Happy Hour with John Gaskins

The brilliance of Cignetti and Indiana's turnaround. Hoosiers vs Miamia for the title. Would Tucker Kraft's presence have reversed the Packers' loss to the Chicago Bears? Is Dallas Goedert and the Eagles offense being screwed by lousy play-calling? Which four teams will win the NFL divisional playoff games?

Reaction to L.J. Phillips committing to Iowa, Larenzo Fenner to Cincinnati. A word on Hudson Parliament's perfect fit at Iowa. Some top players at Montana State and Illinois State are coming back. Who are these college football player agents and how do they operate? How much time is spent by head coaches like Kalen DeBoer dealing with them? What kind of decisions did Illinois State make late in their crushing title game loss to Montana State?

We are living in a college sports Bizarro World.   Indiana is the No. 1 football team in America, while Nebraska sports the No. 8 men's basketball team.    Let that sink in.   In a "Nobody's Listening Anyway" episode that included plenty of the usual Jackrabbits, Coyotes, FCS, transfer port and Summit League basketball banter, Sioux Falls Live sports editor Matt Zimmer and the Happy Hour host took some time to digest this "what planet are we on" concept — Hoosiers football and Huskers basketball on heaters.   Zim explains why he is enjoying Curt Cignetti and Indiana's rise, and not just because it is a once-in-a-lifetime rags-to-riches football story. Plus, Zim is engages the host — not just a Husker football zealot but a long-suffering "Nebrasketball" nut — about the excitement of Fred Hoiberg's squad potentially taking Big Red basketball to where it has never been.   Other topics covered:   * Why not nearly as many USD fans will become nearly as engaged in Hawkeye football with L.J. Phillips playing in Iowa as SDSU fans who hopped on the train with Mark Gronowski    * Griffin Wilde getting a much more experienced and famous offensive coordinator at Northwestern — former Oregon, 49ers, and Eagles head coach Chip Kelly — than his former SDSU OC Zach Lujan    * Former SDSU and Washington State offensive coordinator Danny Freund landing not with former SDSU head coach Jimmy Rogers at Iowa State, but back at North Dakota, where he was the OC before coming to Brookings in 2024 and Pullman in '25   * The monster basketball showdowns SDSU's men and women have with North Dakota State this week   * Why O'Gorman boys basketball coach Derek Robey — who announced Friday that after 40 seasons and six state titles that this season will be his last — is "one of the most underrated coaches in South Dakota history," not just for high school hoops, but all sports at all levels.

First the Jackrabbits and now the Coyotes.   For a second consecutive year, a first team All-America FCS offensive player from South Dakota is headed to Iowa to play for the Hawkeyes.   Many South Dakota State backers turned into Hawkeye fans as Mark Gronowski, the all-time winningest quarterback in college football history, piloted a 10-win season with several memorable clutch plays.  Presumably, some USD fans will tune into Iowa games more often — if they weren't already peeking on Gronowski's games — to see how Phillips' game translates to the Power Four level.   The thickly-built, strong-as-an-ox Phillips, with his rugged running style, led the FCS with over 1,900 yards this past season. He appears to be a "fit" at a place that loves to run. Iowa was in the top third in the FBS in rushing attempts and among the ten lowest teams in the country in passing attempts and passing yards.   But how often we even see Phillips carry the ball? He is presumed to be the No. 2 running back behind Kamari Moulton, last season's RB1 who rushed for 80 yards a game and over five yards per attempt, earning Big Ten All-Conference honorable mention honors as the No. 8 rusher in the league.   Moulton appears to be staying in Iowa City and has two years of eligibility, like Phillips, who presumably slides in at RB2.    We don't know who else had interest in Phillips nor his other NIL offers, but we can wonder what kind of a move this is for the sophomore from Wichita, who initially had interest from places like Kansas State, Oklahoma State and Mississippi State before he tore his ACL in the last game of his junior season of high school.   Despite his nation-best performance in 2024, Phillips would have had to battle to be USD's top running back this upcoming season with the return of Charles Pierre — a first-team FCS All-American in 2023 whose injury in USD's second game this season paved the way for Phillips to become the guy.   So, was this the right move? It is a fascinating topic ripe for discussion on Monday's Happy Hour.    The show's "Monday Afternoon Quarterback" Kurtiss Riggs — the 11-time indoor league champion coach of the Sioux Falls Storm, a national championship winning quarterback and coach at USF, a local college and prep TV analyst, and the director of football for the Sanford Sports Academy — weighs in on that plus:   * How well will Brandon Valley offensive lineman Hudson Parliament fit into Iowa's scheme?   * How good of a fit is Cincinnati for former USD wideout Larenzo Fenner, who committed to the Bobcats last week?   * What is in store for former Sioux Falls Jefferson wideout Griffin Wilde at Northwestern after he got an NIL pay raise (according to Riggs) after a Top 10 receiving performance in the Big Ten this past year? Wilde will have a new offensive coordinator — former Oregon, Eagles, and 49ers coach Chip Kelly — after former SDSU OC Zach Lujan was fired.   * What are some of these college football player agents really like?   * Kurtiss teed off on Illinois State's coaching decisions late in a heartbreaking FCS national championship game loss to Montana State   * What impresses Kurtiss most about Indiana coach Curt Cignetti and quarterback Fernando Mendoza?    * Who will win the CFP championship game between the Hoosiers and Miami?   * Would the presence of Tucker Kraft have made a difference in the outcome of the Packers-Bears playoff game?   * Is Dallas Goedert and his Eagles teammates being short-changed by "basic" play-calling?   * Who will win the four NFL divisional playoff games next weekend?  

First the Jackrabbits and now the Coyotes.   For a second consecutive year, a first team All-America FCS offensive player from South Dakota is headed to Iowa to play for the Hawkeyes.   Many South Dakota State backers turned into Hawkeye fans as Mark Gronowski, the all-time winningest quarterback in college football history, piloted a 10-win season with several memorable clutch plays.  Presumably, some USD fans will tune into Iowa games more often — if they weren't already peeking on Gronowski's games — to see how Phillips' game translates to the Power Four level.   The thickly-built, strong-as-an-ox Phillips, with his rugged running style, led the FCS with over 1,900 yards this past season. He appears to be a "fit" at a place that loves to run. Iowa was in the top third in the FBS in rushing attempts and among the ten lowest teams in the country in passing attempts and passing yards.   But how often we even see Phillips carry the ball? He is presumed to be the No. 2 running back behind Kamari Moulton, last season's RB1 who rushed for 80 yards a game and over five yards per attempt, earning Big Ten All-Conference honorable mention honors as the No. 8 rusher in the league.   Moulton appears to be staying in Iowa City and has two years of eligibility, like Phillips, who presumably slides in at RB2.    We don't know who else had interest in Phillips nor his other NIL offers, but we can wonder what kind of a move this is for the sophomore from Wichita, who initially had interest from places like Kansas State, Oklahoma State and Mississippi State before he tore his ACL in the last game of his junior season of high school.   Despite his nation-best performance in 2024, Phillips would have had to battle to be USD's top running back this upcoming season with the return of Charles Pierre — a first-team FCS All-American in 2023 whose injury in USD's second game this season paved the way for Phillips to become the guy.   So, was this the right move? It is a fascinating topic ripe for discussion on Monday's Happy Hour.