WEBVTT - Sports Talk Saturday 1-10-26 0:00:29.720 --> 0:00:39.280 This six point forty in the Queens City of Cincinnati, 0:00:39.320 --> 0:00:42.880 Chick laud wigon seven hundred WLW. This is sports Talk. 0:00:43.440 --> 0:00:46.839 Russ Jackson is tonight's producer. Like Eric Carmon and the 0:00:46.920 --> 0:00:50.000 Raspberries were going all the way to eight o'clock, that's 0:00:50.040 --> 0:00:54.279 when NFL takes over these airwaves. It's wild Card weekend. 0:00:54.760 --> 0:00:57.560 The Rams and Panthers are tied at seventeen right now, 0:00:57.600 --> 0:00:59.920 and tonight you'll be able to listen to the pack 0:01:00.360 --> 0:01:02.880 at the Bears. And in a game you just heard 0:01:02.920 --> 0:01:08.120 on seven hundred WLW, the Xavier Musketeers captured their first 0:01:08.160 --> 0:01:11.840 home Big East victory with a ninety seven to eighty 0:01:11.840 --> 0:01:16.039 four win over Providence at Sentas Center. And in a 0:01:16.080 --> 0:01:21.559 football game you watched last night on ESPN, the Indiana 0:01:21.600 --> 0:01:25.840 Hoosiers earned a berth in the College Football Playoff National 0:01:25.959 --> 0:01:29.800 Championship Game, which will take place on Monday night, by 0:01:29.880 --> 0:01:34.240 destroying the Oregon Ducks in the semifinal at the Chick 0:01:34.280 --> 0:01:37.479 fil A Peach Bowl in Atlanta. And here to talk 0:01:37.520 --> 0:01:40.399 to us about it, I'm all excited to bring in 0:01:40.480 --> 0:01:44.520 our first guest. He comes right over from the control 0:01:44.600 --> 0:01:47.680 room here at seven hundred WLW. It's an honor, pleasure 0:01:47.680 --> 0:01:54.600 and privilege to welcome in shoeless Joe Waddell of Saintax 0:01:54.720 --> 0:02:00.160 High School, Indiana University School of Journalism grad. Joe, we 0:02:00.160 --> 0:02:03.160 we're texting last night. It was about five o'clock. You said, 0:02:03.280 --> 0:02:05.640 can seven thirty get here fast enough? 0:02:06.080 --> 0:02:06.280 Man? 0:02:06.320 --> 0:02:09.960 You gotta be pumped. Honor, pleasure and privileged. 0:02:10.040 --> 0:02:10.200 Check. 0:02:10.200 --> 0:02:11.440 Come on, you're being too kind to. 0:02:11.400 --> 0:02:12.160 Me, all right? 0:02:12.240 --> 0:02:14.680 Man? Yeah? 0:02:14.160 --> 0:02:17.840 I mean I told people that obviously knew that this 0:02:17.919 --> 0:02:21.040 game was a big deal, because I know we've talked 0:02:21.040 --> 0:02:24.440 about on these very airwaves before. I've seen some bad 0:02:24.440 --> 0:02:28.040 football in my life, some very very very bad football 0:02:28.520 --> 0:02:33.280 between going to the Indiana games obviously pre Signetti as 0:02:33.360 --> 0:02:36.600 a student and you know some of the Bengals years. 0:02:36.680 --> 0:02:40.280 I need something to roof for. And all of a sudden, 0:02:40.560 --> 0:02:44.400 you know, twenty twenty three November comes around, Tom Allen's out, 0:02:44.480 --> 0:02:50.520 kurtz Signetti's in. And have you ever seen any not 0:02:50.600 --> 0:02:54.040 just any college program, any sports team get turned around 0:02:54.320 --> 0:02:57.240 this quickly into this extent as the Indiana Hoosiers have. 0:02:57.400 --> 0:03:00.960 No This is uh, it really is unbelievable. He brought 0:03:00.960 --> 0:03:03.959 in a lot of players from James Madison yep. And 0:03:04.520 --> 0:03:09.920 he's about production and not you know, projecting guys. I 0:03:09.960 --> 0:03:13.600 mean he wants football players. He's got them. He's got ah. 0:03:13.919 --> 0:03:16.000 He's got an older roster. I think they average about 0:03:16.000 --> 0:03:20.239 twenty three years old or more. And he's just blended 0:03:20.240 --> 0:03:23.520 the veterans with newcomers. And man, there's a ton of 0:03:23.520 --> 0:03:25.480 guys in the in the portal that are headed to 0:03:25.520 --> 0:03:30.640 Indiana University. I guess it's just unreal. This is the uh. 0:03:30.639 --> 0:03:33.320 They're the most exciting team. And we talked about this Joe, 0:03:33.360 --> 0:03:36.800 the most complete team, and I'm calling them the sexiest 0:03:36.800 --> 0:03:39.800 team because everybody in America is in love with them. 0:03:40.240 --> 0:03:40.880 They are now. 0:03:40.920 --> 0:03:42.560 It took a while for him to wake up, but 0:03:42.880 --> 0:03:46.600 they're here now, and I love seeing all the attention 0:03:46.680 --> 0:03:50.320 they're getting. Obviously a lot of the national media markets. 0:03:50.360 --> 0:03:53.560 They didn't really start believing until we beat Ohio State 0:03:53.560 --> 0:03:55.960 this year in the Big Ten Championship. 0:03:56.520 --> 0:03:59.080 And speaking of that game, I was thinking and hit 0:03:59.200 --> 0:04:02.640 a family red because we're all Buckeye fans at the 0:04:02.720 --> 0:04:07.760 Ludwig Household. Understandable, Ohio State loses to Indiana and the 0:04:07.760 --> 0:04:12.080 Big Ten Championship thirteen to ten. So with Indiana blowing 0:04:12.120 --> 0:04:15.600 teams out. It's like, gosh, the buck guys did great 0:04:15.880 --> 0:04:19.440 holding them to thirteen points. But doesn't it just speak 0:04:19.520 --> 0:04:23.440 to Indiana's awesomeness that they can run you out of 0:04:23.480 --> 0:04:27.640 the gym with fifty fifty six points and then beat 0:04:27.720 --> 0:04:31.080 you in a tight, close, low scoring game. That's what 0:04:31.120 --> 0:04:31.480 they do. 0:04:31.560 --> 0:04:34.080 That's what they've done, you know, ever since other than 0:04:34.080 --> 0:04:36.440 the two losses they have the first year of Signetti 0:04:36.480 --> 0:04:38.039 when I think they just got out talented. 0:04:38.560 --> 0:04:39.159 That's what they do. 0:04:39.240 --> 0:04:41.800 They force you to play their game, and with their 0:04:41.839 --> 0:04:45.720 game is control the football, dominate you on both sides. 0:04:45.800 --> 0:04:49.360 And like their ceder Pat Cougan, the Notre Dame transfer said, 0:04:49.520 --> 0:04:51.680 hold you under the water to the bubble, stop coming up. 0:04:51.839 --> 0:04:54.160 Oh, that's what they do. They'll hold you under. They 0:04:54.200 --> 0:04:55.120 just suffocate you. 0:04:55.320 --> 0:04:57.960 And even if it's like you said, Ohio State thirteen 0:04:57.960 --> 0:05:01.160 to ten, they Ohio State made mistakes. Indiana didn't. That's 0:05:01.160 --> 0:05:03.599 why they won. They don't make mistakes. They will never 0:05:03.680 --> 0:05:05.960 beat themselves and that's why they're so successful. 0:05:06.040 --> 0:05:08.479 And they just take the will out of the other team. 0:05:08.560 --> 0:05:13.360 It seems like they did mentally, emotionally, and physically. They're 0:05:13.360 --> 0:05:18.200 they're they're dominating here and uh gosh, you probably can't 0:05:18.200 --> 0:05:20.600 wait till Monday night. Oh gosh, yeah, no, no, no, 0:05:20.800 --> 0:05:23.720 it's going to be the longest week waiting for uh yeah, 0:05:23.760 --> 0:05:27.520 the Miami Hurricanes and you're playing in my Miami Gardens, 0:05:27.960 --> 0:05:30.320 home of the Dolphins, and it's just going to be 0:05:30.360 --> 0:05:31.960 absolutely insane down there. 0:05:32.120 --> 0:05:34.640 That's I'm seeing a lot of conversation about is this 0:05:34.680 --> 0:05:36.560 going to be a home game for the Miami Hurricanes, 0:05:36.600 --> 0:05:38.080 And I guess in a sense it is, But. 0:05:39.520 --> 0:05:43.479 Indiana fans travel pretty well. Yeah, yeah, so we saw 0:05:43.520 --> 0:05:44.520 that in Atlanta, Man. 0:05:44.440 --> 0:05:46.279 Atlanta, I think that's going to be a different story 0:05:46.279 --> 0:05:48.520 obviously in Miami because they've got to, you know, turn around, 0:05:48.920 --> 0:05:51.120 take ten steps through their backyard and they're already at 0:05:51.160 --> 0:05:54.400 the stadium. But at the same time, largest living alumni 0:05:54.440 --> 0:05:57.880 base in the country. We got eight hundred, nine hundred 0:05:57.920 --> 0:05:59.880 thousand living alumni. And you don't think there's some of 0:05:59.920 --> 0:06:02.800 the sitting down there in Miami, Florida waiting for the 0:06:02.839 --> 0:06:05.039 opportunity to go see their Hoosiers in a playoff game. 0:06:05.080 --> 0:06:07.360 I think there might be. That's huge. And even though 0:06:07.360 --> 0:06:10.240 I'm an Ohio State guy, I'm a big ten guy. 0:06:10.520 --> 0:06:15.400 And if Indiana can win this game, Joe, think about this, Michigan, 0:06:15.560 --> 0:06:19.800 Ohio State, and Indiana, three Big Ten teams back to 0:06:19.920 --> 0:06:23.440 back to back winning national championships. How awesome is that? 0:06:23.920 --> 0:06:27.200 Not just three Big Ten teams, three different Big Ten teams. 0:06:27.200 --> 0:06:29.480 It's been three different teams three years in a row. 0:06:29.480 --> 0:06:31.839 If Indiana can pull this off, and I think that 0:06:32.560 --> 0:06:36.520 it not only speaks to the depth and the power 0:06:36.560 --> 0:06:38.200 that at least the top of the Big I think 0:06:38.200 --> 0:06:39.880 the bottom of the Big Ten is pretty weak with 0:06:40.000 --> 0:06:42.240 you know, your Purdues and Gluckers and things like that. 0:06:42.320 --> 0:06:43.880 But the top of the Big Ten, I think is 0:06:44.440 --> 0:06:47.000 as competitive as the top of any conference can get. 0:06:47.440 --> 0:06:50.760 You've got teams that obviously you know, Indiana didn't lose 0:06:50.800 --> 0:06:53.760 this year, but they lost or they won by five 0:06:53.880 --> 0:06:56.760 to against Iowa, took a last second score to beat 0:06:56.760 --> 0:07:00.200 Penn State, one by three against Ohio State, and then 0:07:00.000 --> 0:07:03.200 one by ten at Adson, And when we played Oregon 0:07:03.240 --> 0:07:05.919 earlier in the season, and then first round of the playoffs, 0:07:06.279 --> 0:07:09.600 you face the mighty Alabama and the vaunted SEC that 0:07:09.640 --> 0:07:12.239 we hear is this intense gauntlet. That's the only reason 0:07:12.240 --> 0:07:14.840 the teams are losing two three, games in a season 0:07:15.040 --> 0:07:17.240 they don't even score a touchdown? 0:07:17.640 --> 0:07:21.320 Could you wrap your head around the Rose Bowl? That 0:07:21.520 --> 0:07:25.240 setting arguably the greatest setting really in all of sports, 0:07:25.280 --> 0:07:31.840 and in Indiana, Hoosiers just dismantle the juggernaut known as 0:07:31.880 --> 0:07:33.480 the Alabama Crimson Tide. 0:07:34.000 --> 0:07:35.400 It was about as good of an outcome as I 0:07:35.400 --> 0:07:38.040 could have expected, because not only was the game great, 0:07:38.280 --> 0:07:42.440 but I have seen so much. I'm active on Twitter 0:07:42.720 --> 0:07:44.360 x whatever you want to call it now, so I 0:07:44.400 --> 0:07:48.480 see a lot of the stuff directed at the program 0:07:48.560 --> 0:07:50.520 and at the players, at the coaches, at the fans, 0:07:50.560 --> 0:07:54.480 things like that. And of all the comments that I've 0:07:54.520 --> 0:07:58.000 seen from other people, like other fan bases and stuff, 0:07:58.040 --> 0:08:04.080 I think the downright nastiest and just most arrogant have 0:08:04.200 --> 0:08:06.760 come from the Alabama Crimson Tide fan base. So to 0:08:06.760 --> 0:08:09.120 see their team not even put up a touchdown and 0:08:09.200 --> 0:08:12.320 mentally and physically quit in the middle of the game 0:08:12.360 --> 0:08:16.760 before it was even over, Ugh Chef's kiss, incredible, unbelievable. 0:08:16.800 --> 0:08:21.000 How about last night the first play from scrimmage the 0:08:21.040 --> 0:08:25.720 Oregon Ducks picked six for the Indiana Hoosiers. You couldn't 0:08:25.720 --> 0:08:26.560 have asked for a better start. 0:08:26.680 --> 0:08:28.720 No, the very first play of the game, and you 0:08:28.960 --> 0:08:32.520 already not only trusted your defense by deferring the ball 0:08:32.559 --> 0:08:35.080 by winning the toss, but you get seven out of it. 0:08:35.200 --> 0:08:37.600 And from that point on, I think it honestly set 0:08:37.640 --> 0:08:40.280 the tone that as talented as Oregon is, as good 0:08:40.320 --> 0:08:41.840 as a roster as they are, and I think they are, 0:08:41.880 --> 0:08:44.560 and I think they'll be back next year. They just 0:08:44.679 --> 0:08:46.760 ran into a better team. They ran into a freaking bus. 0:08:46.760 --> 0:08:49.000 Saws what happened, because that's how they're playing right now. 0:08:49.679 --> 0:08:54.040 We saw Indiana score on really several short fields mistakes 0:08:54.080 --> 0:08:57.160 by the Oregon Ducks, but at the same time long drives. 0:08:57.480 --> 0:09:02.640 And what can you say about Fernando Mendoza. I mean, 0:09:03.720 --> 0:09:06.480 not only is a player, but really as a person, 0:09:06.840 --> 0:09:09.720 and the interview that he gave after the Rose Bowl, 0:09:09.920 --> 0:09:13.920 I'm there, Gosh, he could wind up in a TV 0:09:14.000 --> 0:09:17.440 booth one day. He's just so well spoken. And I 0:09:17.559 --> 0:09:22.000 just haven't seen a more impressive person and player this year. 0:09:22.400 --> 0:09:25.080 That's the word a lot of media figures use after 0:09:25.120 --> 0:09:26.800 they get done talking to that kid, they say, he's 0:09:26.800 --> 0:09:30.120 so impressive. And it's not only obviously the play on 0:09:30.160 --> 0:09:32.520 the field you're seeing through two playoff games has got 0:09:32.559 --> 0:09:36.960 more touchdown passes than incompletions, which what like that's just absurd. Yeah, 0:09:37.200 --> 0:09:40.240 But the other side of it is of how well 0:09:40.280 --> 0:09:42.520 spoken he is. He knows exactly what he's going to 0:09:42.559 --> 0:09:47.000 say when he goes into an interview, and how genuine 0:09:47.000 --> 0:09:49.120 of a person he is. Like when he says, you know, 0:09:49.240 --> 0:09:51.319 I want to give all glory to God and my teammates, 0:09:51.480 --> 0:09:54.520 he believes it, and it just it endears you to 0:09:54.559 --> 0:09:59.640 the kids so quickly because he is so true and kind, 0:10:00.160 --> 0:10:02.400 you can just see it through the screen. And then 0:10:02.440 --> 0:10:04.920 he's also an awesome football player and gives you know, 0:10:04.960 --> 0:10:09.000 these viral, incredible postgame interviews. It's just it's been a 0:10:09.000 --> 0:10:11.320 while since we've seen a figure in college football and 0:10:11.400 --> 0:10:13.160 soon to be the NFL like that, and it's just 0:10:13.280 --> 0:10:15.280 it's something that the entire country can get behind. 0:10:15.280 --> 0:10:19.480 I think his accuracy is just uncanny, it's fantastic, and 0:10:19.800 --> 0:10:23.520 he uses his legs at the right time to create 0:10:23.880 --> 0:10:26.000 first downs and that is so critical. 0:10:26.200 --> 0:10:28.439 That's something that a lot of people, you know, when 0:10:28.480 --> 0:10:32.080 you talk about when you're analyzing quarterbacks and their skill sets, 0:10:32.600 --> 0:10:36.760 there's pocket passers and runners. You know, like a pocket 0:10:36.760 --> 0:10:39.600 passer would be your classic old school Peyton Manning, Tom 0:10:39.600 --> 0:10:42.559 Brady type, Dan Marino, the types that want to sit 0:10:42.559 --> 0:10:44.560 in the pocket and analyze the defense and get the 0:10:44.559 --> 0:10:48.000 ball out. Runners Lamar Jackson, who they force you to 0:10:48.000 --> 0:10:51.080 be true on both sides, where if you drop back 0:10:51.120 --> 0:10:53.199 and play deep zone, he's gonna run for twenty yards. 0:10:53.480 --> 0:10:55.400 You throw a blitz, he's going to throw the ball 0:10:55.440 --> 0:10:58.400 downfield to receiver. And then there's the middle ground of 0:10:58.440 --> 0:11:02.360 players like Fernando Mendoza who can certainly sit in the 0:11:02.440 --> 0:11:06.600 pocket and dice up your defense and find has the 0:11:06.640 --> 0:11:09.560 accuracy to find any little gap and drive the ball 0:11:09.559 --> 0:11:12.080 in there. But if he needs to, he can take 0:11:12.120 --> 0:11:14.400 off and pick up He's not going to run for 0:11:14.440 --> 0:11:17.120 a seventy yard touchdown, but he can pick up extra 0:11:17.240 --> 0:11:20.079 yards that other passers can't. And I think that's, honestly, 0:11:20.120 --> 0:11:22.040 that's one of the biggest reasons he's probably going to 0:11:22.080 --> 0:11:24.960 go first in the draft. Is that varied skill set 0:11:25.000 --> 0:11:27.680 along with the personality and the accuracy and things like 0:11:27.720 --> 0:11:30.839 that that you mentioned. Now, you got out of Indiana University, 0:11:31.120 --> 0:11:34.160 what year I was a twenty twenty four grad. Okay, 0:11:34.400 --> 0:11:38.679 so early on in your tenure there in Bloomington, you 0:11:38.720 --> 0:11:42.360 could have probably just walked into Memorial Stadium for five 0:11:42.480 --> 0:11:47.680 or ten bucks probably now now, oh it's on. 0:11:47.880 --> 0:11:48.760 Us, I'm going to do it. 0:11:49.080 --> 0:11:52.440 Yeah, if I know some people actually that Back in 0:11:52.480 --> 0:11:54.520 the old days, the same to stadium security was so 0:11:54.640 --> 0:11:57.280 bad because so few people went. They would just walk 0:11:57.280 --> 0:11:59.280 in with a group of people through the security lines 0:11:59.320 --> 0:12:01.800 without a ticket, still get in the stadium. That's how 0:12:02.679 --> 0:12:05.120 sad the state of things was. You could just walk 0:12:05.160 --> 0:12:07.760 in sometimes and pick a seat in the student section, 0:12:07.840 --> 0:12:10.560 pick of the house because the student section would wouldn't 0:12:10.559 --> 0:12:12.160 fill up till five minutes before the game, and that's 0:12:12.200 --> 0:12:13.520 the only section that would be filled. 0:12:13.800 --> 0:12:16.920 And really, when you think of Indiana, I mean I 0:12:17.200 --> 0:12:20.520 think of basketball. Okay, well, no doubt, you know, the 0:12:20.800 --> 0:12:25.520 legacy of Bob Knight, the national championships, the undefeated season, 0:12:25.559 --> 0:12:30.440 what in nineteen seventy six, unbelievable, But times were changing. 0:12:31.440 --> 0:12:35.400 I think Signetti is just the cat is magic. And 0:12:35.440 --> 0:12:39.360 I loved what he said after the game when the 0:12:39.360 --> 0:12:43.560 interviewer asked him about, you know, looking ahead to Miami, 0:12:43.600 --> 0:12:45.720 what are you thinking all that? All he was thinking 0:12:45.720 --> 0:12:48.760 about was popping open a ice cold beer. 0:12:49.920 --> 0:12:51.800 That's one of the things I love about that guys. 0:12:51.880 --> 0:12:54.160 He takes everything one step at a time. You're never 0:12:54.200 --> 0:12:58.640 gonna catch him overlooking anybody or you know, thinking too 0:12:58.679 --> 0:13:01.440 far ahead into the future. He's always very focused on 0:13:01.480 --> 0:13:03.240 the present. I think that's what makes him such a 0:13:03.280 --> 0:13:06.400 special coach. And I don't use the word special lightly 0:13:06.679 --> 0:13:08.439 because I've seen a lot of really good ball coaches 0:13:08.440 --> 0:13:10.360 in my life. I don't think I've ever seen anyone 0:13:10.400 --> 0:13:12.760 like this guy who thinks the way he does, acts 0:13:12.800 --> 0:13:14.600 the way he does. He gets a lot of comparisons 0:13:14.600 --> 0:13:18.440 to his you know, former boss Nick Saban. It's a 0:13:18.440 --> 0:13:21.079 different beast than Nick Saban. Obviously, Nick Saban, I think 0:13:21.160 --> 0:13:23.520 is one of one. He's probably the best college coach ever. 0:13:23.559 --> 0:13:25.640 I think you could argue, and I personally would argue that, 0:13:26.080 --> 0:13:30.880 but it's the way he carries himself and the Nick 0:13:30.920 --> 0:13:33.360 Saban was a little more reserved. 0:13:33.559 --> 0:13:34.160 Kurtzignett. 0:13:34.160 --> 0:13:37.480 He's got an unabashed confidence about him, and at times, 0:13:37.480 --> 0:13:39.520 you could say even in arrogance and a swagger that 0:13:39.559 --> 0:13:42.040 he knows as soon as he steps on the field, 0:13:42.080 --> 0:13:44.719 he's got this mentality of we're gonna beat you by 0:13:44.760 --> 0:13:47.440 thirty and you're gonna be terrified to see us. You're 0:13:47.480 --> 0:13:51.720 gonna see us in your nightmares. The eyebrow, the eyebrow real. Yeah, 0:13:51.760 --> 0:13:54.079 he cocks that eyebrow up and that's. 0:13:53.960 --> 0:13:59.040 Right, all business and then he can like some lightheartedness too. 0:13:59.760 --> 0:14:04.200 After victory, Yes, f te tramples you. And uh yeah, 0:14:04.240 --> 0:14:07.960 now looking ahead to Monday night, Uh, it's gonna be 0:14:09.080 --> 0:14:12.480 crazy down at uh you know in Miami Gardens, at 0:14:12.480 --> 0:14:18.520 that stadium. Miami is very, very talented. I told everybody 0:14:18.559 --> 0:14:21.520 to take the points nine and a half against Ohio State, 0:14:21.560 --> 0:14:24.960 Are you kidding me? Uh, their defensive line is just 0:14:25.160 --> 0:14:30.880 it wrecks teams. So those defensive ends are phenomenal and 0:14:31.080 --> 0:14:35.440 uh Ruben Bain Junior is tough and uh a keem 0:14:35.600 --> 0:14:40.840 mesidor you know they're they're rightning quick and both both 0:14:40.960 --> 0:14:44.240 lines are you know, the trenches is just gonna be 0:14:44.240 --> 0:14:44.880 fun to watch. 0:14:45.480 --> 0:14:48.000 Miami's defensive line, I think is the not only the 0:14:48.040 --> 0:14:49.480 strength of their team, but I think it's the key 0:14:49.520 --> 0:14:52.160 to why their defense succeeds. Because not only are like 0:14:52.200 --> 0:14:54.920 you said, they're lightning quick, they're big dudes. They can 0:14:54.960 --> 0:14:58.040 move some bodies. Their edge rushers can bend like crazy, 0:14:58.360 --> 0:15:00.640 and they've got a young secondary that even though they 0:15:00.680 --> 0:15:03.400 are young, they're athletic, they can make some plays. I 0:15:03.440 --> 0:15:04.960 know they're a little beat up there. They have a 0:15:04.960 --> 0:15:07.720 guy I forget which one it is that I believe 0:15:07.840 --> 0:15:09.080 is going to miss the first half of the game. 0:15:09.120 --> 0:15:10.440 Do a targeting penalties. 0:15:10.600 --> 0:15:13.240 Yes, so they may be a little beat up there, 0:15:13.280 --> 0:15:17.040 but they have the talent to compete with anybody. I 0:15:17.080 --> 0:15:19.640 think the reason we're seeing their playoff success right now 0:15:19.800 --> 0:15:22.520 is a shift in philosophy on offense though, even though 0:15:22.520 --> 0:15:25.680 the defense is the strength of the team, they are 0:15:25.720 --> 0:15:28.400 sort of shifting to a similar model that Indiana does, 0:15:28.440 --> 0:15:29.840 which is why I think it could be a good 0:15:29.840 --> 0:15:32.960 game where they want to be as balanced as possible 0:15:33.040 --> 0:15:35.920 now and at times more so lean on the run 0:15:35.960 --> 0:15:38.320 game to just keep the ball away from their opponent. 0:15:38.760 --> 0:15:42.280 Yeah, Carson Beck a season veteran at quarterback. He can 0:15:42.320 --> 0:15:47.440 also run and nothing rattles him. So, hey, we've reached 0:15:47.720 --> 0:15:50.760 we've reached the top of the hour break and shoeless. 0:15:50.800 --> 0:15:53.960 Joe Waddell's with us, and Joe, thank you so much 0:15:54.000 --> 0:15:57.560 for coming in and all the best to the Indiana Hoosiers. 0:15:57.640 --> 0:15:59.520 Absolutely, I think we're going to see a great game, 0:15:59.640 --> 0:16:02.480 and obviously I'm gracious and thankful for the opportunity to 0:16:02.480 --> 0:16:04.400 come in here and talk to you about It's a great. 0:16:04.200 --> 0:16:08.320 Time, fantastic Joe. And when we return, this is the 0:16:08.360 --> 0:16:14.280 anniversary of the Freezer Bowl January tenth, nineteen eighty two. 0:16:14.480 --> 0:16:18.000 We're going to hook up with Reggie Williams, Bengals legendary 0:16:18.040 --> 0:16:20.960 linebacker when we return, and we're going to talk about 0:16:21.360 --> 0:16:25.480 fifty nine degrees below zero wind chill. This is the 0:16:25.600 --> 0:16:30.320 chickster chick Ludwig Sports Talk seven hundred WLW or a 0:16:30.400 --> 0:16:35.680 holiday and I forget, but yeah, it was tough getting 0:16:35.680 --> 0:16:40.360 to the park and to come out Reggie with the 0:16:40.720 --> 0:16:45.600 offensive linemen with their shirt sleeves cut off. Wow, what 0:16:45.680 --> 0:16:48.080 kind of intimidating effect did that have on the San 0:16:48.120 --> 0:16:49.520 Diego Chargers. 0:16:49.960 --> 0:16:54.880 Well, it definitely had a intimidating effect on the San 0:16:54.920 --> 0:16:59.720 Diego Chargers. But you know what have gotten lost over 0:17:01.080 --> 0:17:04.520 is it wasn't just the offensive line that went out 0:17:04.920 --> 0:17:08.480 with their armed Both Ross Browner and myself and the 0:17:08.560 --> 0:17:12.560 defense did, and so you know, there were on both. 0:17:12.320 --> 0:17:13.280 Sides of the ball. 0:17:13.480 --> 0:17:16.720 We had a committed mindset that we were going to 0:17:16.800 --> 0:17:21.600 deal with the harshest circumstances ever known, and we were 0:17:21.600 --> 0:17:25.199 going to play for Forrest greg who had played in 0:17:25.280 --> 0:17:31.520 the previous coldest game in NFL history, and so it 0:17:31.680 --> 0:17:34.600 was that kind of game. There was no pregame warm ups. 0:17:34.880 --> 0:17:37.520 I went out in a T shirt before the game 0:17:37.880 --> 0:17:39.040 to look in the stadium. 0:17:39.080 --> 0:17:42.119 It was totally empty, and you could see. 0:17:41.880 --> 0:17:46.919 The cold coming out off the field, just like on 0:17:47.000 --> 0:17:51.879 a hot day when you see the radiating rays emanating 0:17:52.000 --> 0:17:56.119 off of the surface. It was so cold and it 0:17:56.200 --> 0:17:59.160 was all It was so eerie, and I went back 0:17:59.240 --> 0:18:02.679 into the locker room and basically made the statement that 0:18:02.720 --> 0:18:06.920 I was going to play that game bear armed. And 0:18:08.080 --> 0:18:12.080 the offensive line, to a person, did that and intimidated 0:18:12.920 --> 0:18:14.639 the San Diego charges. 0:18:14.680 --> 0:18:17.600 But remember we on the. 0:18:17.480 --> 0:18:21.439 Defense on the kickoff team, we started the game with 0:18:21.560 --> 0:18:26.919 a turnover. Rick Rizzano came down the field, hit James Brooks, 0:18:26.960 --> 0:18:32.040 Gimbrooks and forced a fumble. And so defense on that 0:18:32.240 --> 0:18:37.040 day is, in my opinion, is the reason that the 0:18:37.040 --> 0:18:40.040 Cincinnati Bengals went to the first Super Bowl. 0:18:40.440 --> 0:18:44.640 What's incredible, Reggie is you know we hear Dan Fouts 0:18:44.680 --> 0:18:47.479 over the years, you know, complain about the weather that 0:18:47.600 --> 0:18:51.000 day in Cincinnati, But guess what, back on November eighth 0:18:51.040 --> 0:18:54.960 of that year, the Cincinnati Bengals were in San Diego 0:18:55.119 --> 0:18:59.640 and they took down the San Diego Chargers forty to seventeen, 0:19:00.200 --> 0:19:04.520 spearheaded by the one hundred and one hundred and two 0:19:04.680 --> 0:19:07.760 or one hundred and three yard pick six by the 0:19:07.800 --> 0:19:11.800 great Lou Breeden in a forty to seventeen Bengals victory 0:19:12.040 --> 0:19:15.280 in the sunshine. So they had nothing to complain about 0:19:15.320 --> 0:19:17.080 those San Diego Chargers. 0:19:17.960 --> 0:19:19.879 That was such a big play. 0:19:20.119 --> 0:19:24.720 I mean, their whole home crowd just had the gold 0:19:24.800 --> 0:19:28.359 quiet and it was just so amazing that Lewis jumped 0:19:28.359 --> 0:19:31.760 in front of that ball and he was not going 0:19:31.800 --> 0:19:35.159 to be caught. And so I just read today that 0:19:35.240 --> 0:19:41.360 he's about to be inducted into his Alma Maters Hall 0:19:41.400 --> 0:19:43.640 of Fame, And that's such a credit to the great 0:19:43.720 --> 0:19:47.000 talent that Lewis Breeden brought to the Cincinnati Bengals for 0:19:47.080 --> 0:19:47.800 ten years. 0:19:47.960 --> 0:19:50.040 When he caught the ball in the end zone and 0:19:50.080 --> 0:19:53.400 started coming out this about the five yard line or whatever. 0:19:54.000 --> 0:19:58.000 Former Bengal Charlie Joyner, a Pro Football Hall of Famer 0:19:58.040 --> 0:20:01.000 wearing number eighteen for the Chargers, got his hand on 0:20:01.080 --> 0:20:03.840 the back of this jersey near his neck. But then 0:20:03.880 --> 0:20:09.800 Wilson Whitley came over and absolutely destroyed Charlie Joyner, blocking 0:20:09.880 --> 0:20:12.359 him out of the play and Lewis was off to 0:20:12.400 --> 0:20:13.000 the races. 0:20:14.680 --> 0:20:19.320 That was a great defensive play, you know, Rest in peace, 0:20:19.840 --> 0:20:24.320 Wilson Whitley. Yes, what a great nose tackle he was 0:20:24.440 --> 0:20:27.520 for us. He was a great player coming out of Houston. 0:20:28.600 --> 0:20:33.000 He Eddie Edwards and Ross Browner formed such a formidable 0:20:33.160 --> 0:20:37.760 three man front. We had so much success with that 0:20:37.960 --> 0:20:41.040 defense with Gary Burley when they went to a four 0:20:41.119 --> 0:20:45.399 man front. So there's no doubt that, you know, we 0:20:45.520 --> 0:20:49.199 have a lot to remember, but we also have to 0:20:49.320 --> 0:20:52.480 recognize that time has really passed. One of the great 0:20:52.480 --> 0:20:54.440 players in that game was Dan Ross. 0:20:54.800 --> 0:20:57.159 Yes, and he is no longer with it, but he. 0:20:57.119 --> 0:21:01.679 Was catching balls in the cold bear hand as Ken 0:21:01.760 --> 0:21:05.720 Anderson was throwing the ball bare hand. So there was 0:21:05.840 --> 0:21:15.200 definitely an enormous capacity for toughness that Cincinnati Bengal team 0:21:15.200 --> 0:21:15.920 that day. 0:21:16.400 --> 0:21:18.880 And the only reason that I have, you know, sort 0:21:18.880 --> 0:21:22.119 of mixed the emotions is that the. 0:21:21.320 --> 0:21:25.520 The Cincinnati Bengals did a documentary on the Freezer Ball 0:21:26.000 --> 0:21:29.520 to tell the story in their own words, and they 0:21:29.560 --> 0:21:34.040 asked me at the interview and I talked about the 0:21:34.119 --> 0:21:38.159 one play that I actually thought in my mind was 0:21:38.200 --> 0:21:40.679 the biggest play of the game and one of the 0:21:40.720 --> 0:21:44.800 biggest plays in my career, which is in the third 0:21:44.880 --> 0:21:48.200 quarter on San Diego's first drive. 0:21:48.359 --> 0:21:50.320 After being warm in the locker. 0:21:50.119 --> 0:21:54.000 Room, they drove on the field and I made a 0:21:54.160 --> 0:22:00.239 call with Ross Browner and we were able to I 0:22:00.320 --> 0:22:03.560 was able to hit Chuck Muncy right in the face, 0:22:04.000 --> 0:22:07.320 the hardest hit of my career in minus fifty nine 0:22:07.359 --> 0:22:11.600 degreen low zero and bear arm forced to fumble with 0:22:11.840 --> 0:22:15.679 Ross Browner recovered and it was over. 0:22:15.680 --> 0:22:16.480 To San Diego. 0:22:17.280 --> 0:22:21.200 So since it wasn't even talked about it much less 0:22:21.280 --> 0:22:28.000 shown in the documentary that the Bengals themselves made, I 0:22:28.040 --> 0:22:30.679 found it very hard to remember and celebrate today. 0:22:32.040 --> 0:22:36.440 Rich Reggie Williams, Bengals legend, played his entire career with 0:22:36.520 --> 0:22:40.200 the Bengals from nineteen seventy six to nineteen eighty nine. 0:22:40.600 --> 0:22:44.760 Third round draft pick nineteen seventy six, eighty second overall 0:22:44.800 --> 0:22:51.200