00:00And welcome back to Newswire here on SportsGrid.
00:02Monday night, national championship game in South Florida.
00:06Joining us now to discuss it is former great at the University of Miami running back Duke Johnson.
00:10Also great in the NFL.
00:12Maybe we have time.
00:13Maybe we get into the Browns here a little bit at the end.
00:15But first, let's bring Duke in.
00:17Duke, thanks for coming on the show here.
00:19And look, I mean, look, you played at a very high level at UM on a lot of teams that I'm sure when you played,
00:26you thought that, wow, the U is going to get back to the national championship.
00:29It took a really long time.
00:31But here we are Monday night.
00:33And this must be a fun run for you to be able to watch them go through this.
00:37Oh, definitely a fun run.
00:39Like you said, compared to the teams that we had, we thought we had the talent,
00:43but didn't really, you know, put it all together the way this team was able to do this year.
00:47And it's a big credit to Coach Christopher and his staff.
00:51Just being able to get the guys to play for each other and play game in and game out,
00:56especially down this stretch, this playoff stretch.
00:58We just need to do it one more time.
01:01So how did Duke, how did they get here, you think, the University of Miami?
01:05I think, look, we watched a lot of what transpired where they were, you know,
01:10in all likelihood it looked like maybe they were going to get left out of the college football playoff.
01:14It definitely seemed like they took that personally.
01:17The defense has really gone to the next level here.
01:20And then a lot of the offensive players are really putting up their best performances
01:23over the last couple of weeks.
01:24Yeah, I think you said it.
01:27I think it's playing well when you need to.
01:30And I think down the stretch, we played really well.
01:32We had some tough losses November-ish.
01:37But when it mattered, we put our best football on tape.
01:40And now we're in the next championship.
01:42I think the defense played great, really, all year.
01:46The offense had some ups and downs.
01:48But I think we only go as far as the defense takes us.
01:52Defense plays well.
01:53Offense kind of accompanies them.
01:55And we have a chance to win every game.
01:57Yeah, and that's what's happened, really.
01:59The defense has come up strong.
02:00Even in the game last week, just needed one big stop and ended up getting it.
02:03Let's talk about your position.
02:05And as it relates, your former position, as it relates to University of Miami,
02:08the running game has really also come alive.
02:11What have you seen there from the running backs and the offensive line?
02:13A lot of it is scheme in the way that they coach and teach the guys
02:20to kind of be on one accord.
02:22You see a lot of times, even when there's not a big gaping hole there,
02:26the running backs does a great job putting the ball where it's supposed to go.
02:29And then you have the offensive linemen pushing and driving
02:31and showing that extra effort to fall forward for an extra three, four yards.
02:37So I think it's a combination of just the guys playing hard for one another
02:41as well as just a great scheme.
02:45Now, when you were at Miami, you played with a number of different quarterbacks.
02:49It felt like every quarterback that came in was going to be the next one,
02:52and then it was the next one, and then it was the next one.
02:55In this new day and age of college football, I'm sure you missed out on some dough there too, Duke.
02:59But in this day and age of college football, Carson Becky comes in.
03:04He had a good season.
03:06I think that that's fair.
03:07But he's really come up big in the big moments when they've needed him.
03:11Maybe the stats don't really indicate a great run in the postseason,
03:15but it feels like every time they've needed a big play, he's come through.
03:20Yeah, and to your point, I think that's why you bring in Carson Beck.
03:24You don't bring him in for games early on where we can just win the ball just off of talent
03:30and not really need him to play his best game.
03:34You bring him in for these games, for these big games, for the big moments.
03:37And the biggest thing for him is, you know, making the throws, making the easy throws,
03:41making the throws on time, not turning the ball over, protecting the ball.
03:45And surprisingly, something he's been doing well is running,
03:49using his legs to convert first downs, to move the sticks.
03:54He made a couple of big plays, especially in the Ohio State game, third and 12,
03:59where he was able to tuck the ball and run and convert.
04:01So I think he's doing it all, doing a great job coming in the offense,
04:06getting guys in the right formation and the right play.
04:09But most of all, not turning the ball over and allowing his guys to make plays.
04:14So, Duke, let's take a quick look at the other side of this,
04:18because, look, it's very rare and sort of shocking, honestly, for me,
04:22and I'm sure for you, who's played college football, NFL, watched a long time,
04:26to see Indiana having this kind of success.
04:29And at this point, nobody should be surprised if they do beat the University of Miami on Monday night.
04:34And, you know, certainly a lot of it is the quarterback and the coach,
04:37a lot of discussions about Cignetti and certainly the Heisman Trophy Award winner,
04:41Fernando Mendoza.
04:42And does it kind of Duke in a different way, just super efficient,
04:45doesn't make a lot of mistakes.
04:47They don't seem to take a ton of deep chances.
04:50But every time at the end of the game, you look up and see Mendoza's numbers,
04:53it's like 15 for 18, 20 for 22, 12 for 14.
04:58I mean, how does a quarterback like this win the Heisman Trophy Award
05:01and get out of this thing without throwing 400 or 500 yards a game?
05:05It's just a lot of efficiency.
05:07Yeah, like you said, he's very efficient.
05:11He's going to take what the defense give him.
05:12You play off coverage, you play soft coverage.
05:15He's going to kill you, throwing the ball, checking the ball down,
05:18throwing quick out routes, throwing quick hitches.
05:20But he also does a great job at throwing back shoulders and throwing goal balls.
05:26So even when you're in a great position as a defense,
05:29he can throw a ball and kind of make your defense irrelevant.
05:35So they always say great throws beat better defense,
05:39or better throw beat great defense.
05:41And he does a great job at that.
05:43His guys just make plays for him.
05:44They catch the ball.
05:45They don't have too many drops.
05:46Like you said, they don't make too many mistakes.
05:48We got to get to him.
05:50Bain and his front seven and front five have to get to him
05:54and kind of get constant pressure on him to kind of make him uncomfortable.
05:58And just try your best to make him uncomfortable and hope for the best.
06:02Yeah, I mean, no one has done that basically all year long.
06:04Even Ohio State could not beat this guy.
06:07But we'll see what happens on Monday night in the national championship game.
06:10All right, so Duke, you know,
06:12obviously you're going to take Miami here to win the championship.
06:14But what do you think the final score will be in the game,
06:17Hard Rock Stadium, Monday night?
06:19Oh, final score.
06:21Let's go.
06:26Let's go.
06:27Let's go 30.
06:29Let's go 31.
06:30Let's go 31-17.
06:3331-17 Miami on Monday night.
06:36All right, Duke.
06:36Well, listen, enjoy the game on Monday night.
06:39Congrats to your Hurricanes for honestly,
06:40for just getting this far to the national championship game.
06:43And I know you and I will catch up again soon.
06:46Thanks again for coming on Newswire.
06:47I really appreciate it.
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