
• 23:50
  Speaker 3: because I'm sure you saw the videos, uh, the video
• 23:54
  Speaker 3: that comes out usually, uh, Come out the last two seasons, Eddie,
• 23:58
  Speaker 3: who started the Hoosier Network, likes to do those videos
• 24:02
  Speaker 3: on social media every week, kind of getting the different
• 24:05
  Speaker 3: things that were said about the team before the week
• 24:07
  Speaker 3: and then showing the highlights. I've always got a ton
• 24:10
  Speaker 3: of entertainment value out of those, so I'm only kidding.
• 24:13
  Speaker 3: But I just feel like it's hard to look at
• 24:17
  Speaker 3: in Indiana what they've done at home under Kurt Signetti
• 24:20
  Speaker 3: and think they're going to do anything other than bulldoze
• 24:22
  Speaker 3: an opponent because that's what they've done.
• 24:24
  Speaker 1: I agree.
• 24:25
  Speaker 2: But I also think the way that Kurt Cignetti delivers
• 24:29
  Speaker 2: his press conference is always telling on how he perceives
• 24:33
  Speaker 2: the opponent. This week was the longest opening statement he's had.
• 24:38
  Speaker 2: He's talked about Northwestern from top to bottom on how
• 24:41
  Speaker 2: much respect he has for the coach, their new coach,
• 24:44
  Speaker 2: Mike Brown. Chip Kelly, of course, is a notable name
• 24:47
  Speaker 2: across college football, football in general over time. And Aiden Childs,
• 24:52
  Speaker 2: a guy that's given them a little bit of trouble.
• 24:54
  Speaker 2: But I don't want to say it's going to be
• 24:56
  Speaker 2: close throughout because it's.
• 24:59
  Speaker 1: Tough to say.
• 25:00
  Speaker 2: There's no history that backs that. But I do just
• 25:03
  Speaker 2: think that this Northwestern team is much better than people
• 25:06
  Speaker 2: give it credit for. So I wouldn't be surprised, however
• 25:10
  Speaker 2: this game goes. but I do think Indiana gets out
• 25:13
  Speaker 2: of here 4-0. That's the only thing that matters. You
• 25:15
  Speaker 2: just got to win by one point.
• 25:16
  Speaker 3: Exactly.
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: At the end of the day, you got to win
• 25:18
  Speaker 1: by one.
• 25:18
  Speaker 3: I do think the thing about Childs that should scare
• 25:21
  Speaker 3: Indiana is just his big play potential, right? He can
• 25:24
  Speaker 3: make big plays. So all of a sudden, if he's
• 25:26
  Speaker 3: able to make a couple of those early, that kind
• 25:30
  Speaker 3: of can change the direction and the momentum of a game.
• 25:33
  Speaker 3: So I think it's, you know, you look at some
• 25:35
  Speaker 3: of the games where Indiana's really had been able to
• 25:38
  Speaker 3: step on an opponent's throat. I mean, the Oregon game
• 25:41
  Speaker 3: last year in the playoff, have a big play early.
• 25:44
  Speaker 3: The Illinois game at home last year, have a big
• 25:46
  Speaker 3: play early. Those momentum-changing games, if they can get the
• 25:49
  Speaker 3: crowd in the game early, it just becomes kind of
• 25:52
  Speaker 3: a snowball that rolls downhill. And you know what it's
• 25:55
  Speaker 3: like in Memorial Stadium from being there these last couple seasons.
• 25:59
  Speaker 3: when they get the crowd involved. And I've not been
• 26:01
  Speaker 3: to a game. I've only watched them on TV. But
• 26:03
  Speaker 3: you can feel the atmosphere kind of coming through. So
• 26:06
  Speaker 3: I can only imagine what it's like in there. So
• 26:09
  Speaker 3: it'll be fun to watch. I want to close quickly, though,
• 26:12
  Speaker 3: with a little basketball talk. It's obviously flying under the
• 26:14
  Speaker 3: radar here a little bit. Some of these preseason magazines
• 26:17
  Speaker 3: have come out. Indiana's picked seventh in the Big Ten.
• 26:20
  Speaker 3: We've got a couple of media day opportunities coming up
• 26:23
  Speaker 3: soon in Bloomington. There will be Big Ten Media Day.
• 26:25
  Speaker 3: And then before you know it, October 11th, an exhibition game.
• 26:29
  Speaker 3: Up at Butler, October 18th, an exhibition game in Indianapolis
• 26:33
  Speaker 3: against North Carolina. And then October 25th, I believe, they're
• 26:36
  Speaker 3: going to be down in Evansville for another exhibition game
• 26:39
  Speaker 3: against Western Kentucky. So another regular season game added to
• 26:42
  Speaker 3: the schedule this year. Another exhibition, so more opportunities to
• 26:45
  Speaker 3: watch and evaluate this team. And really an intriguing non-conference
• 26:48
  Speaker 3: schedule when you look at what they're going to be
• 26:50
  Speaker 3: tested with. Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, UCF. all teams obviously with
• 26:55
  Speaker 3: a chance to make the NCAA tournament, I'd say three
• 26:58
  Speaker 3: or four of those are really strong bets to make
• 27:00
  Speaker 3: the tournament. So Indiana basketball in many ways, probably a
• 27:04
  Speaker 3: good thing for them that they're flying a little bit
• 27:05
  Speaker 3: under the radar. Football takes this, the pressure off of
• 27:09
  Speaker 3: them a little bit, they can kind of ease into
• 27:11
  Speaker 3: their season. But I think if they want to get
• 27:13
  Speaker 3: the fan base back in, you've talked about kind of
• 27:17
  Speaker 3: not making the tournament now for the last three years.
• 27:19
  Speaker 3: They have to do something early in the season to
• 27:21
  Speaker 3: draw those people back in because I've talked about this
• 27:23
  Speaker 3: a couple of times. Thinking back to last season, one
• 27:26
  Speaker 3: of the primary reasons that they didn't make the tournament
• 27:29
  Speaker 3: was they weren't able to take care of business in
• 27:31
  Speaker 3: those January home games, weekend games against Nebraska and Iowa.
• 27:36
  Speaker 3: Those were during IU's CFP run, and all the attention
• 27:40
  Speaker 3: was on football. But it wasn't just on football because
• 27:43
  Speaker 3: of football success. It was also just on football because
• 27:46
  Speaker 3: the basketball team didn't give them enough in the non-conference
• 27:49
  Speaker 3: to really get the fan base back in. They had
• 27:51
  Speaker 3: the game against Louisville where they were never really competitive.
• 27:54
  Speaker 3: They went down to Kentucky. They lost that game where
• 27:56
  Speaker 3: they had a lead at halftime and played terribly in
• 27:58
  Speaker 3: the second half. They had the game when they went
• 28:00
  Speaker 3: to Minnesota, which many people thought they should have won.
• 28:03
  Speaker 3: They didn't win. And so they had all of those
• 28:05
  Speaker 3: chances to kind of get the fan base in and
• 28:07
  Speaker 3: they didn't take advantage of them. I think this year
• 28:10
  Speaker 3: they have a really good schedule at home in January
• 28:13
  Speaker 3: in particular on the weekend. If they want to be
• 28:15
  Speaker 3: able to compete for the attention of the IU fan base,
• 28:19
  Speaker 3: which A lot of the attention right now is on football,
• 28:22
  Speaker 3: and rightfully so. They have to do something early on
• 28:24
  Speaker 3: in the season to capture the attention of the fan base,
• 28:28
  Speaker 3: and it's really on them to do that.
• 28:31
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think this schedule is actually set up perfectly
• 28:35
  Speaker 2: to get the football crowd, assuming Indiana will be deep
• 28:39
  Speaker 2: into this and a playoff team again. But the basketball
• 28:43
  Speaker 2: fan base should be around where They play Syracuse, the
• 28:46
  Speaker 2: third game of the season, and then you've got Arkansas
• 28:49
  Speaker 2: and Kentucky within the first six as well.
• 28:51
  Speaker 3: I forgot Syracuse. It's actually five high major games, which
• 28:55
  Speaker 3: is pretty good.
• 28:56
  Speaker 2: Yes, you have the Syracuse, Arkansas, Kentucky in the first six.
• 29:00
  Speaker 2: I think it's two non-conference games. You play your first
• 29:04
  Speaker 2: Big Ten game with Rutgers, which is at home. And
• 29:06
  Speaker 2: then you've got a tough stretch where you've got at Iowa,
• 29:09
  Speaker 2: home against UCF, home against Missouri. So those are games,
• 29:12
  Speaker 2: like these are real teams, power teams that are going
• 29:15
  Speaker 2: to come in. I know some of them are neutral
• 29:17
  Speaker 2: site games, which people aren't thrilled about, but I know
• 29:19
  Speaker 2: that the fan base will still be there in Indianapolis
• 29:21
  Speaker 2: for these games. I think it sets up perfectly for
• 29:24
  Speaker 2: these quad one opportunities, even the neutral site. I don't
• 29:29
  Speaker 2: know the point system exactly, but playing the neutral site
• 29:31
  Speaker 2: game doesn't hurt you as much with a loss as
• 29:34
  Speaker 2: it would at home or something like that. But I
• 29:36
  Speaker 2: do think that they can pick up some of these games.
• 29:38
  Speaker 2: And I think for the fan base, they need to
• 29:40
  Speaker 2: win the Syracuse game. Probably that that's the third of
• 29:45
  Speaker 2: the year and Arkansas and Kentucky. I know people love
• 29:48
  Speaker 2: the Indiana Kentucky rivalry and it's back and it's, it's
• 29:52
  Speaker 2: always nice to, to get back into a rivalry type
• 29:55
  Speaker 2: game with basketball. So, I think the schedule sets up
• 29:58
  Speaker 2: perfectly and we're excited for the crossover between football and basketball.
• 30:03
  Speaker 3: Yeah, it's going to be a lot of fun. I'm
• 30:05
  Speaker 3: glad I have you and Ian and obviously Ryan Carrazza
• 30:08
  Speaker 3: does a lot of stuff with us as well for basketball.
• 30:12
  Speaker 3: We're going to need all hands on deck because it's
• 30:14
  Speaker 3: going to be a ton of work. It's going to
• 30:15
  Speaker 3: be a ton of fun though. We're going to Continue
• 30:17
  Speaker 3: to do the podcast. I loved having Ian on a
• 30:20
  Speaker 3: couple weeks ago. It's been great to have you on.
• 30:22
  Speaker 3: Hopefully both of you can be regular guests throughout the season.
• 30:25
  Speaker 3: I think the listeners and the fans would be happy
• 30:30
  Speaker 3: to listen to your opinions all season long. Really enjoyed
• 30:33
  Speaker 3: what you've been able to write so far for the site.
• 30:35
  Speaker 3: I know I've gotten a lot of good feedback on
• 30:37
  Speaker 3: that as well. So continue the good work. Thanks for
• 30:39
  Speaker 3: making the time out of your day. I know you
• 30:42
  Speaker 3: got some classes and things to do later this afternoon.
• 30:45
  Speaker 3: So I appreciate your time. coming on the show. Hopefully
• 30:47
  Speaker 3: you enjoyed it.
• 30:48
  Speaker 1: Yep. Thank you for having me.
• 30:50
  Speaker 2: We'll hopefully Indiana's outlook on football is a little bit
• 30:55
  Speaker 2: different than my prediction. Let's go smooth sailing Friday night,
• 30:58
  Speaker 2: but thank you for having me. I really appreciate being on.
• 31:00
  Speaker 3: Absolutely. I hope, you know, I was only giving you
• 31:02
  Speaker 3: a hard time Zach earlier.
• 31:03
  Speaker 2: So it's, it's, it's billboard material. I don't like to
• 31:05
  Speaker 2: be a part of it, but I, I kind of did.
• 31:08
  Speaker 3: There you go.
• 31:08
  Speaker 1: It's okay.
• 31:09
  Speaker 3: All right, everybody. Uh, we really appreciate the support. Thanks
• 31:12
  Speaker 3: everybody as always for listening to the show. It's, it's
• 31:15
  Speaker 3: hard to believe how long we've been doing this podcast,
• 31:17
  Speaker 3: but you know, I, I enjoy doing it and, and it's,
• 31:21
  Speaker 3: it's a lot of fun for us. It's, it's fun to,
• 31:24
  Speaker 3: to have, uh, people like Zach and Ian, all the
• 31:26
  Speaker 3: students that have been able to write for the site
• 31:29
  Speaker 3: and contribute throughout the years, be able to give them
• 31:32
  Speaker 3: a platform, be able to help them in their careers,
• 31:34
  Speaker 3: get them where they want to go. So again, thanks
• 31:36
  Speaker 3: to Zach for coming on. Thanks to Ian as well
• 31:38
  Speaker 3: for coming on a couple weeks ago for all their
• 31:40
  Speaker 3: hard work so far. Looking forward to reading them throughout
• 31:43
  Speaker 3: the season. As for the podcast, as I mentioned at
• 31:46
  Speaker 3: the top, if you enjoy the show, please leave us
• 31:48
  Speaker 3: a rating and review over on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
• 31:51
  Speaker 3: If you're still watching over on YouTube, like the video,
• 31:54
  Speaker 3: subscribe to the channel, and we'll be back soon with
• 31:57
  Speaker 3: another episode of Podcast on the Brink.