The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Colin Cowherd Podcast - INSTANT REACTION: Rams Beat Panthers In THRILLER, Indiana Crushes Oregon

Episode Date: January 11, 2026

Colin reacts to the Bears' massive comeback to beat the Packers, the  Rams thrilling 34-31 win over the Panthers & Indiana’s win over Oregon in the CFP. He starts with the Bears recovering from a terrible first half to beat the Packers and points to the lack of a run game and consistent pass protection leading to the Packers downfall. He gives Caleb Williams credit for making some incredible throws and playing “John Elway” level ball in the fourth quarter (3:30). He moves to the Rams win over the Panthers and points to shaky special teams for the Rams, the Panthers big bodied receivers, and some reckless throws by Matthew Stafford as reasons the underdog Panthers were able to put a scare into the Rams. He explains why he never had a doubt the Rams would come back to take the lead on their final drive (20:45).  Finally, he breaks down Indiana’s drubbing of Oregon in the College Football Playoff semi-final and offers high praise for Curt Cignetti’s coaching & explains why IU quarterback Fernando Mendoza will work at the NFL level (30:30). (Timestamps may vary based on advertisements.) Follow Colin and The Volume on Twitter for the latest content and updates!  #VolumeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Hey guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas.

We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it. But, you know, tired and sick. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you.

you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the ice. Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hey, I'm Deanna Maria Riva, and on my new podcast, How Hard Can It Be? I call on my Gen X squad from Ohio to Hollywood as we navigate Midlife's most fantastic BS. Unfiltered conversations from night sweats to futas to scheduling sex. Wait, what sex? Is it just me, or does every woman my age want to look at Pinterest instead of having sex sometimes? They say we can't polish a turn, but we're sure going to try. So let's get blunt with. laughs, tears, or tears of laughter.

Listen to How Hard Can It Be with Gianna Maria Riva on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast point game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season. And I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments. If we didn't talk ever again, I was hungry.

You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Marquis come in to you, he's like, you know I love you, dog. You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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Admit it. In Indiana, if you or somebody you know has a problem, wants help. Call 1-800-9 with it. Gambling problem. Call 1-800 gambler, Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia. All right, what a crazy. Crazy game. Bears, asleep, first half, roar back to win. The Packers game really mirrored their season. Peaked early, fell apart down the stretch. They had two misfield goals, a missed extra point.

The Packers in the second half, punt, punt, punt, touchdown, miss field goal, end of game. I mean, just, just, I mean, I was thinking about this. Here's some things you wouldn't have thought were going to happen five years ago. Trump would be president again. The Indiana Hoosiers would be a football powerhouse. And the Bears would be the most electric fourth quarter offense in the NFL when a playoff game. And he's just, I thought the Bears were going to win.

Even at halftime, I was sitting with friends in Chicago and we're like, they'll make it competitive. I didn't think they'd win after the first. first half, but I thought it'll come down to the end. That's just the way the bears play. This is a tough loss for Matt LaFleur because it's just how uneven the Packers are as a football team. And I, you know, when Michael Parsons went down, they're not the same defense. And, you know, that's obvious. I mean, Michael Parsons leaving the Cowboys and Michael Parsons getting hurt and leaving the Packers. He's a great player, you know, and these great passers. rushers are so few and far between. But it's the offense that worries you if you're a Packer fan.

They can run the ball. They can't run the ball. They have good pass pro. They don't. Jordan Love is flawless in the first half. Jordan Love is off his game in the second. Play calling is uneven. Are they being conservative? Ben Johnson, meanwhile, I thought got way too cute early in the game, way too cute in the first half. Even in the third quarter, I, you know, it's funny. Remember earlier this year, USC played Illinois, and they scored early. And I remember J. Mack texted me. He's like, man, I can't believe they won. And I'm like, Illinois's got a like all-American level field goal kicker. It's way too early. USC's defense is gassed. I think the Alina is going to come back and win it. I thought the same thing after the bear scored quickly. And I guess, you know, Lincoln, Riley, Ben Johnson, the feeling is if you can get a touchdown, just get a touchdown.

But I think everybody kind of felt like, unless you were a Packer fan and you're just like a little overly pessimistic, it was like, oh, boy, there's some time on the clock here. And this Bears defense all year long gets gashed. But I will give Dennis Allen and the defense credit. They looked, they were badly fooled. The Bears defense was badly fooled, even a couple times. I think Herb Street pointed out. They look lost on kind of routine stuff in the first half. But, you know, so much of coaching is second have adjustments.

And I thought Dennis Allen did a much better job. They got a more consistent pass rush. So the Bears deserve credit. They did a much better job in the second half. And, you know, Dennis Allen as a defensive coach is very respected. He struggled as a Raider and St. Head coach, but a lot of guys do. But I thought they deserve credit. They don't have great defensive personnel.

Montes sweats really good. They lost one of their better pass rushers, got injured in this game. Jalen Johnson's very good, but he's been banged up. They're going to exhaust most of their draft capital on defense, as they should. They don't really have any needs offensively. They really don't have any needs. Their first five draft picks could all be defensive players. They need a corner.

They need another pass rusher. They need another detackle. They have a lot of needs. They need more speed at linebacker. You know where the bears are going this point forward is load up on that defense. But in the second half, they made some plays. They made some big plays. Matthew Golden did a very good job for the Packers.

in the second half. He looked like a number one pick. He's another really talented kid that's been hurt this year for Green Bay, but I think it's just the uneven nature of Matt LaFleur's offense. And I've always said, if I just look to a coach, what's your side of the ball? And if you look at the Packers this year, yes, they've had injuries, Tucker Kraft injury. He's a great player, the tied in. But they had their, you know, full group tonight and played very, very well in the first half, very slick, very smooth. But Jordan Love got out of sorts. And, you know, this is where if I, it's easy to say this in hindsight. But I think Matt LaFleur got a little conservative the second half. But coaches should. If you can run with any consistency, if you can pick up four or five yards at a time, you're on the road, you have a lead. Let's get this game going.

If he was throwing 40 times in the second half, I'd be the first person to be critical and say, eat the clock. But what happens is when you get conservative and you have more third and longs, second and longs. Well, Jordan Love with more pressure, has to make tougher throws, and he missed on a few that he didn't miss on in the first half.

So I just think you have to give Dennis Allen and the Bears who don't have elite personnel. They give up big chunk plays all year. I think they made adjustments, played much more spirited, much more energized football in the second half. Listen, Caleb Williams, you know, it's like,

it's a little like Nolan Ryan. You know he's got a great fastball. But Nolan Ryan was only, he's got like a 500 record as a pitcher. You know, seven no hitters and like a 500 pitcher. Because if Nolan didn't have control, you know, he was in trouble. And Caleb Williams, he has bad series and he has bad halves and he gets wild and he misses layups. He also makes unbelievable throws. I mean, if there was a pitch clock, his velocity, I think is best in the league.

I mean, he has his ability to roll right and throw just close line throws down the sideline accurately is amazing. And then he can miss stuff out in the flat. It's a little bit who he is. He did have a pick in this game. He doesn't throw a lot of those. He's incredibly durable. I mean, if you look at Caleb Williams, he can drive you crazy.

But if you'd never seen him play, and I said there was this quarterback. and, you know, he doesn't throw a lot of picks. He's an unbelievable athlete. He's crazy, durable. And man, is he great in the fourth quarter? You'd be like, John Elway? Oh, I'll take all those things. You know, so sometimes with Caleb, I weigh it on, okay, just here's the boxes he checks.

They're really good boxes. Super athlete, huge arm, great in the fourth quarter, durable, doesn't throw a lot of picks. I don't want to, like, pick Bo Nicks. and Caleb Williams apart because they're just going to get more refined as they go. What you want is this high ceiling. That's what you're hoping for. So, you know, it's just as I watch Caleb Williams, I'm like, man, that's a bad miss. Oh, man, he can't spot his fastball.

And then two plays later, he's magical. And I know I'm just rambling here, but look at the two games we got today. you know, Bryce Young played really, really well against a pretty good front seven for the Rams. Matt Stafford had a great last drive to win it. But Matt Stafford was a little bit uneven in that game. And, you know, I always defend Sam Darnold. I'm like, Matt Stafford's reckless. Matt Stafford throws bad picks.

You know, when people say, well, you know, Caleb Williams' first half, second half, well, I mean, Jordan Love was much better than the first half in the second half. like there's you know there's a lot of reasons for it i i know packer fans i mean if you go online if you go to packer boards tonight they all want matt lefleur fired i'd be just very careful because the browns just fired kevin stefansky and he's lining up for all the best jobs they're available including the ravens he'll probably get a run at that and if the bills lost Stafansky get interviewed by Buffalo if they moved off Sean McDermott. Be very careful.

Matt LaFleur has won a lot of games. I think he's a good coach. I thought the second half was a bit conservative. And then Jordan Love gets out of his rhythm. And then you get into more third and longs. And it's just harder to complete those. It's just a tougher environment for a quarterback. But it's not about Green Bay tonight.

This is about Chicago. This is about the Chicago Bears. And a magical fourth quarter. engineered by a quarterback. You know, I talked about this earlier with Matt Stafford. If a play breaks down with Matt Stafford, you're kind of screwed because you're not going to get anything beyond it. I mean, how many plays for the Bears in their last two drives broke down?

There was nothing there. And basically, Caleb had to flush out right, either buy time, get yards, throw it away. I mean, how many times in the last, just two drives for Chicago did Caleb Williams make a playoff script. That's why I get, I don't get too tied to, well, you know, his completion percentage is 58. Okay, if Matt Stafford's at 62, don't they kind of even out? Because I get so many elements that I don't get with Matt Stafford that I get with Caleb Williams. So many rollouts. He can pick up yards. You can throw the ball away. You don't take the sack. I think everybody talked about before the year started, have you asked bears, have you told Bears fans,

listen, man, you're going to be a number two seed. You're going to make the playoffs. You're going to win a home playoff game. I mean, you'd have been like, wow, what happened? Did Jordan Love get injured for the season? You know, what happened to the Lions? And it just shows how fast things fade. I mean, Detroit last year looked unbeatable.

Detroit this year didn't make the playoffs. Right? New England was terrible last year, New England this year. So everything just, I mean, if you look at the bears, they're actually ahead of schedule. absolutely ahead of schedule. No question. And we do this when you get these standalone games.

You know, we nitpick the Bears. And I thought Ben Johnson was too cute in the first half. First three quarters, he got a little too cute. I thought Caleb missed some stuff. But in the end, like many of you, I've watched every big Bears game and snap all year. This is kind of what they are. This is kind of who they are.

They're just uneven. Bo Nick, same thing. Young quarterback. uneven with a, you know, great coach. Sean Payton, Ben Johnson, Bownecks, Caleb. Amazing in crucial circumstances, but bad first halves, bad. I mean, I think the stat was the Bears hadn't scored a touchdown on the first drive in nine, ten games. It was in a touchdown or scored points. I mean, just not a good first drive team for whatever reasons. I also think Caleb Williams is a little bit of a streaky player, like a streaky basketball shooting.

He's a little, and I think Bo Nix is like this. I think as you age as a quarterback, you get, you take out all the, you know, your career, your games are a little up and down and uneven. I think as you get more refined as a quarterback, easier reads, see the feel better, see opportunities more quickly, you smooth everything out. And I've been saying this all year, Bo Nix is like a less talented Caleb Williams, where really good late, excellent mobility, can make the big throws. Now, Caleb's got a much bigger arm and is much greater athlete,

but I think over time they'll just get better. So I don't want to nitpick either. Wouldn't you rather have a quarterback who was great late than one that was terrific on script? Right? Like, oh, he's terrific on the first two series, but you can't trust him late. I'll take Caleb Williams. Like, I'll take the athletic ability.

He does appear to be a quarterback that comes. kind of, you could even see him on the sidelines when there's, oh, okay, it's go time. Okay, these series matters. He plays with sort of a momentum. He kind of a streaky quarterback. Okay. I don't think he's going to be in six years. But if he is, and this is the result, you live with it. Soldier Fields, 26 miles from where I'm sitting right now. But, I mean, Amazon did a great job. I mean, Soldier Field looked amazing tonight. Wasn't that great?

Just the environment. I love that one picture they had when DJ Moore cut the touchdown in the fourth quarter, the go-head touchdown, the winning touchdown. And they had the camera from behind the play and you could see the end zone and the Chicago crowd explode. That's just, that's goosebumps stuff for me. That was just such a great picture for fans who were not at the game. and we're watching on Prime.

It was just so well done. I just love that. So Chicago picks up the W. Rams, the favorite, hold on, come from behind, and the Bears, the underdog, pull it out. So our Blazing Five is two and one. We have the Hoosiers and the Bears.

I tell you, I like the Jags tomorrow. I like the Jags tomorrow. I don't know what to make the Patriots. Chargers. It's hard for me to believe in offensive line, rank 32nd in the NFL, pass and run. They're at the bottom for both. Can go on the road and beat a really good team in New England. I think I like New England. But jags over the bills. And if Trent Williams and Ricky Pearsall play, I think if the Niners can take a first half lead. And if Pearsall and Trent Williams are healthy, they can. That game gets really interesting. If not, I just think Brock Purdy is going to be under incredible duress of Trent Williams camp play.

And without Ricky Pearsall, you're going to become very Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle dependent. So I'm just crossing my fingers. The Niners are healthy because I want another great game. We got two great ones today. I want more great ones tomorrow. Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers. And guess what? We have some big news.

What's the news, huge news? We created our own podcast called, Hey, Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. First people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. But this one's extra special.

So how do we actually come up with a name, Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. Well, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band. Before Jonas Brothers was... This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this.

We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast. We could call in and say, hey Jonas, and then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier.

This week, my guest, S&L's Mikey Day and headwriter, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Last night, a blown call changed a game.

This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athletes themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear.

The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people. who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slicelife 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis.

And I know firsthand because I competed there myself. I'm Renee Stubbs. And on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris. Every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on clay. Genschen went. I mean, she went down in three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay.

Listen, Lernerabakina is arguably the best player in the world right now. And I actually can win on any surface. Because if she's serving, well, good luck. Consider this your court side seat to the French Open. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner, I heart women's sports. All right, we're partying in my house, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to give you 15

minutes on the Rams come from behind win 34, 31 over the Carolina Panthers. This NFL season's crazy. I was watching that game, and I'm like, the Panthers are going to beat the Rams twice? What does that even mean? Aren't the Rams the first, second, third best team in the league? But the three things that we've talked about over and over about the Rams, there are three issues. And, you know, with a salary cap, there are no perfect teams. There's holes everywhere, and NFL coaches find him.

Number one is their special teams block punt today. Always a wild card. They can be good. Heath Evans, good punter. They can be good. But four or five times this year, not great. And the block punt today. They're secondary.

I don't think it's atrocious. I do think Carolina, T-MAC, really a big target, a great, great player. They have big, long Carolina, you know, perimeter receivers. That gives the Rams problems. And AJ Brown type receivers give the Rams problems. There's not that many receivers like that that are 6'4, big, big catching radius. Those kind of guys give the Rams trouble. So I'm not surprised that Bryce Young had some success with that.

Dave Canales is a very good offensive coach. And you look at the film, that's what people attack. The third thing is, and it doesn't happen that often, but Matt Stafford, and I've defended Darnold for years and Andrew Luck for years, Matt Stafford's can be reckless. Matt Stafford has Darnold picks, has Andrew Luck picks. I mean, the year the Rams won the Super Bowl, Matt Stafford led the NFL in interceptions. And he had a really ugly one today.

In fact, I thought the play of the game, the play of the game was Pooka Nakua knocking the potential second interception out of the defensive backs hands. I thought that was the play of the game. So all three things reared their head. Stafford bad pick, block punt, and the secondary got picked on. The other thing is, Sean McVeigh's a remarkable coach. And every time I hear about, you know, oh, these great defensive coordinator Sean McVeigh has, I don't buy that. It's just McVeigh's magic.

Raheim Morris got a second head job. Boom, done. Brandon Staley was brilliant. I was told brilliant, went to the Chargers. utter disaster. I'm told Chris Shula. Oh, Chris Shula is just, this guy is different level. The Panthers were four for four in the red zone. The Carolina Panthers were better on third down than the Rams. The Carolina Panthers. And listen, Bryce Young, I thought, played really well. Bryce Young's interesting. I don't know if I'd give him a massive contract. If I could get a team-friendly

Sam Darnold contract. I mean, he moves well. There's no question. He moves really well. His arm is good enough, but not a plus arm. He's pretty accurate. But, I mean, again, he's hard worker. One of the great Southern California high school football players of all time. I mean, a remarkable player, a really good college player, and he finally has the right coach. And they've supplied him with, you know, Rico Dowdell, the two receivers.

It's a nice offensive set. Their old line was a little overwhelmed today by the Rams front. It felt like a lot of pressure late in big spots by the Rams front. but Bryce Young is, you know, four for four in the red zone. The red zone is where the Steve Spagnolas and the Brian Flores, they can really confuse quarterbacks. They're throwing a lot of different things.

I thought Carolina in the first three and a half quarters of the game, their defensive coordinator pulled more levers than Chris Shula did. So I think sometimes you get the golden baton from McVeigh. You work with McVeigh and everybody was like, oh, these defensive coordinators were the wrong. Rams, well, what are they doing once they're not in close proximity to Sean McVeigh? So Carolina going four for in the red zone was stupendous effort by them. And that was really the game to me.

It's like when they got down there, they put sevens up. So good game. I thought it would not be this close. But, you know, it kind of signifies the entire season where the best team in the league for a lot of it was the Rams. and they almost lost Carolina twice. Philadelphia is an excellent team, and they've won games without completing a pass in a half. Joe Burrow, Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, don't make the playoffs. And then you watch Carolina not only make the playoffs, but give the Rams trouble, beat him once and could have beaten him a second time. Matt Stafford on that final drive.

And this is why you pay him the big money. This is why he's an MVP. Six to seven, 71 yards, and 149 passer rating. It's pretty good. So, you know, I'm sure you felt the same way. The Rams got the ball. They trailed by four, and they had three timeouts, and I think it was 248 left or 243 left. You felt the same way I did.

Three timeouts and a two-minute warning with 243 left is like four minutes. I felt like as long as there's not. like a fumble as long as a back doesn't get the ball knocked out of his arm, like they're going to go down. And I really did. I felt like, plus you're in four-down territory. So when you give three timeouts, the two-minute warning, you get four downs for Matt Stafford and Puka, who Pucco's unstoppable today. Devonte Adams, their tight ends. Kobe Parkinson, who came out of Stanford, went to the Seahawks. Now he's with the Rams. Greg Olson said this during the game. The Rams really, Terrence Ferguson out of Oregon.

Higby, who's been around kind of banged up from time to time. I think it's Davis Allen, the Clemson kid, who doesn't play a ton, but they've got four capable tight ends. So it was, you know, closer than I thought it would be. But I think the Rams are such an interesting team. Not that they play to their level of. competition, but Seattle can overwhelm teams. Jacksonville, when you watch Jacksonville, they can really overwhelm teams. The Rams, again, point differential, substantial,

but, you know, the Rams can beat Jacksonville and then struggle with Carolina twice. So, and the Rams can beat Seattle, but, you know, you take them, you start putting a little bit of pressure on Matt Stafford in the first half, a little bit of pressure. All of a sudden they make, you know, you have a special team, snafu. And the Rams get into these games where, you know, it's mid-third quarter and you're like, I know they're the better team, but they're kind of, they've kind of lost their way. And I've said this, and I see Jared Goffs like this, when Matt Ryan got older, he was like this. When you have a quarterback that doesn't run, there are advantages.

I can play zone or I can play man. I can turn my back on your quarterback. When your quarterback is Josh Allen, it's very difficult to play man to man. You know, when the quarterback moves, good luck turning your back on the quarterback. So, you know, I kind of feel like you also, when you have a running quarterback, is that there are just times Herbert did this when the late in the season when the Chargers O line was bad and they weren't running the ball with conviction. And, you know, Herbert's just picking up first down after first down on third and six and third and

and, you know, Rams don't have that component. That's not part of what they do. So it's scheme, it's play design. It was interesting today. You know, you'd think if you, because Devante Adams has had a hamstring issue, you would think if you'd play the Rams. I mean, this is what I would think. Just I would do everything I could to try to take.

What would Bill Belichick's theory was, just make a team play left-handed. Take Puka out of the offense. Bracket him, take him out. Just eliminate him. Now, the Rams can still move. They're so good with tight ends. Kairn Williams, the back and Devante Ames. But Devante is, he got lit up today.

You know, he gets banged up. Puka Nakua today, not only knocked the ball out for that second potential interception, but it felt like every big play, he was the guy. And so I'm a little surprised. They didn't do more, you know, again, it's easy for me to say. Just take Puka out as much as you can. But he reminds me a little bit of an arm. on St. Brown is that, you know, Puka is not a burner, but his hand strength, his ability to

manipulate defenders. He's probably quicker than he is faster, which is a lot of receivers. But Amarang St. Brown, I always feel like he's not blowing by people, but how is he so wide open? And I think a lot of it is the ability to manipulate defenders. You have a really good relationship with your quarterback. But Puka, time and time again, is not only open, he is, um, really open. And he was so crucial today. So the Rams pick up the win, the first playoff game. I like the Bears tonight. I liked Indiana yesterday. I didn't think it would look anything like that. I don't even know what to make of the Indiana Hoosiers. People say, well, they don't have any five-star athletes. They have plenty of four-star athletes. But what they're doing, dismantling Alabama,

destroying Oregon. You can tell when a team's really well-coached. because you can see the coaching on television. You can see it in special teams. You can see it in crucial situations on fourth down, red zone. The Indiana Hoosiers ability in crucial situational football is really something to behold. And, you know, they defensively, it's as if they know what you're going to do. And all teams do this. All teams have tendencies.

But Dante Moore is a pretty good college quarterback. He's looked very average both times against Indiana. Indiana has the kind of coaching staff, and this is what great coaches do. Again, Belichick in his prime, going to make you play left-handed. They're going to take away the things you really, really like to do. And at the college level, that's easier to do than it is against Matt Stafford and McVeigh. Stafford's 37 years old. McVeigh's one of the smartest guys in the league.

McVeys using tons of motion. You know, at the college level, you can ask only so much when you've got starters on the offensive line that are like 20 years. old and 21-year-old guys and they have classes and it's you know i always feel like college offenses are just not going to be as sophisticated now if you have like a mendoza who's a bright kid he's in his third year starting you can you can add layers and and uh dexterity to your offense can be a little more sophisticated but when you find usually in college football when you find great defenses they really shut down really good college offenses and indiana's defense mostly shuts down Oregon's offense. The Miami Hurricanes are playing for the national championship. It's not because

it's the flashiest, most dynamic offense. That defense just overwhelms offenses. And you can do that. It feels like to me, you can do that a lot in college. Miami's gotten to the national championship on defense. You know, Nick Saban's dynasty, it was the last couple titles that were offense and defense. But the first three or four, it felt like it was all about pass rush, linebacker play, suffocating edge rushers, excellent corners. So at the college level of dominating the events, I think Miami can push back a little on Indiana. I would take the Hoosiers to win the game,

but I think Miami matches up in the trenches really well and will win a lot of those battles in the trenches, put some heat on Mendoza, who's a remarkable player. This idea, you know, you're seeing all these people nitpick Fernando Mendoza. Folks, he's a franchise quarterback. Six-five, good arm. You know, Tom Brady told me more than once on the herd. He said, like, about 70% of playing quarterback is neck up.

Humility, leadership, gratitude, work ethic, ability to take to coaching and criticism. The kid's unbelievable. He's like A plus, plus, plus, plus. And he's also got a really good arm. He moves okay. I've said, I'm not saying this as a comp, but it's like C.J. Stroud. C.J. Stroud runs, moves well enough. Like, it's fine.

Fernando Mendoza runs better than Stafford or Aaron Rogers right now or Jared Gough right now. He's fine. But a lot of people are nitpicking a lot of Indiana because they have better talent than their team last year. But where they're much better than last year's quarterback, like Mendoza is just special. Big, strong arm. And he also leaves the country in yards per attempt. He loves to throw the ball down the field. And they've got three different receivers at Indiana that will punish you.

good route runners they like to push the ball down the field you know so the thing about Miami Miami takes some risks they're very aggressive defensively and Indiana throws the ball down the field so if you could put enough pressure on Mendoza he misses a couple of deep balls early you know Miami hangs around beats him up a little bit in the trenches I think you're going to have an interesting football game but Alabama and Oregon were outclassed within eight minutes like it was really clear by the second third series ball game you know ballgame feels like it's Indiana is going down Hill. So I'm excited for that. I'd say Indiana, 27 Miami 20, something like that. That's what it feels like to me. I don't even know what the spread is. I haven't looked yet. So anyway, congrats to the Rams. I'm going to watch the Packers and the Bears. I'll take Chicago. It's not snow in here. Weather's not as bad as predicted. A little windy, very cold, but right now, not a lot of snow. There were flurries today when I drove over the gym. That was it. I mean, super light flurries. That's all it was.

27, 24 Chicago Bears. The Volume. Hey guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what?

We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to... We're the first people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it. But, you know, tired and sick.

Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, Or wherever you get your podcast, just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

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playoff moments. If we didn't talk ever again, I was hungry. You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Marquis come in to you, he's like, you know I love you, dog. You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Deanna Maria Riva, and on my new podcast, How Hard Can It Be? I call on my Gen X squad from Ohio to Hollywood as we navigate Midlife's most fantastic BS.

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