Andy & Ari On3 - Indiana’s Curt Cignetti BLASTS the SEC: “We don’t run a hype machine up here in the midwest"

Episode Date: July 30, 2026

As Big Ten Media Days are set to conclude today, Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti was one of the last head coaches to take the podium from the Hilton in Chicago. As the reigning national championship ...head coach, Cignetti had some words as he left the podium that was a jab towards the SEC: "We don't run a hype machine up here in the Midwest. We believe everything is earned, not given. And when we fall short, we say, 'We fell short.' We don't cry a river, whine, and complain. That's why we're the best." Are these comments warranted and true? Andy & Ari dive in   (0:00) On Today’s Episode (0:48) Presenting Sponsor (1:56) Intro: Cignetti’s comments towards SEC (4:57) Cignetti’s Demeanor (11:22) Rivalry: SEC vs Big Ten (14:09) Pendulum Swinging in CFB (19:10) Ari’s CFP Bracket (25:22) No Wink from Cignetti? (26:33) Who Am I? (38:51) Matt Rhule at the podium (43:28) Nebraska QB Room (54:30) Building Nebraska (1:00:45) Thanks for watching!   After the Curt Cignetti discussion, Andy & Ari take a crack at this week’s edition of ‘Who Am I?’ How many guesses did it take you to guess this electric college football player?   Next up, Matt Rhule took the stage today at Big Ten Media Days to discuss the Huskers football program. Entering his 4th season in Lincoln, will Nebraska be able to really contend this year? Watch here as Andy & Ari break it all down here.   Thanks for watching!   Send your questions to: andystapleson3@gmail.com ari.wasserman@on3.com Our show is also presented by BetMGM!   If you haven’t signed up for BetMGM yet, use bonus code CFB and you will get up to a $1500 First Bet Offer on your first wager with BetMGM! Here’s how it works:   1. Download the BetMGM app and sign-up using bonus code CFB. 2. Deposit at least $10 and place your first wager on any game. 3. You will receive up to $1500 in bonus bets if your bet loses! Just make sure you use bonus code CFB when you sign up!   Make this college football season one for the history books. Make it legendary.   See BetMGM.com for Terms. 21+ only. This promotional offer is not available in DC, Mississippi, New York, Nevada, Ontario, or Puerto Rico. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or 1-800-MY-RESET (Available in the US) . 877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), 1-800-327-5050 (MA), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA), 1-800-981-0023 (PR). First Bet Offer for new customers only (if applicable). Subject to eligibility requirements. Rewards are non-withdrawable bonus bets that expire in 7 days. In partnership with Kansas Crossing Casino and Hotel   Join On3 today! https://www.on3.com/join   Hosts: Andy Staples, Ari Wasserman Producer: River Bailey   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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Starting point is 00:00:00 On today's Andy and Rion 3 presented by BetMGM, Indiana's Kurt Signetti takes a massive shot at the SEC, further deepening what has become a very fun rivalry between the SEC and the Big 10. Also, another addition of the game that is sweeping the nation. That's who am I? Ari's asking the questions. I am hopefully providing the answer. Also, Nebraska coach Matt Rul says, We didn't come to Lincoln to go seven and six.
Starting point is 00:00:34 Does that mean they will win more than seven this year? And if so, how many more? We'll break it down today on Andy and Orion 3 presented by BetmGM. This show is brought to you by BedmGM. All the Lions and Totals come from Bedmgmgm. If you check the Bedmgmgm app right now, you will find college football lines for weeks zero, one, and two. The biggest games already with Lodemgumg,
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Starting point is 00:01:48 Rewards are non-withdrawable bonus bets that expire in seven days in partnership with Kansas Crossing Casino and Hotel. Welcome to Annie on 3 presented by BetMGM and Ari. Let us just get right to it. Let's cut to the chase. Football season. The last day of Big Ten Media Days in Chicago, the last coach on the stage is defending national champ Kurtzignetti of Indiana. The final question asked to him, can you tell us if the grind of the Big Ten season prepares you for the playoff?
Starting point is 00:02:25 His answer, a shot to the South. Here it is. I think your job is a head coach. and the assistance is to equip your roster, make it as strong as possible with adequate depth at every position throughout the team. When you play that many games, you're going to get some guys dinged and injured.
Starting point is 00:02:48 Things happen. Next man up mentality. The Big Ten is the best league in football. And a lot of really good football teams. It's hard to win on the road. Very physical football teams, very well coached. It definitely prepares you for the play There's no doubt about it. The numbers speak for themselves. I mean, we don't run a hype machine up here in the Midwest.
Starting point is 00:03:13 We believe everything's earned, not giving. And when we fall short, we say we fell short. We don't cry, a river, whine and complain. All right? And that's why we're the best. Coach Ignati, thank you so much for your time. Thank you. Do we have to say anything? Like, I don't know. It shows over. I will say this, Andy. we have been doing this long enough to know that when Kurt Signetti is going to be talking in a public setting to delay the recording of the show until that's over with. I think we made the right decision here, but I do think that there are multiple tentacles to this. One, which is the SEC and the Big Ten rivalry as a whole is preserving something that I think is sacred in college football that we've lost a little the past few years, which is the, you know, he said here in the Midwest, it's the regionality of it. you know, the southern, the south versus the north type of deal.
Starting point is 00:04:13 And we don't have it as much now that you have Stanford and the ACC and the PAC 12 no longer exists. But I think that this is an Oregon and USC are in the Big Ten. Yeah, I think that at least preserves some level of geographical, you know, affiliation or at least conference affiliation in a way that, you know, you care about it because you have people who will be retweeting this who are Penn State fans and other types of fans. And it's becoming, you know, more tribalistic in the next. north than it was ever before, I think, where, you know, we used to talk about when I was covering
Starting point is 00:04:44 Ohio State that the SEC chance the SEC and no one really cares about their own team once they're eliminated. And it says like it was a very bizarre thing. I think the big ten is starting to get to a place where there is conference pride. I think that's important. Second of all, I think that the thought process here about temperament of coach and how you would approach that and whether the SEC has a whining problem is an interesting discussion. And you brought something up before the show that I think is an interesting thing that you should talk about now. Because I just think he's funny. Kurtzignetti, and I don't blame him for this, because he was not in the Big Ten until 2024. So he doesn't know his history. Actually,
Starting point is 00:05:21 Kurtzignetti was a, well, he hadn't even become an assistant in Alabama yet. Yeah, he was an Alabama assistant during the time where the SEC was kicking the crap out of the team was taken over. But at the point, when this happened, he hadn't even become an Alabama assistant yet. But the first game where the SEC's run of dominance started when Florida beat Ohio State in the national title game. The commissioner of the Big Ten after that game put out an open letter that said the SEC players are faster because they're dumber. No, the Big Ten cried a river for a long time. And the SEC fans pointed and laughed.
Starting point is 00:06:01 Andy, you will. And now the SEC people are crying and they are crying oceans. And the Big Ten people are pointing and laughing. That's good for the sport. That's all good. Yes. You helped me. I wrote a column this morning that was your idea and you helped edit it and stuff.
Starting point is 00:06:21 And I don't know if I can repay you, but I think that you should write that. I think that would do tremendously well. Because a headline that says something like Big Ten basking in SEC tears while forgetting the tears they used to shed, I think is a fascinating thought. But here's the thing. The tears they used to shed her in the past. They're gone.
Starting point is 00:06:40 Just like when the big 10 people would whine in 2017 and 2018 and 2018, I guess Clemson won. But in 2011 and 2012 and all those years when the SEC teams were kicking their asses, all they had to do was just win the damn game. Like all they had to do was beat the SEC team when it mattered and they didn't. Well, guess what? Indiana played an SEC team in the playoff last year. Indiana beat that team 38 to 3. Alabama kicked one sad field goal.
Starting point is 00:07:18 They have scoreboard. They can say whatever the hell they want. So whatever they want. This brings me to the next thing I wanted to ask you, because I do think that this is interesting. We are now at the tail end here of Media Day season, and now we're going into the dog days of the first few weeks of August, which are typically slow.
Starting point is 00:07:41 But I think that what I have noticed is the SEC media days in general was more entertaining from start to finish. And I don't know if you prescribe that to SEC having more dynamic personalities or if SEC has more predominantly displayed teams that I'd expect to win a championship or whatever the case may be. But do you think the temperament of a head coach could be the temperament of somebody who comes. to the podium in complaints. And if not, is Kurt Signetti the ideal temperament have her in the blueprint? And I'm not saying, I mean, it's easy to say I would want to hire somebody like Kurt Zinetti after he just got done doing one of the most remarkable turnarounds in college football history.
Starting point is 00:08:29 But somebody who's more of a no-nonsense type of guy who doesn't want to engage in scheduling debates, doesn't want to talk about the number of games you play in a conference. and is focused solely on doing what is best for his team. They know nonsense old school kind of way, or does it just seem more aura-stricken because he just won the title? I think it's the second part. There's a lot of different ways to do it. Nick Saban, who we acknowledge as the best who ever did it,
Starting point is 00:09:01 would come to SEC Media Days, usually with an agenda in hand, where he would talk about all the things he would like to see different. in the sport or the things he'd like to see change. And that's fine. He also did it for a winning place too, though. Right. Well, and he considered that his job as one of the best coaches in the country to be a steward
Starting point is 00:09:25 of the game and to say, here's what I think should happen. Now, most of the stuff he said should happen would have benefited Alabama at the time. So crazy how that works. But that's also his job. Dabo Sweeney. not shy about complaining in front of a microphone, but won two national titles.
Starting point is 00:09:46 Kirby Smart never complains. What's my favorite Kirby Smart quote? No crying from the yacht. Yeah. Doesn't complain. One two national title. I think there's a lot of different ways you can do it. I just have never heard,
Starting point is 00:10:00 and maybe I just don't listen to everything that's come out of Kirby Smart's mouth, but like I've never heard Kirby Smart go on a scheduling tirade. He's said a few things. He's, basically said, you know, he'd prefer the SEC to break away on its own. I mean, like, he said some strong things. But rarely does he say, like, you don't hear him say, this is a mess and everything's falling apart and, you know, this, we can't, we couldn't get this done because of
Starting point is 00:10:31 excuse a. That's the thing. That's the thing. He doesn't make excuses. Yeah. I think there's a distinction because I do think that's important. And Kurt Signetti, too, has, has said some things, too. So I'm not pretending like he's the infallible non-complainer that's never been negative about anything. The thing that I would not want is we didn't achieve X because of Y. Right. It has been very interesting watching the shoe be on the other foot with the SEC because the SEC was dominant for so long, did win those big games when it mattered. and they had every right to say everything they said.
Starting point is 00:11:12 When Big Ten people in 2015 said the SEC is a media construct, that was coping. That was taking obsessive amounts of copium. I still can't believe that was amongst some of the most ridiculous shit I've ever seen. Of course. Even when I was in the middle of it, I was covering a Big Ten team, a team that was... But you covered the big ten. team that acted like an SEC team. No, no, I know, but there are people, Ohio State fans were very bought in during the time of the ESPN as the arm of the, I mean, this still kind of goes on now when it comes to like CFP selection and stuff.
Starting point is 00:11:50 But like there was a stop process that the SEC was only better because ESPN was coming out only pro-S-C propaganda. They were better because they won the big games when they mattered. They kept, it's like, and I just feel like that for whatever reason was like lost in the conversation. It's like, well, okay, even if you think that the SEC is a proper or the ESPN is an SEC propaganda spewing machine, they lost the games they played. So like, you know, they won the games. I'm saying you lost the games. Right. Yeah, the SEC won the Big Ten lost. And now it's on the other foot. And the SEC is complaining, you get coaches in the SEC complaining that it's because the Big Ten doesn't require you to play a power conference team, the non-conference. conference. Okay. Indiana didn't do that last year. That's not why Indiana beat Alabama 383. Indiana beat Alabama 383. Indian was a lot better than Alabama. When I was a kid, I went to visit my cousin. And he had an Xbox and I had a PS2. And we were playing NCAA football on his console or my con. I can't remember. And I was beating the crap out of it. of them in the game. And he goes, well, this doesn't happen on Xbox. And it was insane because
Starting point is 00:13:14 it was the same game. It literally is the same programming. And then to this day, now we're pushing 40 years old. I still say, well, that doesn't happen on Xbox. But that's what I think about every time I hear anything like the SEC didn't advance in the playoff because their schedule was too duff or all these different things that you have heard over the course of the past few years. This doesn't happen on Xbox is what I hear. And I just like, I feel like part of it is just like, is there anybody just going to say, hey, the Big Ten has done X, Y, and Z to advance itself. We have fallen behind in X, Y, and Z.
Starting point is 00:13:52 Yeah, they say that, they say that privately. Yeah. They all say that privately. Say it publicly, I would like. They're not going to say it publicly. They're going to wave the flag and be like, like, but we're the best, but ignore those results, we're the best. Just like the Big Ten did the same thing.
Starting point is 00:14:07 Yeah. That's just human nature. The good thing, though, and this is something that you taught me very early on in my podcasting career. That is things in college football are a pendulum, right? They swing left, right, back, forth. And I, at times, especially during the height of the recruiting era, where I didn't see the sport changing and I didn't see the NIL world in 2013 coming.
Starting point is 00:14:36 But I don't know how you could ever build a program. That's not Georgia, Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson, or whatever. I learned that nothing stays the same forever. And you are somebody who taught me that. And I think that it is incredibly healthy for the sport of college football, for the pendulum to be back up north. Now, I think it's possible that the pendulum will swing right back as soon as this year. I just released my bracket and I have an SEC team winning the championship this year.
Starting point is 00:15:03 but it's great for us it's great for the fans and it's like the bitching and complaining and you suck and we're better and this is what all that stuff is what makes this great and i'm thankful for kurt signetti his personality his accomplishments what indiana is um you know indiana i think is a gift andy indiana is a gift for a lot of different reasons one i think indiana is a gift to the entire country who roots if you've ever needed a reason to buy back into your middle tier program and believe that something great can happen. Indiana gave you that. It's injected hope into so many programs. So as much as we like to say that Kurt Signetti has completely ruined every other coach in the world because we don't
Starting point is 00:15:44 evaluate them anymore. He's also given the gift of possibility to people who were living for decades without any hope at all. And second of all, I'm so grateful that it's not just a great coach who's boring. This is a dynamic lightning rod personality that has brought more fun to the game. It's not just the story or what he did. It's how he did it and how he acts after doing it. Like he is the gift. Like we like I think that college football in general has a lot of, of to be thankful for as a result of Indiana's rise and who helped them do it. I think you're right. Because there were a lot of programs who felt like it'll never happen for us. But Indiana stunk forever.
Starting point is 00:16:32 They just went undefeated and won the national title. If it can happen for them, it can happen for a lot of you. I saw Barry Odom. This would have been an ESPN story. I think Adam Rittenberg wrote it with an interview with Barry Odom. That's Purdue's head coach.
Starting point is 00:16:46 I'm sure you guys mostly know that. Talking about how Indiana doing what it did. Also former Missouri head coach. So it's been in the SEC as well. Yeah. But talking about how you have to look in the mirror and really self-evaluate what you're doing when the team that was in the similar position as you three years ago,
Starting point is 00:17:03 who's a few hours up the road, I think it's even closer than that, did what Jason did. So, like, it is, I think, a gift, and I'm going to write this down. Hold on. You write this. This is your column, buddy. You write this. This is good. I just want to write it down just so I have it, because I've been struggling in the last few days figuring out what to write. So, yeah, Indiana is college football's gift.
Starting point is 00:17:28 And you're right. And the thing is, to take this back to the SEC, this is how you should feel if you're a South Carolina fan, if you're a Kentucky fan, if you're an Arkansas fan, if you're a Missouri fan, like, that means you guys can do this too. Yeah. And you are not, you are not prohibited. There is not a systemic prohibition on you. You know what I hope? I think I genuinely hope this. I know that Kurt Signetti will be a legend forever for what he did. I know that
Starting point is 00:18:08 Kurt Signetti's story will be told for decades to come. If you and I are still doing this in 25 years, we will reference things then that happened yesterday in last year and today. But I hope that with further context in college football,
Starting point is 00:18:24 that what Kurt Signetti did wasn't just a single individual act of brilliance and greatness. I hope it was a blueprint or a guide for other coaches to attempt to duplicate it. I hope that Will Stein is awesome at Kentucky. I hope that what Vanderbilt did last year is a 80% version of what Indiana did. I hope Illinois is really good. Yeah, maybe Brett Belema does this with Illinois next. Yeah. Like I hope that this is the first of many interesting builds.
Starting point is 00:19:00 And I hope that it's geographically diverse. And I hope it comes from all different directions. I think it would be cool if Arizona State won the national title. I think it would be cool if Kentucky did. What Tosh Lepoy did it at Cal. And I think that as we enter this season, Andy, there are a lot of teams on the, you know, I did. I didn't mention this yesterday, but we did talk about my on three bracket, right? The one that I did. And I think the number one thing.
Starting point is 00:19:24 that I aired with. And Bud Elliott actually was texting me, and we were talking about it off air, is I didn't take any chances. And I assumed in my bracket, if you look at it right now that River just displayed with Georgia and Texas and OU and O'U and O'NsU in it and Ole Miss, that Florida's going to go under their win total, Auburn's going to go under their win total, Kentucky's going to go under their win total, and one other team, Will. Auburn?
Starting point is 00:19:52 Auburn is the one I'm forgetting. And that's probably a massive mistake. Right, because they're not all going to do that. And there's no wild card. I'll go from one to 12. We got Ohio State, Notre Dame, Texas, Oregon, Miami, UNLV is the G5, Ole Miss, LSU, Indiana, and Oklahoma, Texas Tech. Like there's no weird wild card.
Starting point is 00:20:16 And I understand the reason you didn't do it because it's hard to pick that team. And you're probably going to be wrong. are going to laugh at you for being wrong in that way, it will be somebody else, though. Like, maybe it's South Carolina. Maybe it's, you know, maybe it's Illinois. Maybe it's Minnesota. I didn't do it. Who knows?
Starting point is 00:20:36 Not in the fear that I would be wrong. I did it because I didn't know how to pick it. I didn't know, would it be UCLA? Would it be Kentucky? Would it be South Carolina? Would it be ASU again? Like there are so many different places. And the reason why I bring this up is that there's so many different places right
Starting point is 00:20:53 now that have hope in a way that they would never have had hope before. If you're a UCLA fan and you watch Bob Chesney at Big Ten Media Day, like, are you not fired up? Are you not fired up by hearing Will Stein say because of me? There are so many places that have an opportunity to win. And like that is the gift. And I'm happy that the person who gave us the gift of both hope and entertainment won a title and is able to put it all out there in front of everybody the way he did today.
Starting point is 00:21:23 And my hope, too, is that Indiana's comments and Signetti's comments about not crying manifests in a charged up SEC that allows the pendulum to keep swinging back and forth. Because I got to be honest, as much fun as college football was from 2020 to 2000, that 20 year period. Like, it would have been pretty cool if they didn't win 18 of the 20. Like, you know, you won all of them. No, it would have been, it would have been fun. If it hadn't just been that one Ohio state title in 2014. And if it had been, you know, now obviously Florida State and Clemson did win. But that's it.
Starting point is 00:21:58 We can name the ones that broke it up. Like, yeah. Imagine if if Michigan had been in there, if USC had been in there. If Oregon had won one, like that's, that's what would make it really interesting. But the new era of college football has also shortened the length of the revolution of the pendulum, I think. I think that we don't know. I mean, it's, hey, this may last forever, are you? except we know it won't.
Starting point is 00:22:24 No, no, yeah. I think that the way that the sport was set up from 2000 and before to 2020 was a clear advantage for the SEC given the way that traditional recruiting worked and where the best players tend to live. And of course, the passion of the places that are in the SEC, they cared more about football without question than the Big Ten did during that period of time. But now that you have UCLA over here and Kentucky over here and Arizona State down there and all these, in Texas Tech and Lubbock,
Starting point is 00:22:51 and all these different places, I find it really hard to believe that the pendulum will swing the left and stay there for 20 years the way it did. I think it's going to swing. I think it's going to swing back and forth maybe more erratically than ever before, and that's what makes all the shit talking so much fun
Starting point is 00:23:06 because Indiana might be talking shit today, but can you imagine how Steve Sarkesian's going to be if they win the national title in January? He's going into year six. Can you imagine, like, can you imagine, like, the crap that he's talking right now if they win a championship, that frickin' walk he's going to have,
Starting point is 00:23:20 like that limp that like gangster limp it's going to be it's going to be fun no matter what happens it is going to be fun and it's not a better time in the world to have a podcast honestly yeah yeah the fact that they're at each other's throats constantly even better even like better
Starting point is 00:23:36 sometimes on this show it's hard in May in June where it's like okay let's rank this like if you don't feel the love of this game in our voices right now like I have like goosebumps like I am so fired up to be able to do this for a living, but to go into this era of just,
Starting point is 00:23:54 it's not predictable. Who wants to go to a movie when you know how, that's why rom-coms suck, right? I mean, they're actually kind of cute. That's why the favorite rom-com. I'm not going to spoil it, but it doesn't end the way they all do. Yeah, but I enjoy watching rom-coms around Christmas time with my wife.
Starting point is 00:24:09 I don't know if you guys have any, like, weird. But like, it also kind of stinks because when you're watching the movie, you know how it ends. And I feel like, you know all of the beats. and unfortunately, most years during that period of SEC dominance, you knew the beats of the season. Yeah, we got great Titan versus Titan matchups at the end of the year,
Starting point is 00:24:29 but the Titans were always the same, and you knew who the Titans were in July. I don't know the Titans are this year. I think I've got an idea that, you know, Georgia and Oregon and Ohio State and these teams are going to be good. But fuck, what if Kentucky is awesome? Like, dare to dream. And I can keep coming back to Kentucky, but what if A&M wins?
Starting point is 00:24:45 We got a 10 games last year, Ari. I know. Think about this. Indiana went undefeated to win the national title and Vanderbilt won 10 games in the same year. To quote Kevin Garnett, anything is possible! Back in the day when we used to do like preseason brackets on the four team era and it was just Clemson, Georgia, Ohio State and someone else. And like no one was ever wrong because it was clear. And like now people like talk at you and go, oh, this is the worst bracket I've ever seen. I know it's going to be wrong.
Starting point is 00:25:11 Like I know it's going to be wrong. And in the past, you could pick five teams who win the national title. Now it's like, this could look, I could go, I could legitimately go four for 12 in correctness on this. And it wouldn't be that big of a surprise. And I would love it because it would mean it was a more fun season. Yeah. If that happened. Ari, the only thing I'm disappointed in with Kurt Siketti, he didn't wink at the end.
Starting point is 00:25:34 No winking and no staring into the barrel of the camera. Usually there's a stare down to barrel of camera and wink, right? Like just boom, wink. I thought we would get a wink at the end there because he did, I feel like he did come into today with that. up his sleeve and he was waiting for a question. That was rehearsed. He worked that. He worked that.
Starting point is 00:25:53 Maybe in the shower like I do. But I do think that the fact that it came on the last question and the last thing that he said before his news conference was over, he certainly should have winked when they said, thank you, Coach Signetti. Absolutely. Other than that, no notes. No notes. When we come back, the game that's sweeping the nation, who am I? And after that, Matt Rule of Nebraska says,
Starting point is 00:26:17 We didn't come to Lincoln to go seven and six, but can they do better? We'll talk about it. Ari, the results are in from last week's, who am I? And you needed 10 clues. First time either of us has needed 10 clues. I think I've needed nine before.
Starting point is 00:26:35 I've also only needed one before. I haven't lost yet. I don't care. As long as I don't lose, I'm good. Can you stump me? And I'm a little worried that you just may be, I breathe oxygen. I have two arms and two legs.
Starting point is 00:26:47 No, this is very getable, and you will get it. Okay. So let's do it. Who am I? Andy is on the hot seat. Ready? Who am I? Clue number one.
Starting point is 00:27:00 I was born in Oakland, California on January 11th of 1985. I was going to say MC Hammer because he's from Oakland, but he was very much alive in 1985. Okay. So there's a little bit of an age range. Right, right. Playing college football like 2003. 2002-ish, three-ish, to 2006-ish. Okay.
Starting point is 00:27:24 All right. Born in Oakland. In my senior year of high school at this Oakland area program, I led my team to a 12-and-one season after throwing for 2,426 yards and 30 touchdowns. Aaron Rogers. No. Okay. I love that you're throwing out guesses, though.
Starting point is 00:27:42 Is he from Oakland? He's from Northern California. He's not really from Oakland. Okay. But I love that you keep going with the shots downfield because you don't lose anything. There's no penalty for being wrong. Number three, before opting to go to college to play college football, I was selected in the 2003 Major League Baseball draft by the Cincinnati Reds.
Starting point is 00:28:04 Oh, boy. Uh-oh. Now I may be wrong on the years they played football, college football. Uh-oh. Did this person spend time in the minors? Oh, God. Okay. All right, I need another clue.
Starting point is 00:28:16 Number four, after a successful college football career, I was later taken in the fifth round of the 2008 NFL draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. NFL draft, okay, 2008 draft. So they did play a little baseball. They didn't go straight to college based on age. Actually, no, they didn't have been 23. So maybe they did go straight to the pretzel. I know.
Starting point is 00:28:41 Also, I'm assuming this is a quarterback, and that doesn't mean this person played quarterback. in college. They played quarterback in high school. Oh, boy. Okay. Oh, man. Okay. Another clue.
Starting point is 00:28:57 Number five, I'm a two-time Super Bowl champion. Okay. Played for the Steelers. Okay. That's not Troy Paul and Malu because he's older than this. Also doesn't necessarily mean he won one with the Steelers, but the timing works works out for that that they won one with the Steelers. is obviously not a quarterback because it's not Rothlisberger.
Starting point is 00:29:24 Oh, man. Maybe he doesn't. I don't know where he's from, but I don't think he's from California. You've got nothing to lose by guessing. Ben Rothersberger. It's not. Go ahead.
Starting point is 00:29:40 I think Ben Rothersberg is from the Midwest. I believe he is, yes. And he went to Miami of Ohio. Yeah. Number six, I ultimately played for five NFL franchises during my professional career, though the final four teams were practice squad only. Oh, wow.
Starting point is 00:29:56 Okay. So they had their career was largely with one team. I'm assuming the Steelers. I'm sorry, Steelers fans. You're probably yelling. You've been yelling for three clues. You know, just because somebody's a Super Bowl champion and somebody played in the league doesn't mean that they were a starter either.
Starting point is 00:30:15 That's true. That's true. And they were good baseball. player growing up and played quarterback in high school. Yeah, that was six. And now we're going to start getting into some more clues if you need them. That will probably help. I need another one.
Starting point is 00:30:28 I was the Pac-12 offensive player of the year in 2007. See, this is killing me because I keep wanting it to be a quarterback. But it might be a quarterback. Yeah, who said it wasn't one. Oh, God. That's 2007. We'll see that's not John. David Booty. That's not like, because he's from Louisiana. That wasn't the year Sanchez started.
Starting point is 00:31:02 Sanchez got drafted by the Jets anyway. It doesn't have to be somebody from USC. It could be somebody from Oregon. Did Joey Harrington? It's not. Oh, no, Joe Harrington's older than that. Shoot. He was in the NFL already by that point. Yeah. Okay, keep going. Before the 2007 season and after my junior year at Oregon, I was again selected in the MLB draft by the Atlanta Braves. I hit 176 and 74 at bats for two Atlanta Braves rookie teams before returning to the Ducks for my senior season. I know who the, oh, this is, it is a quarterback, and it was one of the saddest situations ever because he was probably, I mean, it was going to be him or Tebow to win the Heism
Starting point is 00:31:53 trophy in 2007, but he got hurt on a Thursday night game, Dennis Dixon. Dennis Dixon, correct. Guy, Dennis Dixon was freaking awesome. At Oregon. Unbelievable. Let me give you the final two clues for the video. Okay, okay.
Starting point is 00:32:07 Number nine, I led Oregon to the number two overall ranking in the 2007 season after guiding the ducks to wins over USC in Arizona State. But during the ASU game, I left with a knee injury. Number 10. Two weeks later, I returned against Arizona and Tucson
Starting point is 00:32:21 with the national championship aspirations on the line. My knee buckled in the first quarter of the Arizona game, and it was later revealed that I aggravated a torn. an ACL that I suffered against Arizona State. That loss ultimately cost Oregon a shot at the national championship. And bonus, I was standing, R.E. Wasserman was standing 20 feet away from him when that happened. Oh, that was so sad. Because I was covering Florida as a beat writer at the time.
Starting point is 00:32:43 So obviously, by that point, everybody knew it was either going to be Tebow or Dixon. And it was a really fabulous race and competition between the two of them. And, you know, this is the first, that was the first year of Chip Kelly. as Oregon's OC, like, remember they went to Michigan and just crushed them after Michigan had lost to Appalachian State. And people just had no idea what to do with that offense. Yeah. And it was just like, it was like one of the, this was happening in the general, the same
Starting point is 00:33:14 general time as like the West Virginia offenses. I think it was a few years after, I believe. Yeah, Chip studied Rich Rodriguez's West Virginia offense. Well, I actually studied Rich Rodriguez when he was at Clemson. So like Chip had borrowed. a lot of concepts from from rich and then built upon them and they were trying to run like a play every 10 seconds or something so yeah that that was before the clock rules changed the clock was changed the following year and they really took off because then they could really go fast
Starting point is 00:33:42 but yeah they practiced differently like everything and and blotty's still the head coach at this point but you like chip kelly's influence as the oc is has taken over the whole team yeah one of the most fun players to watch. I just remember him getting hurt. I was at the game. Yeah. God, that was so, so sad because he was, he was having an unbelievable season. I had not realized he was that good of a baseball player. I didn't realize it. I didn't know that either, but I tried to, try to, you know, moving around a little. Well, and that's what, I got you last week with the I played tight end in high school to try to throw you off that it was an offensive lineman. And I was assuming you were throwing me off with, with the high school
Starting point is 00:34:25 quarterback who became a receiver who became a safety. Yeah. And, you know, sometimes, too, just the threat of misdirection. Also, I had no idea about Dennis Dixon's pro career. Yeah. He went to the Steelers and then was there for a few years. And I think he won his second Super Bowl ring on the practice squad with the Ravens. So that was a little bit more tricky too because he wasn't a player that played much.
Starting point is 00:34:50 He only started three games in his pro career, which I almost put another clue. I didn't know anything about that. So that was a great one because Dennis Dixon is one of those. If you love college football, you loved watching this guy play so much. And by the way, it was so much fun. Just a hot take aside, a moment for these Oregon uniforms. And I know that everybody talks about Oregon uniforms. I'm not a fan of these.
Starting point is 00:35:20 I love these. Then these were the ones that they like, I don't, what do you call the steel, the steel pattern. It looks like, yeah, I don't know what those are called. It looks like, you know, the toolbox you have on the, in the bed of the truck.
Starting point is 00:35:30 It's like on steel steps or something. Like it's the steel pattern. I don't know. I loved the black accents in the green. I love those uniforms. And it was just like kind of like the era of college football. The photo in the graphic we have like almost doesn't even look like an Oregon uniform,
Starting point is 00:35:48 but that is an Oregon uniform. It looks like an Oregon uniform that you would buy on Timo. It's Oregon, but isn't really. The one he's wearing in the little, what we call a lower third, the green one looks, you know, that's what I think. When I think of the Oregon uniforms of that era, that's what I think of. Yeah, that's the one that Harrington was wearing, I think, on the cover of the NCAA football game. So, but I also am trying my best to at least tie it into some of the things we talk.
Starting point is 00:36:13 We had a long Oregon discussion yesterday. We did. And when you alluded to, you know, who am I on yesterday's episode, I knew immediately I sent River text. It's Dennis Dixon. So, yeah, and congratulations to him for one of the best careers and most exciting careers ever. I know it didn't work out for him in the pros, but I think he's a core memory for a lot of people my age. So this is, I know I say this a lot when we do this segment. Like if you're a younger viewer, younger, younger listener and you've heard of Dennis Dixon but don't really know what we're talking about,
Starting point is 00:36:45 when you're done with this episode, just look up his highlights on YouTube. Like, you're going to have fun. You're going to love it. Yeah. And it is crazy because I think a lot of times in college football, too, Andy, like players come out and have transcendent seasons like you did in 07. But when you get injured or you don't have a huge pro career, like a lot of times your memory can get lost in translation
Starting point is 00:37:04 because there's so many players doing amazing things. And the thing I like about who am I the most is that we're going back and we're talking about players that deserve to have their memory preserved. Oh, yeah. People that should have a institution. Oh, you know what? I know who next week's is going to be now. Oh, boy.
Starting point is 00:37:18 I've already figured it out. Oh, boy. You're going to get it. You won't get stumped. This is someone I know you'll get, but it is in this vein. Like great college football player, legendary in certain circles, but didn't have a huge pro career. So I like it.
Starting point is 00:37:41 Yeah. I love it. Love it, love it. Yeah, and just as long as it's like not just some random offensive linemen, hopefully I'll be better off. But you're still much better. not a random offensive line. No, I know, but everybody's a random person in this game.
Starting point is 00:37:55 I just mean like offensive linemen are usually not where my heads, like are my heads at. I'm only going to choose really famous offensive linemen, I promise. Yeah, well, you've already hit me with two because I got Penae Sewell pretty early. So like you're, I hit you with three. Oh, no, you hit me with Jason Kelsey. That's what it was. Yeah. Yeah, I think you were, I think Jason Kelsey was first.
Starting point is 00:38:13 But this is a fun game. I'm excited to do it next week. And you have gotten the better of me. You've also nailed it on Clue 1. and you have not gone to Clue 10 yet. I have, but I got to say, as far as we are in the game, to not have been stumped so far,
Starting point is 00:38:27 I feel pretty good about it. I do feel pretty good. And, you know, I want to write the question so that the listener and the viewer are going to get them. I don't want you to get stumped. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:38:40 But, all right, all right. When we come back, more from Big Ten mini days. Matt Rule takes the podium. Coming in, to a big, important year at Nebraska. He just got a big extension last year when Penn State opened. So I think he's safe, pretty much no matter what happens.
Starting point is 00:39:04 But with some strong words, Producer River, please play the clip about the record. We have the best facilities. We have the best fan base. And we have some of the best players in the country. So I'm grateful to have them here. It was a hard decision who to bring. But this is a special group to me.
Starting point is 00:39:22 and I can't wait to take the field with them this fall. And just like them, that's kind of what our team is. I stood up here a few years ago and said, before we can talk about doing great things, now we've got to earn back the respect. And these guys, they've kind of erased the narratives. You know, Nebraska can't win a close game. They've erased that.
Starting point is 00:39:42 Nebraska, there's a bowl drought. They've erased that. They went to back-to-back bowl games last year. But we know that's not enough. We didn't come to Nebraska to go seven. and six. We came to compete for this. And being here today with teams who've won the national championship, it's inspiring. It speaks to this conference. It speaks to the people that run it, the coaches and the players that are in it. And we understand that we have to take a step this year.
Starting point is 00:40:06 We're excited to do that. But I hope you can hear in my voice. I believe we will because of the young men in our program and what they've done. Thank you. We didn't come to Nebraska to go seven and six. That's right. 807 and 6. Yeah. Very interesting cross-section of tenure here, Andy, right? You know, things were really, really amped up last off-season.
Starting point is 00:40:37 There was a lot of Nebraska topics, a lot of debate, some stour power, five-star quarterback, all these different things. And things didn't go the way that a lot of people who root for that program would have hoped they would have gone a year ago at this time. Now that quarterback has gone. He's at Oregon. Dylan Raola is who I'm speaking about. Anthony Calandria is in what we got into a huge argument earlier in the offseason about what they should come to expect or what is success there. But, you know, does what he said just now change anything to you?
Starting point is 00:41:14 I think it means you were right and I was wrong. I don't know what to say. It's ever happened before. This is weird. This is weird territory for me. I don't know what's going on. I think I undersold it. No, because he's the one setting this.
Starting point is 00:41:32 He's the one saying seven wins is not good enough. And I think I said eight would be fine because it would represent progress. But does that not sound to you like a man who thinks they're better, significantly better than seven wins? It sounds to me like a man who literally said they need to take a step forward, which still might qualify with what you said. Like, as eight wins a step forward or does he mean a big step forward? But my whole thought process, too, is just what, as a Nebraska fan, are you hoping for at this juncture in his tenure?
Starting point is 00:42:04 Like, what makes you satisfy? They have gone to back-to-back bowl games. They have, as he pointed out, squashed some of the narrative of losing close games in hilarious fashion and not being able to qualify for a bowl and all those things. But now that they've tasted that, you know, and job well done for getting to that point. but I think that everybody knows that Nebraska's not, you know, those were always supposed to be stepping stones. That was never the destination. So at what point in his tenure,
Starting point is 00:42:32 with what other coaches have accomplished around him, that programs that have fewer resources is acceptable there. And I still stand by 10 wins this year. Now, I don't know if that's possible. I don't know if they have the team to do it. He sounds like he's pretty positive that they do. And we've been wrong before. It's harder to analyze and decide.
Starting point is 00:42:52 who a team is going to be at this time of year because certain portal entries can be much more profoundly important than you give them credit for in June and July. But I'm looking at the incoming transfers and I don't know. Maybe I don't see it. But then also, what if Anthony Calandria is just better than Rayola for their office? I think that's the question. And so shout out to the student from the University of Illinois who's covering Big Ten Media Days. Who's asked these coaches some really good questions this week. and he asked Matt Ruhl a question about Dylan Raiola,
Starting point is 00:43:25 that turned into a commentary on the quarterbacks they have now. It's a really interesting point to consider. So here's that question. Good morning, Coach. Erie Martin, University of Illinois, Big Ten student U. You had Ryola leave in the portal, but you also land a quarterback out of the portal. You also have Trey Taylor coming in next year.
Starting point is 00:43:46 Did Ryola's entrance into the transfer portal catch you by surprise? and can you speak to your quarterback room now in this future? You know, I think our quarterback room is, I don't know how many teams in the country can say they have three guys in their quarterback room who started a FBS game last year. You know, Danny Kalin was a kid that I got to Nebraska. I immediately offered.
Starting point is 00:44:09 He came in, transferred to Virginia. I think he had played, you know, one or two starts last year, played really well, comes back home. Danny's a true Husker, and he wants to be at Nebraska. T.J. Lateef is an unbelievable quarterback. came in as a true freshman, went on the road, beat UCLA, you know, went out to Iowa, pulled his hamstring, couldn't even run, and was out there just playing, you know, given everything he has. And I see him now, he's bigger, he's stronger, he's going to be a force.
Starting point is 00:44:34 And then Anthony, you know, we late in the process in recruiting, you know, things happened in the portal. And you asked me a question about surprises, nothing surprises me. I wake up every day and I say, what's going to happen today? Like, you know, just embrace it. But, you know, we lost a quarterback. we thought we were going to get. We said who's available. There were three great quarterbacks out there. We said, hey, let's bring them all in on the same day, man, we've got to move. And I learned from a great coach, Steve Adasio, a guy that I love and respect.
Starting point is 00:44:59 And he was at Florida, and he always said, you know, talked about Tebow, like, I don't care about, you know, anything else about a quarterback, other than if they have it. And, like, you can't tell people what it is, but you can feel it. And I said, guys, we'll know within the first five minutes of meeting these guys who our quarterback is. And I remember Anthony got out of the car watching him shake everybody's hands and the way he carried himself and the way he did things. And I was like, that's our guy. And he's a great yin to my yang. You know, I'm old school, you know, be tough, incrementalists, get better day by day. And he's got some swagger and some juice that is great to offset me.
Starting point is 00:45:31 And I think I can't wait to watch him play. But I think any of those three guys could start a quarterback for us and can win for us. And so I'm really excited about that room. So it's Erie Martin, by the way, is the name of the student reporter from Illinois, who may be a blue chipper in our field. Yeah, watch out for it. You know, we're listening to questions, guys. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:45:51 Yeah, because he ain't loving softballs, these guys. This is pretty good. I mean, at that point in my career, I was afraid to ask questions on the big stage. Yeah. And now at this point of my career, I think asking the questions on the big stage is less useful than asking them in other settings.
Starting point is 00:46:07 But, you know, still, good for you. But I'm glad he's doing it because it's getting some good answers. And this was a good answer. This was an interesting answer because did it sound to you? you like Matt Rule without saying it, because I don't think Matt Rule would ever say it publicly, but did it sound to you like Matt Rule was saying,
Starting point is 00:46:27 we think we might be better at quarterback with Anthony Calandria than we were with Dylan Ryola? Well, the other thing, too, when it comes to it is is there a person that's a better fit for your system as well and how you want to play offense? That doesn't mean that he's a better quarterback than Dylan Rayola. Maybe he is. But the way that he plays, I think,
Starting point is 00:46:48 probably is a more exciting brand of football, maybe a more painful one at times, depending on whether he can turn the ball over. He's an adventure. Yeah, he's an adventure. I think that, and we are in, as you point out, in an entertainment field and product. So, you know, it'll be very interesting to see.
Starting point is 00:47:06 But like Nebraska last year, I thought was pretty solid team. You know, I had a lot of high hopes for them. And, you know, sometimes things don't go your way. You know, you do have an injury. And things happen. like is 10 wins completely out of the question? And if they win eight, do you go back to the drawing board and go, hey, man,
Starting point is 00:47:25 rules doing the good stuff? Like, I don't know like how their fans are even. Well, I think he has, he has plenty of leeway because of the extension last year. Like, it would have to be an utter disaster for them to ever think about anything. But let's look at that schedule because is 10 wins possible? Okay, 5 and 0 is absolutely possible. they've got a fairly easy opener. Remember, they're not playing,
Starting point is 00:47:52 they're not playing any power conference opponents. Matt Ruhl got asked about that. He said the requirement should be a Tony Petiti question. Then he said something about all the conferences should play the same number of games. I don't know if anybody just didn't tell him that the SEC's playing nine conference games now. But they've got Ohio, U, Bowling Green,
Starting point is 00:48:09 and North Dakota to start out. So they should win those games. at Michigan State and then Maryland, presumably Nebraska should win those two. Then it gets spicy. Then it gets really interesting. Indiana comes to Lincoln on October 10th. Both teams should be undefeated at that point.
Starting point is 00:48:31 That's going to be super hyped. We're going to be, you know, this will be the time where Nebraska can say, hey, we want to be part of this. Like Matt Ruhl said, when he said, we didn't come to Nebraska to 7 and 6 we came to compete for these things.
Starting point is 00:48:46 What he was referring to were you couldn't see him because they were to his right. Three national championship trophies, the last three. Yeah. And, you know,
Starting point is 00:48:55 we spent so much time in the offseason too, like going down the games and coming up with records and stuff. It's like, you want to be competitive in that Indiana game, right?
Starting point is 00:49:04 Like, you don't want to go eight and four with 36 point losses to the best teams on your schedule. Your opportunity to say,
Starting point is 00:49:12 tell us who you are, if you're Nebraska, is that two-week stretch where Indiana comes to you on October 10th and you go to Eugene to play Oregon on October 17th. That's where you can kind of tell us who you are. Now look, the schedule is still hard the rest of the way because after Oregon, you get a buy week, then they're at, then they get Washington at home, at Illinois, at Rutgers, Ohio State at home at Iowa to finish. So, like, if you can't be competitive against Indiana and Oregon, the rest of the way is going to be tough for you too. Yeah. And like if they lose by 30 to Indiana,
Starting point is 00:49:47 that might set up a regression in record. So, you know, I don't know. The thing I really don't know, Andy, and I would love to hear from Nebraska fans because this was our debate earlier in the season, and I still don't really quite have a clear understanding of it. I haven't heard from Nebraska fans any year, and I think it's been a pleasant, you know, year.
Starting point is 00:50:04 They hate you. But I would be very curious to know what their borderline or what their baseline expectation is for Matt Rule in 2026. Like what do you have to see from this team in order to feel satisfied going into next offseason? I don't know the answer. Hit us up. Andy Staples on 3 at gmail.com. Ari.
Starting point is 00:50:23 Wasterman and on 3.com. We got Andy and you're in Ari and Ardy tomorrow. Like I'd love to hear from some Nebraska fans. Legitimately, what do you think would be a successful year to you? Like in your mind, what is it eight wins, nine wins, 10? Like what is it, what's the baseline threshold for, I feel good about this. I mean, if they were to get to eight wins, that means that they have to beat some pretty good teams. Yes.
Starting point is 00:50:48 Even if they start the five and oh, you might be able to get 10. Yeah. I mean, here, here's six. Ohio, bowling, green, North Dakota, Michigan State, Maryland, Rutgers. So in order to get to eight, that means they'd have to beat one of Iowa or two of Iowa, Ohio State, Illinois, Washington, Oregon, and Indiana. That means eight wins would be a pretty, I'm starting to swing towards your direction now where eight wins are successful
Starting point is 00:51:12 because that means they will have beaten somebody very good. But Ari, I don't mean to be Mr. Sunshine Blower here, but look, if you can win eight, that also means you can probably win nine. Yeah. And then we're having a very different conversation about where Nebraska is in the grand scheme of things. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:51:33 Because I actually think if they go nine and three and beat everybody else but lose to Indiana, Oregon and Ohio State, that's acceptable. That's fine. Like, I don't think that's like they have to win one of those games in order to prove they're on the right track. But I do also have this prevailing thought whenever coaches are talking about incremental steps and stuff. You made this point on yesterday's show, and I can't stop thinking about it. It was such a good point where we traditionally in the past, when you were recruiting high school
Starting point is 00:52:00 players, they were developing and you were retaining and it was a slower process. You wanted to see incremental builds. year over year over year. And then we're talking about Nebraska in this linear way where it's like, well, they won eight games last year or seven games last year. So if they can win eight, it's better. And it's like, that's not how this works anymore. Your teams are completely different. Your schedules are far more variable given the size of the conferences. And, you know, how much do you think year over year marginal improvement is actually an indication of being where you want to be? when you've seen people, and I know Kurt Signetti broke the college football expectations fear,
Starting point is 00:52:38 but I don't know if winning eight games instead of seven because you only won seven last year is really all that indicative of anything anymore. No, but I also, and this is where I'm coming from when I say, if you can win eight, you might be able to win 10. Like if Calandria is suddenly the magic match at quarterback that they've been looking for, and look, I'm going to be perfectly honest, we know he wasn't the first choice. Like, Kenny Minchie was the first choice. But it doesn't matter.
Starting point is 00:53:07 Like, what do the coaches always say? I wasn't my wife's first choice either. Like, my first job, I was the seventh choice. I'd like to think I would have done better than everybody else, but they didn't think so. So, like, that's how this works. But what if, what if Calandria is that guy? What if, as Matt Rule says, he has that it factor?
Starting point is 00:53:30 You can jump from seven to ten. way. That's how it works now. Yeah. And also, the teams that we view on the schedule, now it's a little bit less variable when it comes to like Ohio State, Oregon, and now Indiana. But, you know, how good is Illinois this year? I don't know. It looks like a tough game.
Starting point is 00:53:48 How good is Iowa? That looks like a pretty tough game, especially at being... I mean, Iowa may be beaten down beyond believe. Their schedule is so freaking hard. Yeah. Their schedule is so hard. But, like, we don't know. Maybe Washington will be an 11-win team this year, and that'll be a brutal stretch. You know, like,
Starting point is 00:54:03 It's just, it's harder to tell right now. But I think the overlying question is, at this point in his tenure, is chocking up all the games against the best teams in the conference as automatic losses, what you take away from this? Or do you take away the linear improvement year over year? Yeah, you got to, you got to change the answer to the first one. You have to change the image that you are a team that is going to get steamrolled when you play a good team. that's got to end. That's where the next level. But do you buy the notion that you have to be able to show you can win close games before you do that?
Starting point is 00:54:42 Like, do you think there was a, I feel like we're still talking about building college football programs the same way that you build a house where you need to get the level land and then you've got to get the foundation and then you got to pour the concrete. And then it's not like that anymore. It's not building a house. It is a, it is a HGTV house. flipping episode. You better be able to flip it in 30 minutes. So I don't know how much going to back-to-back bowl games really, you know, it's better. There's no question it's better.
Starting point is 00:55:11 But I don't know if it's an indication, especially when your roster is completely different of 10 wins. I don't think that last year means anything for anyone anymore. Yeah. So, yeah, it's like the steady increases in the steady improvements are fun for fans to see. But it's not like when you get a, uh, something. something on Amazon, you know, this happens all the time. I got to buy something that my daughter needs and it has assembly required. Then you follow the instruction step by step. And as you're building the dollhouse, the doll house gets like closer and closer to looking like it does on the box. It's like that's not, it used to be how you build. But it's not anymore. And my question really now is not just for Matt rule for everyone. It's like how many years do you get before you don't get the benefit of the doubt of what we're getting better incrementally? Yeah. He had one other answer that I found very interesting today. And someone had asked about, the success of other sports at Nebraska. And Matt Ruhl brought up Fred Hoyberg,
Starting point is 00:56:06 who's their men's basketball coach, who had had some kind of mass seasons until breaking out this past season. And they became one of the best teams in the Big Ten, one of the best teams in the country. And that was, you know, it was an interesting way to look at it. But then he turned into explaining what they have to do.
Starting point is 00:56:28 And I think he's exactly right about where this, changes if it changes. Here's Matt Ruligan. Coach, Jake Bartake, News Channel, Nebraska, good to see you again. Since you guys have taken the field, the end of the season, great seasons for obviously men's basketball, baseball, volleyball was outstanding again. What do you guys need to do internally or on the field or both to kind of find that same level of success? Well, I think that success, you know, that Fred has had, that Amy's had, that Rhonda's had that so many of our sports have had. It's just what Nebraska's about. I mean, as I said earlier, we have the best facilities in college sports.
Starting point is 00:57:07 But commitment to nutrition, unlike any other. Commitment to the strength program that goes back, obviously goes back to Coach Epley, but all the way through now. And so you're seeing the things that Troy's implemented since he's been the athletic director start to take fruit on the field. And I look at Fred with tremendous respect, inspiration. Before he went to the Sweet 16, last year, it wasn't the year he wanted. And it didn't end the way he wanted to do. But Fred just kept coming to work, and his players kept working.
Starting point is 00:57:36 And so for us, we have to be better in November. We've gotten off to good starts. But champions are made in those winning moments in the cold, on the road, late in the season. Those are championship moments. And for us, we have to excel in those. So it's me. it's our staff. I love our coaches, and it's our players. And you know, you have to have players that want to be in those moments, that want, you know, they want the hat on their head when it matters,
Starting point is 00:58:04 and I think we have those guys. And, you know, some people can snap their fingers, and it happens overnight. You know, we're builders. We've had to build, and we love doing it. And that's why I talk about these guys, like, it's not me who's the builder, it's Luke. It's Justin Evans. It's Cam Lennhard. It's all these guys on our team that have weathered the storm, stayed here throughout, and we understand the expectation. That's why we came to Nebraska. And I do think it's important that they have guys that have been there. Like the guys he mentioned, so Justin Evans, their center, who's one of the best centers in the country, he's signed with Scott Frost. Like, he's been through it with them.
Starting point is 00:58:41 So they do have people with institutional memory there. But the November thing really stood out to me, Ari. Let's see that schedule again. We can start on Halloween. We'll start on Halloween, where Washington comes to Lincoln. I know it's not November yet. It's one day away. But Washington, Illinois, Rutgers, like if you can go three in that stretch, you're in a pretty good spot, I think.
Starting point is 00:59:06 Like, those are the game, like, don't drop one of those. Yeah. I realize the Washington game, they, like, Washington or Illinois, they might not be favored in. They might be dogs in both of those games. So, yeah.
Starting point is 00:59:16 It just depends on how things go. But those are the games you now have to be able to, like, want to be the top half of the conference, you've got to win those games. Yeah, 1,000%. But I think that, too, there's a feel to it. They might be exciting. I mean, listen, Andy, they almost beat Ohio State at home or on the road like two years ago.
Starting point is 00:59:36 So like they've been in close games against really good teams too. So, you know, it's not completely out of the question that they'll play one of the premier teams on their schedule to a close game and maybe ultimately win one. Sports weird. It happens. But, you know, I think it's a feel of it. You'll be, you'll know if you're watching Nebraska, if they feel different. Like, you know, and I think that that's really important. And I don't know what that's going to mean ultimately when it comes to their final record.
Starting point is 01:00:02 But, you know, I do think that the fans here are probably more juiced up and more expecting of a 8, 9, 10 win season than maybe we gave it credit for earlier in the year. Well, you guys let us know because I'm curious. But that we didn't come here to go seven and six statement is a strong statement. I don't think he makes that lightly. Yeah. But I think it also mirrors a lot of the things that he said before, though. Like, I think he's never really not alluded to that, right? Yeah.
Starting point is 01:00:36 But I don't know. I feel like this might be a little bit different. Whether it appears in the results is the question. That's all it really matters. Yeah. Get those responses to us about what you think Nebraska can be next year. What represents success to you? Andy Stapleson3 at gmell.com.
Starting point is 01:01:02 Ari.com. Also, send us all your other college football questions because we will do our best to answer them tomorrow. On Dear Andy and Dear Ari, we got a lot to process from Big Ten Media Days. I thought you wrote a really interesting column about Luke Fickle in Wisconsin. We might have to delve into that a little bit. I already know we're going to answer a really interesting USC question. So we got a lot to discuss.
Starting point is 01:01:28 It's been a lot of fun this week, and it's only going to get more fun. As we get closer to actual football, we will talk to you on Friday.

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