PTI - Is Indiana's Mendoza a lock to win the Heisman?

Episode Date: December 13, 2025

Michael Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser discuss the NFL’s most intriguing Week 15 games, Heisman candidates, and Lane Kiffin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, sports fans, the ESPN app has all of ESPN all in one place. The ESPN app is your home to thousands of live events, ESPN shows, and originals across every ESPN network and service. And now you can check if you already have ESPN Unlimited as part of your TV package for no additional calls. Visit activate.esPN.com to learn how to access your account or sign up, then start streaming in the ESPN app. It's all of ESPN all in one place. Sign up or activate now. Pardon the interruption, but I'm Mike Wilburne. I'm told a truck accident in Missouri led to the escape of 13 cattle. Tony Cornheiser, I saw that.

It's a lead story on Moodoo. I sort of like that Mood Tube. Yeah. I don't think that's funny. I think that's funny. Speaking of escape, you see these videos where people are so dumb? They stand in front of like moose and they're taking selfies. And the moose just plows.

and bam, it doesn't try to go after him anymore. It's a lesson. It's a brushback pitch. You know why? Because that's what moves do. That's what they do. Good. Welcome to PTI, boys and girls.

In today's episode, the Heisman gets handed out on Saturday. The NFL has some big matchups on Sunday, and Lane Kiffin has his return date to Ole Miss. But we begin today with last night's Thursday game, in which the Atlanta Falcons scored 15 points in the last 937 of the game and beat Tampa Bay 29. 1928, knocking Tampa Bay out of first place in that division and making Todd Bowles very angry. Let's watch and listen.

It's an excusable. You don't make excuses. You got to f***er enough where the shit hurts. You got to f***er enough where it hurts. It got to mean something to you. It's more than a job. It's your livelihood. How well do you know your job?

How well can you do your job? Well, you can't sugarcoat that shit. It was in a excuse the ball hand. he has no answer for it. It has no excuse for it. It's what you tell them in a lot. You think of the f***er. Did you kids all get that?

Bowls went on to say the coaches have done all they can and the players need to hold each other accountable. Wilbon, are you okay with Bulls blaming as players for last night's loss? Yeah, sure. I mean, it would be true, first of all. And then, you know, but there are three, my entire reaction that this is built around,

like you and I, had decades in locker rooms and decades with coaches not only in that moment, but then we got to listen to them later. When they calmed down a little bit and you knew there were three possible results. One, you get to them and they immediately flip their behavior 180 and they bring it.

Two, they hate you and you lose the locker room entirely. Three, management fires you. So as long... Two out of the three aren't good. No. Two out of the three aren't good. No.

Two out of the three. this they do. No, no, you're not wrong. And you got to accept the consequences that he does. So, okay, I have been around Todd Bowles a lot, going back to when he played here in Washington, I never saw anything like that. He wasn't screaming or anything. He was hating his players, hating his players. That was the kind of moment that if you had asked Todd Bowles, as they once asked another Tampa Bay coach, John McKay. How do you feel about your player's execution? He would have answered in the affirmative. Yes. Look, this was a really bad thing. loss. Tampa Bay has had a bunch of really bad losses this year. They were up 14 in the fourth

quarter at home. They didn't give up two scores. They gave up three scores. Against a team that has been maybe the most disappointing team in the league this year. Yeah, yeah. The defense of Tampa Bay allowed a fourth and 14. Atlanta somehow converted a third and 28 into a first down and Kirk Cousins looked like he did 10 and 12 years ago. So that's, I mean, do you understand that Atlanta had 19 penalties and still won the game? That's a bad loss. Turnovers that weren't turnovers because they should have been recovered by Tampa, loose balls, where like six players were around and they didn't get them.

And still, they can win the division. By beating Carolina twice. You beat Carolina twice. Now, I wouldn't bet on them today. No. But if you beat Carolina twice, you win the division. Top balls somebody we like, and as you said, have known for a long time. I root for him.

Do we think this is going to work? Or do we think he's going to wind up wearing not the cream sickle, but something else next year? So let me ask you. Let me show you this. That says at the bottom question. You think Todd Bowles will coach this team next year? I don't know. It's got to work.

Right? Yes. I don't know. It's got to work. Man. Let's move to this weekend's eye-catching NFL games, the AFC East leading Patriots host, Josh Allen, and the division leading,

division rival bills. One-headed quarterback, Justin Herbert, leads his chargers into Kansas City where the Chiefs are in desperation mode. The NFC Central leading cheese heads are at the

AFC West leading Broncos, and the 10 and 3 Rams host the 8 and 5 Lions. Tony, which game intrigues you the most this weekend? If I'm going to be honest here, I'm going to tell you that the game that intrigues me the most

is Seattle and the Colts. Because I don't believe that a 44-year-old quarterback, Philip Rivers, actually going to play that game. If he plays that game, I'm going to watch. You know how I'm going to watch, Mike? Like you're watching a horror movie. Yeah, I'll put my hand in front of my face.

But I'm going to watch. The two games to me that seem the most important, to me, are the bills at New England and the Rams and the Lions. To me, if Buffalo beats New England in New England, it conjures up two images to me. One is that the bills could actually finally go to the Super Bowl. because Baltimore and Kansas City don't seem to be on that road.

Don't seem to be on that road. And the second thing it would say to me is that the Patriots really have had an easy schedule. They're 11 and 2. They have only beaten three teams that right now have a winning record. So, I mean, to me, that would be consequential. The bills may not win the division,

but you would think they were better. The other game can be really critical. If the Lions lose that game, they are likely out of the playoffs. That would surprise me, Mike, because I think that they are a possible juggernaut, but what is true is that the whole of that team is not as good as the sum of the parts.

It's not. It doesn't exceed the sum of the guards. Their window's going to close shot. And if the Rams lose, they might fall out of the number one NFC seed. They might have to go on the road in the playoffs. I don't think they want to go to Seattle or Lambo. I don't think they do. So I am thinking that that game, actually, there's more at stake in that game than in the Bills game.

I got one game that you didn't mention. First of all, the game, I'm most intrigued with it. It's my own game, is the Bears hosting the Browns. And Miles Garrett, and he's going to get, like, four sacks, I hope not. Break the record. He can break the record this weekend with a baffle performance, and he can because he's Miles Garrett.

But the game other than that is the cheeseheads in Denver. I mean, Denver is one like something like 14 straight games at home. Is that right? The cheese heads go in there and talking about love being an MVP. candidate. They go in riding high, sort of, after beating the Bears but at home last week. And if they win this game, if they beat the team that is right there challenging for the one seed in the AFC with a couple of weeks to go, the Packers have every reason to be chesty. So I'm certainly rooting against them because the Bears can be back in the number one seed of Detroit and Denver

win their games and the Bears win theirs. So there's a lot going on with that division. My eyes are on that division. And I understand that. First and foremost. And neither of us have mentioned Kansas City. Because they're done. That's it.

If they lose, I believe they're mathematically eliminated. Yeah, but it's not anyway. Can you imagine the playoffs without Patrick Noghoms, given what we've seen the last five, eight years?

Eight, nine. Right? Really? Let's turn to the Heisman trophy. As we know, the four finalists who will be in New York tomorrow night for the presentation are Fernando Mendoza of Indiana, Diego Pavia of Vanderbilt,

Jeremiah Love of Notre Dame and Julian Sane of Ohio. state. That's three quarterbacks and a running back. Wilbon Mendoza is the odds on favor to win. In your mind, is he a lock? Close to it. Yeah. Yeah, it's easy for me to root for a kid from

Vanderbilt, because I root for Vanderbilt anyway. And it would be great, but I know that these straw poles have appeared to that think that this suggests that it's going to be close. I don't know that it's going to be all that close. It just seems to me, and I used to vote. I voted for

high... Yeah, you did vote. I voted for 20 years. I helped select the voters for a few years. I just think Mendoza, Tony, he's the guy who's the quarterback of the only undefeated team. So I got no problem with any of them. I'm just going to say this, and I don't have my glasses, but I think I can read this. This is not like in 1982 when Elway Herschel Walker and Eric Dickerson. No. With three finalists.

And in 81, the previous year, just one year earlier, when Marcus Allen, Who else was in this? McMahon, Herschel, and Dan Marino. Who you've called just a passer. No, the greatest passer. Oh. Not the greatest quarterback. Not even in this discussion to me.

Passing a quarterback are different things. Those years stand-alone. This is not that. It is, right? I would say that most people in America had not heard of all four of these people going into this year. Until like week six, maybe. But I would vote for Mendoza. I'm going to go back.

to a few weeks back when Indiana made that great comeback at Penn State. When that kid made the most spectacular catch at the back of the end zone. The next time we were on this show, I sat here and I said to you, that looked like a Heisman moment for Mendoza. Like, let's look at Indiana's had a life-changing season. As you say, they're the only unbeaten team. They beat Ohio State for the first time since 1988. I want to get these dates right.

They won the Big Ten outright for the first time since 1945, no, 1944. And they have a playoff game in the Rose Bowl, I believe. It'll be their first time in the Rose Bowl since 1968. So to me, you reward Signetti, you make him coach of the year, and you reward Mendoza by giving him the highest one. Pavia, the case I would make, he's got more passing yards than Mendoza in one fewer game. And Vendibald's not a football factory. Had a historic season itself.

Just like Indiana. Yes. And I could make a case for Jeremiah Love because he's got 21 touchdowns and 12 games. I know you hate Notre Dame. I don't hate him. But he may be better at his position than the quarterback's. He had a great season. I can't make a case for the Ohio State kid at this point.

I can't. But those three I certainly could. They lost one game. Ohio State was in there. They lost Indiana. I mean, I think that affects voting. Let's take a break. When we return, Lane Kiffin and LSU open SEC play with a trip to Ole Miss next season.

What's the world? for that. What's the best way to describe 41-year-old Lindsey Vaughn's win in the downhill today? You know, the easy line on the Ohio State quarterback is I'm just saying. I'm just saying. But I wouldn't use that. This somebody should have named him just a... Welcome back to Pardon the Interruption, presented by Gray Goose, part of Happy Hour. It's time to have words with Wilbon. What's first? It's blank that LSU will travel to Ole Miss to open conference play next season. It is spectacular. It almost feels like the SEC arranged this

because they did. Yeah. Because they did. The date will be September 19th. It's going to get the highest rating that any Mississippi game has ever had unless, unless in the next two weeks, Lane Kiffin leaves LSU and goes to Alabama.

Right? That's the only thing that would make it bad. Look, these two teams play every single year. They are permanent opponents, right? The SEC could have done this in October. could have done it in November, but then the drama of it is dissipated by then. This way you get the narrative straight out, and it's all about Lane Kiffin, Kiffin, Kiffin, Kiffin, and if you think you have heard booze before, get a ticket to this game, because the noise in

Oxford will be so loud that it could waken William Faulkner, if that's where he's buried. I think he's buried there, right? And because of all those things you said, it's perfect. Yeah, it is. That's my word. It can't get any better. This is the way you need or you want a game of some significance. We can't know what the standings will be.

They won't have started the CFP ratings, won't rankings, won't be out yet. So you put Lane Kiffin. You know what, Tony, that will be the most emotional game in the modern history, I guess, of Ole Miss football. Of Ole Miss, I would think. I mean, now Archie's been a while. No, I don't think so. So this has got to be. there, but it's not...

Yeah, but Eli, I don't even even remember any games that Eli was there. It's not this. It's Kiffin. This is so good. So let's give the SEC credit. I take a shot at conferences when they do the wrong things. They're not playing the Citadel in this one. They're playing each other.

No, this is what should happen. And by the way, they're going to play each other in a string of times, apparently. So we'll see how old Lane Kiff is around. Yeah, but you have to group them so they play X number of years. Because there's so many teams in these conferences now. They're all super conferences. You can't just play the same team. No, I agree. I agree. This is good for the SEC. Yes, it is great for the FCC. What's next?

Lindsay Vaughn's win in the downhill today was blank. My word is Rivers-like. Lindsay Vaughn is 41 years old. She has been out of skiing for five years. That is not dissimilar to Philip Rivers. In fact, Mike, 41 in skiing may be older than 44 in football. I'm not sure one way or not. She started at 17. Here's what Rivers can do. Rivers can throw the ball away. Rivers can take a knee. Rivers can hand the ball off. Here's what Lindsay Vaughn can do. She can go straight down the mountain because that's how you get home.

That's why it is called the downhill at this point. She's trying out for the Olympics in Cortina on a course that I believe she has 12 wins on. And this wing she had today her first win since 2018. Let's see Rivers do that.

Tony, look, I agree. And to do it, my word is bionic. Okay. She's got like titanium knees and stuff. I mean, she's guessed. Look, Lindsay Vaughn, the nerve, the guts that it takes to actual courage is amazing. But she wouldn't have been able to do this stuff 20 years ago because science and technology wouldn't have allowed it. But it does now.

And so she can do this. They're the craziest people in the world. It's unbelievable. Downing racists. Come on. Just inside baseball. You and I have gone to these places that they're named. And we have watched it stood at the bottom of the hill, top and bottom.

what frightens you more than watching down? Nothing. They appear to be going 400 miles an hour on a solid cheat of ice, and every once in a while they fall off the mountain. They're into space. Yeah. They're launched.

And they tend to just get up and walk off, and you can't believe it. So we have done this. Television does not convey. No, we haven't done it. We've watched it. What is done it? You're doing this.

Yeah, don't. This is that like golf. You can't go to your favorite course and go down like they do. No, no, no. These people are crazy. That's the final word. Let's take one last break, still to come to Clippers,

forget how to inbound the ball at a critical juncture. He's standing right there. And whose weekend return from injury would be bigger? Stephs or Wembees? Well, Wembees would be taller. We're certain of that. I don't know which would be bigger necessarily. I'll tell you what.

San Antonio will pretty good without him. What are you saying? Nothing. No. They're going to be great with them. No. But they're pretty good with like 16 and 7 or something like that. The interruption is presented by Great Goose.

Make Time Wait. Please enjoy responsibly part of Happy Hour. Happy time, people. Happy 29th birthday, Christopher Sanchez. The Phillies lefty was 13 and 5 with a 2-50ERA, over 32 starts this past season. He struck out 212 batters and 202 innings. As a result, he finished second in NL-Saw-Young voting to unanimous winner Paul Skeins. Sanchez was an all-star in 2024, but not.

this season, which was controversial at the time. Sure, man. And the Phillies gave Sanchez's all-star bonus anyway. Sanchez has been with the Phillies all five of his major league seasons after being traded there by Tampa Bay. Overall, Sanchez is 30 and 21 with a 3-24-E-R-A. He led the majors and wins above replacement, war for pitchers this season, his 80-edging schemes of 7.7.

There are a lot of throwers out there. But I watch Sanchez. It's a pitcher. A pitcher. Stylish pitcher. And good for the Phillies. for giving him his bonus anyway, because he should have been an all-star.

Yeah, he had great numbers going into the all-star. Happy anniversary, Gail Sayers. This is posthumous, but on this day, 60 years ago, as a rookie out of Kansas, the Bears running back scored six touchdowns as the Bears throttled the 49ers, 61 to 20, on a rainy, muddy track in Wrigley Field. Sayers scored four touchdowns rushing,

one receiving, and one on an 85-yard punt return. Chicago scored three non-Sayers touchdowns. The best of which was a fancy, one-handed 29-yard catch by tight-end Mike Ditko. Coach Dicka. Six remains the NFL records for touchdowns in one game. The first person to do it was Dub Jones of the Browns in 1951, then Sayers, then Alvin Kamara. Did I say that right? Camara of the Saints on a Christmas Day beatdown of the Vikings in 2020.

Wilbon, I'm told you from Chicago. Have you ever heard of Sayers and Ditka? But thank you for being in a golf tournament and telling Mr. Sayers, that he's my hero. And after that, I got to meet him, be around him. It was spectacular. I was in awe. And by the way, the coolest thing about walking in the Wrigley Field,

not only do you walk into a place where Ruth played and Banks and Williams and all these. But you also walk in there, Sayers and Butkus and Dicka and Red Grange played there as well. No building like it. But it's bothersome that Sayers and Butkus didn't play play play playoff games. Play the playoffs. No. Happy Trails the last night's game for the Clippers. LA lost again last night, this time to the Rockets.

The Clippers had the ball and a chance to tie with fewer than nine seconds left when they temporarily forgot to inbound the ball. Nicholas Patum finally tried but stepped over the line, turning the ball back over to the Rockets. You know what would have come back for that ball? Chris Paul. Amen. Can't blame him for this one. No. The Clippers, who stink, have lost eight out of nine and they're now six and nineteen.

This is sort of shocking. I know they're all old, and I know you're sort of walking a real fine line here, but it seems like they had everything if they could get out on the court. Even when they're out there, they're bad. They're going to have to forget about this. Blow it up, start over. There is something when a team has aged, not when it is aging, when it has aged. And you say to your, no, this group is not coming back to win.

It's a waste of time. A lot was written in this city about the Washington. defense this year that they had aged. And if you look at the numbers, they're ineffective. They're ineffective. They can't win either. Let's go to the big finish if we could. Teachy-Watt, released from the hospital after successful surgery on a partially

collapsed lung, your thoughts. I hope it's okay. And apparently Mike Tomlin has said, don't even think about playing on Sunday. You know, football players will walk out of a hospital and try to play. Can't play. Can't play. Bill Belichette fired his offensive coordinator and his special teams. Does that make sense?

Let me tell you what it says to me. It says to me that Bill Belichick is going to come back here and try it again. But that's what I'm saying. I mean, he said, no, this is not going to work. That's it. Steph Curry returns tonight for the Warriors. Victor Wembenyama expected to do the same for the Spurs tomorrow, which is a bigger deal. They're both a big deal.

But Wimbabon Yama's Spurs are 17 and 7. When he comes back, they're going to be great. Steph Curry, the Warriors are only 13 and 12. They got to have him. They need Steph now, bigger deal. The Oilers traded goalie. Stuart Skinner to the Penguins. A goalie Tristan Jari.

Break it down. I really like the idea of a goalie for goalie trade. I really like the notion that just the new scenery will make them better. Are they blaming Skinner? In Edmonton? It sounds like it. Last one, Army Navy game tomorrow. Who you got?

Navy's 9 and 2. The 9 and 2 season. We got this right here. We should have won last. That's the helmet. I got to think the midship are going to win again. We are out of time. We'll try to do better the next time.

Kevin Callahan, Monmouth Football. Shout out. And I'm Mike Will Bond. Great weekend knuckleheads. And now, here's Sports Center. Army Navy when they walk in is great. When they walk in, it's just so great.