Indiana vs. Miami Big Game Breakdown, Transfer Portal Buzz, NFL Draft Decisions, More!

Summary

Cover 3 College Football Podcast

Episode: Indiana vs. Miami Big Game Breakdown, Transfer Portal Buzz, NFL Draft Decisions, More!

Date: January 14, 2026
Hosts: Chip Patterson, Tom Fornelli, Danny Kanell, Bud Elliott

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Main Theme

This episode offers an in-depth breakdown of the upcoming College Football Playoff National Championship (Indiana vs. Miami), analyzes the latest transfer portal buzz (notably elite offensive lineman movement), debates NFL draft decisions, and discusses looming changes in NCAA redshirt rules. The hosts also tackle broader issues around roster construction, player movement, and the future of the College Football Playoff.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Transfer Portal Buzz: Jordan Seaton Enters the Market

Timestamps: 02:33–09:39

• Jordan Seaton, Colorado’s prized offensive tackle, enters the portal—sparking speculation about a massive bidding war.
  • Bud Elliott: “He was asking for two and a half as a starting point. That’s not that dissimilar of a percentage of your roster spend compared to what NFL teams spend on their franchise tackles.” (05:18)
  • The group compares college NIL spending to NFL positional value, noting top-tier college OTs are a “certainty.”
• Texas is named as a potential landing spot, with reference to their willingness to invest in key positions (“If you’re Texas, what’s another two and a half million?”).
• Inside Portal Dramas: The story emerges about Colorado’s video team allegedly filming Seaton’s transfer video under false pretenses, thinking he was staying—a moment described as “cold blooded.”
• Colorado Concerns: The Buffaloes, after a rough season, appear to be “in a world of hurt,” losing momentum in both the portal and recruiting.

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2. Portal Data & Changing Rosters

Timestamps: 09:39–13:13

• Widespread roster churn, with attention to teams bringing in massive numbers of transfers (e.g., West Virginia and Oklahoma State, the latter with 49 new transfers).
• Discussion around over-signing and enrollment shifts, juxtaposed with historical recruiting practices and the portal’s unprecedented impact.

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3. Key Transfer Headline: Coy Parich to Oregon

Timestamps: 13:13–14:58

• Coy Parich, standout Minnesota safety, heads to Oregon—boosting their DB group.
• Tom Fornelli notes Parich’s “missed tackle rate ranked 50th [of 51],” attributing struggles to scheme fit at Minnesota, not talent deficiency.
  • “I think maybe Oregon will use him in a better spot.” (14:40)

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4. NFL Draft Decisions: Ty Simpson

Timestamps: 14:58–22:33

• Alabama QB Ty Simpson is discussed vis-à-vis his decision to declare for the draft rather than stay for another college season.
• The group dives into NIL offers (notably Miami and Ole Miss), weighing the guaranteed NFL money against college paydays.
  • Tom Fornelli: “Do you know what [Jackson Dart’s] signing bonus was? 8 million. Do you know what his guaranteed money was? 17. Miami or Ole Miss didn’t offer that.” (16:29)
  • Simpson’s legacy, loyalty, and “coach’s son” identity are highlighted—called “a dinosaur thing” in today’s era.
  • Risks of staying versus turning pro are dissected, with attention to injuries and the drastic drop in draft slot earnings.
  • Comparison to Quinn Ewers’ financial decisions and the modern athlete’s trade-offs.

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5. Miami & Indiana: Program Windows, Roster Spending, and QB Dynamics

Timestamps: 22:33–26:36

• Miami’s approach to QB recruiting: Is it smarter to spend big in the portal for proven players rather than develop high school QBs?
• Roster and portal updates: Miami’s “machine in the trenches” and ability to “play bully ball,” contrasted with Indiana’s preparedness for the playoff stage.
• The hosts consider whether Miami or Indiana is more likely to sustain success and what their current team-building strategies signal for future seasons.

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6. Big Game Breakdown: Indiana vs. Miami – Schematics, Matchups, and X-Factors

Timestamps: 29:12–49:20

Indiana Defense vs. Miami Offense

• Miami’s tight offensive line splits and potential to “wall off” Indiana’s quick, movement-heavy front is a central chess match.
  • Bud Elliott: “If they’re able to make Indiana a little bit uncomfortable ... Miami being huge on the OL really might play well here.” (32:00)
  • Miami’s style contrasted to “rugby,” relying on slow, grinding run games to win “ahead of the chains.”
• Indiana is adept at defending Miami’s preferred run concepts, but Miami’s approach may still generate small-but-steady gains.

Indiana Offense vs. Miami Defense

• Injuries to Miami’s secondary are a major concern, particularly in the first half (starters out from targeting and injuries). Indiana’s experienced trio of QB Mendoza and WRs Becker and Surat could exploit mismatches.
  • Tom Fornelli: “Miami will have some success stopping the run. But that's their weakness right now, especially in the first half.” (34:39)
• Miami’s pass rush, while elite, faces an Indiana offense that is statistically superior at generating pressure—despite less individual talent.
  • Danny Kanell: “Miami’s number one as far as pressure rate allowed ... but Indiana… has been more effective at getting after the quarterback.” (37:03)

QB Pressure, Blitzing, and Turnovers

• Both teams’ offensive success hinges on protecting their QBs and limiting exposure to pressure—Miami’s Beck is “not a great guy throwing the ball with pressure around him.”
• Indiana relies heavily on blitzes, and the outcome of those plays when Miami counters (especially getting Malachi Tony in space) will be key.
  • “If Beck’s not able to diagnose things quickly ... we’ve seen what happens when Carson gets pressured. It’s often not very pretty.” (39:24, Fornelli)

Coaching, Tendency Breakers, and the “Cheating” Narrative

• Hosts debate Indiana’s scouting prowess (and the tech-fueled “cheating” rumors), ultimately seeing it as superior self-scouting and prep rather than actual malfeasance.
  • Bud Elliott: “I bet you they’re just, like in any business, trying to find hidden edges ... can I use AI to map your game film?” (41:51)
• Miami’s simple, player-driven defensive approach versus Indiana’s data-driven, detail-oriented style.

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7. Coaching Edge & Program Trajectories

Timestamps: 47:44–49:20

• Unanimous: Indiana (Signetti) has the “coaching edge,” reinforcing that Indiana’s performance is “one of the most impressive coaching jobs in the history of the sport.”
• Despite Miami’s continued resilience and Mario Cristobal’s growth as a staff manager (especially after their midseason course-correction), Indiana’s consistent overperformance stands out.

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8. Redshirt Rule Change Debate

Timestamps: 52:10–57:31

• Coaches at the AFCA convention push to move redshirt eligibility from 4 games to 9, as a potential precursor to “5-for-5” (five years eligibility).
  • Tom Fornelli: “This idea just doesn’t make any sense to me. I think 5 and 5 is the easiest solution ... it’s the perfect solution to all these issues. But for some reason, we’re going to push for nine.” (54:03)
• Concerns: Timeline disruptions for one high school recruiting class, potential legal challenges, and the ripple effect on roster management.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Jordan Seaton’s portal value:
  “God just doesn’t make many guys that size who move that well who also have achieved that level of coordination ... It’s market scarcity and proof of concept.” (Bud Elliott, 05:01)

• On Ty Simpson’s draft decision:
  “It kind of feels like a dinosaur thing ... I wonder how many more guys are going to say that in the future.” (Danny Kanell, 18:06)

• On Indiana’s “cheating” allegations:
  “Can I use AI to like map your game film to pick up tendencies ... they’re just like in any business, trying to find hidden edges.” (Bud Elliott, 41:51)

• On program building philosophy:
  “Miami’s kind of just foot-to-foot and surge—if they can stay ahead of the chains, that’s the wall they need against Indiana” (Bud Elliott, 33:50)

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Important Segment Timestamps

• Jordan Seaton Portal Analysis: 02:33–09:39
• Transfer Numbers/Portal Trends: 09:39–13:13
• Coy Parich to Oregon Discussion: 13:13–14:58
• Ty Simpson & NFL Decisions: 14:58–22:33
• Miami Program Strategy: 22:33–26:36
• Big Game (“BGB”) Breakdown: 29:12–49:20
  • Miami OL vs. Indiana DL: 30:46–34:39
  • Injury Impact & Secondary: 34:39–37:03
  • Pressure/Blitz/Short Pass Game: 37:03–41:51
  • “Cheating” Discourse: 44:48–46:08
  • Coaching Edge: 47:44–49:20
• Redshirt Rule Debate: 52:10–57:31

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Tone & Delivery

• Knowledgeable, friendly, and banter-filled.
• Witty asides and inside jokes ("cold blooded", "dinosaur thing", "nut to busts", “AI game film mapping”).
• Respectful, with clear passion about college football’s evolution.

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For New Listeners

This episode expertly balances insider roster talk, tactical game analysis, recruiting/development philosophy, and genuine college football culture. The breakdown of Monday’s Indiana-Miami championship provides both a data-driven and “big picture” approach valuable for both fans of the teams and the sport at large.

Recommended for listeners seeking both technical football breakdown and discussion on the shifting landscape of college athletics.

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Next Episode Preview

• Thursday: Best bets for the national championship game and a deep dive on the future of the College Football Playoff as conference commissioners meet during the title game.

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Transcript

[Host/Advertiser]

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[Chip Patterson]

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[Podcast Intro/Announcer]

Welcome Back to the COVID 3 podcast with your hosts Chip Patterson, Tom Fornelli, Danny Cannell and Bud Elliott. It's your call for the best college football coverage from Training Day to the national championship and everything in between. CBS Sports presents the COVID 3 podcast.

[Chip Patterson]

And welcome back to the COVID 3 podcast here on CBS Sports. That's Tom Frenelli. That's Bud Elliott. That's Danny Cannell. I'm Chip Patterson coming to you [e-mail] cover3 and everywhere. Get your podcast on demand. Thanks for hanging out. Smash that, subscribe, smash that like and come and join us in the chat aka the COVID 3 tailgate where username Kurt Signati Kurt Signati has offered he says I think Miami stays on schedule and runs the ball well parentheses if no big mistakes should be a close low scoring affair. Kurt Signati is locked in. Kurt Signati pulled up to the tailgate and he's getting the conversation started because yes, as you see in the headline here, we are going to be doing our big game breakdown for the College Football Playoff National Championship between Indiana and Miami game, of course, coming up next Monday, January 19th. We will have our best bets for that game coming up tomorrow on Thursday. But a Good old fashioned BGB one last time for the 2025, 2026 season. That'll be coming up in just a little bit before we get into our big game breakdown for the biggest game of the entire season. The of course since we are sitting here at the very end of the opportunity to jump into the portal make some of those NFL draft decisions. So Mikey, can we jump on into the portal? One of our conversations at the beginning of the week and sort of throughout this general shift in terms of roster building is the absence of really high end elite offensive linemen. Well, we've got one now as Jordan Seaton wants the prized recruit and get for Colorado has entered the portal. But I'll throw this one to you first. I assume that we're just talking about the bell of the ball here. We're talking about bidding war. Anybody who gets to the table has to have a big stack. Am I off on any of these guesses? Should we be surprised? Wherever Jordan Seaton ends up going. Oh, one last.

[Danny Cannell]

Oh no.

[Bud Elliott]

All right. Oh my gosh. All right. So no, like Jordan Seaton is clearly one of the top targets in the portal. You have a guy who has like an NFL ready looking body. He's played like hundreds of snaps in his career, if not thousands. I think, you know, generally like what the floor is which is going to, you know, like fetch a really high price and then you could. There's also a bit of upside to bet on as well. So you know, I saw some rumors out there that his camp and I think these are unverified. But I haven't seen anybody dispute it that he was asking for two and a half as a starting point. Like that's not that dissimilar of a percentage of your like roster spend compared to what NFL teams spend on their franchise tackles. Now you can make the argument that like franchise tackles are more important in the NFL than they are in college. I Think the counter argument is that high priced offensive tackles in college and I know jbud Davis has done a lot of work on this are like the best investment as far as certainty. Like those guys, if you pay up for it are nearly certain to be great for you. And I mean look, God just doesn't make many guys that size who move that well who also have achieved that level of coordination, you know by. By 20 or 21 years old. So it's market scarcity and proof of concept. So yeah, I think he'll get a huge bag and should.

[Chip Patterson]

Who's in the mix?

[Bud Elliott]

I don't even know yet. Like I. Has he announced any visits?

[Chip Patterson]

I just. I don't know. I. I like what, let's see off the top of my head. Would it be is there a team that likes to spend and prioritizes the trenches? Is that team in the national championship on Monday? Would it surprise anybody that team not.

[Danny Cannell]

Spend a ton of money on quarterback because they just got spurned by him?

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah. There is a.

[Bud Elliott]

There is a team out there that has been killing it on the skill position players who struggled at offensive line this year after sending a bunch of guys to the pro off their 24 team and they do have like an NFL style superstar really popular guy named Arch Manning. So I mean if you're Texas, what. What's another two and a half million?

[Danny Cannell]

I mean Goosebie and Seaton would be a pretty good tackle tandem.

[Bud Elliott]

Yeah.

[Host/Advertiser]

Agreed.

[Chip Patterson]

Aren't they. Who's. Who's on the other side of Goosby. We were talking about that earlier. They're bringing them both back but Cujo.

[Bud Elliott]

Got or Kojo got hurt remember.

[Tom Fornelli]

Okay.

[Bud Elliott]

To start the year. So I. I assume he'll be back. Good.

[Danny Cannell]

A B name I believe. I can't remember off the top of my head.

[Bud Elliott]

But yeah, I mean you could. Baker.

[Danny Cannell]

Yeah. I think it's.

[Bud Elliott]

You can find a spot for everybody to play. I think. Look at Miami. Okin Lola is getting a ton of run at guard. He came in as a five star tackle and he was not able to beat out Bell and Maui Noah who I mean are. Are both you know like really, really good players. So. And he's getting good run at guard.

[Danny Cannell]

Yep.

[Chip Patterson]

Go ahead Tom.

[Danny Cannell]

He's gonna say the best news for Seaton is whatever money he does get. Like his video production costs don't cost him a dime apparently. So that's all profit.

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah.

[Danny Cannell]

Hey let's.

[Chip Patterson]

Can we give some context to this one for those who are not super on the inside reportedly reportedly.

[Danny Cannell]

But nobody's disputed it. Reportedly Jordan Seaton. The video announcement he had to announce that he was entering the transfer portal was filmed by Colorado's video video team under the assumption that he was recording an announcement that he was returning. So cold blooded.

[Chip Patterson]

Come on, man. They got video editing on the iPhone these days.

[Danny Cannell]

I'm just saying you can make your. I mean, like, you've seen who's on Tick Tock. It can't be that hard to make your own.

[Chip Patterson]

Come on, Danny. You see anything in Jordan Seaton that would like just prize tackle, you know?

[Danny Cannell]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Chip Patterson]

Okay. Absolutely. Like sort of big picture thoughts?

[Tom Fornelli]

Yeah, no, I mean, I. I think Miami is a team that makes a ton of sense to do it. Put him. Mauigo. Mauigo is back. Or is he gone?

[Bud Elliott]

No, he's gone.

[Tom Fornelli]

He's gone. So they need to replace him. This dude's a freak. I kind of think it's interesting from the other side. What is. What does it mean for Colorado in Prime? I mean, if they had a rough year this year, they are not crushing at the portal the way they did the first two years. They didn't crush it in the high school ranks. Colorado looks like they might be in a world of hurt here in the foreseeable future. And is this fan base, which I think is starting to fracture on Dion, on Coach Prime. Where are they headed?

[Bud Elliott]

Is Rick George still there?

[Chip Patterson]

Yes.

[Tom Fornelli]

No, no, he stepped down.

[Danny Cannell]

Yeah.

[Tom Fornelli]

Yeah.

[Bud Elliott]

I mean, never wrong, just early, I guess.

[Chip Patterson]

I. We'll see. I mean, that there is. It has not gotten to a point where I read the signs and I'm like, oh, yeah, one in 11, you know.

[Tom Fornelli]

No, no, it's three or four wins again.

[Chip Patterson]

Right. But there's a. There's a soft bottom in the Big 12 where, you know, you. It can. It cannot be an abject disaster. The problem is there's just such a thick middle. Is there enough for you to assume that you're going to be able to end up on the right side of enough of those tough matchups to be able to get yourself to seven, eight wins. That. That projection is very difficult given the pieces in place right now, as I understand them.

[Bud Elliott]

Yeah, it's kind of hard to know what they're going to do in that league. Look, I think West Virginia is markedly improved. I think Houston different, bro.

[Chip Patterson]

You seen that roster?

[Bud Elliott]

Yeah. I mean, 75. 75 new players, allegedly. I. I want to see how that gets all sorted out. Right.

[Chip Patterson]

Wait for the paperwork to get done on how 75 portal commitments are going to end up getting all Brought into school.

[Bud Elliott]

Is it all 75 portal or is that. I thought that was portal plus high school recruiting.

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah, plus recruiting.

[Bud Elliott]

I would say 75 portal would be insane. I mean, 75 total new players is insane regardless. 75 portal is like orders of magnitude insane.

[Danny Cannell]

I was gonna say, I think you'd have to be the number one team ranked if you had 75 players.

[Bud Elliott]

I wonder if any of those guys are dudes they took like, on condition of being able to enroll early. And if I want to, like, when's the enrollment date for West Virginia? 75 strikes me as a big number. Like, I don't know anything there as far as like all those guys are on the roster and they're in. But like, you do see like some over signing, conditioned on enrolling early. And then if you. If you don't get in early, you're like, I know. We're. We're good, man.

[Chip Patterson]

Hell yeah. Rich Rod. Bringing it back to the old days. I haven't heard over signing in a long time.

[Bud Elliott]

Houston, not special, baby.

[Chip Patterson]

Let's go, gray shirts. Can we. Can we bring back all the. All the buzzwords from right over stocking the roster back in the day?

[Danny Cannell]

Anybody want to make a quick guess on the program with the most. The highest number of incoming transfers at the moment? Because it's not West Virginia.

[Chip Patterson]

First, because West Virginia is like 40 plus high school kids. Right.

[Danny Cannell]

But there is one program with currently, according to the website, 49 incoming transfers.

[Bud Elliott]

Is it a G5?

[Danny Cannell]

Nope.

[Chip Patterson]

Is it LSU?

[Danny Cannell]

Nope.

[Bud Elliott]

Is it Wisconsin?

[Danny Cannell]

Nope. Damn it. Can you get it? Danny's cheat. Look at him.

[Chip Patterson]

He's looking it up.

[Podcast Intro/Announcer]

You can see him typing.

[Danny Cannell]

I see you typing.

[Bud Elliott]

Oh, okay. Yeah, I saw it in the chat. That actually makes a lot of sense.

[Danny Cannell]

It's Oklahoma State.

[Bud Elliott]

Yeah.

[Chip Patterson]

And at. And at Penn State. It's not transfers. It's just guys who took the bus from Ames. You know, it's just a little bit cleaner than that. A few other Portal headlines that stood out. Our guy Coy Parich found a landing spot. I mean, did we. You talk about first guessing? Didn't we mention Oregon right away as soon as we found out that. That one of the most athletic and gifted safeties in the Big Ten was going to be available. No surprise there. That is a big boost for Oregon's defensive backfield. Tom, you got anything on Coy?

[Danny Cannell]

Yeah, it'll be interesting to see because I. I don't. I don't think he was used properly. I don't think Coy was great this year. I think that he was often the target in coverage. And he also, like I looked it up because his there were 51 power four safeties who played at least 700 snaps this year. Koi's 21 1/2% missed tackle rate ranked 50th now. I think part of that was Minnesota put him in the slot a lot. And I don't think, I mean, Koi's very athletic, he's very talented. I don't think he's the guy you want in the slot covering those guys. And I, I think he got burned doing it. So to me, it's interesting because I remember when they brought in Thieman from Purdue, I was not all that high on it. I thought Thieman was mostly a guy who just had a lot of tackles because Purdue's defense sucked. But if you looked at the way Purdue used him compared to how Oregon used him, Oregon put him in the box a lot more this year and he was a much better player. I'm wondering if you see Coy Perich used more in that role instead of in coverage. Kind I wonder if you're going to see him being closer to the line of scrimmage.

[Chip Patterson]

And for those who haven't necessarily been keeping tabs on the Minnesota coaching turnover, among the things that changed from 2024 to 2025 were the absence of Corey Heatherman, who is now going to be the defensive coordinator in the national championship game. So you did have a little bit of a change of ideas. So I guess what I'm hearing, Thomas, you'd rather let Coy play a little more center field? Go be an athlete. Go make plays. Yeah.

[Danny Cannell]

I mean, you look at him and you see the talent. You, you understand why he was as highly rated as he is. And you saw flashes of it his freshman year. He didn't play a ton like he was mostly reserve his freshman year. But like this year, I just, I didn't really understand the way they were using him. And I think maybe Oregon will use him in a better spot.

[Chip Patterson]

There was a little bit of buzz and maybe even reckless speculation that though Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson had announced that he'd be going to the NFL draft, that maybe there would still be an opportunity to change his mind. We've seen it, obviously in recent years. Cam Ward, Carson Beck among those that decided to come back from declaring from the draft and end up staying for one more year in college. But the man is doubled down. He tells Chris Lowe no. He evokes the Denny chimes and talks about how much legacy Means that he's going to be remembered as an Alabama quarterback. But also it does seem that as we're sitting here on Wednesday morning, more reporting comes out indicating that the paperwork seems to have been really signed. He's going to move on in the NFL. He dk. Are you surprised that Ty Simpson. Because I was posed this question yesterday. Should he. Right. I mean the, the classic the given opinion with no actual real value to whether or not your opinion matters or not. Like right. Should he go pro or not? You know and, and I thought it's small sample size from what he's actually done. He's old so if he just wants to move on with his life, that's right thing. But I, I feel like he could have come back and improved his overall program. What he put on tape.

[Tom Fornelli]

Yes. But there's a lot to this. This is a tough decision for SI Simpson because it's a lot of money on the table and I love that he was giving names and telling exactly how things went down and said Ole Miss was going to back it up. They said we'll match it and Miami was up there like he was giving numbers and names. So good for him for doing that.

[Chip Patterson]

Narc.

[Tom Fornelli]

So yeah. So he, he has to be getting a first round grade in my opinion.

[Chip Patterson]

Yes.

[Tom Fornelli]

And I do think he, he probably will be a first rounder. There's a chance, albeit slim because I don't think Dante Moore is going back. But if Dante Moore went back to Oregon all of a sudden he could be the number two quarterback. Then you could find yourself up there. So let's assume he's getting a first round grade and he's late in the first round. Jackson Dart was a 25th pick overall last year. Do you know what his signing bonus was? 8 million. Do you know what his guaranteed money was? 17. Miami or Ole Miss didn't offer that. And I wonder if he as much as he's loves about Bama and I, I shouldn't mock it because I should appreciate it. Right.

[Chip Patterson]

He's kind of bucking like I mean that was like he was a Saban recruit. He obviously loves it.

[Tom Fornelli]

Yes. So I shouldn't mock that. I appreciate somebody who wants to stay true to their school. But I also think still financially, as long as he is a late first round pick, I'd have to look up the second round numbers because it's probably not that far off. He was a first, a second round pick. I think it's the right decision to go because there is a chance he goes somewhere else, loses Learns a new system, doesn't excel in it and he drops to the third or fourth round. He's only got six and a half million bucks. He missed out on eight and 17 guaranteed. And then all of a sudden you're just not set up for as much success because like it or not, the higher you're drafted in the NFL, the more opportunities you'll get, the more forgiveness you get, the more teams will keep giving you opportunities. So overall, again, assuming he's been told, which I do think he has been given a first round grade, I think you should go.

[Bud Elliott]

Yeah, I mean I think Danny nailed it there. Like, can you turn down six or six that million from Miami if you know you're going in the first round? Like, what's your guaranteed contract there in the NFL?

[Tom Fornelli]

17. Is that your guaranteed that you. That's what Jackson Dark got 25th overall pick. 17. He got eight up front. 17 guaranteed.

[Chip Patterson]

And Ryan Wilson mentioned when we were talking yesterday, Pittsburgh Steelers at 21.

[Bud Elliott]

Yeah.

[Chip Patterson]

New coach need a new quarterback start, fresh start.

[Danny Cannell]

It is still risky though. It's very risky because remember Shadora was going to be a first round pick last year too.

[Tom Fornelli]

Right.

[Danny Cannell]

So you don't know how things are going to go by the time the draft starts. You could slide. He could help. Given this quarterback class, he could be a top 10 pick. This could be an incredible financial decision he is making. But at the end, the bigger story to me is, well, not the bigger story but like you were mentioning, Danny, it's the loyalty is just something you don't see a whole lot anymore like that. And I don't know if it's the right way to go about it in this modern era of football, but it kind of feels like a dinosaur thing where it's like he's like, I didn't want to leave. I wanted to be loyal to the school I was part of. And it's just like, yeah, I wonder how many more guys are going to say that in the future.

[Tom Fornelli]

Right.

[Bud Elliott]

Yeah.

[Tom Fornelli]

And I was pretty opinionated on Quinn yours. I thought he made a financial mistake by passing up on $6 million, which was the number last year for him. And sure enough, he cost himself financially a ton of money now and he said the same things. I'm a Texas Longhorn for life. I didn't want to go somewhere else. That is your own decision. I do remember being in college and being so ready to get on with the next phase of my life. You know, there's also that aspect. He's 23 and he's already made money, right. So it's not the first time he's going to have money. He's already got a couple million, I would assume. So I think he's got money. I think that helps the decision. So it's the right thing for him.

[Chip Patterson]

Also, like, if I am to once again be the sucker for all the romance and flowery stuff, I mean, who are we talking about here? We're talking about a coach's boy. All right, we're talking. We're talking about Jason Simpson's boy, right? His dad is head coach of the UT of UT Martin. You want to talk about coaching for the love of the game? Like you, you're. You're the UT Martin head football coach. And like all of the stuff that you think about, about being one of 11 and, you know, just being in the locker room and keeping that commitment, I mean, Ty Simpson, he's talked it. He's backed it up and he certainly has with this decision as well. So we'll see.

[Danny Cannell]

You should transfer to UT Martin.

[Chip Patterson]

Ooh. If he really loves the game.

[Danny Cannell]

Really loves the game.

[Chip Patterson]

Really loves the game.

[Danny Cannell]

How much do you love it, Ty?

[Chip Patterson]

Million.

[Danny Cannell]

You gonna sell out and go to the NFL? Are you gonna go to UT Martin?

[Tom Fornelli]

Listen, so quick, quick note.

[Chip Patterson]

Yes.

[Tom Fornelli]

Because I was just looking at this. I was trying to think of a second rounder. Tyler Schuck last year was drafted number 40. So early in the second round, there is a massive drop off. His signing bonus was $5 million, prorated over four years, fully guaranteed though his contract for 10.8. So that's. That's the gamble. You definitely want to be a first round no matter where it is. Even as pick 32, there is a pretty significant drop off from that first to second. It starts declining pretty rapidly.

[Chip Patterson]

I expect that he will be poked and prodded regarding the back and the medical evaluation. And maybe in some of the interviews he's like, yeah, when we played against South Carolina, I took a hit and was just not right for the next couple weeks because prior to that game, we're talking about him like a Heisman trophy candidate, you know, one of the best quarterbacks in the entire country, maybe a top quarterback in the NFL draft class. So Ty Simpson off the board, I guess. What's. What, what. What's happening? What are we gonna see? Could. Is someone. Tom, I guess you could say it again. This will be, you know, for the third or fourth episode, and unless your quarterback has signed paperwork Demon Williams style, they're a threat. Miami's a threat right yeah, yeah.

[Danny Cannell]

But I think we know who Alabama's quarterback is next year.

[Chip Patterson]

Oh, that's Keelan Russell or Austin Mac.

[Danny Cannell]

But yeah, so it's. Yeah, Miami is still going to be out there. We'll see, we'll see. But I think there's a lot of. Correct me if I'm wrong, but there's a lot of Long Street Miami buzz right now.

[Bud Elliott]

Yeah, that's been out there quite a bit. I, I think this is kind of an indication like, does Miami push all in again next year? We've talked about this on the show quite a bit. I think you could like, you got to figure out what your spending is and what your window to win and like define window to win. What? Like is next year's Miami team with Long Street a real contender to win a national title? I would have a little bit of doubt about that just given the number of like truly special players that they're losing. Like Bane is one of the best defensive players they've ever had at Miami and they have a long history of great ones and Maui Noah is like one of the best offensive linemen they've ever had as well as. Aren't all those guys gone? Isn't Bell, Cooper, Brockermeyer, Maui Noah and did Okinlola get a shirt or like is he gone too? He might be able to come back.

[Danny Cannell]

And loa, but those other guys are gone.

[Bud Elliott]

I guess like it's not the worst thing to assemble a team that should be competitive for the ACC title with a multi year quarterback.

[Chip Patterson]

Oh, so that would be the Long street as opposed to trying to go with a quick hit or just somebody to get in there.

[Bud Elliott]

Yeah. I'm kind of wondering if Miami's like sneaky smart about not really doing the high school quarterback recruiting thing and just like being willing to spend like crazy for certainty of at least like a high floor, you know. But then again they got burned on Levitt and they didn't get Simpson, so maybe like there is some risk there.

[Tom Fornelli]

How many years does Hassan have? Is he, Isn't he younger?

[Bud Elliott]

Wasn't he a true freshman this year?

[Tom Fornelli]

Yeah, yeah. So that's the angle they could be taken. If they can't take him is less. Next year's development year. You get him under two years and then you kind of, you compete. You know, they got an extra 20 million from this run. They're flush with cash, but they've. I do wonder if Miami's been impacted by this run from the portal. They're 51st in the rain. They've only got four guys signed.

[Danny Cannell]

Doesn't, doesn't seem to be slowing Indiana down.

[Tom Fornelli]

I know, but like Indiana might have been more prepared after being in the playoffs last year. I don't. Again, I'm not criticizing Miami. I'd be all in on the championship this year, too. I just, as a team that was super active last year, I think maybe some of it is funding. Maybe they are looking at how much they have left over to spend. But again, 20 million that they didn't know they had just came into their lap.

[Chip Patterson]

So.

[Tom Fornelli]

But, but now it's almost too late. Like you don't, you didn't know you had this fund. So I wonder if next year sort of get some young players and, you know, play the long game a little bit.

[Chip Patterson]

I think that their offensive and defensive line is staggered well enough that they have built out a machine that can play bully ball and kind of to your point, bud, be an ACC title contender almost every year.

[Tom Fornelli]

I mean, they were the last two years. Like, we've got a pretty good track record. They kind of should have made it the year before.

[Chip Patterson]

They could come out there and run the football and throw bubble screens to Malachi, Tony and mash people at the line of scrimmage and win six of their eight or seven of their nine ACC games with very, very average quarterback play. The question is whether or not you're going to invest in a certain year or whether you've got a guy in a certain year that you believe can take you to the next level to help things across the board.

[Danny Cannell]

The real question is, is it harder to win the ACC than the national title?

[Tom Fornelli]

That is, I mean, probably they've run through this field without a problem.

[Danny Cannell]

Yeah.

[Tom Fornelli]

I mean, that is away from Louisville and SMU.

[Chip Patterson]

If you, if you dropped Ohio State in the ACC 6 and 6, golly, they wouldn't be able to crack the top four, you know.

[Bud Elliott]

Yeah, clip that.

[Chip Patterson]

Coming up on the other side, we turn our attention to Monday night's national championship game. Let's go inside the matchup. Offense against defense. Defense against offense. X factor saying more next.

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[Chip Patterson]

Back here on the COVID 3 podcast. And yes, I saw a 904 Hurricane in the tailgate mentioned Jackson Cantwell, five star offensive tackle, who I believe he's. He's got to be early enrolled. I've seen him on the sidelines at some of these games and I know Miami fans who get in there always recommend getting into the stadium. It's fun to watch the teams warm up, but when you when you got Cantwell watching mauigoa get ready, you're like, all right, cool. Well, that's six years of elite tackle play that we've got, thanks to our our own former tackle in Mario Cristobal. All right, one game left in the 2025, 2026 season. So we got to do what the COVID 3 podcast does best. It is big game breakdown. The opening point spread here was six and a half. Now out to seven and a half. Now out to eight and a half. Clearly a lot of folks Are favoring Indiana our best bets for the game, be they on the spread, total props or more. Not props, but you know, it might get exotic. I've heard that'll. That'll come tomorrow as we do our national championship best bets. But when it comes to getting inside the matchup here, bud, what can Miami do to be able to have more success against this Indiana defense than almost everybody from the entire season?

[Bud Elliott]

Yeah, I think this is a really interesting matchup. You have to go and look at some of the recent games Indiana's played and you do have to just rely on some bit of luck, slash regression to the mean from Mendoza and the passing offense. Like Oregon covered those guys pretty well. I think he threw like maybe one bad pass in the game. Indiana was 5 of 5 uncontested catch opportunities like before the game got got out of hand and like, if you look at that, that's just not probably repeatable, not impossible, but like it's not likely that they're going to go 5 of 5 again on passes that are really well covered, you know, and they did. And if that happens again, Miami's cooked right, because that's just you. You only have so many of those in a ball game as far as things they can control. I am interested to see like Miami does run just like visually really tight splits on the offensive line. Like their offensive linemen are almost foot to foot. I went on stats, bomb the huddle thing and look this up. So Iowa, a team that Indian has played, is actually the second tightest splits in the country, Miami's 10th. And I think where that matters here is Indiana moves and shifts and stunts and twists so much. Like they're not huge up front defensively, they're quick, they scheme a lot of pressures, they scheme a lot of stuff to bust your run. Man, Miami's kind of just foot to foot and surge. And I think the worry there if you're the Canes, is that you're getting runs hit from the backside. But I think there's actually a pretty decent chance that they do not allow a lot of penetration against the run game, you know, like tackle to tackle. And if that's the case, if they're able to kind of just form a wall and surge, that's where Miami being huge on the offensive line really might play well here. Ole Miss got him a little bit. But Ole Miss is similar to Indiana in terms of like how much they move up front. Although Ole Miss is bigger up front than Indiana is. If they're able to to make Indiana a Little bit uncomfortable as far as how they usually get penetration into the backfield. I think they could have something here. And if Miami somehow pulls this off, I expect that to be a major storyline. Hey, Miami just did not allow penetration between the tackles because their splits are so tight at the same time. You can go and look up on. On IQ or PFF or wherever. Like Indiana plays the run concepts. Miami runs extremely well. So now does that make a difference if you're running it from tighter splits than people normally run? Like offensive line wise? Not saying like receiver splits. Although Miami does do a lot of compressed sets to enable their screen game. Some of their return motion stuff, but like to me that's the one thing. Like can they just stay ahead of the chains, not be in. In third and eight very much because they're. They're able to, you know, like just foot to foot surgeon.

[Chip Patterson]

Like a. Like I'm just imagining rugby or like.

[Bud Elliott]

That'S a really good way to think about it.

[Chip Patterson]

I guess we're gonna get behind these boys and we're just gonna keep and just seeing if we can just create third and four.

[Bud Elliott]

And you can see it visually, right? There's often times where it's not like Miami's bursting through a huge hole all the time. A lot of times just, hey, like Fletcher kind of gets up there almost. Who is the guy for the Steelers for a long time?

[Danny Cannell]

Le'Veon Bell.

[Bud Elliott]

Le'Veon Bell, right. It was like, okay, there's nothing there, but like he doesn't. He keeps his head up and like looks for the whole. Like, even though he's kind of, you know, nuts to busts with the offensive lineman right there and then eventually he finds a crease and. And gets it. Miami's backs do a pretty good job running in that style. They seem to understand what they have in front of them.

[Tom Fornelli]

I think it is so clear and obvious what Miami wants to do. I mean, they have a very clear identity of what they've been in this postseason run and it's been awesome and it has worked. They want to run the ball, they want to run Mark Fletcher, and they want those two edges to impact your quarterback. And they've been able to do it. Couple things I think to watch out for. Injuries for Miami are starting to pile up. I know Mario said Akeem Mazador is good to go. I kind of want to see it now. He did come back in the game. I think he'll be fine. But in the secondary specifically, I think this is where the first quarter and even the first half are really crucial for Miami defensively and why it's imperative that they do get some of that rush before Mendoza gets time. Xavier Lucas is out for the half. Right? We know that from the targeting. They've got two, you know, corners banged up and O.J. frederick, Demari Brown, like how healthy are they and how many young players that you could possibly see a veteran group of Mendoza and Becker and Surat pick on the outside. Because I do think Miami will have some success stopping the run. But that's their weakness right now, especially in the first half. You're kind of figuring it out. And you got Mike Shanahan, who's great offensive play caller. You got a great quarter quarterback. That's what I'm kind of watching for early in this game because if you know you don't want to give up some easy ones. And Bub was talking about how precise they were in the past game. They're just good. They are precise. So that that margin is going to be really tight. The other thing to watch out for, if d' Angelo Pons gets a pick six off Carson Beck, not on the first play at any point, I will just say I told you so because they Miami, especially against Ole Miss, but even against Ohio State, they like throwing those 5 yard, 10 yard outs with Carson Beck to the wide side of the field. They did it pretty successfully. But Ole Miss, if you caught a couple of those balls were really tight and I was like, oh my gosh. And then he like either caught it or was an incomplete. Just be careful on those because I guarantee maybe it sets up a double move. Maybe there's a big play because they're watching d' Angelo Pons jump these. That could be a big play opportunity there for a little double move. But it does make me a little bit worried, especially seeing some of those balls lose a little bit of zip on Carson Beck on those wide throws across the field or deep downfield. Just something to keep an eye out for.

[Danny Cannell]

I think this game comes down to who protects their quarterback better. We've seen Indiana's tackle struggle in their games. We saw them struggle a bit against Alabama. We saw them struggle a bit last week. They have, if you look statistically, they have allowed more pressure on drop backs than Miami has. Miami's number one as far as pressure rate allowed on offense and Indiana I think is like 36. So they're not bad, but they're, you know, it's the one area of their offense where they're not elite. But the one misleading thing about Miami is. If you look at the average time to throw, they get the ball out very quick. Carson beck is at 2.49 seconds which is the sixth fewest in the nation as far as, you know, FBS teams. But the difference here is the one thing you have seen Indiana do week in, week out against everybody is they confuse quarterbacks. They give you a different picture after the snap than what you saw before. And it's like this is when Carson's back experience should help him a bit. Especially compared to like Dante Moore who still, you know, even though it's a full season, he's still, it's not like he's been around for four or five years. Not like he's seen everything Carson Beck has seen a whole hell of a lot more. So how well does Carson Beck handle what he sees pre snap and his ability to diagnose after the snap? Because if it takes him longer to get rid of the ball than typical a like Danny, you're mentioning those out routes they like to run. A lot of what they do is based on timing. His arm is not super strong. And then also like this might surprise some people, but you know who has a higher pressure rate defensively and a higher sac rate than Miami? Indiana. Like they don't have the top 10 or first round picks on their defensive line or in their front seven, but they have been more effective at getting after the quarterback than Miami. We talk about how great Miami's pass rush is. So if Beck's not able to diagnose things quickly, he's not getting the ball out quickly. We've seen what happens when Carson gets pressured. It's often not very pretty. And then if you start turning the ball over against this Indiana team, the avalanche starts. That's what we saw last week against Oregon. They turned the ball over early and they were done by the end of the first quarter because of it. You can't afford to be putting yourself in those spots. So I think that is going to be key. Mendoza does a much better job when pressured than Beck does. So Miami has to protect him. And then my other question is one of the reasons Indiana is very good at getting pressure is they blitz far more than Miami does because they don't have that talent that Miami has on its defensive line. They have to find more creative ways to get after the quarterback. But what happens if you blitz Miami picks it up and then you get Malachi Tony in space on a short little throw and it's just him running doing a punt return pretty much against your defensive Backfield. So Miami's gonna have to find a way to get that kid the ball because he is a superstar. You're going to need to get explosive plays that way because we have seen Carson can't really push the ball vertically anymore. And I don't want Carson pushing the ball vertically against his defense because I think they will pick him off if he tries. I'm going to look for those shorter throws and try to get the yards after the catch. Going with Tony, maybe some CJ Daniel stuff along the sidelines. What I need to if they start creeping up. But just I, I think it's going to be a very, very disciplined approach from Miami offensively. Like Bud was talking about. I think they will lean on the run game, but when it comes to the passing game, they have to pick up those blitzes. They have to recognize them and they have to get Malachi in space. If they don't, they are going to have a very difficult time moving the ball on this defense.

[Bud Elliott]

I, I would agree with that. I Is the tight end back for Miami? I mean he got like taking the locker room on a cart.

[Tom Fornelli]

Yeah, I do said the injury. I was looking up this up before the show. The injury could affect Miami the most. Is the one that Elijah Lofton. While I didn't get specifics, Curseball did say that the player in question who might not be able to play in the national championship game is Lofton.

[Bud Elliott]

Yeah, I, I mean, obviously haven't put out the official injury report, but anytime you go to the locker room on a cart like, like, even though it wasn't from the field taken off a cart, it was from the sideline. That does give me a little bit of pause about like is this guy's gonna be available, which I think is a big deal. Like Sadiq like got open a pretty good bit against Indiana. Man, I totally agree. Like, keeping Beck clean is so key. He is not a great guy throwing the ball with pressure around him, you know, and that, that's going to be really big. No Lucas, for the first half with the targeting, I think that probably lends itself to a really slowly paid like played first half for the Canes and also probably a more conservative defense because when Miami does blitz, they like to send that nickel quite a bit. I, I, I mean they're a little bit thin in the secondary. They've been banged up. I would expect them to play probably more conservatively in the first half if I could guess, which in the end I'm sure will will expect.

[Tom Fornelli]

And guys, I think one of the.

[Bud Elliott]

Fascinating things here is like what kind of tendency breakers can you get going for this? And like that's not like, hey, allegations of cheating like that. I, I think Indiana scouts extremely well as far as like scouting themselves, scouting opponents. Like, it wouldn't surprise me like if they use like, like if they're actually embracing technology. You know, like I, I tend to not want to go down the, like they're doing something like wrong type thing. I bet you they're just like in any business you're trying to find hidden edges, right? And like that's kind of what I would be looking like, like looking for if I, if I was a staff. Like, hey, like can I use AI to like map your game film to pick up tendencies that like my, my film watchers just can't, you know, can't pick up type thing.

[Tom Fornelli]

And it works both ways. You should be self scouting the same. Like how are we making sure we're not showing any tendencies and have the same type of technology? Self scouting?

[Bud Elliott]

Right, exactly. So like can you have some tendency breakers? Can you self scout, like to be able to say, okay, this has been an issue for us, we're going to run this slightly differently and maybe, maybe you create explosives in that way. Like if, if Indiana is overplaying your tendencies and you successfully break them. You know, it's kind of like remember on Madden when you like down stick to go run and it's actually a pass and like the guy's wide open type thing. There's a little bit element of that.

[Chip Patterson]

Well, that would be the double move on the out route.

[Bud Elliott]

Yeah, right.

[Chip Patterson]

Like that would be like one of the examples of ways that you get them with their hand in the cookie jar thinking that they've got you dead to rights on the thing that they over scouted. You're just, I mean man, that's, that, that is a big responsibility. And I'm not saying that he's not capable of it. That's a big responsibility for Shannon Dawson and the offensive staff to be able to start to put this together. Because to me defensively, we've already discussed this like one of the reasons why Miami's defense has been so much better. Yes, it is the pieces that have come together. But I think Corey Heatherman has just simplified stuff, you know, so you just didn't have these like wide open, explosive plays because one assignment was missed. I mean, he realized that they did a good job of getting dudes of putting the team together. Now we're just going to go heads up and go Play ball. So I, I don't know if there's as much tweaking that you can do to the knobs. You're just asking Bane and Mezador and Torre and even like the young boy Fitzgerald. Like, you're just asking them to go out there and make plays and do their jobs. Like, you are awesome players. Go, go do something simple. I think offensively is where you want to see like something maybe get a little bit unique that leads to, for example, like, what is off the top of my head. I'm just pulling this out.

[Danny Cannell]

You.

[Chip Patterson]

We were talking about Carson Beck and the deep ball. It. The what came to mind. I was like, well, I. So what have we seen? It was a 36 yard moonshot to Malachi as he's running wide open, you know, down the middle of the field. Can you create something with a tendency breaker that's going to get an athlete like Malachi, you know, out in that kind of open space.

[Danny Cannell]

Can I just talk about my favorite thing about the cheating?

[Chip Patterson]

Oh, sure.

[Danny Cannell]

Allegations.

[Chip Patterson]

I've got a favorite thing.

[Danny Cannell]

But you go first because, you know, they, they hacked catapult, they've been scouting all your practices, blah, blah, blah. And they had the pick six on the first play of the game. And that's kind of what helped spawn all this stuff. The only drive Oregon scored a touchdown on before the game was 42. Seven was its very next drive after the pick six in which they were still on the script. They've been working on practice all week. So if Indiana hacked their practice and then still allowed them to drive all the way down the field, they're pretty terrible at it.

[Chip Patterson]

40 chest, baby. We get the touchdown, then we allow you to do it. Just to let you know, you know, that's, that's like intentionally losing so you don't get cut off. Right? Some sneakers in there. Yeah. Super, super, super smart. No, my favorite, Tom, is, is when people think that they're being cheeky in, in public faces. It's like. And Kurt Signetti, you know, he's gonna leave no stone unturned. You know, like you throw a lot of the, the little nuggets in there and. And then of course it becomes so big that we've got national columnists putting together the cop like multiple columns on don't call it cheating. They're just good like it. It is among the storylines I'll be happy to move past once the game finally kicks off on Monday night.

[Bud Elliott]

For sure.

[Tom Fornelli]

Unless there's a pick six on the first place.

[Danny Cannell]

There's A pick six in the first place. Here's another question for you. I mean, just based on our chat, so I'm influenced heavily by this one. Who are Notre Dame fans rooting for in this game? Oh, like Indiana winning a national title before you do in the playoff, BCS era, or like, one of your longtime rivals, the old days, Miami.

[Bud Elliott]

I think they're rooting for Miami.

[Danny Cannell]

Wow.

[Bud Elliott]

I don't think you want to see, like, your. Your neighbors in the state win a title and, like, legitimize himself more.

[Chip Patterson]

I think. I think Notre Dame is so confident in Notre Dame that even though they lost 27, 24, they still think they are the better program than Miami. And so Miami winning one would not be threatening.

[Bud Elliott]

Yeah. Like, Danny, if USF was playing Clemson for the national title, I think, like, if you're one of the fans that's kind of cognizant of the interest of the program, I. I think I know who I'd be rooting for.

[Chip Patterson]

You'd be rooting for Clemson, right?

[Danny Cannell]

Yeah.

[Chip Patterson]

Because the last thing that you want is another team able to say, yeah.

[Bud Elliott]

Now, if it was like, Florida or usf, go Bulls. Right, but.

[Chip Patterson]

Right, right.

[Bud Elliott]

Yeah. Like, I mean, all day long.

[Tom Fornelli]

That one's easy.

[Bud Elliott]

Yeah. Right.

[Chip Patterson]

What about. I mean, coaching edge? Indiana.

[Tom Fornelli]

Yeah.

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah. I mean, a lot we've talked about this a little, you know, with the. The journey of Mario. We did that a little on Monday.

[Danny Cannell]

Like, I. I do think that the Miami staff has done a very good job this year, but we've also talked about how what Signetti's done at Indiana might be the most impressive coaching job in the history of the sport. So you kind of have to give him the edge.

[Tom Fornelli]

I don't think that. I don't think even Mario would be insulted by that. I mean, I'm sure he'd play it up chip on the shoulder, but the job Signetti's done is just out of this world.

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah, we'll. We'll see if we can. If we have to put our, you know, really try to put this in perspective. Miami. But Indiana has to finish the job, you know, and Miami is there with four quarters and 60 minutes and a chance to be able to win a national championship. That would, like, really, really, I think, change the way that that program is. Is looked at and viewed. And I think that work's already been done. I think that Mario's done fantastic job. The. The teams that he's beaten along the way. Texas A and M, Ohio State, Ole Miss. This. This is big boy type Stuff ain't no bracket luck with the way Miami has gotten to the national championship game. But I've changed my opinion on Mario Cristobal and his staff in the course of the season as a whole. You know, I've really circled it back here on the podcast. I know to the SMU loss, but I would still go edge Indiana on that one.

[Bud Elliott]

I mean, in the era of the talent being more spread out than ever before, Indiana is killing people and they're doing it without like a lot of top, you know, first round type guys. I think you have to like attribute that to coaching. So yeah, edge Indiana. Although my Mario has done a. I thought the way he managed the A and M game was really suspect and could have bit them in the ass. But the last two I feel like he's done a really good job with.

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah, I would agree with that. I mean, and how about they've. They've just. My Miami has been able to weather, I mean the resiliency of this group. They've not just crumbled on their own mistakes. They had two first quarter fumbles in the last three games. You know, like there's the, the penalties were racking up. You mentioned the inner four dropped interceptions. You know, it's been a really good. I think that that also goes back to coaching, getting the DNA, the fabric of your team ready to be able to handle what's just going to be an absolute war here in game number 15, game number 16, this deep in the season against some of the other best teams in the country, they do.

[Bud Elliott]

Have a common opponent and Miami beat Ohio State by more than any hand did.

[Chip Patterson]

That's true.

[Bud Elliott]

Although Indiana has not had all three receivers in a game this year very often and now they do. And that really is scary with how.

[Chip Patterson]

Well Mendoza's playing and how well Becker has become by the end of the year.

[Bud Elliott]

Right.

[Tom Fornelli]

That's been a secret, secret development due to the injuries at receiver that Becker's been able to develop and you don't lose without him and now you're deeper at that position. That's kind of scary.

[Danny Cannell]

I have to think of how to phrase this so it doesn't get taken out of context incorrectly, but going back to Mario and the coaching and the adjustments that they made. Like last year they had Cam or number one pick in the draft. I think part of the reason of the volatility of Miami last year was that they didn't rain Cam in even though he was playing very well. I think that they were putting their defense in bad spots sometimes because they were just so quick on offense and it kind of caught them in certain times and it kept them in games that maybe they shouldn't have been in. I think the primary adjustment Miami made this year was after they go and get Carson back and they spend a lot of money on him. There was still some of that to them early in the year. And then after those losses, or primarily the first loss, they reigned Carson in and they went back to just being like, listen, man, we don't need to take all these damn shots. We could just wear these teams down. We're just better than they are. And I wonder if maybe they'd have taken that same kind of approach last year. Their outcomes wouldn't have been as volatile as they were, and maybe they would have won. Maybe they would have avoided one of those losses that would allow them to get into the College Football Playoff or.

[Chip Patterson]

At least into the ACC championship game. @ least that was the thing is they had a 21 point lead at Syracuse and all they had to do was win and they make the ACC Championship game. Fran Brown, of course, leading that comeback and telling Dabo, you're welcome on the field in one of his many notable year one quotables. All right, best bets for the game. That'll be coming up tomorrow on Thursday. But coming up on the other side, coaches, we talked about Husson Longstreet earlier. Coaches are really pushing for a change to the eligibility requirements. We'll spend a quick, quick couple minutes addressing that and more next. Well, this time of year always includes the afca, the American Football Coaches association convention. That is a chance where we get, you know, voting on issues, proposals that then get pushed to the ncaa. And so while the proposals never mean that the rules are changing, they do at least indicate an important voice within the sport, the people who are the closest to it than anyone else. And there was a unanimous vote at this week's AFCA to change the eligibility for red shirt. This would include an increase from four games. Because right now you can play four games and still declare a red shirt to nine games and still be able to maintain your eligibility for the season if you were to declare a red shirt. Danny, we were.

[Danny Cannell]

Talking.

[Chip Patterson]

You. You gave the 5 for 5 pitch on here either on Monday or last week. And, and I, I will admit I'm. I'm not. I don't have my expertise. I don't have a strong feel for this here. What do you see in terms of. This doesn't sound like five for five and this really.

[Danny Cannell]

Close. It's five for.

[Chip Patterson]

Five.

[Tom Fornelli]

Okay. That's why, like, why come up with that number? Why not just go. Why not just say, we want the five for five? I think they already said that. They've already made that public. So, like. And it's just a weird. Like, why didn't they go to six? Like, you play half the season and do.

[Chip Patterson]

That?

[Tom Fornelli]

This. This idea just doesn't make any sense to me. I think 5 and 5 is the easiest solution out there that we're eventually going to get to. It's just why we can't get there is beyond me. I think 5 and 5 is the perfect solution to all of these issues that we're seeing. But for some reason, we're going to push for.

[Danny Cannell]

Nine. My theory is if you jump straight to five to five, that's going to really jack up recruiting for a year, because suddenly this year's recruiting class, you're going to have a lot fewer spots available. I feel like this is kind of a five for five. And again, this is just the coaches who voted this through. Nobody's approved it.

[Chip Patterson]

Yet. Nobody's approved. Yeah. Ye. It is an interesting. It is an interesting starting point for that conversation, which is obviously one of the big topics that people are looking.

[Danny Cannell]

At. So I think you go by going to nine games, perhaps guys are far less likely to pack it in in November than they are after September. Especially if you're still playing for something. Maybe the teams that are out of it, guys want to check out. Fine. We're out of it anyway. We're going to get new guys. But if we're in the playoff hunt, maybe my guy is like, no, I'm going to stick around. But I also. I feel like this is more of a soft launch attempt. So that way. Because I. I do think if you go straight to it, it's going to be kind of disruptive to a lot of different things. And maybe this is a way to stagger it so that way you're getting there, but it's not just completely blowing crap up right.

[Chip Patterson]

Away. What's your sense.

[Bud Elliott]

Bud? So I've seen a lot of chatter out there that, like, they're not going to make any changes to a rule because it invites more litigation, and then they want. They want to get stuff figured out there first. I'm not gonna lie. Like, with all the portal stuff and, like, prepping for the natty stuff and the playoffs, I. I've been kind of waiting to see what will happen on this. I don't have a great feel for exactly what's going to happen. Clearly, like, the coaches want it because they don't want guys to sit, like, to. To be playing so few games and then decide to sit out. Right. If you get nine to play with, that's a little bit easier. Right. Like, you. Maybe you sit a guy for. If he's a young player for one, like, your really big games, you know, he's not going to play in. Like, you don't burn a couple. A couple snaps on special teams here or there. Like, nine gives you a lot more leeway to play with. So I totally understand why a coach would want it. I totally back the 5 for 5 idea. I think Tom's probably onto something there with the recruiting piece. I'm not totally sure how changing the rule invites more litigation, but enough smart people out there have like, kind of thrown that idea out with some certainty, so I'm going to trust them on that. I just haven't really looked into their reasoning.

[Chip Patterson]

Yet. Would there be an entire cycle of high school recruiting that kind of gets jacked.

[Bud Elliott]

Up? I think Tom saying.

[Danny Cannell]

Right. Like, okay, yeah, that's very bad for one high school class in particular.

[Chip Patterson]

Yeah. And, you know, this is. These are, by the way, coaches that have already had to deal with the falling. Like, we just got the COVID year out of the system.

[Danny Cannell]

Right. Yeah. Is there a way you could go 5 for 5? But it doesn't apply to any current players. Like, 5 for 5 would start with next year's recruiting.

[Chip Patterson]

Class. Is that when a current player.

[Bud Elliott]

Sues? I would imagine somebody sooner. Yeah, yeah.

[Danny Cannell]

Yeah. See, that's okay. Freaking lawyers ruining everything. I know.

[Bud Elliott]

Man.

[Chip Patterson]

Seriously. Oh, yeah, bud. Elliott, are lawyers good for college.

[Danny Cannell]

Football? Yes or.

[Chip Patterson]

No? That was the question of the day on.

[Bud Elliott]

Monday. I love.

[Chip Patterson]

It. I would like your answer, sir.

[Bud Elliott]

Esquire. Well, yeah, I think they are a net positive overall, but they can create some problems. Right. If you didn't have lawyers, you would still, like, the players wouldn't make it any money at all. So, yeah, I would say probably good. The NCAA used to do a lot of stuff which was really sketchy, and the only real way to get over on him was suing.

[Chip Patterson]

Him. I was watching Landman on Paramount plus, which you can go and check out last night, and Billy Bob Thornton's character was answering questions and it said, well, well, what's our. What's. What's our word worth? And he said, nothing. That's what the lawyers are for. You know, it's kind of. Kind of where we're at right now. Like, you know, a lot of lip service being being paid one way or the other, but tough to be able to see exactly where this all is going to.

[Bud Elliott]

Land. All.

[Chip Patterson]

Right. What? What'd you.

[Danny Cannell]

Say? You said land. I said.

[Chip Patterson]

Man. Man. You can watch Landman on Paramount. Plus a mountain of entertainment. All right, we will be back Thursday, 11am Eastern Time to be able to get you set for the national championship game. Also, and I bookmarked this one because I do think it's a little bit more of a conversation worth settling.

[Bud Elliott]

Into.

[Chip Patterson]

What? What is the future of the College Football Playoff going to look like? We've got a lot of reporting to be able to help inform our discussion, but we've also got a date, and that is that the conference commissioners are meeting around this national championship. They need to come up with a plan for 20, 26 and beyond. So we'll take what we know, we'll take what we think and more. The future of the College Football Playoff, plus our national championship game. Best bets come and hang out Thursday, 11am Eastern Time. And you can follow him on Twitter at Tom Frnell. You can follow him@bud Elliott3. You can follow him at Danny Cannell. Follow me at Chip Patterson. Gentlemen, thank you very.

[Danny Cannell]

Much. Thank.

[Tom Fornelli]

You. See.

[Danny Cannell]

Ya. In the UEFA Champions League, every moment is a.

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