Jon Joseph

Great take, Gat. Thank you, Forum Friend. The calendar in the NFL makes sense, as do restrictions on transfers, salary, but no NIL caps, a draft, better teams the year prior playing tougher schedules next season, and every other rule and regulation that results in more parity. Players being paid are referred to as 'employees' and not whatever the NCAA wants to call them. The NFL billionaire owners get along. The players being paid are allowed to form a union and negotiate with management. There is one commissioner and not ten, plus someone representing The Irish. 😁 There are simple fixes to what ails CFB, but good luck getting all of The Powers that Be on the same page.

Thank you, Mike, for another terrific article. This Grey Beard loved the Billy Martin reference. My mind (as much as capable) turned back to 1977 when Billy and Reggie Jackson almost went at it after Reggie dogged it on a ball hit to the outfield by the Red Sox's Jim Rice. Reggie's lack of hustle allowed Rice to turn a single into a double. Reggie was benched. Yankees owner George Steinbrenner was not pleased with the manner in which Martin treated Jackson in this game and throughout Jackson's time with the Yankees. In 1977, the Yankees won the World Series. In 1978, Martin quit over the owner's interference with how he treated Jackson, and on the way out the door, said of Jackson and Steinbrenner, "one's a born liar, and the other's convicted." Martin was rehired by Steinbrenner, but the Yankees did not win another World Series before Martin was permanently fired in-season in 1988. Sorry for the OT recollection. I wasn't all that happy to learn that Big Ten refs would be reffing the Peach Bowl game. I hope it's not the same crew that called no penalties on Iowa in a war at the LOS game in Iowa City. Is this an all-star crew, or has this crew previously worked an Oregon game(s)? OBD won the conference title last season and is earning millions of semi-final money for the conference in back-to-back seasons. (No additional money is paid to the two teams that advance to the championship game.) But Oregon is still a new kid on the B1G block and will be treated as the same for ??? years. I expect no favors from the refs. If Dan gets in a ref's grill ala Cignetti, we will see a 15-yard penalty and not sideline interference called. Thanks again for another winner! Put Out That Cig!

Correct on all points. B1G HQ stands by the enforceability of the agreement. Miami's motion to dismiss has been denied. Why not leave to play for a coach who left his team in the middle of a playoff run? They deserve one another.

Fortunately, indentured servitude is not allowed in the United States. It's prohibited by the Constitution. However, if the contract, using a format approved by B1G HQ, is worth the paper it is written on, UW can sue for damages, and also sue for Interference with a Contract against the party(ies) that induced him to breach the agreement. You sign a deal, and less than a week later, say, 'I've been blessed to play for UW and its fans, but after praying on it, I have to do what's best for me.' 'Don't be mad, UW fans. My Higher Power told me to break my word and leave for more money.' 🤪 He cannot be restrained from playing elsewhere, but Williams and third parties involved with this nonsense can be sued for damages, and I hope UW wins the suit. According to the law, Williams is not a 'kid.' He's over 18 years of age, and he signed a contract. Under Washington state law, he's an adult; whether he acts like one or not is irrelevant.

Players on playoff team rosters are allowed extra time from when their team is knocked out to declare and transfer out. Why would anyone sign a guy who played significant minutes and quit on his team in the midst of a PO run?

Looks like the UW dogs aren't lying down. On3Washington preparing to take major step after Demond Will....

Let's see how long it takes him to sign at another school and for how much money. Poaching was once punishable by death; today? The House settlement was STUPID. Players being paid are EMPLOYEES! For goodness' sake, stop trying to preserve the idea of amateur athletics that are long gone. Stop trying to preserve bowl games and calling it a 'playoff.' Acknowledge employee status, allow a union to be formed, bargain with the union, and adopt common-sense salary and transfer restrictions as we see in the NFL. Without these guardrails, the NFL would crater. College football has morphed into Billionaire Bingo. I understand why UW fans are frustrated and upset. It will be one thing if Dante goes pro, another if he decides to transfer for $XXX more.

It's interesting to read a lot of advice being given to a guy who, if he declares for the draft, is predicted to be the first or second pick. As hurried as Dante was in the first game, and being sacked six times, Tom Brady would not win many football games. It starts up front. The O-line no-showed in the first game vs. Indiana and against Texas Tech. If the O-line doesn't play better on Friday night, Indiana will be headed to Miami.

Thanks, I'll wait for Charles' prediction contest. Alex, do you have a response to the predictions different than yours?

Is this the same Big Ten ref crew that called the first game Vs. Indiana, or the one that called no penalties on Iowa? I hope not.

As Sark recently noted, the pay-for-play demands by player agents are often absurd, and the reported 'salaries' are exaggerated. However, FWIW, QB Brendan Sorsby, transferring in from Cincinnati, has reportedly signed a deal with Texas Tech worth $5 million for one season, and Indiana is reportedly paying close to the same, bringing in QB Josh Hoover from TCU. The NFL Billionaires have learned to play nice with one another. But CFB Billionaires? Texas Tech and Indiana are currently at the top of the 2026 portal rankings. Neither program is going away. "A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you're talking real money." Senator Everett Dirkson - 1962 - When a million dollars was a lot of real money 🤑 Johnny Manziel, sorry about that, chief. 🤪

From The Athletic's Bruce Feldman, there is no starting player on the Indiana defense rated higher than a 3* coming out of high school or from the portal. 247 Sports Combined Roster Rankings for the Final 4 - OBD - 5th/ Miami - Fifteenth/ Ole Miss - 21st/ Indiana - 72nd - That Indiana is odds on to win it all speaks for itself when it comes to the quality of the coaching. OC Mike Shanahan (no relation to the 49ers Kyle) and DC Bryant Haines have been with Cignetti for nine-plus seasons. Both coordinators earned substantial pay raises. Haines's new deal pays him more than the now-unemployed Jim Knowles made last season at Penn State. Based on what Kiffin and other new hires are being paid, Cignetti, with a contract that contains a 'fair market value' escalator clause, is in line for a million-dollar-plus increase in his base pay. I'd say Curt has received a 'pretty good' return from betting on himself as a head coach. Curt and friends have brought Indiana football out of the sub-sub-basement with practices that are shorter than the vast majority of FBS programs. Cliche? Yes, but Indiana's roster is packed with We and not Me football players. To date, Indiana and Texas Tech are leading the 2026 transfer portal rankings; both have found new QBs for 2026. Indiana is bringing in quality players on both sides of the ball. One of the many mistakes the 'experts' made in the preseason was writing Indiana off as a one-hit wonder. BUT, HAMMER THE HOOSIERS!

Montana State 35 - Illinois State 34 OBD defeated the FCS champ. Next, win two and be the FBS champ? Send Mendoza Under the Line!

$$$$. Whole lots of $$$$, I want that pie in the sky! FWIW, the word 'on the street' has Sorsby transferring from Cincinnati to Texas Tech, and Hoover transferring from TCU to Indiana, vacuuming up $5 million each? 🤑 Instead of playing for NFL wannabes, both will have the opportunity to play for CFB PO contending teams. And Chip and OBD were dinged for using a 'runner?' 🤬 Can't all of these billionaire boosters just get along? Like they do in the NFL. Love the post and the illustrations. Dante could use more experience. But after helping raise The Trophy in Miami? Why the encore? 😍 Dante, send the Hoosiers to the 7th Circle!

YES! Give me at least some of that old school ball.

Great take. But it took a miracle at Penn State, a late-game TD at Iowa, a missed FG by Ohio State that could and should have sent the game into OT, and a late score against OBD for Indiana to be 14-0. This season, OBD won similar games at Iowa and Penn State. Dante has grown, and the defense is playing together and better. I can't imagine the O-line playing worse than it did in early October. I think the Oregon offense will again be able to run the ball against the Indiana defense. This is not Saint Nick's Alabama. This is not Saint Nick's SEC. Hats off to the Hoosiers for the beatdown of Bama, but the Rose Bowl was a sequel to Bama's opening loss at FSU, where Bama could not run the ball. Bama's four wins in a row vs SEC-ranked teams? Meh. Two of the teams, Mizzou and Tennessee, did not defeat a P4 opponent with a winning record. It's hard to fathom, but OBD's OOC schedule was more difficult than Indiana's. Indiana struggled against Old Dominion. I think the Peach Bowl will again come down to the team that wins the 4th quarter. I'm not Ducking my thoughts. Along with my betting buddies, we're taking OBD +4.5. I know it's counterintuitive, but we also have the game going over the O/U 46.5. (That's an O over a U 😁) Come out Smokin'. Put out the Hoosiers Cig.

OBD Shows It Can Win It All! https://collegefootballnews.com/college-football/oregon-texas-tech-orange-bowl-takeaways

I'm humming along with CBS Sports' Hummer 😍 https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/college-football-playoff-bracket-expert-picks-predictions-semifinals-national-champion-2025-26/

For What It's Worth, Austin (not Ted 🫢) Bundy's 3 Keys to OBD victory. FanSidedThese 3 matchups will decide Oregon vs. Indiana at the Pe...Both the Ducks and Hoosiers are looking to claim their first-ever national title.

Thanks, sports fan. Nick Saban and former Missouri coach Gary Pinkel are branches of the Don James coaching tree. The two played for James and were teammates at Kent State, along with Hall of Fame LB and Steel Curtain member Jack Lambert. Lou Holtz played his college football at Kent State. His position coach was Don McCafferty, who went on to win a Super Bowl as head coach of the Baltimore (not a typo younger Forum friends) Colts. Curt Cignetti's Dad, Frank Cignetti, Senior, is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame. Before moving on to coach DBs for Woody Hayes at Ohio State, Nick Saban was an assistant coach under Frank at West Virginia. Curt Cignetti played quarterback at West Virginia for his Dad and Hall of Fame coach Don Nehlen from 1979 to 1982. FBS coaches are a small and tight, fraternity.

Go, You Lady Ducks! https://trojanswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/trojans/womens-basketball/2026/01/05/usc-womens-basketball-trojans-oregon-ducks/88023247007/?utm_source=smg-trojanswire-strada&utm_medium=em

Thank you, David. Why not, indeed? Before the JMU game, West Coast college sports guru Jon Wilner predicted OBD to win it all. Make it happen 😉. In the season of The Which, a season with roster turnover coast to coast, except at Penn State and Clemson 😁, CFB has come up with a fascinating Final 4. The only 'usual suspect' is Miami, and that's only if you forget the last twenty seasons. No team without a Blue Chip Roster, half the roster made up by 4* and 5* recruits, has won a BCS or Playoff championship. Indiana and Ole Miss have a chance to break the Blue Chip ceiling. Indiana is now the second 'losingest' program in CFB. Northwestern has moved into first place. If the Chips fall in the right direction, maybe Northwestern ... 😜 Miami has been a member of the ACC since 2004 and has never won an ACC title, including this season. Ole Miss claims titles, but even in 1960, when the Rebels went 10-0-1, Ole Miss was not the AP or UPI (predecessor to the Coaches Poll) champ. According to the Dunkle Poll (???) in 1960, Ole Miss was No. 1. 🤪 However, as Elvis Presley called it back in 1960, for Ole Miss, 'It's Now or Never.' 🙃 OBD, so close, but no cigar, thanks to $cam, Unfairly, and Big Ten refs. 🤬 Indiana is the odds-on favorite to win it all, followed by OBD, tied with Miami in some books, and an Ole Miss team that isn't coming up lame without Lane. (Note, Paul Finebaum's travel agent is rooting against Ole Miss. 😁) Miami is 0-For the Fiesta Bowl. OBD is 0-1 in Mercedes-Benz Stadium. This is new territory for the Hoosiers and the Canes. As David so noted, OBD will not defeat Indiana without the O-line (and the OC) playing far better than on 10/11/25. Indiana is unlikely to turn the ball over four times, as Texas Tech did. Both sides of the ball will have to show up for OBD to win this game. Indiana can be had. The Hoosiers didn't score the winning points against OBD until late in the 4th quarter, and the games at Iowa and Penn State could have easily gone the other way. Is Dante better prepared than he was in early October? Can the O-line, which was worked over by Indiana and Texas Tech, play up to Joe Moore Award contention standards? Can the defense that we saw in the Orange Bowl show up again in the Peach Bowl? As Alabama found out in the Rose Bowl, if you let the Cigs light up, you will be smoked. I have a feeling that Football Karma is leading the Ducks to a matchup with Mario in Miami? I hope I'm right?🤔 HOW ABOUT A SERVING OF PEACHES AND CREAM IN ATLANTA 😍 PUT OUT THEM CIGS!

Mario cheated, right? Billy Joe Hobert? 😁 An NIL pioneer before $cam, his old man and Cheese Dick. So long, Don Jame$.

USA Today's Look at the Peach Bowl - https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2026/01/02/peach-bowl-indiana-vs-oregon-rematch-in-cfp-semifinal-college-football-playoff/87993782007/

USA Today calls out Bama and the SEC https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/sec/2026/01/02/alabama-football-embarrassed-kalen-deboer-indiana-rose-bowl-sec-big-ten-record/87939308007/