Indiana Wins the Natty, Conference Championships are Set, Injury News, Hot Takes - Football Catch-Up

It was a long and wild weekend of football as we watched the Divisional Rounds play out in the NFL, as well as the College National Championship on Monday Night. There are only 3 football games left until the season ends and we go into offseason mode -- so for today's blog, we wanted to catch-up on the weekend that just unfolded, as well as look ahead to the Conference Championships and the Super Bowl. We also will throw out some Bean's Hot Takes on the world of football -- from scheduling to rule changes to predicting NFL Coaching Hires to Super Bowl predictions.

Indiana Hoosiers are National Champions

The non-football diehard fan may not understand the improbability of an Indiana Championship in College Football going back just 5-10 years ago.

This was a program that has been in the gutter of NCAAF for over a CENTURY, genuinely. They were the worst Power Conference Program in the FBS in the 2010's -- they won 19 total games from 2010-2014. They won just 17 conference games from 2010-2018. They were a doormat in Power 5 football -- and the thought of the Hoosiers becoming a Title Contender in those days was more far-fetched than saying the Browns would win a Super Bowl.

But enter Curt Cignetti -- a man that turned James Madison into a perennial powerhouse in Group of 5 Football with a 52-9 record over his 5 seasons there. Indiana hired him in 2024, and in his debut season, he brings his JMU players with him and they go 11-1 and lose in the first round of the CFP. But even after this miraculous turnaround in his first year, there were still doubters of whether Cig could find consistent success at this level.

Those doubters had their mouths sewed shut this season.

The Indiana Hoosiers just completed arguably the most dominant season in the history of College Football -- a perfect 16-0 record, a Big 10 Title -- regular season and Conference Championship, beating the likes of Ohio State, Oregon 2x, Miami, Alabama on their way. They beat Oregon and Alabama -- IN THE CFP -- by a combined 70 points. Coach Cig and his boys just absolutely mangled their opponents all year, leaving no doubt he's one of the best coaches, recruiters, and minds in the world of College Football.

And he did it with his Quarterback Fernando Mendoza -- a Cal transfer, Heisman winner, and likely #1 overall pick in this year's NFL draft after his meteoric rise with Indiana. And is just a great dude by all accounts -- in the era of overconfident and divisive personality QB's to come out of college, it's refreshing to see a guy win it all who seems like a genuine, humble, team-first guy.

For my money, this Indiana team is a Top-3 College Football team I've ever watched -- right there with 2019 LSU, right ahead of 2020 Bama and 2022 Georgia and 2018 Clemson.

Divisional Round Madness - Conference Championships Set

The Divisional Round was a rollercoaster of emotion -- at least for the 2 games that bookended the 4-game slate.

The Seahawks pummeled the injury-ridden 49ers on Saturday night -- and the Patriots didn't have too much trouble with the Texans on Sunday afternoon thanks to CJ Stroud, who imploded once again.

But the fun got started on Saturday afternoon with Bills vs Broncos. A back-and-forth affair that went to OT, with the Broncos hitting a GW-FG to advance -- sending Josh Allen and the Bills home early once again. But the real story came after the game with the announcement of Bo Nix's season-ending injury -- leaving the #1 Broncos' fate in the hands of back-up Jarrett Stidham.

In the SNF finale, the Rams and Bears squared off in a frigid battle. The Bears played the best defensive game of their season. Caleb Williams had the most miraculous TD throw I've ever seen on 4th & 10 to tie the game up late and send it to OT. But in OT, as they had done all game -- the Rams hung tough and got in FG range late for the GW-kick.

This sets up a Pats @ Broncos, Rams @ Seahawks Conference Championship weekend. Drake Maye vs Jarrett Stidham -- Sam Darnold vs Matt Stafford -- who'd have guessed those would be the last 4 QBs standing back in September?

Respectfully to Denver, but with Stidham, I think the Pats are going to cruise by them -- much like they've cruised by all the inferior teams on their schedule this year.

Round 3 between the Seahawks and the Rams is more interesting -- the Seahawks looked A LOT better than the Rams did this weekend, but in the 2 games they've played -- I think the Rams match-up very well. And McVay defenses have tormented Sam Darnold in playoff games before.

If my predictions play out, it'd be a Patriots vs Rams rematch in the Super Bowl. Last time they met it was Tom Brady vs Jared Goff -- now the roles have reversed with Drake Maye vs Matt Stafford. And as I've said since the match-ups came out -- I think the Rams are the team of destiny.

Hot Take Corner

NCAA Needs to Overhaul their Scheduling

To start Hot Take corner with a more mild take that I think most would agree with -- College Football needs to figure it the fuck out with their scheduling. There's no reason their Championship game should be taking place on January 19th -- and in 2027 they're moving it back even further to Jan. 25th. The gaps between games is ridiculous, and their Championship Game is a day after the Divisional Round when everyone's focused on the NFL.

Conference Championship weekend was on December 6th. Indiana didn't play their next game until New Year's Day. The Solution: The goal should be to get the Semi-finals of the CFP on NYE/New Year's Day.

Play the 1st Round 10-ish days after Conference Championships -- gives a few extra days rest for teams that played for a Conference Title, games are played during the week when nothing else is going on sports-wise, and can be the kick-off to bowl season. Play the QF's the following weekend -- another 10-ish day break, gets the QF's out of the way before Christmas, and sets up an NYE/New Year's Day Semi-finals. Then the National Championship can be moved up to align with Wild Card Weekend -- the perfect close to an elite Sports Weekend -- and closes up CFB before the heat of NFL playoffs.

Injury Clause for NFL Playoffs

I will preface this section with the fact that I know there's no world where this could be implemented -- but as fans, we should not be subject to watch Jarrett Stidham shit his pants against New England this weekend.

There's not a sports fan in the country (not living in Denver or New England) that didn't wish the Bills and Josh Allen were advancing.

So my take -- if a season-ending injury is revealed within 24 hours of a playoff game to a team's QB, if the game was decided in OT or by 3 or less points -- the losing team advances.***

***If the opposing team's QB is 1000x more fun and better like Josh Allen is.

The consolation for the Broncos in this case -- if they win 9+ games the following season, they automatically get the #1 seed bye in the next year's playoffs. Don't have to win the division, don't have to make the playoffs by standard rules -- if they win 9, they're in with a bye to make up for the previous season's concession.

In this year's scenario, Nix's injury was not clear and obvious until the game was over. However, if in a future year a QB gets hurt mid-game -- call in the fix. Tell the refs you don't care if a CB bashes a WR's brains in with a hammer mid-route, there's no DPI flags getting thrown. Fix it for the team with a healthy star QB and give the fans a good Conference Championship game.

Or -- let's do something crazy why don't we? How about if a QB gets hurt -- the QB he eliminated gets to start for that team the next week. Josh Allen leading the Broncos against his division rival for a trip to the Super Bowl? Yeah, sign me the fuck up.

Can you tell I'm salty about my bracket being busted because my Super Bowl runners-up got knocked out in Overtime by the Broncos?

NFL Coaching Predictions

This is one of the most entertaining NFL coaching cycles in recent memory -- and we've already seen some big names get snatched up off the market, with multiple big jobs still vacant.

We've seen the Giants hire John Harbaugh after he parted ways with the Ravens, setting him up to lead the young core in New York as a coach with a proven track record of winning.

The Falcons filled their Head Coaching vacancy with former Browns coach Kevin Stefanski -- a 2-time COY winner and longest tenured Browns coach I can remember.

The Dolphins replaced offensive guru Mike McDaniel with the defensive-minded Packers DC Jeff Hafley -- while the Titans are going with Niners DC Robert Salah, who's back in the HC saddle after his previous stint with the Jets.

This leaves the Bills, Steelers, Ravens, Browns, Cardinals, and Raiders still without a head coach (at the time of me writing this). 3 of the biggest job openings we've seen in years with the Ravens, Steelers, and Bills -- one opening in the Vegas market -- and 2 that seem to be open often with the Cardinals and Browns.

I'm not following these interviews closely at all -- but from the little I have followed, and based on what I think would be the most entertaining hires -- here are my gut predictions for the remaining hires:

• Bills -- Jesse Minter

  • After a year where their defense struggled mightily at times, and Minter's one of the better defensive candidates on the board. With Josh Allen at QB, the offense wouldn't be my top concern -- it'd be getting someone in the door that can get the defense back to elite levels.

• Ravens -- Brian Flores

  • The most Ravens hire I can imagine. Flores bounced around in a previous cycle, but his resurgence as a candidate comes at the tails of him revamping the Vikings defense. His mind for defensive scheme is second to none, and if there's one thing the Ravens love -- it's a dominating defense.

• Steelers -- Mike McCarthy

  • I think they'll be gunning for Flores as well -- but the Steelers are the type of team that would value a proven coach in his past stops over all else. McCarthy is probably a longshot -- but makes sense on paper to me.

• Browns -- Todd Monken

  • the only somewhat-informed prediction because I know he's agreed to a second interview. The former Ravens-OC makes sense as an option for Cleveland -- a team that's hung their hat on defense in recent years, but has struggled offensively, and needs a steady-hand to organize the weapons in their arsenal.

• Cardinals -- Vance Joseph

  • While Gannon was also a defensive-minded coach and they may want a change, with the uncertainty at their QB position -- I think a proven DC is a better choice. And it doesn't get much better than Vance Joseph, who was with the team as a DC years ago before going to Denver. Chris Shula is also in play.

• Raiders -- Klint Kubiak

  • Toss up between an OC and a DC because this is a team that needs help on both sides of the ball -- but I do think they go young at the end of the day. Chris Shula could be a contender here as well, but with the #1 pick and Fernando Mendoza likely on the way -- maybe they go for offensive mind Kubiak.

• Mike McDaniel

  • He might still try to take a HC Job -- but I think he should go be an OC for a really good team and build up his stock again. He's one of the best offensive minds in the game right now -- find a team with a good QB and RB and average 30+ppg for a season or two.