← The McShay Show
The McShay Show
Orange Bowl Instant Reactions: Natty-Bound Notre Dame, Drew Allar’s Draft Decision, and Abdul Carter NFL Comps
00:51:11
Loading summary
Transcript118 lines
- [00:01]
Shopify Ad
This episode is brought to you by Shopify. Upgrade your business with Shopify, home of the number one checkout on the planet. Shop pay boosts conversions up to 50%, meaning fewer carts going abandoned and more sales going cha ching. So if you're into growing your business, get a commerce platform that's ready to sell wherever your customers are. Visit shopify.com to upgrade your selling today.
- [00:22]
Todd McShay
It'S the McShay show, presented by FanDuel. It's time for the first 12 team playoff and you can bet on all of the action with FanDuel. Just think about all the opportunities we're going to have to bet on the College Football Playoff. We're talking about different conferences, home games for certain teams, the three or four week run that you're going to have to play. There's so much to earn if you're betting with FanDuel this College Football Playoff season. Why we love FanDuel. There's so many markets like spreads over unders, national championship futures and and so much more. This app is safe, secure and easy to use. When you win, you'll get paid instantly. Visit FanDuel.com McShay to download America's number one sportsbook. The Ringer is committed to responsible gambling. Visit rg-help.com to learn more about the resources and help lines available and listen to the end of the episode for additional details. Must be 21 and older and present in select states gambling problem. Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit RG D help.com if you're just joining us now and you're wondering why men's got a stiff neck looking up at the screen. We just watch this together. If you were with us live, we appreciate you joining us, but here we are. What a wild finish, man. But what, what it I, I even said walking down when I saw Marissa, she's like, what's going on in the game? You know, putting the kids down and handling all the stuff. I was like, it's kind of boring. Like I'm looking for a little bit more from it, you know. And that was like, I don't know, four minutes left in the first half, right? What a finish we got. What a treat, you know, what a treat for a semi final game. The first semi final game in this 12 team format, 12 team college football playoff format. And, and you had to wonder, like maybe it was just going through my mind and I'll, I want to get your initial thoughts too, but you had to kind of wonder and it kind of started creeping in my mind in the first half, we had, you know, we had. We had Riley Leonard in the concussion protocol at one point. Jeremiah Love is limping and not effective in the first half. Abdul Carter playing with one arm, for goodness sakes. You got the nose tackle for, For Notre Dame was out, was lost in the last game. Excuse me.
- [03:08]
Mel Kiper Jr.
Tyler Warren was banged up.
- [03:09]
Todd McShay
Tyler Warren got banged up for a little bit. And two starting offensive lineman for Notre Dame around the game. And I'm kind of wondering as this game's going on, like, can. Can college. I mean, college bodies can recover faster, but they're just. You're not used to this and like, what can. What is going to have to happen in the future? Like, all of a sudden, like, Penn State just finished and Connor put this in the chat, like, not used to seeing 13 and 3 as a final record for a team, but. But so much credit to all of these players, especially guys like Leonard, Love, Carter, for grinding it out, playing the game that they played. But in an unbelievable finish match.
- [03:46]
Mel Kiper Jr.
Unbelievable. It started to have a feel of like a NBA game. These just runs going back and forth. This one catch momentum, who's gonna make the most of it when they got it. And I think that ultimately that's what happened was Notre Dame just made, though made a few more plays when it mattered most. What really, really jumps out to me, not to go negative because I thought it was a great game, but the, the Drew Aller missed pass to Singleton early on in the first in the.
- [04:11]
Todd McShay
Flat behind the goal line. Yeah.
- [04:13]
Mel Kiper Jr.
And I think it was even the next drive where I think McElroy said he just missed two touchdown throws and that one was going to be 90 yards. He just didn't seem settled with his feet.
- [04:23]
Todd McShay
That's been a problem for him throughout his career, but it's been a lot better this year than it had been right a season ago.
- [04:29]
Mel Kiper Jr.
But, but to throw out the negative, I mean, these were two teams that, like. I mean, this was a battle. It was a defensive battle. There's a lot of defensive players flying around, physical, tough, fun game to watch. I mean, you couldn't. Again, like I said, you can ask for a better first semi final.
- [04:46]
Todd McShay
I thought it was. It was. I don't want to say brilliantly coached, but, like, it's hard now as a college coach, 15, 14 games in Penn State and Notre Dame, respectively, to, to get creative, reinvent yourself, show something new, show something that hasn't been on tape already. These college coaches, it's usually 12, 13 games and that's, you know, it can get tricky to, to not show at all.
- [05:15]
Mel Kiper Jr.
Right.
- [05:16]
Todd McShay
But, but I thought Andy Koleneki from, from Penn State, you're dealing with a quarterback in Alar who's just, he doesn't have his stuff today. Right. And, and I don't think necessarily it was just because of that. I think, I think, I think they saw, I think they saw Penn State saw early on that, that they were going to be able to run the football a little bit better, especially outside. I thought Notre Dame did a poor job, especially in the first half. Outside contained. They broke. They didn't set a hard edge, do all the things you need to do. And so Colonicki to me did a great job of recognizing, okay, here's what we can do. Here's what's working early and sticking with it. Like their offensive line and their run game. Penn State's early on just wearing down the Notre Dame defensive line. The execution. Like we, I talked about some of the blocks I saw in that Boise State game, like the combo blocks, the seal off blocks, just working together as a unit. I thought it was exceptional. Right. They, they recognize without 99. And it's interesting because, because Riley Miles is the nose tackle for Notre Dame.
- [06:28]
Mel Kiper Jr.
Mills. Yeah.
- [06:32]
Todd McShay
Riley Mills. I'm getting all riled up. He didn't, it wasn't. Well, it makes sense. Georgia's offensive line not as effective as Penn State's all season long. And Georgia's run game not as effective as Penn State's all season long. So I think, I think Kolineki saw, hey, we just do it better than Georgia does. Which is interesting to say because not many people in, in recent history can say we just, we're just better up front. We just run the ball better than Georgia. But they do, right? And they saw that coming into the game and that was a focus early on back to back drives in the second quarter, 14 plus plays. You had a 14 yard drive that should have been a touchdown. You mentioned Aller missed the, the flat route to Singleton and could have been an easy six. Instead they settle for a field goal. They, I think they punted on the next drive or whatever it was. They came back and, and scored and scored another. No back to back. I said back to back. Yeah, yeah, field goal. And then, and then, and then the touchdown drive which was 15 plays. Listen to this. I wrote, I looked it up real time. 14 runs versus one pass. Now mind you, two of those runs were called passes that turned out to be scrambled.
- [07:47]
Mel Kiper Jr.
Right.
- [07:48]
Todd McShay
Clearly the mindset for Ki was to come in and run the football. But like he's done all year long, the creativity, getting more and involved in the direct snap, utilizing two different backs. Like the creativity of the offense in general. I've been very, very impressed with Ki. And then the adjustments that Notre Dame made in the second half for a while were, were unbelievably impressive. More gap can, more gap contain playing gap sound up front. And so like it was just to me and I'm going back to the the coaching was outstanding. And then Notre Dame, for all of its struggles in the first half, they go in at halftime, they got a quarterback who's in concussion protocol who's allowed cleared to play. Second half they got a running back who shown nothing in the first half and they come out and they pound that fraking rock for two plays. It was two plays. Fifteen, I think it was two plays. No, was it two or three? He had three carries for 24 yards to start that drive in the second half. This was the drive that changed the game. That first drive in the second half for Notre Dame changed the entire game. Three carries, 24 yards to start the drive. Then Anas Williams of freshman running back who's also great as a receiver, 36 yard reception than a three yard run. Great throw, great throw. And then Leonard scrambles for a three yard touchdown run. Great coaching job by both staffs. Like there's nothing, I feel like you can always nitpick this. I didn't. There was nothing glaring negative and there were so much positive by both of these staffs.
- [09:25]
Mel Kiper Jr.
Right. I, I, I mean, I just couldn't agree with you more. I mean to come out, they look Notre Dame, I mean, yeah, Notre Dame look lost most of that first half about what they were going to do. They couldn't run the ball. They couldn't really throw the ball. That pass rush was Abdul Carter was getting home time and time and time again. They looked lost. And then they come in, Steve Angeli comes in. I think it's Steve Angeli. It's Angeli comes in and they start hitting quick. They played his strengths. They didn't. I was like, this is interesting. How are they going to adjust so quickly? Because we've talked about this with mobile quarterbacks coming in and this in this situation, you have a less mobile quarterback coming in. You have more of a pocket passer. And I thought Notre Dame was great about playing to his strengths, getting the ball out of his hands quickly, getting into the receivers, then making, you know, them making some plays after the catch and they turn it into a field goal. With Riley Leonard in. In the tent. They got their first three points with Riley Leonard in the tent. And again, it was a lot of the play calling and execution and playing to their strengths and it starts to change the momentum a little bit. It starts, oh, now it's not a 10 point game. It's a seven point game and we get the ball back and we're going to see what's going to happen.
- [10:36]
Todd McShay
Seven points seem to seem like almost insurmountable given how the first half. Right. It was like that three was. That three was critical because I don't know if we're getting 10 more points. Right.
- [10:47]
Mel Kiper Jr.
Right. Couldn't agree more.
- [10:49]
Todd McShay
I wonder. I'd love to give some true serum to. To Denbrock, the offensive coordinator for, for Notre Dame. I just thought about this. Honestly, as you were saying it. They did nothing offensively in the first half. You have a backup quarterback. I know this from being a backup quarterback like you. You're. When you're in the quarterback room, there's the package for the starter. Like you know, when you talk about like the first 25 play script. But there's also a meeting with the backup quarterback about what plays are you most comfortable this week. Right. Right now he's not a runner, so it's obviously going to be the, you know, passing game likely a lot of the short passing game. He comes in the game, he goes 6 for 7 on that drive to get the field goal. I wonder if you asked Denbr if he. If it took Angeli coming in with his set of plays that worked for him to kind of unearth some weaknesses or some things we need to go attack, even if it's Riley. And by the way, Riley might come in the game and he may not last more than a series or something.
- [11:49]
Mel Kiper Jr.
Right.
- [11:50]
Todd McShay
I wonder seeing a. Oh, they're vulnerable here and we can do what everything that, that Angeli just did. Riley can do. It wasn't he just. He came in, it was like a rhythm passer get the ball out. Like it's just decisive. Riley can do that. So why don't we open it. Why don't we trust him a little bit more? Why don't we attack those things? I'll just be curious to hear that from Denbrock because clearly in the second half and yes, they came out, they ran the ball the first few plays, but they, they started to open it up. It became a much more balanced Notre Dame offense in the second half.
- [12:22]
Mel Kiper Jr.
And I know Angeli almost lost that fumble. That was a scary moment for Notre Dame fans, but like, all the credit in the world to a kid like that coming in and being prepared and not letting the moment to be too big for him. I thought that unbelievable job, like, it's a tough spot to put someone in. And he went out there and executed like, this was my role. This was that I was. I was always prepared to do this. I knew that this was a possibility. So I understand what we're trying to do. I understand how we're going to try to attack him. I understand what we went over in the meeting. And that's what. That's what I'm going to do. I'm not going to be the reason that my team doesn't win this game. It was an un. Unbelievable job by that kid.
- [13:01]
Todd McShay
And, and you know something, too, and I'm not saying, like, let's give him a medal of honor here, but he. He was. Before Riley Leonard came in, he was. They were developing him to be the. The starter.
- [13:14]
Mel Kiper Jr.
Right?
- [13:15]
Todd McShay
Right. So, like, that's. That's a gut punch in an nil transfer portal world we live in and to hang in there, sit in the background, watch this whole thing unfold. Best season, you know, in Notre dame since what, 88. You know, potentially like the best, really. I think already, I would say it's the best season they've had since 88 when they won. I think it was 88 when they won the national championship. Penn State was 86. They were 88 with Lou Holtz. To just hang in there and do the right. Like, that's a dude who has done the right things. I don't even have to ask the coaching staff, like.
- [13:53]
Mel Kiper Jr.
Right.
- [13:54]
Todd McShay
You could tell. Mentally sharp, ready for his moment. Didn't seem like overwhelmed. Yeah. Everything you just said was awesome.
- [14:01]
Mel Kiper Jr.
Awesome to watch.
- [14:02]
Todd McShay
Really awesome. And now. And now he's not. Yeah. I was the backup, and then they brought in a transfer. Like, he's a part of this thing. You know what I mean? Like, he. He played a critical role in the biggest game of the year so far. Let's. Let's shift it to Penn State for a minute. Okay. Because I want to get back to Notre Dame and I want to really dig into to what went well and what. What led to this win. But Penn State, I think Drew Aller, unfortunately, I mean, this is. This is a. This is a brutal loss. It's a. And. And he's done so many great things all season long. He is a major reason why he. Why they're there. His improvement from 23 to 24 is well documented at this point. He goes from a guy that was like, I don't know, let's give him a seventh round mercy grade. Sixth, seventh round mercy grade. I shouldn't say that. I talked to guys early in the season in the league, you know, like, third, fourth. But, like, just was not there. Let's put it that way. Was not there in terms of venom. And now, like, Pete Thamble comes on pregame and is talking about talking to NFL scouts that he's going somewhere from the 25 to 35 range of the draft. Should he change his mind. Okay. That all aside, this is a brutal way to finish what was a magical season for Penn State. And what truly felt like. Like, really truly felt like this is. There's something special going on here. You know, like, they can't. That Notre Dame team, last time. Last time we saw him, just absolutely manhandled the SEC champion. Okay. And they come out in Penn State. Yeah. Not dominant on the scoreboard, but Penn State was the dominant team in the first half.
- [15:51]
Mel Kiper Jr.
Oh, yeah.
- [15:52]
Todd McShay
If I got in the head, I'm betting. I'm betting Pen. Whatever the second half line is, or I'm betting Penn State Moneyline. What? Penn State's gonna win this football game. They just. It was clear something is. Does Notre Dame have the flu? Like, is that. Were those reports real? Like, right. So, like, it was to have it that close and then to. And have 17 unanswered points and then to lead another drive and to be right there at the end and then to get the ball back after you force a punt. And I said on. If you were joining us on the live show, I said, this guy protects the football. Like, I know, but. But Colonecki, the reason why you put the ball in his hands is because he's proven to you he will protect the football when you need him to. Unfortunately, I'd have to go back and watch. I was so focused on was it a catch or not on the interception.
- [16:41]
Mel Kiper Jr.
Right.
- [16:42]
Todd McShay
That by Gray. What I didn't focus on what. What would the read we were on live. I don't know if it was a bad read, if there was a miscommunication, or if it was just a bad throw, but the end result is all that matters. And. And that's just. It's a brutal way for. For Aller's season to end. And it begs the question, will this game have any. It. It kind of felt like. Because McDonald said, I know I'm rambling. Everyone yells at me because I don't let Mensch talk But mention will get to talk. He's a big boy. He can interrupt me anytime he wants. It kind of felt like when McDonough said, We asked him in meetings, you know, you already said you're coming back next year. You didn't. No one said it. But I think we're all in the back of our mind, like Bo Pur Buella already transferred because you're coming back next year. Like, but, but there's a lot of reports now. You, some teams are giving you first round grades. It's more enticing, you know, are you. And he said instead of saying, no, I promise I committed to Penn State. I'm coming back.
- [17:42]
Mel Kiper Jr.
Right.
- [17:43]
Todd McShay
He said in that meeting, in the Zoom meeting to Sean McDonough, he said, I'm going to deal with that after the season. I, you know, my focus is on this game, which means I might change my mind.
- [17:56]
Mel Kiper Jr.
Look, I was encouraged by his performance in the Oregon game, but if you look at the, the organ numbers, they, they weren't very good. And then you look at the last two games weren't that good. I mean the, they beat SMU and Boise State. No offense to those.
- [18:12]
Todd McShay
He looked rattled against SMU's defense for a while. Committed.
- [18:16]
Mel Kiper Jr.
He completed fewer than 60% of those passes in that game. He threw for 127 yards. No touchdowns, no interceptions against SMU. It was a blowout win. Maybe that plays a little role into it. I mean, but I'm not, I'm not wowed thinking this kid's a first round pick or thinking that this kid's an early first round pick. I think he tools wise. He looks like a first round pick. They play Boise State. He throws for three touchdowns, but he completes 52% of his passes. And I thought there was opportunities where he could have connected downfield more than he did. And I just feel like it just, it hasn't come together completely for him. Now you do have to. There's a larger picture who's coming back. Tyler Warren's going to be in the NFL next year. This kid Reynolds looks like he's going to be awesome. By the way, that Luke Reynold kid, Luke Reynolds, kids, it looks like they're just gonna reload right there at the tight end position.
- [19:06]
Todd McShay
Yeah, yeah.
- [19:07]
Mel Kiper Jr.
But that being said, are they gonna get him some help at wide receiver? What's the running back situation look like? What's his offensive like? Is he going to be in a position? But just based on how he's played it and how he's what where he is in his development, I, I, I have a hard time thinking he shouldn't go back. I mean, it just, I haven't seen, I thought Oregon was encouraging. It wasn't great. It wasn't a dominant performance. It wasn't, oh my goodness, this kid might be the best quarterback in this class. Not there yet. Could be. Talent wise, he's got it. And then you start stacking these performances and it's, I'm not, I'm not odd. I'm not in awe of what he's done. So to me, he's another young quarterback that should go back and play more football. And that's not, it's not, I'm not ripping him or, or whatever. It's just a part of the process. Go back, play more football, get better, get better with your footwork. Improve your decision making a little bit. A little more.
- [20:04]
Todd McShay
Garrett Nuss Meyer would have been a first round draft pick. He's going back and it's the best decision he could ever make. Right. You think Carson Beck made the decision that he's coming out to the NFL draft? I, I blasted him. I know I had absolutely no, no impact on his decision, but I got blasted by Georgia fans for blasting him. And now he's transferring. All reports are he's leaning to Miami. Makes sense. He's dating a former Miami player. Miami's got a good program going and great opportunity, but best decision he can make. I told you what an NFL scout said. I just asked what you think he wrote. He wrote back foolish. And, and the re. And the reason is this. It's not like five, seven years ago where there's not. It's like, you stay here. It is what it is. Like we're seeing grab transfers, maximize the opportunity. Jaden Daniels being the best example. Oh, no. Jaden Daniels and Bo Nix from this last class, like prime primo examples.
- [21:09]
Mel Kiper Jr.
Even Michael Pennington from Indiana watched it.
- [21:11]
Todd McShay
Yeah, Three of them. I mean, three of the six first round quarterbacks, right? Drafted in the top. What?
- [21:18]
Mel Kiper Jr.
Caleb Williams started Oklahoma.
- [21:19]
Todd McShay
That's what we're talking about.
- [21:21]
Mel Kiper Jr.
Everyone, I mean, all those guys.
- [21:24]
Todd McShay
Yeah, but doing it with the intention of getting it. And that's why I'm, I'm banging down the door. Quinn Ewers. Quinn, yours. I'm sorry. Like leaving Austin and everything you have there and all the, like, I get it. But when this season's over, I promise you he's gonna have a tough decision to make when he gets those nf, those, those grades back. You put as a, as an underclassman. You put your name in and that that's got to be done. This is interesting timing with all this too. We haven't and this is for conversation for another time, but with the, the 15th being the cut off, you had to put your name in a week or so ago. It was like 10, 12 days ago. In order to guarantee that you would get back from the underclassman committee that the NFL has set up. It's a committee of a group of scouts, former scouts, all that, that will give you a grade. They give you a first round grade or a second round grade or a go back to school. Those are the only three responses you'll get from them. First, second, or go back to school. Well, his is going to be maybe a second, but it wouldn't shock me if it was go back to school for coin yours right now, right? Talking about yours. Yeah, talking about yours. So. So my point is Aller's already made the decision. He's going back to Penn State. Season doesn't end the way that he wanted it to end. And one of his, I mean arguably one of his worst performances of the entire season, maybe it's worse, just didn't look good. It, it seems like this answer this answered that for him. If, if there were, you know, there clearly was some doubt creeping in about am I making the right decision going back to Penn State? Because I'm staring at a quarterback class is not very good and I'm getting a lot of whispers in my ear I could be a late first round pick. Maybe it's time to move on. Let's catapult this College Football Playoff run into being a first round pick. And I don't think this, this is the performance. I don't think the whole College Football Playoff playoff performance for Drew Aller is was that right? And you just said that you agree. So the McShay show is brought to you by FanDuel football fans, Buckle up because for the first time ever, we've got five straight days of playoff football. And FanDuel is celebrating with the great playoff payoff. That's a no sweat same game parlay every day for all five days. How about that? With a no sweat sgp, you can combine your bets from the same game for a chance at even bigger winnings. And if it doesn't hit, you'll get bonus bets back. Listen folks, of the two College Football Playoff semifinals, the Texas Ohio State Cotton bowl really jumps out at me. Every part of me as an analyst wants to say take Ohio State minus the five and a half but I just can't do it. I like Texas. Maybe buy him, get that hook, get it up to six, whatever you have to do. But I'm told that over 80% of the tickets so far are on Ohio State. That means when the public's on one side, go with the opposite side. I also think the fast starts for Texas have been critical. 14 to 3 against Arizona State in the first quarter, 21 to 7 second quarter versus Clemson, dominated Georgia in the first half, dominated a and M, so on and so forth. I think Texas is primed to counter that fast start that Ohio State has had in the last two college football playoff games. With a fast start of its own, this is going to be a tight one. Give me the six points. So not only do we get to watch five straight days of playoff football, but that's also five chances to win big. Just visit FanDuel.com McShay that's FanDuel.com if SL MCHA it's the great playoff payoff and it's only on FanDuel. America's number one sportsbook must be 21 and older and present in select states or 18 plus and present in D.C. opt in required minimum three leg parlay required refund issued as a non withdrawable bonus bets that expire seven days after receipt. Max refund $5 unless otherwise specified. Restrictions apply including token expiration. See terms@sportsbook.fanduel.com gambling problem. Call 1-800-gambler or visit rg-help.com Abdul Carter Abdul Carter.
- [25:34]
Mel Kiper Jr.
No matter what man. Like no matter what.
- [25:37]
Todd McShay
One arm, half an arm don't matter. Yeah, that was special. I'm just looking to see what his.
- [25:45]
Mel Kiper Jr.
I watched the big, the Big Ten championship game again and he does things in that game. His ability to accelerate out of change of direction and bend and I mean it's just, it's some guys are different and he's just different. And this is guy that's playing off the ball linebacker last year.
- [26:03]
Todd McShay
Yeah the first year is a defensive end.
- [26:05]
Mel Kiper Jr.
Right. And the way he slips blocks sometimes like one of the first plays of the game, Riley Leonard stepped up and tried to scramble and in in Carter just falls back inside and wraps him up and it looks like a nothing play. It's like you don't understand how athletic you have to be to just do something like that at that size. It's just I, I, I know he's a better pass rusher than the run defender. I think he there's plays that he makes. He's so disruptive in that area of the game as well. But really it's his ability to get after the quarterback that's going to make him a very successful player at the NFL. It's crazy.
- [26:37]
Todd McShay
Yeah. And, and he'll be the. I truly believe he'll be the first non quarterback selected. Could go as high as one. Yeah. Could go as high as he could. Yeah. I mean, we can get into all that. It's interesting though, like, I remember being on the field and watching like over the years, like the, just the Penn state guys, the 11s, like the lavar Arringtons, obviously. And, and I know that if you look at, if you look at Micah Parsons and you look at their development, it's not dissimilar. I'll say that. Like, I, I, Micah was just. There are two guys that I've ever evaluated. The Boses were different because they are, they look the part, right? They look the part. The Boses were absolutely different, but they were freaking freaks in their own right. Honestly. Yeah. But quite honestly, almost more impressive because they did it at their size, like, you know, six four, six five ish, 250s, you know, like. But the two guys that I can ever say, the undersized edge guys that were just different than everyone else I had ever evaluated, and I saw both of them live and they, they both had that same look to them. And I think Abdul's like a notch. I mean, I know he's a notch, just a notch below. And I'm talking about the elite of the elite. So this isn't a knock on that. But Von Miller and Micah Parsons, standing next to them, watching their movements, standing on the sideline, where you get the best view of a guy's jump. Like the anticipation and that explosion out and the flexibility. Yeah, all of it. Those two were different than any two I've ever evaluated in 25 years of doing this stuff. Right. He's not that, but he's just a notch below. And it's a similar arc to what we saw from, from Micah Parsons. Okay. Very similar arc off the ball. Linebacker undersized. Can he make the move from off the ball to edge? And when they make the move and you turn them loose off the edge, like, oh, this guy's different. I, it does. And the thing is, the thing, the trait they all have, obviously, speed, explosiveness, bend, you know, outside in moves, all those things, the trait that they all have and you can't like quantify it with a number, with a 40, with a, with a short shuttle, the change, none of that the thing they all have is it doesn't matter what their size is because they have this innate ability. They're like a. Like a robber in the middle of the night, can sneak through any crack in your window or crevice. They just find a way. They don't let anyone. They don't let anyone into their body.
- [29:24]
Mel Kiper Jr.
Right. You can't block someone you can't get your hands on. If you can't get your. It doesn't matter how small they are.
- [29:30]
Todd McShay
And the, and the word that I always use that all defensive line coaches I know in the NFL are looking for slippery. And Abdul Carter, like Von Miller, like Micah Parsons, like all the great undersized edge rushers is slippery.
- [29:46]
Mel Kiper Jr.
Yeah. He'll be bigger. He'll be bigger than those guys. I don't think he's gonna run like Micah. He's got a good frame. He's filled it out a little bit.
- [29:53]
Todd McShay
A little bit bigger.
- [29:54]
Mel Kiper Jr.
Yeah.
- [29:54]
Todd McShay
No, he's got a chance to be bigger. Yeah. Yeah. What is he. What's he listed at?
- [29:58]
Mel Kiper Jr.
63250.
- [30:00]
Todd McShay
Yeah.
- [30:00]
Mel Kiper Jr.
Which is like £20.
- [30:02]
Todd McShay
He doesn't.
- [30:03]
Mel Kiper Jr.
No, he looks. No, we'll see.
- [30:05]
Todd McShay
So three, five, like six, three and a half, 242. You know what I mean? That's what he looks like. Which means he can't. Well, yeah. All right, so that's Penn State. How about this Notre Dame team, man? How about this Notre Dame team? Like, I give Pollock credit. I remember talking to Pollock, being like, get Palock on the show. He's like, I think they can. I think they can make a run in the national championship. I think they could win the whole thing. And damn, they can. He saw something special. It's. It took me longer to come around. I didn't see the weapons on the outside, but the, the weapons are. It's not about the weapons on the outside. It's about playing great team football. Special teams has been awesome, highlighted with the Jeter kick to win the game. But going back to the Georgia game, extending that drive with the. The shenanigans, Right. Special teams has been awesome. Motivation. Head coach, connecting with players elite like Marcus Freeman. Like, we lost Nick Saban, we lost Jim Harbaugh, we lost Pre. You know, prior to that, Urban Meyer. Like, we lost the, the Mount Rushmore in like a what, a seven year span of college football? They were the Mount Rushmore.
- [31:26]
Mel Kiper Jr.
Yeah.
- [31:27]
Todd McShay
Marcus is like, he's like, this win has got him now, like up there. This run, this run, this run. Yes, but this, but this run, if it ends Tonight to Penn State. It's like, yeah, right. Almost there now they're going to a national championship now. Like, they've, and they've, they've had to grind it out. They beat the SEC champion. Yep. You know, they beat a, a really good, improving, ascending Penn State team. And, and now they're, that now they're in the national championship again. And, and congratulations, you get the winner of Ohio State. Texas. But they're there and I won't count them out against anyone. They may not match up on paper. They don't match up on paper with either of them talent wise, but I wouldn't count them out anywhere. I mean.
- [32:17]
Mel Kiper Jr.
Yeah. Because they're gonna, they'll drag you into where they want to go. They, they're gonna drag you into the deep water, man. They, you could do whatever you want, but we're going to pull you in the deep water, man, and good luck. You're going to have to come win it our way. And, and that's, you know, that's great coaching and that's, that's a team that understands their identity as well. And you heard that a couple times with Freeman on sideline reports. He's like, you know, these guys aren't going to panic. They know what they're doing. And like, he believes in his players. I think they feel that. I think they understand that. And he also is realistic about who they are and what they want to do. You know, we have to tackle, we have to play good run defense and we have to run the ball. He kept saying it, but they are gonna, they're gonna make you earn it. I, if I were Texas or Ohio State, I would not be. Be thinking, oh, if we just get through this game, we'll be okay. That's a dangerous way to look at it.
- [33:06]
Todd McShay
I said it during our live. We, we jumped on. If for the first of all, for those of you who are, who are on live with us now, like, appreciate you and, and it's growing every week and it's because of the, the core people who jumped in and, and the word that's being spread and we can't thank you enough. Like, this is. This has been the favorite part of this new gig with the McShay Show. It really has doing the reaction shows every Saturday night now in the College Football Playoff. This has been awesome. So thank you for joining. Excuse me. We, we see all your comments. We see you bitching about me and, and us showing up late. Well, we didn't this time. We showed up early this time. So Early.
- [33:41]
Mel Kiper Jr.
Yeah.
- [33:42]
Todd McShay
I have heard the complaints about Let Mensch talk and he's a big boy. But also all the other, like, fun, interesting. I like my favorite part and sometimes after the show I'll go, go through and read just to see what's going on. My favorite part is sometimes like you can go through like a 5 minute, 5, 10 minute span. And, and everyone who's on, watching on the live show, like, I don't even know they know a show's going on. They get into it themselves. They get like a whole community. Yeah.
- [34:08]
Mel Kiper Jr.
Yeah.
- [34:08]
Todd McShay
And they're like yelling at each other like, no, I love that. That's what, that's why we're here. So thank you for, thank you for joining and being a part of this. But, but during the, during the live show, before the live show, during the actual game, I mentioned it and I stand by it. And I would have stood by it. Had Jeter missed that field goal and Penn State won in overtime. I would have stood by it. Riley Leonard's numbers, 15, 23, 2, 223 right. Touchdown. Two interceptions and not even because he left with the concussion protocol and came back. I just had an appreciation for him. And it has nothing to do with the NFL draft. We can get to all that at the end of the season. Okay. As a college quarterback in this spot, the way he led the way when they needed a first down and they put the ball in his hands. I like, he's not that big. He's, he's a good athlete for like a tall, lanky quarterback, but he's not twitched up. He's not fast. But that mfer finds a way to pick up a first down just about every time he needs one.
- [35:16]
Mel Kiper Jr.
And in the red zone, man, he's just, he's a problem. He's a problem.
- [35:20]
Todd McShay
And then there's a one time he tucked the ball and started scrambling and I was like, oh, no. Like. And he led with his shoulder. He's lucky it wasn't helmet to helmet. He got that one later. But like taking on linebackers head, head on. And McDonough was saying that that's what, when we talk to teammates, that's what they pre appreciate. Like, there's no moment in the game that he won't lay it all on the line. And he did that in this game. And then he made some big throws, right? They weren't, they weren't NFL throws. They weren't like anticipation throws. They weren't like, like, you know, put it in a keyhole. It wasn't this deep shot, like, but they put the time of them when they needed them accurately putting the ball on his receivers, making easy throws look easy, making intermediate throws, like, doable. Right. I, I just thought it was a great night for him and, and what, what he stands for and the way he's led this, this team.
- [36:16]
Mel Kiper Jr.
Yeah. No panic in him or that, that Notre Dame team. I mean, he threw that. He got fooled. It happens. There was that simulated pressure with Denied. Dennis Sutton drops. They're only bringing four, but the four they're bringing, it's not really clear. It was a bad throw, it was a bad decision, and it was at a bad point in the game to do it. And you could easily fold at that point. You can be like, I just made. I just cost us this game. And instead he just kept battling and just kept going. And he's done that, I feel like all year. He's just a guy that keeps coming. I mean, they talk about the, the stories about after the Northern Illinois game where he was, you know, what am I doing? Why am I here? Am I the right quarterback? All that kind of stuff. And for him to do that kind of a, you know, soul searching might be a cheesy way of saying it, but for him to come back from that and lead this team on the run that they've gone on, it just, you know, again, it speaks a lot to his character.
- [37:11]
Todd McShay
They desperately needed, Both teams desperately needed. We said this coming in the game. Both teams desperately needed some wide outs to step up. I remember just going through our preview show just a few days ago. Right. Who's going to step up at wide receiver? There's been moments and this and that. Jaden Greathouse for Notre Dame. It's like he caught one and then he's like, I want to catch two. And then he's like, I want to catch three. And then, and then a corner falls down. He's got that double move the outside and now he's got his big play. You know, he's like, his play of the game. The 54 yard touchdown, huge moment. Jaden Greathouse finishes with seven catches, 105 yards and a touchdown. I want to, I want to read through some of this for you. Georgia 2 for 6. Indiana 1 for 8. USC 1 for 6. Army 1 for 12. Virginia 1 for 17. FSU exploded on the scene against a abysmal Florida State team, 5 for 66, Navy 1 for 42. But he didn't have more than five catches in a game coming in. He didn't have more than 66 catches in a. I mean, 66 receiving yards in a game, and it was against FSU. He goes for 7, 105 in a touchdown against Penn State. You talk about onion.
- [38:37]
Mel Kiper Jr.
Yeah. I think if I told you that 24 hours ago, if I had somehow known that I was like, what if I told you the great House was going to catch 7 for 105? I think that stat alone, you would have said to yourself, notre Dame's got a real chance.
- [38:50]
Todd McShay
Yeah.
- [38:50]
Mel Kiper Jr.
I mean, Notre Dame.
- [38:51]
Todd McShay
Either Notre Dame has. Notre Dame's gonna win, or Notre Dame got down early and. And a bunch of dudes had to have a bunch. Something like that.
- [38:59]
Mel Kiper Jr.
Right.
- [39:00]
Todd McShay
Just like Jordan Faza. Jordan Faison had had a big catch, but.
- [39:06]
Mel Kiper Jr.
Right.
- [39:06]
Todd McShay
He had a big catch in a big moment. I can't exactly remember it. He stepped up and made a big play when they needed to. Needed him to, but he had two for 25. How about Williams, too? Two guys that really. Anais Williams, a running back, huge.
- [39:22]
Mel Kiper Jr.
He's been coming on lately. I feel like. Yeah, yeah, you could feel this coming a little bit.
- [39:26]
Todd McShay
And then he didn't have much of a regular seat. He's a freshman, right? Williams is a freshman?
- [39:31]
Mel Kiper Jr.
Yeah, he is.
- [39:31]
Todd McShay
Yep, he's a freshman. They said his. Right. You know, regular season was. Was okay. He never had more than seven carries versus Virginia was the most carries he got, he didn't have. He only had two carries for 17 yards tonight. Excuse me. He had five catches for 66 yards. You go back to Indiana, he had 4 for 15, Virginia 3 for 35. But, like, those are two guys that we would. You know, you think. You think, sorry, Jeremiah Love, you think Price, you think Evan Mitchell, Evans, a tight end. You think Faison, like, those are the guys that were going to step up and have big games in this big moment. But it was a defense for Penn State was. That was so prepared for what they had seen on tape and for what they knew was the. The comfort zone for Notre Dame that it took. It took Denbrock and the offensive staff to get creative. They came out in the second half, and they started featuring some guys that weren't features all year, and they hit. They struck gold.
- [40:35]
Mel Kiper Jr.
Yeah, the Williams catch, that long catch he made, I think was 36 yards on the opening drive of the third quarter was. You know, you can just. So many plays you could point to in this game. That was a. That was a pivotal play of the game where he caught that down. And by the way, they did a great job of that, too. They did a Great job of isolating Penn State's linebackers in space. Those guys are. Are built to play the run, but they don't move that well in space. And they got Williams against that linebacker. They got the pass interference against the linebacker. They did a really good job of finding those matchups in the second half with the linebackers. But, yeah, I thought that Williams catch was, you know, a critical point in the game. Great. House had a great game. Evans was really important early on. I mean, he made some tough catches as well. He's a guy who, you know, I think he had the ACL at the end of last year, and now he's come back and gotten better and better and better.
- [41:27]
Todd McShay
Yeah, it's gotten better.
- [41:28]
Mel Kiper Jr.
Yeah, he's a. We'll get into him a little bit later on in the process. He's a legitimate tight end prospect in this draft.
- [41:36]
Todd McShay
A lot of injuries on this Notre Dame team, though. I mean, I think we covered this game as much as you can cover it for now, right? A lot of injuries. And. So what's the date today? The 9th, right?
- [41:51]
Mel Kiper Jr.
Yeah.
- [41:52]
Todd McShay
So they get one additional day. How many days until. How many days until the. The national championship? Was it nine days?
- [42:02]
Mel Kiper Jr.
11, right?
- [42:03]
Todd McShay
It's 11. Is it the 20th, right? The 20th?
- [42:06]
Mel Kiper Jr.
Yeah, I think it's the 20th. Yeah. Yeah.
- [42:07]
Todd McShay
All right, so. So you had 11 days. So that, that's huge. The. The health of those two offensive linemen, they're starting left tackle and they're starting right guard are going to be critical because we saw that, right. Even though they got the offense going, things went well. There were a lot of breakdowns up front that they had to overcome sacks, and then they come back and have a 17 yard play or two plays that, you know, equal 17 or 20. They had to overcome some negative plays because that offensive line, that's going to be critical for this matchup in the national championship game. Jeremiah Love looked. Jeremiah Love, he's the whole deal. Gotta get him right, Gotta get him right. That knee. And I. I just don't know the extent of it. He. There were moments he looked great, but even after some of his big runs, it was a G come up sideline, like.
- [42:58]
Mel Kiper Jr.
Yeah, just. It felt like a pitch count, right. Like there was a little bit of a pitch count of how they were gonna use him totally. And it looks like Freeman said they were gonna use him as much as he was able to go. So maybe it was. It was just Love coming out and being like, okay, I need. You know, this is how I'm gonna Have to play tonight. So maybe it was his call. But at the same time, and the touchdown run, I will say this, he had his moments in this game. That touchdown run, unbelievable effort. Unbelievable effort to stretch at the end to get it in. You're never supposed to extend like that, but you know, and those three carries.
- [43:29]
Todd McShay
The three carries when he came out from at the second half and I don't know if it was just a mental thing. I don't know if he got a shot like whatever it was, he came out in the second half and had those three carries. I was like, oh, okay, all right. I didn't know. I didn't know that was in the bag.
- [43:44]
Mel Kiper Jr.
Right, right, right.
- [43:45]
Todd McShay
I didn't know we could access that today. Right. But he accessed it for three runs, 2034 yards, three carries. I told you it sparked the whole thing. That drive sparked the whole thing. And that drive was sparked by those three runs. So it's in him. But you just wonder, 11 days, is that going to be enough him to be full, full strength? I think he's an absolute. Let's. We got a running, we got a running back, full screen here. This running back class we've talked about. Ashton Jinty is the number one running back in the class. Absolutely freaking loaded. You saw Nicholas Singleton tonight. I thought he had a great game, by the way, for Penn State. He really did some big tough inside runs is not his calling card. He's more the speedster and all that. But he was grinding through goal line runs, catches the ball so well. You see him there at number eight. I mean this when you got Scatter Boo at number seven and he probably this, this list was done before. Like it'll be interesting when we re rack all of these, but I'm telling you, there's like 25 guys that I think are in consideration the first five or so rounds. And that's just, that's when you compare the numbers. But I would put like, I love Caleb Johnson is the number two back. Omarion Hampton, people love him as well. Quinton Judkins, Jordan James, like all these guys on this list. It's a loaded running back class. When Jeremiah Love is healthy and full go. I'd put him at number two in that list behind Jinty. I, I really would. I really would.
- [45:18]
Mel Kiper Jr.
I put him in the mix. Johnson in Hampton. And I like Hampton better, a little bit better than Johnson. But I mean both. I mean like, what are we talking about? I mean, yeah, either one of them in a heartbeat. I think that Love's in The mix. And to me, that's enough to say. Well, I mean, that's. If, If I'm saying that, then I think very highly of Jeremiah Love's game.
- [45:39]
Todd McShay
Yeah.
- [45:39]
Mel Kiper Jr.
Because I think Hampton. Hampton and Johnson are. Are absolute studs. So he's in that mix.
- [45:47]
Todd McShay
Yeah. This is gonna. I mean, I'm fired up. We're right back here tomorrow night. If you joined us tonight, if you're crazy enough to join us tonight and you're crazy enough to come back tomorrow night, let's rerack this thing. Right.
- [46:00]
Mel Kiper Jr.
We'll be on Feeling good about Ohio State right now.
- [46:04]
Todd McShay
I told you. Give me the points for Texas. We're gonna have another. It's gonna be another close enough game where we're gonna. We're gonna sneak on early again. Do it right.
- [46:12]
Mel Kiper Jr.
Why not?
- [46:13]
Todd McShay
If it's not, then we'll see you right after the game. But we'll just keep. Keep a look on. On X.
- [46:19]
Mel Kiper Jr.
We.
- [46:19]
Todd McShay
We'll keep you posted, but plan on us coming on a little bit. A few minutes left in the game. This was too much fun not to do it again tomorrow night. And then we get one more after this national championship game. Yeah. Who do you like? It's six. I think it's six points. Let me look at FanDuel. I'm gonna pull up the FanDuel app right now.
- [46:38]
Mel Kiper Jr.
I'm with you. I would take Texas with the points, but I think Ohio State wins.
- [46:44]
Todd McShay
Yeah. It's five and a half now, so hopefully you got it in at six. If not, then. Then buy. Buy the hook. By the hook. Yeah, I think six is a good number. I. I just think it's been overcorrected a little bit. I think Texas is going to come out and play aggressive, but they'd need to. Four quarters of viewers being aggressive. Game on the line, like, mentality. I think that's going to be the key in this. But my goodness, is Ohio State of Buzzar right now.
- [47:12]
Mel Kiper Jr.
Right?
- [47:13]
Todd McShay
All right, that's it for us tonight. We appreciate everyone who was here. We will be back tomorrow night. Man, you're always up for. I mean, I threw this on your lap like 20 minutes before we came on. So I, I appreciate you and I appreciate everyone who's viewing. And we'll see you tomorrow night after the Cotton Bowl. Ohio State, Texas, number eight versus number five. Should be an unbelievable matchup. And we'll. We'll see you tomorrow. To break it all down. Thank you. Must be 21 plus and present in select states for Kansas in affiliation with Kansas Star Casino or 18+ and present in D.C. gambling problem. Call 1-800- gambler or visit rg-help.com, call 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org chat in Connecticut or visit mdgamblinghelp.org in Maryland. Hope is here. Visit gambling helpline ma.org or call 1-800-327-5050 for 24. 7 support in Massachusetts or call 1-87-7-8, HOPE NY or text Hopeny in New.