But when I watch college football and I look at, you know, teams throughout and with the 12 playoff system, you know, if a team has lost two games, you kind of look and go, ah, the chances of them making the postseason or getting to the conference championship to even have a opportunity to get in there is going to be extremely difficult how do you like coach the kids knowing that all right you're just playing for a bowl and maybe are these kids that they still like super engaged when it comes to you know going to a bowl game or is it all about you know trying to get to the college football playoffs

i think that when the college football playoff deal expands i mean i think that's going to be big for boston college but i i mean i would say wig you've everybody should come to practice and watch us practice.

Our guys are fired up.

They look forward to every Saturday.

I think it – I look at it – look, Wig, I agree with you.

I mean, it's all about – I understand the goal of winning, and I really do.

I've been doing this 35 years at every different level.

How concerning is this for you and the future of football and the NFL?

But when I watch college football and I look at, you know, teams throughout and with the 12 playoff system, you know, if a team has lost two games, you kind of look and go, ah, the chances of them making the postseason or getting to the conference championship to even have a opportunity to get in there is going to be extremely difficult how do you like coach the kids knowing that all right you're just playing for a bowl and maybe are these kids that they still like super engaged when it comes to you know going to a bowl game or is it all about you know trying to get to the college football playoffs

i think that when the college football playoff deal expands i mean i think that's going to be big for boston college but i i mean i would say wig you've everybody should come to practice and watch us practice.

Our guys are fired up.

They look forward to every Saturday.

I think it – I look at it – look, Wig, I agree with you.

I mean, it's all about – I understand the goal of winning, and I really do.

I've been doing this 35 years at every different level.

How concerning is this for you and the future of football and the NFL?

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I think that when the college football playoff deal expands, I mean, I think that's going to be big for Boston College.

But, I mean, I would say, Wig, everybody should come to practice and watch us practice.

Our guys are fired up.

They look forward to every Saturday.

I think it – I look at it – look, Wig, I agree with you.

I mean, it's all about – I understand the goal of winning, and I really do.

How concerning is this for you and the future of football in the NFL?

When you are going in and evaluating, all right, who can help us that we can actually afford so that we're not overspending on one guy and underspending in 10 other areas? Like, what is your approach to trying to build and how has that evolved maybe over the last couple of years?

It's still evolving.

That's a great question because that's one of the keys to, I think, success is doing a great job in the portal.

We have not been perfect in the portal, but I think we've done a decent job of bringing in the right guys like Anthony Polano, like a Mason McKenzie, right? Both those guys have come in here and really been great leaders in the locker room, been very competitive on the field.

I'm looking at Bodie right now.

Bodie's done a great job of coming in here linebacker from transfer from Notre Dame just really good guys so I think our process is we really do the best we can to try to vet in a very short space of time try to vet the young man his family where he's from high school coach if there's any connection to the previous college that helps to ask them you know kind of what was the deal there and And, you know, I think that's a key.

We have to find the right fits for Boston College.

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How, how do you fix that? If, if you can,

I mean, I can remember, um, it's funny you asked that because I, I, I do this, uh, I put together this tape every Thursday or Wednesday night for Thursday morning squadiating here, you know, to show them all the different things that went on around college football last week.

And so I always said and we always said in the NFL.

that it's all about just getting it right.

So somebody needs to call in, whether it's the big 12 conference, if that's, you know, who's in charge of that game or, you know, the ACC, the SEC, the big 10, every, every single call should really be reviewed.

And I know that would maybe increase the length of the, but the game is so fast.

It's very difficult to keep up with the game.

I definitely have an opinion on this,

How, how do you fix that? If, if you can,

I mean, I can remember, um, it's funny you asked that because I, I, I do this, uh, I put together this tape every Thursday or Wednesday night for Thursday morning squad leading here, you know, to show them all the different things that went on around college football last week.

And, and so I always said, and we always said in the NFL, that it's all about just getting it right so somebody needs to call in whether it's the big 12 conference if that's you know who's in charge of that game or you know the acc the sec the big 10 every every single call should really be reviewed yeah and i know that would maybe increase the length of the but the game is so fast it's very difficult to keep up with the game it's the the timing of the game the the way the game is played, it really, when it's game changing moments like that, it has to be reviewed under the, under the umbrella of like, look, we just want to get this right.

We want to get it right.

And, you know, we continue to try to get that, get that corrected, but it keeps showing up.

How does something like that happen? Like, where do you fall in as the head coach of a football team working with the medical staff and understanding the proper course of action? Because Nick Sirianni hasn't really had any answers.

I definitely have an opinion on this, Curtis.

I remember when I took my first coaching job, I remember somebody told me who had been a head coach for a long time, you have no idea how important the medical part of this is, the medical team.

But Bill, when you look at Will Wood specifically, and he makes that announcement to go from Penn State, a place that you're very familiar with, to you guys, and emphasizes that he wants to play for you, how big is that for the program moving forward?

Yeah, I just have to be careful here, Courtney.

I think the question is awesome.

I'm not really supposed to comment on it.

All right.

And this is how stupid the NCAA is, to be honest with you, because we're actually like, you know, a lot of these guys are getting paid, but we can't comment on things like that.

But anyways, I do think in a general sense, it's very, very important.

I definitely have an opinion on this,

So what do you believe the state of college football is? If you're doing your state of the union address as to what it is, you think it is big picture and maybe on down from there, what, where do you stand right now?

Well, I mean, I just, I still think it's an incredibly, I mean, you guys know better than me.

I mean, you look at the area of the country that you're in and, you know, the games every single week in the SEC, the ACC, the Big Ten.

I mean, everybody's watching these games and people are really excited about college football.

I think eventually, you know, I know there's a lot of talk about Congress, but, you know, Congress has a hard time making decisions, right? You know, so I don't know how that's going to work, but We have to have some type of regulation in place relative to the cap.

There's got to be a cap.

You know, there has to be at some point in time.

What do you see when you look at them on tape?

Y- you're still struggling to get your feet here, in terms of galvaniz- galvanizing the region behind your, behind your team?

Oh, I, I agree with that, Curtis.

You know, we have to win.

You know, we, we have to win.

The, people aren't coming to watch a 500 team or a below 500 team.

You know, people are coming to, to watch a, a winner.

And, uh, y- you know, we haven't, we haven't been able to do that enough.

Is that something, as a coach, that you would like to see them move to a 24-team, uh, playoff system?

Does the approach shift? Like, i- does it feel the same to you? Like, does it feel like you, y- you're still struggling to get your feet here in terms of galvaniz- galvanizing the region behind your, behind your team?

Oh, I, I agree with that, Curtis.

You know, we have to win.

You know, we, we have to win.

The, people aren't coming to watch a .500 team or a below .500 team, you know? People are coming to, to watch a, a winner.

And, uh, you, you know, we haven't, we haven't been able to do that enough.

You know, my first year I thought we did a really good job.

Is that something as a coach that you would like to see them move to a 24-team, uh, playoff system?

W- uh, w- at what point do... does the approach shift? Like, uh, does it feel the same to you? Like, does it feel like you, y- you're still struggling to get your feet here in terms of galvaniz- galvanizing the region behind your, behind your team?

team?Oh, I, I agree with that, Curtis.

You know, we have to win.

You know, we, we have to win.

The- people aren't coming to watch a 500 team or a below 500 team, you know? People are coming to, to watch a, a winner.

And, uh, you know, we haven't, we haven't been able to do that enough.

You know, my first year I thought we did a really good job.

Is that something as a coach that you would like to see them move to a 24-team, uh, playoff system?

Uh, what would you say has been a big reason on why you've been able to create those turnovers?

I think that, um, the addition of Ted Roof has really helped us.

Um, you know, he and I known each other for a long time.

And everywhere we've been together he's always had, you know, whether it was Georgia Tech or when we were together at Penn State, uh, he's always had the ability to get a defense, you know, that's an attacking defense that understands the importance of going after the football.

And so I think these guys do a great job of that.

That, that has to continue, and that's kind of like back to Courtney's question.

We, when we get the ball like that, the de- you know, and you know this, Wig, the famous term of complementary football.

What, what do you gotta do better in, in your mind to be able to, you know, stop teams from, you know, making big plays in the running game?

Uh, what would you say has been a big reason on why you've been able to create those turnovers?

I think that, um, the addition of Ted Roof has really helped us.

Um, you know, he and I known each other for a long time, and everywhere we've been together he's always had, you know, whether it was Georgia Tech or when we were together at Penn State, uh, he's always had the ability to get a defense, you know, that's an attacking defense that understands the importance of going after the football.

And so I think these guys do a great job of that.

That, that has to continue, and that's kind of, like, back to Courtney's question.

We, when we get the ball like that, the de- you know, and you know this, Wig, the famous term of complementary football.

Like, we've got to do a better job of playing complementary football.

What, what do you gotta do better in, in your mind to be able to, you know, stop teams from, you know, making big plays in the running game?

Uh, what would you say has been a big reason on why you've been able to create those turnovers?

I think that, um, the addition of Ted Roof has really helped us.

Um, you know, he and I known each other for a long time, and everywhere we've been together he's always had, you know, whether it was Georgia Tech or when we were together at Penn State, uh, he's always had the ability to get a defense, you know, that's an attacking defense that understands the importance of going after the football.

And so I think these guys do a great job of that.

That, that has to continue, and that's kind of like back to Courtney's question.

We, when we get the ball like that, the de- you know, and you know this, Wig, the famous term of complementary football, like, we've got to do a better job of playing complementary football.

We, we've got these turnovers, w- we need to turn them into points every time we get them, and we haven't been able to do that.

What, what do you gotta do better in, in your mind to be able to, you know, stop teams from, you know, making big plays in the running game?

Just if you could, from using that OC brain of yours, what are you seeing so far when it comes to their issues?

The one thing that I learned from being in the NFL is it's very difficult to really know who your team is really early in the season, right? And so...

I have not watched every play of every game, but I've seen some of the plays in the games and things like that.

I believe that every year is different, right? I don't want to be too long-winded here.

So this year's team is very different than last year's team.

I mean, last year you had different guys on the offense.

I think you had a couple different guys on the offensive line.

Bill, could you explain to someone who has never been a part of that offense or been anywhere near an offense that would be in the NFL why it is so difficult for certain players to know and understand, especially at the receiver position, the McDaniels, O'Brien, Patriots passing offense?

Just if you could, from using that OC brain of yours, what are you seeing so far when it comes to their issues?

The one thing that I learned from being in the NFL is it's very difficult to really know who your team is really early in the season, right? And so...

I have not watched every play of every game, but I've seen some of the games, you know, some of the plays in the games and things like that.

I believe that every year is different, right? I just want to – I don't want to be too long-winded here.

So this year's team is very different than last year's team.

I mean, last year, you know, you had, you know, different guys on the offense.

You had even – I think you had a couple different guys on the offensive line.

Bill, could you explain to someone who has never been a part of that offense or been anywhere near an offense that would be in the NFL why it is so difficult for certain players to know and understand, especially at the receiver position, the McDaniels, O'Brien, Patriots passing offense?

Just if you could, from using that OC brain of yours, what are you seeing so far when it comes to their issues?

The one thing that I learned from being in the NFL is it's very difficult to really know who your team is really early in the season, right? And so...

I have not watched every play of every game, but I've seen some of the plays in the games and things like that.

I believe that every year is different, right? I don't want to be too long-winded here.

So this year's team is very different than last year's team.

I mean, last year you had different guys on the offense.

I think you had a couple different guys on the offensive line.

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Bielema said he can't afford to pay big guys because they cost too much money, especially on the D-line.

Well, I really want to be very, very honest with this answer.

I think there's two things there.

We really work hard to try to find guys that come from families and families high schools and prep schools that really understand the value of, hey, I can go to Boston College, get an incredible degree in a great city, and earn some money.

Now, where the disadvantage comes is when we go into the portal or even in high school recruiting, you know, let's say, for instance, a quarterback.

We've been in on, whether it's the portal or high school recruiting, we've been in on several over the last three years, several of the best quarterbacks.

I mean, you know, we've been in on it because, you know, my background and some guys on our staff, their background, you know, but we just haven't been able to, we're not going to go down that road of paying a guy, whatever it is, four or five million a year, two-year contract.

When you said that you guys needed to make sure you build upon what you were able to do on Friday night moving forward, how do you ensure that that happens? How do you make sure that those guys are able to do that?

Bielema said he can't afford to pay big guys because they cost too much money, especially on the D-line.

Well, I really want to be very, very honest with this answer.

I think there's two things there.

We really work hard to try to find guys that come from families and families high schools and prep schools that really understand the value of, hey, I can go to Boston College, get an incredible degree in a great city, and earn some money.

Now, where the disadvantage comes is when we go into the portal or even in high school recruiting, let's say, for instance, a quarterback.

We've been in on, whether it's the portal or high school recruiting, we've been in on several over the last three years, several of the best quarterbacks.

I mean, you know, we've been in on it because, you know, my background and some guys on our staff, their background, you know, but we just haven't been able to, we're not going to go down that road of paying a guy, whatever it is, four or five million a year, two-year contract.

When you said that you guys needed to make sure you build upon what you were able to do on Friday night moving forward, how do you ensure that that happens? How do you make sure that those guys are able to do that?

Bielema said he can't afford to pay big guys because they cost too much money, especially on the D-line.

Well, I really want to be very, very honest with this answer.

I think there's two things there.

We really work hard to try to find guys that come from families and families high schools and prep schools that really understand the value of, hey, I can go to Boston College, get an incredible degree in a great city, and earn some money.

Now, where the disadvantage comes is when we go into the portal or even in high school recruiting, you know, let's say, for instance, a quarterback.

We've been in on, whether it's the portal or high school recruiting, we've been in on several over the last three years, several of the best quarterbacks.

I mean, you know, we've been in on it because, you know, my background and some guys on our staff, their background, you know, but we just haven't been able to, we're not going to go down that road of paying a guy, whatever it is, four or five million a year, two-year contract.

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Bill, when it comes to Drake specifically though, like how do you make sure that he can mentally recover from that? Wiggy and I were talking about at the beginning, it's more of the mental errors when you look at Drake May and how does he, how does he do that in his second year as a starter? And how does he make sure that doesn't spiral the rest of the season?

I think that's a big point though.

What you just said is that, you know, he's young, he's young.

And I do believe I, you know, I'm very close to Josh and, and Dougie Marone and those guys, they, they love him.

He's a mentally tough guy.

You know, I think he's young, you know, he hasn't been, I mean, yeah, he's been in some situations, but you know, you know, really it takes a lot of experience to, you know, to, I remember like talking to Tom about early in his career and I'm not comparing, I mean, Tom's the greatest to ever do it, but like, you know, early in his career, they played great defense.

You know, they ran the ball a lot.

How are you approaching that game? What's your message to your team, and what does that mean to you and the university?

Bill, when it comes to Drake specifically though, like how do you make sure that he can mentally recover from that? Wiggy and I were talking about at the beginning, it's more of the mental errors when you look at Drake May and how does he, how does he do that in his second year as a starter? And how does he make sure that doesn't spiral the rest of the season?

I think that's a big point though.

What you just said is that, you know, he's young, he's young.

And I do believe I, you know, I'm very close to Josh and, and Dougie Marone and those guys, they, they love him.

He's a mentally tough guy.

You know, I think he's young, you know, he hasn't been, I mean, yeah, he's been in some situations, but you know, you know, really it takes a lot of experience to, you know, to, I remember like talking to Tom about early in his career and I'm not comparing, I mean, Tom's the greatest to ever do it, but like, you know, early in his career, they played great defense.

You know, they ran the ball a lot.

How are you approaching that game? What's your message to your team, and what does that mean to you and the university?

Bill, when it comes to Drake specifically though, like how do you make sure that he can mentally recover from that? Wiggy and I were talking about at the beginning, it's more of the mental errors when you look at Drake May and how does he, how does he do that in his second year as a starter? And how does he make sure that doesn't spiral the rest of the season?

I think that's a big point though.

What you just said is that, you know, he's young, he's young.

And I do believe I, you know, I'm very close to Josh and, and Dougie Marone and those guys, they, they love him.

He's a mentally tough guy.

You know, I think he's young, you know, he hasn't been, I mean, yeah, he's been in some situations, but you know, you know, really it takes a lot of experience to, you know, to, I remember like talking to Tom about early in his career and I'm not comparing, I mean, Tom's the greatest to ever do it, but like, you know, early in his career, they played great defense.

You know, they ran the ball a lot.

How are you approaching that game? What's your message to your team, and what does that mean to you and the university?

lane

lane kiffin yeah i mean you know i i know lane um you know i know lane you know i we both coached at alabama i've known lane for a long time i mean i knew lane when he was that southern cow and you know lane lane is a is a hell of a football coach he's a he's a great play caller um But, you know, Lane's Lane.

He's going to do what Lane thinks is best for LSU and, you know, more power to him.

But my thing is that, like, what Wig said is so important to me.

Like, look, we really want to win at Boston College.

Like, there's no doubt about it.

And if we don't win, we understand the consequences of that.

Bill, what is your perspective on the long-term success of the new world order of college football? And does there need to be a commissioner like there is in the professional sports that can rein in the behavior of these individual coaches and teams? Because it seems sort of out of control right now across the landscape of college football.

[laughs] How do, how do you feel about that?

Yeah, I, I, uh, I, I feel pretty strongly about that.

I think that, um, y- you know, once a, once a guy, y- you know, obviously graduates, moves on, and then he, y- you know, he gets a, he gets onto a 90-man NFL roster, um, you know, he's no longer an amateur.

And I, and I realize there's a real debate about amateurism and all that.

I, I totally understand that.

But I mean, y- you, you're now a pro, whether you got released or not, or y- you've moved on.

And so, and plus you have, you know, 120 guys here that have gone through, you know, eight months of training and put a lot into this, and then all of a sudden you're gonna bring a guy back in who, you know, maybe he played here, maybe he didn't, uh, a- and now he, you're gonna just insert him back into the team.

[grunts]