The Big Suey: The Cuban Heisman Speech (feat. Josh Pate)

Happy Chanooka. Josh Pate is everywhere on college football right now, and we’re thrilled he’s here. What’s the closest historical comp to Indiana shocking the sport the way it has?

I don’t think there is one in college football. Indiana was a Big Ten doormat, Cignetti brought a core from James Madison, they made the playoff, then leveled up again and became the top seed. The side effect is it makes other coaches’ pleas for patience look flimsy to boosters who now ask, ‘Why not us?'

We’ve got Vanderbilt, Missouri, Texas Tech, Indiana all having dream seasons. Is this just the portal and a coach–QB pairing flipping programs overnight?

You can do it, but it’s fragile. Most still want to build through high school, yet they’re developing players for richer programs to poach, so they lean portal. Also, nobody owns the line of scrimmage for months at a time anymore, which used to be the sport’s trump card; that parity plus NIL has opened doors we used to call impossible.

How wrong am I to say Texas Tech should be the title favorite?

A little wrong. I love their defense and Sunday dudes all over it, but I don’t trust their quarterback play to carry three straight playoff wins; at some point your QB has to go win it.

You’ve been ahead on the Michigan job. With the questions around leadership, how fast does that get filled, and who actually runs the search?

This one’s odd. I’m not sure the AD is truly steering it, and his future there is unclear. Donors tell me money’s flowing in NIL since the change, and many saw Sherrone as a bridge coach who never cleared the Big Ten bar. They think they’ll upgrade no matter what and will spend big. They’ll chase Kalen DeBoer until he gives a hard no, then pivot to someone like Kenny Dillingham or Jedd Fisch, who might take the calculated risk for Michigan’s upside; timing depends on when DeBoer actually says no.

Months back you hinted a major job would open because ‘something was happening.’ Was that Michigan?

Yes. I thought on-field results could give cover if needed, and industry chatter kept saying, with other heavy jobs moving, Michigan could drop into the cycle. It finally did, just after the other chairs were taken.

Greg hated Diego Pavia’s Heisman-night behavior. With Mendoza’s win and Pavia’s Instagram, where are you on the player versus the persona?

You need a Pavia filter. If you accept him, you accept the edge that powers a five-eight force of nature. Strictly on-field, he was as electric and indispensable as anyone. I think voters only locked in late; the Big Ten title night swung everything to Mendoza, which explains the runaway more than a season-long evaluation.

Mendoza felt like two giant moments, Penn State and Ohio State, and that carried him. Meanwhile, others like Cam Ward stacked volume.

Pavia still out-threw Mendoza in fewer games and led Vanderbilt in rushing several times. Upsets and storylines warp the room; I’m not mad either way, but that context matters.

Who’s the title favorite now?

Vegas says Ohio State, but after what Indiana just did, I wouldn’t feel great if I were them.

We appreciate you, Josh. Go find him on his channel and show; he’s cranking out great stuff.

Funniest thing from the sports weekend: in Colts–Seahawks, Brady Russell dropped a wide-open pass and the broadcast basically declared he’d never see the ball again. Also, someone actually yelled ‘holy guacamole’ on a Panthers–Saints late hit.

Mine: Messi’s India tour turned chaotic. Only politicians and VIPs got on the pitch with him, fans rioted, and seats went flying.

Josh Allen says he throws up every game, and cameras finally caught it.

On Fox’s pregame, they ranked player gifts to teammates, and up there was Tom Brady giving his linemen one-year luxury car leases. We debated if that’s generous or just a savvy dealership arrangement.

Philip Rivers was a delight. Bubble screens and timing throws only, negative rushing yards that killed a fun prop, a great effort on short notice, and a reminder that kickers drilling from the high fifties is draining endgame drama. The new touchback spot even nudges those distances into range.

Before we close, Tony’s got the Cuban Heisman speech Mendoza didn’t give.

I’d have worn the Cuban flag loud, shouted out real Miami beyond the tourist traps, thanked abuela who benched me for ‘embolia’ after eating, talked dominoes, traffic, and being proudly loud and late. I’d park that trophy at La Carreta on Bird Road and say this city owns it.

Under-the-radar brilliance: a Giants TD pinned on a back with Bobby Wagner draped on him, Herbert-to-Harris toe-taps, Calais Campbell swallowing a field goal, an absurd elbow catch by Monteric Brown, and that ‘holy guacamole’ finish in Carolina. Also, the Colby Parkinson touchdown that sure looked short. Miles Garrett might be the most unblockable pass rusher we’ve seen, and yes, there’s precedent for DPOY on a bad team.

One last thing: where does ‘a little birdie told me’ come from?

You can trace it back to scripture in Ecclesiastes about a bird carrying your words, with later nods in Shakespeare and old myths with message-carrying birds. That’s the lineage.