1-on-1 with DP – 93.7 The Ticket KNTK - Will Indiana "Finish the Story" vs Miami in the National Championship Game?: January 19th, 11:00am

Episode Date: January 19, 2026

Will Indiana "Finish the Story" vs Miami in the National Championship Game?Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Back to one-on-one with D.P. Sponsored by the Downtown Lincoln Foundation on 93-7 the ticket. After contemplation, I conclude that this award which I receive on behalf of that movement is a profound recognition that nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral questions of our time. The need for man to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to violence and oppression. Civilization and violence are antithetical concepts. So there you have it. Welcome back to one-on-one. We'll throw it out to DP here. Just playing a sound clip here on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, this one from his Nobel acceptance speech.

I'm talking about how non-violence is the answer. Violence is not going to work in the political scheme there. D.P. I'll throw it back to you here. We often allow great messaging to fade. And once a year we get back to certain ideas and concepts and to say that civility, civility. Being civilized and being violent cannot work. together. It's not

necessary and violence. His choice to live a nonviolent life was purposeful. And we figure this out from time to time and from day to day. Bach, thank you for doing it. There's lots going on in a week where

I'm excited about tonight, you have the opportunity for the scope, the direction. There's a GPS that that sits attached to college athletics. And in each sport, in each sport, there's a different sort of GPS tracking

for what's going on in that sport. Football is making a statement out loud that, quite frankly, the old way of doing business, the old standards for doing business in college athletics is changing. It's changing. And you can say that either you approve it or you're with it or you're not,

but I think that Indiana has done several things along the way that changed the way we will look at and talk about college football. The possibilities have changed. Literally, there is a new ceiling, a new cap to what college football can be. And some of that is based on the belief that you can develop, you can change the culture. The culture is only what you choose for it to be. We remember all the old cliches about college football and the powers that be and the people that the blue bloods and how things is being done. But when you open the door and you open how business is being done, you have open communications about it, how college football is being done. Indiana offers the possibility.

it also changes the accountability. And, Bach, I want to have you in on this as we have the conversation. If we said three years ago, three years ago, if we said out loud that the Indiana Hoosiers would be the number one team in college football and playing for the national football championship, everybody would be drug tested, everybody would be pulled into a room. Bach, what does that mean to you? that if we said to you three years ago that Indiana football

would be the top program in the country. It's just remarkable. I mean, it's unbelievable. Like you said, kind of watching maybe the greatest story that we've seen in college football history or close to it play out in front of our eyes. I think you have to finish with a championship here,

of course, to put that in that conversation. But either way, it's still there. I mean, because I always go back to like the Frank Beamer's of the world, you know, the Bill Snyders of the world, take over Kansas State, Virginia Tech's historical, you know, teams that can't quite get there. And both those teams, you know, in Frank Beamer's case,

got to the national championship game. And Snyder's case was a game away from the national championship game. And I consider those guys to be like some of the best of all time. They might not have the national titles as some of these other coaches, but it's amazing to see what they've done there. And this is a step beyond that. And with the worst program.

and so it is absolutely amazing. You combine that with the fact that he walked in to assembly hall at halftime, talked about how they're going to take down Ohio State and Michigan and Purdue. That's another team that, you know, one of their rivals there. And I mean, at the time, people are just going, that's, I mean, that's, that's crazy. You know, I get maybe calling out Purdue, but that's just not going to happen. And he's dreaming too big. India, I just can't do that.

And then you usually think, okay, maybe give him a five. your plan. How often do we hear? Well, he's got to get his guys in. We got to, you know, all these excuses for coaches over the, over time. And he's, and he's turning it around this quickly. Has it has it changed, at least in your mind, has it changed what we talk about when we talk about development that that you can say that four and five star recruiting is mandatory. You can say that big money recruiting is, is mandatory. You can say that, uh, blue blood programs exist and will always stay as they, You can say all those things, but now you have to change the way you have those conversations,

because let's start with this. Development. What does it say about the state of college football, that Indiana is in a place where it has not only taken non-four and five-star recruits into the championship stratosphere, but that maybe it changes the way we look at that. Are they necessary? I mean, you would say just about, but again, here's the outlier. So, I mean, in the history of college football, generally, you're going to have to recruit to a certain level.

There are teams that have made the playoffs, the Washington's, the Michigan states over this 10-year run that don't recruit at that level. But, you know, they're kind of, they've been one-offs, right? I mean, they've kind of, you know, it's nice to get to the dance. And then they didn't quite finish it off. And again, that's where Indiana has a chance to kind of change that is that, one, it's not a one-off. It's here to stay. But yeah, I mean, I think it's interesting because we've been talking about all along in the story as it continues to grow, continues to the theme kind of,

of is it fair? Is Indiana an outlier? Should every AD and coach be compared to what Coach Cignetti is doing out there? And there's probably a little bit of truth to both sides because like, to your point, kind of changes the conversation a bit about what can be done because he's, broken through. Brock, I was asked this on a podcast Saturday, and it really kind of refocused it for me and what Indiana is doing. And this is so remarkable and so incredible that if it is not a one-off, an outlier, and Indiana is unique in its space and it's unique in a two-year run, right?

But if Indiana can do it now, what it now kind of implies is that there's, another Indiana coming. And quite frankly, if you look at the other conferences of note, let's just stick to the power four conferences and say most likely to do the thing that Indiana has done,

remember if we went straight to the ACC and say that the Miami Hurricanes who are playing for the national title and who if we wake up tomorrow and they're the national champions, we're not really surprised. But if we say that we have to remember that Virginia and SMU actually had better seasons and are more likely

to have the season that we're talking about next year. Virginia is a play, one play away from being in this. SMU is one play from being back in it. And oh, by the way, the Pitt Panther and Georgia Tech Yellowjackets are right in the same pool with Miami. So of that, oak, right? It's going to take very little for another ACC team, ACC conference team to get it together. Is that, think about that, that Virginia was seven and one in the ACC. It's now likely and it's now considerable that they could be in this situation next year. Well, they could be. I mean, it is, it's kind of fun to go down that path.

Of course, with Miami, you know, not having even played in the ACC championship game or having ever won an ACC championship for that matter. Kind of opens up the door for a lot of different discussions. Of course, college football is having those 16, 2014 playoffs, maybe coming our way. So it is interesting. But again, I even think that falls short again of what Indiana's done because, you know, while those teams are, you know, competing. And Duke, of course, being the team that ultimately did win the ACC, you know,

Indiana is undefeated. So, you know, there's, you know, tie-breaking arguments and stuff like that. And maybe one of these teams can be the next Indiana, but that was the question going into this year. Who's going to be this year's Indiana? Who's the next Indiana? Turns out it was Indiana only amped up at another level. Well, I'm in, and if we look at it just from that perspective, right,

that if you go to the Big 12, that BYU has, who has as much resource as anybody in college athletics, not named Notre Dame, right? that BYU could infuse some more money. They've done it in basketball, and you go back and you go and get the top player, college player in the country to go to Provo, Utah. Well, if you can do that in basketball, you might be able to do that in football,

and then right up the road in Salt Lake City or the Utah youths, who we saw firsthand, and we could tell you that's a pretty good football team and a pretty good program. The Big 12. Who's the next Indiana out of the big talk? Texas Tech with more money than they know what to do with. BYU with more money than most and then the Utah youth.

Oh, boy, that's a, that's tough. I mean, obviously, because it's a different path, right? Texas Tech's money as it partially put them there. But I also want to, I do want to highlight. I mean, they're leading pass or leading rush or the leading receiver. They're all Texas Tech guys. So sometimes that story kind of gets away from, you know, the narrative gets away from and of course they had some pretty good guys on defense that they borrowed there from the transfer

portal um but you know i would say on loan yeah i would say that they're probably most likely again to kind of keep the success going um but it it's interesting because that is it it feels like the big 12 again and texas tech did not score a point remember the big 12 didn't score a point here in the college football playoffs um um has the has the has the has the most sustainability and staying power there but again i think if you're looking for the next indiana you got to dig deep into who the coach is. Who's bringing up, who's doing more with less? Because that's what Signetti did. And so, you know, I mean, I'd have to go through the recruiting rankings and see who was kind of in that conversation. Well, that's why I looked immediately at BYU,

looking at Virginia, because quite frankly, most people outside of the Commonwealth of Virginia can't tell you the three best players of the Virginia Cavaliers. They can't tell you who the three best players are on BYU, right? They just can't. and you can go through it and expect it. The same thing, even for the Big Ten, that if you look down, we would like to think that Nebraska, with all of its resource and all of those things that it could move itself in, but if, Bach, if I asked you that there's a Big Ten team

that is going to do what Indiana has done, not named Indiana, who comes to mind? Well, like you said, the hope there, would be Nebraska. But I think if you're looking at who's kind of doing more with less right now, I would put Brett Bealum in that category. I mean, they went nine and four this past year. You know, going to have to take a few more steps forward.

But beating the likes of USC, beating the likes of Tennessee, their second consecutive nine-win season or more. And that hasn't been done there at the school before. So, you know, that would probably be my pick as far as on the trajectory of getting that way. Of course, many of the teams that changed. their head coaches passed off season would hope that that change is what's going to lead their way toward for the championship game like Signetti's. And if we're going to stay in the power for mindset, that the next great come-up is already

underway. It's already underway, and there are two programs that haven't been those programs when it comes to football. They haven't been in the upper echelon of the big, the SEC. Vanderbilt and Missouri have done a lot with a little, right? A lot with a little. Vanderbilt's 10 and 3 this year, 6 and 2 in the Southeast Conference. What's the likelihood that one of those two teams becomes the next great Indiana of the SEC? Well, again, the likelihood's not going to be high for any of these things. I think there is still kind of a structure there.

And then, you know, the other thing is how amazing it is because we talk about maybe an opportunity to do it in the ACC or the Big 12 because there aren't these big programs that are spending all this money and getting all the top recruits. Again, I think that that still matters, even though that Kurt Signetti was able to rise above it. It is generally what keeps these programs down, the resources, all that sort of stuff, is to go up against those teams. So in the SEC, for that rise to happen would be pretty tough. Now, that being said, there's, Alabama is no longer Alabama in the this is not Nick Sabins, Alabama. We saw, I mean, we've seen it. The SEC, see it's hard to argue at this point, not as strong as it once was. So maybe there is an

opportunity for one of those teams to rise. Vanderbilt, if they're going to have to do, it would have to do without their highspin trophy runner up in Diego Pavia. So you've got to kind of move beyond that. And then again, that's what Indiana did. You know, you thought maybe Curtis worked was a, man, they struck gold with that quarterback. Then they bring in Fernando Mendoza and he brings it to another level higher. So that is definitely, you know, I think Vanderbilt, that's part of the story of what the wacky world is. sports we live in is Vanderbilt a top 15 team currently.

They're going to fall a little bit, a dude that lost to Iowa. But they, you know, Vanderbilt in the top 25 even is a little bit outside the normie or for a long time college football fan. From the text line, McGee says this is it incredible. Nowadays, it feels like everything is just what? When

has it not been? In any sport, at any level, when has resources, poured into a thing, not made it the thing. Listen, the SEC portrayed that it was just better because it meant more. No, more money was poured into it, and it just wasn't open or transparent.

And now that things are more transparent, the SEC is having issues, staying elite in its own space. If everybody is using the resource and if everybody is putting money into it, we said this, in Major League Baseball for the longest time. Oh, boo-hoo, the Yankees are spending money. Well, the Dodgers are spending money. The Red Sox is spending money. Now everybody's spending money. The same thing in basketball,

your ability to not worry about it. Same thing in the NFL, or you're willing to overpay and get into the luxury tax. You will pay for the perks and benefits of having money and resource. So, yeah, it's always been bought. just more transparent. And I say that with air quotes, where the reality is everything that's going on now

has always gone on. You just didn't know it. It's always gone on. Bag men aren't new to college athletics, and sadly so, but it's there. Texas says this helps the coaches getting their guys in is almost now because of the portal. Well, if you as a coach know who your guys are,

you have a full grasp of an understanding of your system, your environment, your culture, and your scheme, you know the chemistry and culture that you're trying to build. So to fill your program with those people, if you cannot develop them in full, and as a one-off, aside, like if you can't just specialize in developing young people to be the versions of themselves that you want and need for them to be,

for you to be successful, then, yeah, you're going to have issue. Money is required in today's game, but your ability to get your guys in, people that you want to play, that you want to coach, and you want to be around, and who want to be around you, yeah, and this day and A's important, and this is why a lot of coaches who don't want to work that way. They don't want coaches.

They don't want to have to develop and form players into what it is because they don't feel like they can. In this day and age, it's not very easy because players have another option. And yeah, we're pulling back the curtain and seeing some things that we haven't seen before. But I think the game is very fluid, Bach. It's very fluid. tonight will tell us more about the state and standing of college football. We will know whether the Indiana story is complete. I kind of feel like the Cody Rhodes thing, you know, to complete the story,

we're rooting for Indiana as we would, Cody. And then there's the bad guy. Who's your bad guy out of Miami, Miami Hurricanes? The old school, it's the Rock. It's the University of Miami. and they're trying to make it to make you feel like, you know what? The old way is the better, better way. The U is throwing up.

It's going to be thrown up a lot tonight. But are you rooting for Cody or are you rooting for The Rock? I was, you know, I don't think that I can cheer for Miami. I tried to do it in the size. It's just not in me. I do. I've always argued I like the powers of the sport. I mean, college football is way better when Miami is better.

But it's because they are the villain. And so, you know, it's hard for me. It's, I talk about this. When Texas and Oklahoma play, I usually pick a team I think I can cheer for, watch the game. I'll get confused midway through a play because it's just not natural. I see the thing again happened with Miami. So I cannot cheer for them. I think obviously Big Ten fans want to feel like the Big Ten is on top.

Continue that story, three different teams with three different titles. But if Miami wins, they're going to be insuffable. And the biggest part of it, and the biggest reason why, why we hate Miami. Obviously, there's the arrogance and, you know, their history with Nebraska and all that. But they're so darn cool. They're going to live in Miami. They're going to play football in Miami. It's just one of the coolest places in the world. And so they, I just, a little frustrated that they get to have it all. And then we talk about this sport being built for Notre Dame or, you know, all these teams get, Miami's playing a home game tonight for the national title.

Yeah, which is all of it, right? Because the story will tell you that a Midwest team goes to Miami for a national championship game in Miami versus Miami and the Midwest school has the opportunity to change the story. We've heard these stories again, right? We've heard the story. Miami has an opportunity and Indiana has a chance to make the country right. You're rooting for who you're rooting for. The fact that Bach is not going heel tells me everything I need to know about tonight. Bach loves the heel and he is choosing. He's like, no, I can't. I I like the heels, but I can't read from Miami. I have mad respect for that, Bach.

It is interesting in times, right? That it is now crossed over to basketball, and the Huskers are in the same position that Indiana is when it comes to football. That the Huskers, it is the biggest story in all of college athletics right now, is Nebraska and Indiana in the two sports. Freaky Friday has fully happened.

Indiana is really good at football. Nebraska is really good at basketball. And we're trying to figure out what it all means. Tonight is a statement that this thing can work. And Nebraska basketball is a part of the story. It's a part of the story. You can't tell me that when people go through this thing tonight, if Indiana wins it in football, Nebraska can win it in basketball,

and it opens the door. I also don't think, and Bach, correct me if I'm wrong, I'm not of the school that says that Indiana has to finish the season perfect for it to resonate. I think the reshaping and rebranding of college football has already happened.

What say you? Yeah, like I mean, I was just saying earlier, I mean, I still kind of compare it to the Bill Snyders of the world of the Frank Beemers of the world. Look at me here, 25, you know, a quarter of a century later,

still bringing those names up, even though they didn't finish the story, if you will, going back to Cody Road. So, I mean, it is one way or the another. It is one of the most remarkable stories of all time. It's just, do you get that fairy tale ending? And we'll have to see tonight. But no, one way, I mean, and then the other thing, you look at in the future, Indiana now, my intrigue with them is,

okay, you did great with three stars and that type of guys and bring up. Now, Indiana is the destination. The more four stars, five stars are going to be interested in going to Bloomington, can you get the same out of them? But what I'm saying more so than anything, Indiana feels like it's here to stay. So the story where they win or lose tonight is not over. In fact, it could last, who knows,

as long as Kurt Signetti's in Bloomington. Yeah, and I think we open that that is Pandora's box to this thing, that is this a Signetti thing? Like, it's the Belichick and New England thing. Is this a signetti thing? is this a signetti thing or is this an Indiana thing? And I'm not sure. I'm not sure we know.

We don't know enough about this new Indiana to say that it's signati in full. We don't know if it's culturally or now that you've opened the gate and you kind of pull back the curtain and shown people that football can be good in Bloomington, Indiana. Yes, four and five stars now have their eye towards it because if I'm a four or five star and I'm in a bad team, situation, why wouldn't I look at Indiana? Because I'm doing well, I've got my money wherever I was. Now I can go to Indiana and play for a title or at least be in the situation where I can be in the playoffs. That hasn't been the case. So I think that changes for a lot of people how this is going to play out, how players are going to move in the transfer portal, how Signetti. And remember, everybody doesn't want to play for Signetti. Everybody can't play for Signetty. Like not

everybody's going to go to Indiana, blossom and bloom, and then follow all the rules. If you've been a five-star, quite frankly, I'm not sure Signetti's way of doing this is going to be your way. We're going to find out all of those things. Tonight will tell us a lot. It'll tell us whether, one, Indiana could complete the story, right? It's Cody Rhodes. Can they finish the story?

Can they complete the story? Is the you back? Because it's good for college football. It's good for recruiting to have the U. Everybody understands it. They know what the brand is. It's been rebranded, but everybody knows what the U is. Everybody knows what it stands for.

And everybody knows that you're going to get the star power. There'll be all sorts of Hall of Famers on the sideline. There'll be all sorts of national champions on the sideline wearing the U on the Indiana side. I hope you get Isaiah Thomas. I hope you get some basketball dudes. I'm not sure. Are we hoping for Antoine Randolph? What are we hoping for?

I'm not sure what tonight means. I'm not sure what the stating of college football will be after tonight. I'm looking forward to it because, Bach, I don't really know what we're going to get. Yeah, it's going to be fun. I'm glad going to Antoine Randolph-all. It's trying to go through all the, all the history of Indiana over the years. But, yeah, it is, it is definitely kind of a place in the history, right, where things can kind of shift one way or the other.

Obviously for Miami, another reason, if you're a Husker fan of cheer against Miami tonight, they've got five national titles. Nebraska, of course, says five national titles. You don't want to be surpassed there. So, I mean,

but that is, I mean, in Miami being back or here, whatever ways we want to put it, it's still, again, with this new college football playoff, it's kind of weird.

I mean, they're playing for a national championship under any other circumstance. I'd say they're back or here, all this sort of stuff. But then you've got this whole, okay, well, they've won some games in the playoffs, but again, they didn't win the ACC,

lost to Louisville, lost SMU. So it still doesn't feel like their, you know, early 2000s, Miami or obviously 80s Miami. No, this is not the Ed Reed, Sean Taylor, Miami group. Although, although I give them credit for going through the rebranding, going through the process of figuring out what it was going to take to get there. And yes, it took some breaks. Yes, it took the committee identifying that they got the one meaningful win that pushes them ahead of Notre Dame because quite frankly, we could be having this conversation about Notre Dame or Texas, right?

I think we'll get to the point where it's a legacy poll, right? There's going to be that legacy, that Blue Blood at large bid that goes into the playoffs, that Notre Dame, Texas and Miami, one of them was going to get in. One of them would make the run. One of them would shake up the system. Well, this year it was Miami. I don't think many people are willing to bet it'll be Miami next year either. But we can do that. All right, since we went long, and we've finally got a breakout session going on here.

We'll go toward a break. We'll go along in the final segment. Bach, appreciate you. We are live from the MLK Youth Rally here at the Student Center. Look, it's been a great day, a great event. The young people of Lincoln have shown up and showed up. out. The high schoolers were exceptional. And then shout out to Pete Ferguson in the committee for putting this thing together. Just an exceptional event here. Lincoln has lots to be

proud of and they're young people. They've done a good job. We'll be right back to one-on-one. I believe that unarmed truth, an unconditional love will have the final word in reality.