College Football Playoff Rankings, Indiana Head Coach Curt Cignetti, SEC Logjam, and a Big Ten Showdown

Summary

The Triple Option Podcast Summary: College Football Playoff Rankings, Indiana’s Rising Star, SEC Challenges, and Big Ten Showdown

Episode Title: College Football Playoff Rankings, Indiana Head Coach Curt Cignetti, SEC Logjam, and a Big Ten Showdown
Hosts: Urban Meyer, Mark Ingram II, Rob Stone
Release Date: November 20, 2024

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1. Introduction and Overview

In this highly engaging episode of The Triple Option, hosts Urban Meyer, Mark Ingram II, and Rob Stone delve deep into the latest developments in college football. The discussion centers around the newly released College Football Playoff (CFP) rankings, the performance of Indiana’s head coach Curt Cignetti, the evolving dynamics within the SEC, and the marquee Big Ten matchup between Indiana and Ohio State.

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2. College Football Playoff Rankings Breakdown

The episode kicks off with a detailed analysis of the third installment of the CFP rankings. Rob Stone provides an overview of the current standings, highlighting significant movements and key implications for the playoff picture.

• Key Movements:
  • BYU drops from #6 to #14 following a home loss to Kansas, impacting the Big 12’s reputation in the rankings.
  • Tennessee falls four spots to #11, becoming the first team to exit the playoff contention.
  • Oregon and Boise State receive their automatic bids, altering the bracket dynamics (Rob Stone, [01:40]).

Urban Meyer remarks on the SEC’s internal conflicts, stating, “Hey, man, it's life in SEC. We talked about it, man, how the conference was just gonna cannibalize itself and it has” ([03:16]).

3. SEC and Big Ten Conference Analysis

The discussion shifts to the SEC's internal struggles, with Urban Meyer expressing concern over multiple teams experiencing losses and the overall competitiveness within the conference.

• Texas A&M's Potential: Rob Stone points out Texas A&M's position at #15, noting their potential to influence the playoff landscape ([03:45]).

Kurt Signetti raises questions about the SEC and Big Ten commissioners potentially reorganizing due to the current competitive disparities, asking, “Does Greg Sankey and Biddidi from the Big Ten get together and say, this ain't right?” ([10:18]).

Urban Meyer responds positively, acknowledging ongoing discussions between the conferences but emphasizing a preference for maintaining the status quo to preserve playoff opportunities ([11:28]).

4. Interview with Indiana Head Coach Curt Cignetti

A significant portion of the episode features an insightful interview with Curt Cignetti, Indiana University’s head coach, following his recent eight-year, $72 million contract extension.

a. Contract Extension and Team Development

Curt discusses the elements that influenced his decision to stay with Indiana, highlighting the administration's proactive approach to facilities, support staff, and overall program enhancement.

• Impact of the Big Ten TV Contract: Mark Ingram II inquires about the importance of the Big Ten’s TV deal, to which Curt humorously responds, “Money, baby” ([28:56]).

b. Recruiting Strategies

Curt elaborates on Indiana’s recruiting philosophy, emphasizing the attraction of high-character individuals and the strategic use of the transfer portal to bolster the team’s quarterback position.

• Quarterback Selection: Curt praises Curtis Rourke, stating, “He’s kind of a steady Eddie, not affected by success or failure” ([37:15]).

c. Upcoming Game against Ohio State

The conversation turns to Indiana’s imminent clash with Ohio State. Curt outlines the team’s preparation strategy, focusing on playing their game and maintaining composure under pressure.

• Game Plan: “We’re process-driven. If there was a better way to do it for this game, would do it this way, that way every game” ([35:46]).

5. Red Zone Battle: Indiana vs. Ohio State

A critical segment of the episode analyzes the upcoming showdown’s red zone dynamics. Urban Meyer and Kurt Signetti dissect both teams' red zone offenses and defenses, emphasizing their significance in determining the game's outcome.

• Ohio State’s Red Zone Defense: Meyer highlights Ohio State’s prowess, noting, “They have stood the test and they have stood up to the test in the red zone” ([44:25]).

• Indiana’s Red Zone Offense: Signetti counters by praising Indiana's well-coordinated red zone strategies, stating, “We are balanced on offense and we’re making plays and we’re converting third downs” ([38:05]).

Notable Quote:

Urban Meyer: “Whoever wins this red zone battle will win this game. Saturday, Indiana Hoosiers versus the Buckeyes. So, coach, looking forward to it. It’ll be a special one.” ([45:00])

6. Predictions and Final Thoughts

As the episode concludes, the hosts share their predictions for the big game. Urban Meyer cautiously favors Ohio State to cover the 12.5-point spread, citing their superior playmakers despite acknowledging Indiana’s physicality and execution.

• Final Prediction:

  Urban Meyer: “Twelve and a half is too much. And that means I’m going to go with the Buckeyes to win just because I think playmakers make the plays in the big games and I think Ohio State has the superior playmakers.” ([61:38])

Curt Cignetti adds his confidence in Indiana’s balanced approach, emphasizing their readiness to compete against a formidable Ohio State squad.

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Conclusion

This episode of The Triple Option offers a comprehensive and nuanced exploration of the current college football landscape. From dissecting the latest CFP rankings and analyzing conference dynamics to an in-depth interview with Indiana’s head coach and strategic game predictions, the hosts provide listeners with valuable insights and engaging discussions. Whether you're a die-hard fan or a casual observer, this episode encapsulates the excitement and complexity of the new age of football.

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Notable Quotes:

• Rob Stone: "Does Greg Sankey and Biddidi from the Big Ten get together and say, this ain't right?" ([10:18])
• Urban Meyer: “Whoever wins this red zone battle will win this game.” ([45:00])
• Mark Ingram II: “I’m going to put that as my player of the week.” ([62:03])

Note: Timestamps correspond to the provided transcript and are included to highlight when key points were discussed.

Transcript

[Rob Stone]

You talked about the messaging that you created on Monday. What's that messaging going to be Saturday morning in Columbus?

[Mark Ingram]

Oh, we don't do PG 13.

[Rob Stone]

We can bleep. We can bleep some things out right here if you want to give us a little taste.

[Mark Ingram]

Here you go.

[Urban Meyer]

Yeah, I love it.

[Rob Stone]

We are back. Welcome to another edition of the Triple option presented by Wendy. So glad you're back here with us. Rob Stone, a couple of college football legends with us, Mark Ingram, Urban Meyer. Whether you're joining us right now for the live stream or watching a little bit later, we urge you, we encourage you to rate, subscribe at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, wherever you podcasts as well as across social media. You can find us at 3x option show again new episodes coming away every Wednesday. And now we react instantaneously to the third installment of this season's College Football playoff rankings which just came out. Quick reminder, 12 teams make the playoff. The five highest conference champions get those automatic bids. The remaining seven spots go to the next seven highest ranked teams. Four highest ranked conference champions get a first round by and there's been a change in that. Five, six, seven, eight seeds host the first round games on campus. The big news last week, of course, guys, was BYU at number six, Tennessee at number seven. Losing this weekend, how did it impact things? Well, it did impact the top five guys. They remained remained the same. Oregon, Ohio State, Texas, Penn State, Indiana. The Irish continue their ascent. Second straight week they've risen two spots, guys from 10 to 8 to 6, Alabama. Welcome back. Mark Ingram.

[Urban Meyer]

Yes, sir.

[Rob Stone]

Back at number three, Tennessee down four spots. They are the first team out. Boise State up one spot and Boise State now given a buy. They had been the 12 seed facing Ohio State for the last two weeks. But according to the bracket, they are now the four seed. So they get a buy as does Oregon, Miami and Texas. That's enough of me. Urban, start with you right now. What caught your eye?

[Kurt Signetti]

Yeah, it caught my eye. There's, there's, there's four teams that you just don't know. Stock up, stock down with Indiana, Miami and Notre Dame. So let's do that again. So I have Indiana five, Notre Dame at six and Miami at eight. Mark, what would happen if those three teams eyed up against Georgia and Ole? That's in Tennessee. That's the question they have you played in the sec? I've coached in the sec. Indiana is a team that we have incredible respect for. We covered him quite a bit. We got him this weekend. Notre Dame, I have not seen in person, in live. But they lost in Illinois and they're beating teams they're supposed to beat. They play army this week in the Miami. You know, I, I'm just not sold, Mark. I'm not. I'm sold on the quarterback.

[Urban Meyer]

Yes.

[Kurt Signetti]

Quarterback out of there. And they're 500.

[Urban Meyer]

Yes.

[Kurt Signetti]

This guy's a beast. But, you know, I, I don't know. And that's. You asked me what caught my eye. Indiana, Miami and Notre Dame. And I see some teams behind them that I think if they play there would be a difference.

[Urban Meyer]

Hey, man, it's life in sec. We talked about it, man, how the conference was just gonna cannibalized itself and it has. And you know, but that's just the world that that conference lives in right now. And everyone wants to hate on us. Oh, the sec, they get this. They cry about this, they cry about that. But it's the true story. I mean, you got what, five, six, two lost teams in SEC right now and it's, it's, it's ugly.

[Rob Stone]

And by the way, Texas A and M lurking down there at number 15, right?

[Urban Meyer]

And they control their own destiny.

[Rob Stone]

Texas for sure. And that's going to, that's going to throw a wrinkle in there. We all know the Ohio State, Indiana result is going to shake things up. I can't. Ohio State beats Indiana. There's no way they're jumping Oregon. Right? I mean, you just can't do that.

[Kurt Signetti]

No, no. Head to head, right?

[Rob Stone]

It's got to go. It's got to be head to head. And then that would put those, those two programs on, of course, that collision course in Indy for the Big Ten championship game.

[Urban Meyer]

Penn State, don't overlook those Signetties.

[Rob Stone]

No, no, I'm just. And Indiana, should they win. Hey, listen, I'm. We got coach Signetti joining us live on the triple option coming up in a little bit. I am not here to offend. I'm here to defend. I'm a big fan of the Hoochers and what they're doing right now. But I'm curious, Mark, your, your Crimson Tide, they've been kind of bouncing around, right?

[Urban Meyer]

Yeah.

[Rob Stone]

And here they are up three spots this week from number 10. What do you make of your Tide?

[Urban Meyer]

I mean, they should have been bouncing around, man, after that loss to, you know, they had a couple up and down weeks. You know, they had the loss to Vanderbilt, was a close call to South Carolina. They had the loss to Tennessee, had the bye week, came back with a dominant win over lsu. Kind of took Their soul from them because we saw them go get smacked again by, by Florida. But they looking really good right now. And if this Alabama team that you see played against Georgia in the first half, if you see that Alabama team that played against lsu, that is one of the most dangerous teams in the nation with any. They have a shot against any team with Jalen Milro at the quarterback position because when he plays with his electric, with his electric playmaking ability with his legs, but also with the downfield explosive playmaking with his arm, this Alabama football team is a dangerous team. I love that they're sitting right there where they're at. Cause just keep sleeping on my squad, man. Just keep sleeping on them.

[Rob Stone]

Yep. Crimson Tide, the second highest ranked SEC team. Ole Miss sitting there at nine. And then it's Georgia coach up two spots. And the Bulldogs have been doing some bouncing as well. Remember when the initial college Football playoff rankings came out, they were all the way at number three. They had a buy and then they plummeted to 12 out of the bracket last week and now back in as a 10 seed in Alabama, currently taking on the Irish in South Bend in the first round.

[Kurt Signetti]

I might have to buy a ticket to that one.

[Mark Ingram]

Me too.

[Kurt Signetti]

I will buy one.

[Urban Meyer]

Brady.

[Kurt Signetti]

I want to, I want to hit one. Something right here. And I think this would be a case study for every collegiate administrator and support smu. I brought them up last year or last week. You know, I, I don't know much about smu. Never coached against him, never been there. And I kind of took, I don't want to say took shots at them, but I'm like, what? Why? What are you talking about SMU then? I watch film. I know some people who have kids go there and I did some research. Mark. They have made an incredible investment in their athletic program, in football. They're now in an excellent. They're in a big conference. The supporters have anted up and said, let's go play ball. And as a result, the players and coaching staff have delivered. Is that one of the greatest stories? I love that story. But it's by accident. They committed. Incredible. That what I heard and I heard it and I read it. So it's not documented. Millions of dollars have been invested in that organization and said, let's go play ball. They've delivered.

[Rob Stone]

That's all oil and gas, baby. Oil and gas down in that neck of the woods. Colorado guys, they continued their slow and steady rise three weeks or two weeks ago. They were at 20. Last week 17, up one spot to 16 and again, the Buffs control their destiny in the Big 12 and the College Football Playoffs rankings. BYU, remember, they were sitting there at number six last week. They plummeted eight spots to number 14 following that home loss to Kansas. And that really kind of sullies the reputation of the Big 12, at least in the this week's eyes of the College Football Playoff committee because the Big 12 is no longer getting that buy as one of the four highest ranked conference champions.

[Urban Meyer]

Right. And guess who Kansas sees this week.

[Rob Stone]

Correct.

[Urban Meyer]

Colorado. Yeah. So Colorado continues to win. They'll continue their steady rise. They control their own destiny to get to the Big 12 championship. They get to the Big 12 championship and win that game, they get an automatic birth into the cfp. So them Buffs have a big one, a tricky one this week against Tennessee.

[Rob Stone]

You see the rankings right there. Tennessee at number 11. That's down four spots, but they are the first team out. When you take a look at the bracket, our good friend Lane Kiffin had an interesting comment the other day talking about the value or the perceived value. Maybe it's not so valuable playing in a conference championship game. Here's Lane Kiffin, the Ole Miss head coach.

[Lane Kiffin]

You know, it's, it's, it's changed the conference championship, you know, could have a big impact both ways for people. So I've talked to other coaches, so I'll just kind of give you the feeling from some other coaches that, you know, they don't want to be in it. You know, the risk to get a buy, sorry, the reward to get a buy versus the risk to get knocked out completely. I mean, that's a pretty big, that's a really big risk just to get a buy. So I think it's ended up being a very unique situation of all, you know, post season sports, the way that that system set up there and how you could go to that and get knocked out. And if you don't go, you're in.

[Rob Stone]

Questions.

[Lane Kiffin]

I'm not a big gambler, but that's kind of one of them Vegas, you know, like poker table thing. That's all in. And you're going all. And you're going all in in the best conference in football. So you got to play somebody great too. Very different than a lot of these other conferences.

[Rob Stone]

It's fascinating and I understand it. I think our general perception is particularly if you're in the SEC and the Big Ten, if you get to the championship game, you are not going to be punished, rankings wise. And it's easy to say that now we have to See what the results are. To me, though, you guys know it better. Having that buy to me seems just massive. Just having.

[Kurt Signetti]

I'm going to throw some out at you. Yeah. And this might stir a little Internet conversation. Does Greg Sankey and Biddidi from the Big Ten get together and say, this ain't right?

[Urban Meyer]

Right.

[Kurt Signetti]

I'm asking.

[Rob Stone]

It's possible.

[Urban Meyer]

They already got.

[Kurt Signetti]

I'm going to say, okay, we're. We're playing in a conference. There. There's teams on this that have not played a ranked team.

[Rob Stone]

Yeah.

[Kurt Signetti]

Every SEC team I was imagined played at least three.

[Urban Meyer]

Yes. There's five conference right now. There's five. Two lost teams.

[Kurt Signetti]

I'm looking at South Carolina, some of their wins.

[Rob Stone]

Yeah.

[Urban Meyer]

Yes.

[Kurt Signetti]

And then I'm seeing some teams in front of them saying, oh, okay, if they played, what would happen here?

[Rob Stone]

Right.

[Kurt Signetti]

And then the. The fan. And I get it. And I was at Utah and. Well, they don't. So don't. Don't give me these what ifs. But they don't. But I can tell you about the SEC after living in there for six years. The SEC cares about the sec.

[Rob Stone]

Yeah.

[Kurt Signetti]

And the Big Ten has grown that as well. That.

[Urban Meyer]

Yeah.

[Kurt Signetti]

They care about the Big Ten. Do they get together and say, wait a minute, do we go do our own thing?

[Urban Meyer]

Yeah.

[Kurt Signetti]

And I, once again, I don't have in salary.

[Rob Stone]

I hope not.

[Urban Meyer]

Just they met already this year. So.

[Rob Stone]

Yeah.

[Urban Meyer]

Something. You know, they met earlier this year. The commissioners met. I don't know what happened. We don't know what came about from that meeting, but clearly there's something brewing. But just to say what Lane said, like, I would much rather just play in the first round as opposed to going to the championship and have the pose the risk of getting knocked out all entirely. Like.

[Rob Stone]

But that is rolling the dice, right?

[Urban Meyer]

It is rolling the dice.

[Rob Stone]

I think that's his point. Like, are we still going to get in if we're not in the. In the conference championship?

[Urban Meyer]

So you're looking at.

[Rob Stone]

There's some programs there that have to get in to have any consideration and win it. But I get. Yeah, you know what it is, Mark? It's like. It's like March Madness, but the conference tournament's leading in. All right. So listen, I'm a big North Carolina basketball fan, and there are times where I'll look and I'll go, you know what? I would rather maybe just take that loss in the. You would rather lose in the semis or the quarterfinals than you would in the final. Right. Like, just get home you know, stop pounding on the, on the hardwood. But it's different because the tournament is so expansive and you, you kind of have a really good idea whether you're going to get in or not for basketball purposes. But I think there's real value to it, particularly this time of the year, coach, when the wear and tear just continues to grow.

[Urban Meyer]

Oh, there's these players.

[Kurt Signetti]

I'll be honest, I'm shutting you out because I can't even think like that there really is. What do you hope you don't go to a championship game, right?

[Rob Stone]

Go play to win.

[Kurt Signetti]

And what do you like you go and then eat dinner afterwards. You get up in the morning and say as you're driving to work, say, boy, I hope you don't win the SEC championship. I mean, I, I, I, that doesn't compare.

[Rob Stone]

No, it wasn't win the SEC championship. It was like just get to the game.

[Urban Meyer]

Yeah, right.

[Rob Stone]

They're, they're saying like, let's avoid that championship game and give ourselves.

[Kurt Signetti]

Well, even, even worse, you're saying like.

[Urban Meyer]

You'Re saying like Ole Miss, like so Alabama goes and plays whoever, Texas or whatever this, whatever the game ends up being.

[Rob Stone]

Alabama's playing Notre Dame right now.

[Urban Meyer]

No, I'm talking about LCC championships.

[Kurt Signetti]

And they, they, I mean that's two sledgehammers now.

[Urban Meyer]

Yes, you correct. They dropped that game. Now you're a three loss team and you take the risk of getting out. Then Ole Miss, Georgia, who didn't even play in the SEC championship, get in. Like that's devastating.

[Rob Stone]

I don't think they're going to get punished for losing in the championship game. You hope the Big Ten or the sec. Correct.

[Kurt Signetti]

There, there's no way, Rob. There's no way a third three lost team will go ahead of a two loss team in the FCC with a.

[Urban Meyer]

Loss in the championship.

[Rob Stone]

But the third loss is in the championship game.

[Urban Meyer]

You're going to get punished for it.

[Rob Stone]

Against whoever and then that Tennessee, who.

[Urban Meyer]

Was that first team out? Do they get in?

[Rob Stone]

Yep. Do they back in. They back in because somebody earned a right to get to the championship game and loses.

[Kurt Signetti]

Nasty.

[Rob Stone]

It is nasty. It is nasty. And look at the Big 12 right now, right? BYU stock plummets. They lose a bid. Big 12. I think there are hopes of having two teams in completely gone right now. There's four in the SEC, four from the Big Ten. ACC won, independent one, Mountain 12, one. That's it. You know, the independent thing though is really curious. You know, Notre Dame, we're going to talk about it with our pick six to you by BetMGM coming up, Notre Dame and Army this week, neutral site game at Yankee Stadium. And then Notre Dame comes to the west coast to take on usc and liner Brady Quinn. We're already talking about that one. Last week there used to be a.

[Kurt Signetti]

Day where everybody said, oh, Notre Dame is playing ufc. There's other things to watch now. I hate to say that, too.

[Rob Stone]

Yep. Well, you're only watching for Notre Dame either to love them or to hate him right now. Because USC is just trying to figure themselves out right now.

[Kurt Signetti]

But they beat USC and they say, okay, they beat USC and USC is.

[Urban Meyer]

A.500 team right now.

[Rob Stone]

Yeah. That means nothing outside of the fact they didn't lose. Right. That's all it is, is avoiding a loss.

[Urban Meyer]

Right.

[Rob Stone]

Because that loss could kick them out and very well.

[Kurt Signetti]

That's the negatives. The positives are there's so, so much intrigue. There's so many teams with still hope and opportunity to go compete. So we, we gave you the negative, but there's a lot of positive.

[Urban Meyer]

Yeah, right.

[Rob Stone]

Here's. Here's some bet. MGM championship odds. Real quick. All right. Guess who's number one according to BET? MGM. Oregon, Ohio State, the oh +320, followed by Oregon +450. Texas and Georgia both at +500. Bama +750. Ole Miss +1100. Penn State, Notre Dame +1800.

[Urban Meyer]

I'm going to throw some bread on Bama.

[Kurt Signetti]

Real quick Bet MGM is doing it by rosters. That's what they just did. You just gave us the best rosters in college football. You didn't look at records. You didn't. When you.

[Rob Stone]

As you read them off, I hear what you're saying.

[Kurt Signetti]

Rosters.

[Rob Stone]

So Ohio State has the best roster, followed by Oregon, Texas, Georgia, Bama, Ole Miss, Penn State, Notre Dame, and then Indiana almost verbatim.

[Kurt Signetti]

I might change one or two in there.

[Rob Stone]

Yeah.

[Kurt Signetti]

And we've seen most of them, but those are the best rosters in the game.

[Rob Stone]

That's interesting. That's really interesting.

[Urban Meyer]

Hmm. Hey, man, this thing about to get strange. This is just we a couple weeks out still. We still got two more regular seasons and then the championship weekend. We got three more weekends and this thing is going to go upside down, Stone. This thing going to be on a headstand in a few weeks, dog.

[Rob Stone]

Hey, and I'm here for it, man. We're all here for it. That's what we love doing here at the triple option. So there it is, the third ever installment of the College Football Playoff rankings and what the bracket looks like. And we know so much on the next bracket is going to hinge on what happens in Columbus this Saturday. Live on Fox Buckeyes hosting unbeaten Indiana. Coming up next on the triple option. IU head coach Kurt Signetti joins us. You've had Wendy's nuggs dipped in sauce, right, Mark? You've had the Wendy nuggs I've had. All right. But Mark, I ask you, have you had them covered in sauce? Wendy's new saucy nugs. Take the crispy and spicy nugs that I know you love, and you know what they turn them up to? They turn them up to 11, Mark.

[Urban Meyer]

Oh, more than 10.

[Rob Stone]

More than.

[Urban Meyer]

Choose between flavors like buffalo, honey barbecue, garlic parm, or if you're a real heat seeker, try Spicy Ghost pepper. Only on Whitney's signature spicy nugs. I dare you. There's seven delicious ways to try the nugs you already love.

[Rob Stone]

Are you man enough to try the Spicy Ghost pepper, by the way? Do you think you could pull that off?

[Urban Meyer]

That's not for me. I'm the honey barbecue type guy.

[Rob Stone]

Yeah, I can do the peppers, pick a flavor, grab some extra napkins, and then go back and get a few more napkins and prepare to nug. Apparently, the word nug is a verb now. So, Mark, prepare to nug like you've never nugged before. For a whole new way to nug, it's gotta be Wendy's at participating us. Wendy's Keep on nugging America.

[Urban Meyer]

Nug City.

[Rob Stone]

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[Kurt Signetti]

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[Rob Stone]

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[Kurt Signetti]

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[Rob Stone]

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[Urban Meyer]

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[Kurt Signetti]

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[Urban Meyer]

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[Rob Stone]

Triple option presented by Wendy's Rob Stone, Mark Ingram, Urban Meyer, now joined by the head coach at Indiana University, first time the program has ever gone 10 and 0. And Coach Signetti, welcome. And I hope you're enjoying that eight year, $72 million contract extension that you signed over the weekend. We got plenty of places we can parcel some of that money, but it usually starts. Mark, you know how important it is to recruit. You know how Coach Signetti can recruit humans like you?

[Urban Meyer]

Yeah.

[Mark Ingram]

Man count was find three stars like Mark that are really good players.

[Urban Meyer]

Yeah, yeah. Speaking of that. No, no, no, no, that's true. Speaking of that, before you was the head coach winning multiple conference titles at IUP and James Madison and now leading Indiana into the top five into a huge showdown this weekend, you first had to convince a young three star running back out of Flint, Michigan. How'd you only come to Alabama? How did you, what do you remember about that process? Man, we haven't really talked about this, man. How did this start and why did they send you up to come seal the deal with your boy?

[Mark Ingram]

Because they, they had to send the aso.

[Urban Meyer]

Yes, sir, I remember.

[Mark Ingram]

I remember a couple snowy days, a few different trips, a track meet, pizza in the living room, ping pong in my basement. Right? Yeah, but, but you know, there, there were long standing ties to Mark Ingram, so it was, it was a natural fit. And that would been Coach Saban and Bobby Williams.

[Rob Stone]

Coach, while we're talking about recruiting, I'm curious, what is your sales pitch right now to when kids come up to Bloomington and maybe how it's changed from when you first took over to where you are right now at this juncture in the season. What is come play football at Indiana sales pitch like.

[Mark Ingram]

Yeah, well, you know, the sales pitch in December was sort of a vision, right? Things the staff had accomplished, how the programs run championships in the past, quarterback success, receiver, defensive success, etc. You know, now, you know, most of the high school class really right now is kind of verbally committed, so there's not a ton going on. This thing's getting ready to pick up big time here in a couple weeks. With the December portal. So winning opens a lot of doors and kids see the results and they feel the momentum and the energy and, you know, we run a great program. We have good people here, players and coaches, high character people. And, you know, they feel it when they come.

[Rob Stone]

What were some of the elements of that extension that were important to you? I know, you know, the sexiness is the years and the big number that just goes to you. But I know there are so many other elements that went into that contract discussion that you wanted for Indiana football to be better going forward. What were some of those?

[Mark Ingram]

Yeah, well, we have great leadership here. President Pam Witten's athletic director, Scott Dolson. And they were very proactive and really hit all the things on the checklist up front before I ever had to even bring them up. Talking about stadium expansion, renovation and staff, assistant coaches and support staff, additional support. And, you know, obviously there were some personal things there for me. But, you know, we played the what if game, my wife and I, about three or four weeks ago, and my agent and I, and everything always led back to Indiana. And, you know, so I'm appreciative that the administration was proactive like they were. You know, we're still in season and it was, for me, it was a no brainer.

[Rob Stone]

Take me through the what if game.

[Mark Ingram]

What if this one opens, what if that one what if calls, that one calls. And, you know, the bottom line is this. You know, this is my thing here. I own this. And, you know, up to this point, we've had a great amount of success in a 12 month period. 11, 12 month period. And my name's on it. And so. And I like it here. And I like people, I like who I work for. I love the president, the athletic director, the people in Bloomington. The fan support has been outstanding. I mean, hard to even put in the words, what's going on here. It's like a movement.

[Urban Meyer]

Yeah.

[Mark Ingram]

And I mean, where the stadium is sold out, there's thousands outside the stadium like Alabama used to be. Right, Mark?

[Urban Meyer]

Yep, yep. The energy. The energy is lit up there. I ain't gonna lie. I was happy when we went up to Bloomington. I was surprised. But the energy around the program is great. And, you know, obviously you've done a tremendous job in creating the atmosphere.

[Mark Ingram]

No, I appreciate that. So, I mean, I think these people were starving for success and they're way over the top right now. And it's been great to see.

[Urban Meyer]

Coach, I'm a legacy. My father, you know, played and I played. Your father was a Hall of Fame coach. Your brother's a coach. You're a tremendous coach on your way to being a hall of Fame coach. How integral was, you know, growing up, learning from your father, learning from your brother? Like, how was that, like, growing up and how did that, you know, kind of get you to where you at now?

[Mark Ingram]

No, no, my brother learned from me. I'm the oldest.

[Urban Meyer]

Yeah.

[Mark Ingram]

Well, my dad, my dad, my dad was a great role model, a great leader too. You know, he led by example. He had tremendous work ethic. He had a real presence about him. His messages were really always on point. Helped a lot of people in life. Overcame cancer my senior year of high school. You know, I'm the oldest of four and was given his last rights twice his third year at West Virginia. Wow. Lived 43 more years. And, you know, I never coached for my dad. And I, I really was on the team one year when my dad was a coach. I was a red shirt freshman. But, you know, there's no question the influence he's had on me. Just high character guy. And of course, some of the comments I make publicly, people probably don't think that about me, but I mean, he, I, I can't imagine having a better dad in the whole world who have we've watched and grown up around Coach.

[Rob Stone]

I can go back to some of those comments. You know, obviously there's the, you know, Google me comment at your opening press conference.

[Urban Meyer]

And Stoner, I like the most recent one we had on Big Noon last week.

[Rob Stone]

Yeah, I got it right now.

[Kurt Signetti]

We're.

[Rob Stone]

We're the emerg superpower in college football. Why would I leave? So you say some of the things and listen in the media. These are, these are gold sound bites, right? Like I'm grinning ear to ear. These are magical. But are they somewhat or softly planned or are they just kind of coming to you? Or maybe a mix of all the above because I see the rise smile that kind of sneaks out sometimes too, when you're saying these things.

[Mark Ingram]

Got a little bit of both. I mean, spontaneous and sometimes, you know, maybe I got a few talking points because I can anticipate what questions might be forthcoming. And, you know, that's entertainment.

[Rob Stone]

Do you have any plan for us? Do you got any stored away on your notebook that you want to try to zing here on. On the triple option?

[Mark Ingram]

I don't have any.

[Rob Stone]

Okay. All right, well, maybe, maybe I can. Maybe I can feed you a couple.

[Kurt Signetti]

Coach Sick, thanks for joining us. Let's go back to 2023 where you led James Madison to 11 record. You're got as high as 18th in the AP rankings. And I can only imagine I got calls from headhunters back in those days and first of all, who was calling you and why was Indiana the choice?

[Mark Ingram]

Yeah, well, you know, I had a long term contract at JMU and I really liked it there a lot. It was, it was close to where I grew up. I liked the people, I liked the place. There were people reaching out obviously and, but the Indiana thing, you know, I'd been here a couple times before. 87 when I was at Rice, 2000 at NC State. Really liked the place, the campus, the feel. The Big Ten TV contract a couple of years ago really got my attention. When that went down, like I, that really got my attention and you know, my feeling and I felt the commitment from the president and the ad. They made a change on a Sunday. I was on phone with them Sunday evening, was offered a job Wednesday night. It was a very quick process and. But it resonated with me how strongly they felt about changing the brand of Indiana football. Making the commitment resource wise that you have to make today to be successful. And my feeling was in this day and age, the way college football is, any P4 program in the country with, with the right commitment can be successful because the things that determine success today are a lot different than they were 10 years ago.

[Rob Stone]

Why was that Big 10 TV contract such a big thing for you?

[Mark Ingram]

Money, baby.

[Urban Meyer]

Money, money, money.

[Mark Ingram]

Because that money flows in and it improves resources, it improves things for the players, for your staff. You know, it's gotta have a little money now and then, right?

[Rob Stone]

Understood.

[Urban Meyer]

Gotta have that paper. Hey, coach, you take over at Indiana and you bring in a quarterback from Ohio University in Curtis Rourke and all he has done is impressed. Thrown for 22,410 yards, 21 touchdowns, only four interceptions. What made him a perfect fit for the offense you're trying to run?

[Mark Ingram]

Yeah, well, you know, we've had really good quarterback success the last five years. Our previous four guys were all player of the year in a league one year guys. The last two were one year g. Five transfers just like Curtis and one, you know, one was a drop back, one was a duel and two were in between. So when we got here, we had 10 offensive starters and transfer portal quarterback went in the portal. We needed a quarterback.

[Urban Meyer]

Correct.

[Mark Ingram]

So you're scouring the candidates. When I googled him, you know, right away, you know what jumps out at you? Player in a Mac in 22, really good numbers in terms of touchdown, interception, Won a lot of games, won championships. And then you put the tape on and like to me, like three to five plays in, you know, I could just tell this guy knows how to play quarterback.

[Urban Meyer]

Yeah.

[Mark Ingram]

Remind me a little bit of Philip Rivers, who I was with at NC State.

[Urban Meyer]

Wow.

[Mark Ingram]

And you know, he could make the throws and he ran well enough to third down, get out of the pocket, run for first down. And a real impressive level guy on the phone and liked him a lot. Tino Sincere did a great job recruiting him and you know, he bit on the opportunity. He was looking to prove himself on a bigger stage and you know, he's had a sensational season.

[Urban Meyer]

Sincere. Coach, Coach Sincere is up there with you.

[Mark Ingram]

Oh yeah, Tino.

[Urban Meyer]

Oh, okay. Keeping it in the family. But no, you play quarterback as well. So when you look for a quarterback, what type of attribution intangibles are you evaluating in a queue? Because coming from a quarterback himself.

[Mark Ingram]

Yeah, right, I got you. I wasn't a very good one, but I can. They're all a little different, but yeah, gotta be able to throw the ball from point A to point B. You got to be able to process information quickly, you know, because you got to be proficient throwing the football, you know, So I mean, you can offset that a little bit with athletic ability with dual threat guys. But, you know, the bottom line is you got to be able to go from one to two to three and stay calm, calm, collect and be accurate. You got to be able to extend plays. You know, nowadays if you, the better you can extend plays, the more successful you're going to be in your team is going to be.

[Lane Kiffin]

Yeah.

[Mark Ingram]

And you got to be a great team guy, you know, which like Curtis Rourke is.

[Urban Meyer]

Yeah.

[Mark Ingram]

You know, he's kind of a steady Eddie, not affected by success or failure. If he makes a bad play, he's on next play. He's not phased at all. So, you know, they, they come in different shapes and sizes and some guys excel in one area versus another, but you gotta sort of have it.

[Urban Meyer]

Yeah.

[Mark Ingram]

When I put that tape on, I just sort of want to see it and it different from one guy the next.

[Kurt Signetti]

All right, last one for me, one of the knocks against the Hoosiers right now is your strength of schedule. The old Indiana goal was to become bowl eligible and you would schedule as such. If you want to maintain a top 10 program, are you gonna have to do a top 10 schedule and change your non conference schedule philosophy moving forward?

[Mark Ingram]

Well, you know, these schedules are set years in advance and I mean, Alabama played Mercer. Georgia played Chattanooga. Right. So, I mean, Georgia State, but lost. I mean, you know, the schedule is what it is. And the fact of the matter is we. We've beaten seven p. Four teams. Right. Every single one of those teams had a winning record when we played them, except two were at 501 was five and one, one was three and one. And we also beat the defending national champ and runner up. So. And, and we, for the most part, except for the Michigan game, which we didn't play very well in the second half, I mean, every game has been a decisive victory. We didn't trail until two weeks ago.

[Urban Meyer]

Right.

[Mark Ingram]

You know, we were behind at Michigan State 10 nothing first quarter and rattled off 47 straight. You know, I mean, you know, tell them, coach.

[Urban Meyer]

Tell them, Coach.

[Mark Ingram]

Well, look, you know, everybody's got a little vested interest in this deal.

[Rob Stone]

Right.

[Mark Ingram]

Let's just call it what it is.

[Urban Meyer]

Right.

[Mark Ingram]

You know, one network's going to favor this league and vice versa. Okay. Do your research.

[Urban Meyer]

Yeah.

[Mark Ingram]

Google us.

[Urban Meyer]

Google. Right.

[Mark Ingram]

So. So you know something about us besides our name, of what we've done in the past.

[Urban Meyer]

Yes.

[Mark Ingram]

And what somebody else says about our schedule.

[Rob Stone]

Do you watch the college football playoffs at all the. The show. Do you care where you fall in the. In the rankings?

[Mark Ingram]

I don't watch it because I'm normally working still. But, you know, I. I pay attention obviously to the rankings because are they.

[Rob Stone]

Are they giving. Are they. Are they doing you guys right in your eyes?

[Mark Ingram]

Well, you know, I'm not going to pass judgment on that. I think we're fifth, if I'm not mistaken. And, you know, it's all going to be played out on the field.

[Urban Meyer]

Yeah.

[Mark Ingram]

So obviously we have a game this week and another one next week, and most people have two or three games left and there's conference championship games. And, you know, it is what it is. You know, I ask our team not to, you know, to kind of eliminate the noise and the clutter, you know, control the controllables, focus on what's going to help them be the best they can be on Saturday. So I got to do the same thing.

[Urban Meyer]

Yeah. You said you guys are focusing on what needs. You said that it's all going to play itself out on the field. And you have a huge game this weekend headed to Ohio State. What does the Hoosiers need to do to beat the Buckeyes and give yourself a direct path to the Big Ten championship? And ultimately the CFP gotta score one.

[Mark Ingram]

More point than that.

[Urban Meyer]

I know that's right.

[Mark Ingram]

But we just Got to play our game and play it well. I mean, we have a certain way we prepare throughout the week, you know, Monday through Friday, a certain style of play, you know, things we preach and we have to play our game and play it well.

[Rob Stone]

Have you changed anything of that preparation, knowing kind of what's at stake this Saturday in Columbus?

[Mark Ingram]

No. I mean, you know, we're process driven.

[Urban Meyer]

Yep.

[Mark Ingram]

And if there was a better way to do it for this game, would do it this way, that way every game. But we really haven't.

[Rob Stone]

There's a lot of conversation out there, and I know we've said it as well, and I'm curious what your action is. A lot of people are saying, hey, if Indiana only loses by X points to Ohio State, they're still going to be in the playoff rankings. When you hear those type of conversations, what kind of goes through you internally?

[Mark Ingram]

Well, you know, I'm kind of an early morning guy.

[Urban Meyer]

Right.

[Mark Ingram]

So if we start at 7, I'm normally in here 4:30 or 5 to kind of organize the day. And one of the first things I do is I kind of create the message of the day. Right. And because, you know, one of the keys of the drill is getting everybody to think alike players. So I think it was Monday morning I came in and the first thing I wrote down was, you know, we don't prepare to play close. Right. Yeah, that's not what we do.

[Urban Meyer]

Right.

[Mark Ingram]

And so we're excited about the opportunity and looking forward to it.

[Urban Meyer]

Coach, I just want to take a second, man. You guys have two running backs kind of like what we had at Bama, man. They're two beasts. And Justice Ellison and Tyson Lawton, they basically, they run physical, they open up the offense for Curtis Rourke and his passing attack. Just what have you seen from those two guys?

[Mark Ingram]

Yeah, there's actually 3K Law and Black III played quite as much the last couple games. And they're all built about like you and they're all built the same. That's right.

[Urban Meyer]

Bowed over.

[Mark Ingram]

That's right. They're all, you know, 210, 5 10.

[Urban Meyer]

Yep.

[Mark Ingram]

You know, they can take it inside, they can take it outside, they can pass protect, they can catch a football.

[Urban Meyer]

Love it.

[Mark Ingram]

And they've been really consistent guys. They're older guys. They've had a lot of career production, so they have a lot of confidence and they've been very steady. And like, you know, it helps to have, you know, two, three backs you.

[Urban Meyer]

Can roll, keep healthy throughout the whole year.

[Rob Stone]

Coach, just take us to Saturday real quick. What are some things that fans of Indiana should be looking for to say, hey, this is going to be a successful Saturday because we're achieving A, B.

[Mark Ingram]

And C well, for scoring points and they're not, then it's going to be a great day.

[Rob Stone]

I could figure that one out, Coach.

[Mark Ingram]

We're balanced on offense and we're making plays and we're converting third downs. We're scoring touchdowns on the red area, protecting the football and defense. We're winning the line scrimmage and we're stopping the run, swarming the ball, putting pressure on the quarterback, doing a good job of covering, creating turnovers. We're plus 10 in the turnover ratio. I think they're plus 4. And our special teams is winning edge. It's going to be a great day.

[Rob Stone]

You talked about the messaging that you created on Monday. What's that messaging going to be Saturday morning in Columbus?

[Mark Ingram]

Oh, we don't do PG 13.

[Urban Meyer]

Yeah, it's real.

[Rob Stone]

We can bleep some things out right here if you want to give us a little taste.

[Urban Meyer]

It's real.

[Mark Ingram]

Here you go.

[Urban Meyer]

Yeah. I love it. I love it.

[Rob Stone]

Perfect. Coach Signetti, man, thanks so much for joining us. It's been a treat to talk to you all season long. And here's to Indiana continuing to be Indiana football under your leadership and and us having the opportunity to talk to you a lot, lot more, whether it's on the triple option or Big Noon kickoff or whatever. Congratulations, man. Great to see your success.

[Mark Ingram]

Appreciate it, guys.

[Urban Meyer]

Appreciate you, coach.

[Rob Stone]

Signator.

[Urban Meyer]

You the man, bro.

[Rob Stone]

Well, as you all know by now, we have teamed up with our great friends at BetMGM this season, and we're going to be using BETMGM lines to make all of our picks. We'll also have special offers for our listeners each week. Mark, you're listening, right? You're listening to this?

[Urban Meyer]

Yeah, I'm listening.

[Rob Stone]

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[Urban Meyer]

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[Rob Stone]

It's all about the option, Mark.

[Urban Meyer]

It's all about the option, especially the triple option.

[Rob Stone]

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[Jeff Monken]

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[Rob Stone]

All right, welcome back to the triple option presented by our great partner Wendy's. This week we're going to take a look at Indiana's resume as they head into Columbus. And it is presented by our great friends at ZipRecruiter. Try ZipRecruiter for free. ZipRecruiter.com option ZipRecruiter the smartest way to hire. So a little tail of the tape, if you will, comparison between what the Buckeyes and the Hoosiers are this year. Of course, Indiana unbeaten 10 and O. Buckeyes at 9 and 1. Their offenses are both spectacular. But coach, I think it's the thing that really jumps out at us is the red zone battle. Indiana red zone offense, number four in the nation, the Buckeyes red zone defense one in the nation.

[Kurt Signetti]

Yeah. How about we're at Big Ten Network talking about Indiana, Ohio State. Obviously, Big Noon will be their game of the week and one of the games of the year. And the word national championship in college football came out of our mouth in the same sentence with Indiana Hoosiers, not men's. The word national championship came out of Jerry DiNardo's and I was like, my gosh, he's right. So we've hit him a bunch. But I want to hit him again. And I know coach Signetti will join us or joined us. And they are as well coached team as I've watched this year. I picked them up early. I've told you guys about them. You guys agree with me. We saw them firsthand. Just beat the mess out of Nebraska, a decent Nebraska team at the time. And I'm going to point out a couple things they do well. Perimeter blocking is something I've mentioned before. It's very hard to coach people don't take it real serious yet. That's a difference maker. It could be a difference maker in this game. And then he flipped the other side. The one thing that's really well coached about this defense is their run fits. You don't see big hits against that defense. You see guys in the proper gaps. You see exactly where they're supposed to be. And as a result, Indiana coaches are making good players play great, which is a common theme we've used all year. However, Mark, Ohio State would not be in this conversation as a top seed. A potential rematch with Oregon in the Big Ten if it wasn't for a part of their defense has been phenomenal. They're number one in the country of red zone and goal line defense. We witnessed it firsthand. Nebraska, we were there. You made a comment you were pissed off if you would be Nebraska as they had a chance to win it, they did, but they didn't score from the three yard line. And then one of the best performances we've seen in a long time, Penn State had four shots from inside the three yard line and they failed to score. So the good thing is, Mark, Indiana spreads them out down there. If they said I'm going to line up in two tights, you know, 22 personnel, I'm going to go after the Buckeyes. I would pay say there's zero percent chance they score. However, they don't do that, Mark, they spread you out.

[Urban Meyer]

Yeah. Indiana is extremely well coached and Signetti is not going to go and do what has been unsuccessful, which is just line up 22 players a yard from each other and try to muscle the ball in.

[Kurt Signetti]

No.

[Urban Meyer]

And Ohio State commend their defense man, at the biggest moments of their season. They have stood the test and they have stood up to the test in the red zone. You talk about that win versus Nebraska, they only give up one touchdown. But at the end of the game, fourth quarter, big red zone stops. If they don't do that, we're having a different discussion right now, coach. Then you talk about when they went on the road to Penn State four times pitch they got in the red zone, not one time did they allow a touchdown. Actually, they got one interception, a turnover on downs, and two field goals. So this red zone defense for Ohio State has been the difference for them. And when it comes down to winning games of this magnitude, can you score touchdowns in the red zone?

[Kurt Signetti]

That's right.

[Urban Meyer]

Can you make a team kick field goals in the red zone? Whoever. Whoever wins this red zone battle will win this game. Saturday, Indiana Hoosiers versus the Buckeyes. So, coach, looking forward to it. It'll be a special one.

[Rob Stone]

Coach, do you practice red zone offense more than you would practice red zone defense?

[Kurt Signetti]

No. Equal. Yeah, it's an equal. And a lot of times you go against each other, you know, that was. And we. I learned that. I can't remember.

[Rob Stone]

I learned.

[Kurt Signetti]

Oh, Brian Billock, the great coach of the Ravens that won a Super bowl, he had this book out and I'll never forget this. When I was in the 90s, a very young coach and the art of a game plan, I think it was called. And the whole idea was being you spend time where the money downs are.

[Urban Meyer]

Yes.

[Kurt Signetti]

So it's not just how many reps it happens during a game because the red zone doesn't happen that much relative to other parts of the field. However, that's money. And I used to.

[Urban Meyer]

Third down.

[Kurt Signetti]

That's our. That's our money. Money down is a third down and then also the money down. Like Mark said we would look at offensively, if you reach the red zone and you kick the field goal F. Yes.

[Urban Meyer]

It's a win for the defense. Yeah, it's a win for.

[Kurt Signetti]

Same thing on the defense. Once you hit the red zone, it's. There's no C. It's A or F after fail. If you're on defense, red zone, they allow them a touchdown. You lose, you fight your tail off to keep them to a field goal.

[Rob Stone]

Offensively, how much more challenging market than coach is it to be in that red zone with that shorter field to work with?

[Urban Meyer]

Well, everything shrinks. So your field, the amount of space you have, the amount of space you have to operate shrinks. So it's much more difficult to create those big plays. So you have to be on point, you have to be in rhythm. You have to have a good game plan. Know what they do against the trips, what they do against doubles, what they do against 12 personnel, what they do against 22 personnel? You have to have a good kind of indicator on how they are going to prepare you, how they going to match up against you. And that way you can attack the defense, that way you can attack and know what plays the call. And we used to have play specific plays for a red zone, like, oh, we know they're going to be a man. Guess what, we're going to put the trips out to the side, we're going to drag them across the field. Back comes straight out to the flat linebacker who has the back, has to go over the top, quick shot to the back, get in the end zone. So just play specifics like that game plan, design plays that will be able to attack the defense. Both for Indiana offense and Ohio State offense will be crucial in this game.

[Rob Stone]

All right, so that's your big game resume brought to you by ZipRecruiter. We're going to transition now to maybe six of the biggest games this week and it is Pick Six brought to you by BetMGM. Place your Moneyline prop parlay and same game parlay bets at BetMGM. Download the app today. As always, please gamble responsibly. So six games against the spread. Mark's got his Deuce Deuce dog of the week. We're going to start, though, with Coach Oldness at Florida. Gators slapped LSU around at the Swamp last week and all of a sudden the future forecast for Florida at least is looking brighter, is looking stronger. They're on the cusp of bowl eligibility now. They have a chance to ruin Ole Miss's playoff dreams. Ole miss favored by 10 in Gainesville.

[Kurt Signetti]

Yeah, I don't call them the Gators anymore. The rejuvenated Gators. Mark, they're, they're not necessarily back. But I'm going to, I'm going to tell you something. I'm a fan of Coach Napier and here's why. I don't know him. I met him once or twice. They've been obviously really struggling, but the one thing they have not done like the team in Tallahassee is quit. They've continued to fight. I hear comments made by their excellent quarterback, DJ Legway. I see things, I hear things. Obviously I still know a lot of people down there. The Swamp was electric. I think Ole Miss is walking into a harness nest here. I think a team that when you break the rock like that, you win a big game. Like everybody's been waiting for them to do the crap. The one thing about Gainesville, Florida, now you find a way to start winning. That place is a monster and it's a, it's, I think, the best home field when, when they're hot, when they're not, it's, it's average like a lot of places. But when that place is cooking and they'll be cooking for Elaine Kiffin and them, I don't know if they're good enough to beat Ole Miss, but I'm going to take Florida and the points. It started at nine and a half. I believe it's at ten. I'm not sure. Vegas might know something, but I'm called for this to be a one score game.

[Rob Stone]

All right, Penn State favored by 11 and a half at Minnesota. You know what that is, guys? That is a sizable spread alert. I'm very leery about that big spread right now. Here's why. All right, if I'm Penn State, I'm nervous about this one. The Gophers, they had one four straight. They fell though to Rutgers two weeks ago. They're sitting there at six and four. They had that late buy to get themselves healthy, to get themselves ready for a home game with big bad Penn State coming in. The Gophers D. Let's be honest, it doesn't get enough praise. 12th in the nation in scoring. The quarterback, Max Brosmer doesn't get enough Credit. Also over 2200 passing yards, 14 touchdowns. This cat has not thrown an interception since September. And the national vibe and Mark, you and I, we've talked about this for a while. The vibe around Penn State, if you're talking to people who aren't in blue and white, is you're ranked how high? Like, who have you beaten? What are you doing up there? Inside the top five. And I think it's a brand. It's a Big Ten brand and it's a Penn State brand that has them up there. So there's still some questions. Since that home loss to Ohio State, though, they have posted convincing wins over Washington and Purdue last week, Drew Aller, the quarterback, he grows, he improves. Our guy, Tyler Warren continues to ball out. How fun is he to watch?

[Urban Meyer]

Last week, he's the man.

[Rob Stone]

11 total touches, 190 total yards, two scores.

[Urban Meyer]

He needs to start getting some conversation, man. For the Heisman, for something.

[Rob Stone]

Give him the Mackie, right? At least give him the.

[Kurt Signetti]

Well, you're the. You're the guy that can mark.

[Urban Meyer]

Yeah, that's right. We love Tyler Warren. He a baller, man.

[Rob Stone]

Here's one stat. I want to end on Minnesota 2 and 1 when facing a top five Penn State team.

[Urban Meyer]

Wow.

[Rob Stone]

It's not. I got other. I got Other saucy stuff around there, Paul Bunyan's ax. It goes to Minneapolis and stays there for the year. Gophers. What win? What called it.

[Kurt Signetti]

You called the win.

[Rob Stone]

Called the win from Minneapolis. Yes. Sorry. Sorry about that. Penn State. It's going to be a tough road trip to Minneapolis. Let's go to the Big 12. Colorado favored by three at Kansas Jayhawks. They've been kind of like they've been carrying that sickle. They're like the grim reaper of the Big 12 lately, right? Savage wins over Iowa State and of course, what they did in Provo against BYU last week. Now Colorado comes to Arrowhead Stadium knowing that the Buffs control their own destiny in the Big 12 and perhaps a chance mark to get to the college football playoffs.

[Urban Meyer]

You said it. They control their own destiny. They control their own destiny. But they're going on the Kansas Jayhawks spoiler tour right now. Let's see. Two weeks ago they beat Kansas, beat Iowa State to knock the Cyclones out of the Big 12 playoff conversation. Then last week, Kansas State beats BYU, stops their undefeated season. But Colorado, they're coming in red hot. But for Kansas, it's been the combination of Jalen Daniels and RB Devin Neal. They've been balling and they've been killing it. But listen, not a bus. We talk about the bus defense who have been playing strong. They look with the if the bus continue to play like this, they, they a problem. Their defense has seven takeaways and 11 sacks in the last two games. And if they keep those two players in check, I think they'll be okay. But I'm going to give you a matchup to watch. Stoner. I'm give you a matchup we know about.

[Rob Stone]

I'm ready.

[Urban Meyer]

Give it to me, coach. Yeah, coach. Coach Meyer then said it about them wide receivers they got, right? Colorado, Travis Hunter, La Jonte, Wester, Jimmy Shepard, La Jonte. They got a bunch of receivers that, you know, hey, they, they, they electric. But listen, Kansas actually has one of the best cornerback duos in all of college football. And Kobe Bryant and Mello Dotson, those two have combined for nine interceptions this year and 17 interceptions in the last two years. There's two NFL guys right there. So that's a matchup to watch those two DBs against those wide receivers. I got the Buffs, I got the scope bus going to keep it going. They ain't going to let it go down like that, man. Okay, the J spoiler tour is stopping right now, man.

[Rob Stone]

It's over in Arrowhead. It's Over.

[Kurt Signetti]

So one thing about Colorado. We're there and what in the atmosphere. Travis Hunter intercepts the ball. He. He does a Heisman pose on the field. Deion Sanders Sons brings his camera out on the field. This is during a game. Takes a video of them, and then Travis throws a bony end in the. In the stands.

[Urban Meyer]

I love it.

[Kurt Signetti]

And then they had a rap concert in the locker room after the game. I went back. I had. I went back real fast and just checked my notes, and I never saw a rap concert in our locker room after the game. So I'm not sure Saban did that, right?

[Rob Stone]

Yeah.

[Urban Meyer]

No, never. Never. The sideline was booming. We went down there on the sideline. It was who's who out there. Look like the BET Awards, the SP and the VMA Awards. It was booming out there. I'm like, who is who out here? It was. It was lit.

[Rob Stone]

Oh, my goodness.

[Urban Meyer]

They had the gancha going out there in the stadium. Out there in Colorado. They were smoking it up. And the Buffs are booming, man.

[Rob Stone]

Shoot.

[Urban Meyer]

I love the energy out there in bowling.

[Rob Stone]

They were smoking it up. There's a lot of contact.

[Urban Meyer]

There was. We was out there doing the playbook. We was out there.

[Rob Stone]

I caught a whiff of that, too. Oh.

[Urban Meyer]

Oh, my goodness. Somebody got that gasoline.

[Rob Stone]

You know, everybody. I started getting hungry. I said, I need to find me a bag of Wendy's.

[Urban Meyer]

Catch a contact. Shoot.

[Mark Ingram]

I was happy.

[Urban Meyer]

They brought out their food.

[Rob Stone]

Coaches got the munchies. Coaches got the munchies.

[Kurt Signetti]

I'm out of town. I made a little pit stop.

[Rob Stone]

Let's go, man.

[Urban Meyer]

They said that you would. They said that this was the background from last week. But I'm had to go do some research because this looks like a whole new background to me. Coach.

[Mark Ingram]

It's.

[Urban Meyer]

Where is coach at this week? And I have no idea. I've never.

[Rob Stone]

He's in Florida. All right, let's Continue Our bet. MGM, pick six. Army and Notre Dame. The Irish favored by 14. First time, guys, that this has been a. That this will be a ranked matchup since 1958. The Irish have won each of the last 15 encounters. A Notre Dame loss would. I don't know if it would kill, but it would really hurt, maybe borderline maim their playoff hopes. An army win could show that they belong. Coach in the playoff picture.

[Kurt Signetti]

Yeah. Jeff Bunkins are a friend of mine for many, many years. I think he's one of the great coaches in America. I always say playing a service academy's a Nightmare. Playing a 100 or 90 service kind of double nightmare. This is a problem. So I'm going to, I'm going to say this, mark, that it's either going to be a beating. They put a beating on Navy. Notre Dame did. Just personnel wise. It's a beating. However schematically. Army's built to their number one rush offense in America. How about the street 335 yards per game and, and they're plus 11 and turnover ratio. That's a sign of a really well coached team. Notre Dame's better. Notre Dame's. You know, if the real Notre Dame team turns on, I think this is a blowout. So there's no medium here is what I'm saying. This is not going to be 15, 16, 18, 21 point game. It's either going to be a 40 point game or it's going to be a three point game. And I'm sitting still fighting myself on this. The point spread went from 16.5 down to 14. Maybe someone knows something. I'm going to say army keeps this thing close. I'm not saying they win, but I'm saying they're going to shorten the game. I really love Army. I love the fact that the triple option will be headed to Army Navy in a few weeks. And there's a little bit of sentimental value because my father was army and I like to see a nice close game.

[Rob Stone]

All right, calling a close game to the Big 12. BYU at Arizona State.

[Urban Meyer]

Okay.

[Rob Stone]

BYU favored by three and a half. There are four contenders left to win the Big 12 and two of them meeting there in Tempe. Both control their stoner.

[Urban Meyer]

Guess who we gonna see in that game? Scatterbo.

[Rob Stone]

I had it. I had it in my rundown a little bit later. I know. All right, so let's, let's pretend you didn't bring that up. No late drama for byu. Last week Kansas shocked them in Provo. All those close calls, all those survival moments, finally I think kind of, kind of caught up to them. I'm really curious what the psyche of the Cougars is going to be this week. You know, with that unbeaten season is gone, Big 12 title hopes now get really, really challenged. If you're Kalani Sataki, you got to make sure that one loss doesn't turn into two losses. Sun Devils got an upset win at Kansas State. Here they are, guys, at 8 and 2, 5 and 2 in conference play. Our favorite Sun Devil is who? Mark Cam.

[Urban Meyer]

Oh, Cam Scatterboo. Guess who. There we go.

[Rob Stone]

All right, so we've been given Cam Scattaboo love, rightfully so. But how about the play of their whiteout? Jordan Tyson, the former Buffalo transferred over there. He was Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week this week. 176 yards against Kansas State Sun Devils at home. I know Arizona State is well versed in tailgating and partying and having fun. That is going to be a big time scene in Tempe.

[Urban Meyer]

Yes.

[Rob Stone]

And that scene, that crowd is going to make a difference. They're going to win. They are going to win. I'm all about the upsets this week. Apparently Arizona State is going to win. How about that one? All right, let's get to the big one. The game that everybody really, really cares about right now in college football. You can only see it on Fox. Big noon kickoff Leading into the noon kickoff for Indiana at Ohio State. Buckeyes favored by 12 and a half. They own a 29 game winning streak over IU the last time Indiana Mark.

[Mark Ingram]

Sheesh.

[Rob Stone]

Beat the Buckeyes. This guy right here was dancing shirtless at Colgate University to sweet child of mine back in 1988. Baby, I'd love to.

[Urban Meyer]

And that is your saucy nut.

[Rob Stone]

Sure, why not? Give him a Wendy Saucy nug for that. We got plenty.

[Urban Meyer]

Man, let's just go into this game, man. You know we gonna be there. The big new. We're gonna be there. Coach Earb. Oh, gonna be there. You know her, man. No, but listen, let's just, let's lay it out on the ground law right now. If Indiana wins, the Hoosiers will clinch a Big Ten championship and validate themselves as a college football playoff. It would basically seal it. It'd seal the deal. And Ohio State and Ryan Day's big game struggles would continue and the sky would be falling in Columbus. But if he wins, I'm not.

[Rob Stone]

He's teasing us down.

[Urban Meyer]

Just let me. I'm just, I'm just going, hey, I'm just setting up the ground law. You know what I mean? And if Ohio State wins, Ohio State would be in the driver's seat to get back to the Big Ten championship with a showdown rematch with Oregon. And they would be considered a national championship frontrunner. And Indiana would have zero good wins. Would that kick them out of the playoff picture? Oh, we don't know. We don't know. But the big thing is will Ohio State's offensive line hold up? They're going against Indiana team that leads the Big Ten with 31 sacks and 73 tackles for loss this season. And Ohio State, they still finding their way with their old line. So can Ohio State's line.

[Rob Stone]

You're not believing their old line because they, they look pretty good against Penn State.

[Urban Meyer]

They did. They did. But they still, they still, they did look good versus Penn State. But this is a different beast. You're going against a real deal holy field curse Signettis, you know what I mean? But no, I think how fun was.

[Rob Stone]

It to talk to Coach Signetti this week too, man, he's awesome.

[Urban Meyer]

Best man, he's awesome. You talk about how they looked against Penn State, but look this, this Indiana offense I feel is going to be more, much more effective than Penn State offense was. They have the number one offense in the Big Ten, Curtis Roark, 23 total touchdowns, four interceptions. They have a pair of running backs that we talked about with Coach Signetti, Justice Ellison and Tyson Lawton, who have combined for 18 touchdowns this year. They have a defense that is lined with the second fewest hours for play, but they've done it all against a week schedule. So what is the, what is the Lion Stoner? Thirteen and a half.

[Rob Stone]

Twelve and a half.

[Urban Meyer]

Twelve and a half is too much.

[Rob Stone]

Too much.

[Urban Meyer]

Twelve and a half is too much. And that means I'm going to go with the Buckeyes to win just because I think playmakers make the plays in the big games and I think Ohio State has the superior playmakers. But the Fighting Signetis will come in there ready to play offensively, defensively, special teams, they're going to have an edge about them. They're going to play with physicality. They're going to play with toughness and execution. And this is going to be a.

[Mark Ingram]

Dog of the week Aurora.

[Urban Meyer]

A dog of the week. I don't got them winning, but I do have them covering that 12 1/2 point spread. Matter of fact. Bet MGM I'm a log in and put and plug that in as my play of the week. I'm going to put that as my player of the week. Bet mgm I'm taking the points. I'm taking laying the points.

[Rob Stone]

What a scene. It should be so happy that Indiana is relevant in football in Ohio State with a big test as they try to lock up a Big Ten Championship game berth against Oregon. Yeah, the Ducks have already locked up the Big Ten Championship game appearance. We remind you. Follow subscribe rate us on YouTube Apple Podcasts Spotify Wherever you get your podcasts as well as across social media, you'll find us at 3x option show don't forget to submit questions. We will have them answered during the show. Typically new episodes coming your way every Wednesday, as always, thanks to our sponsors, Wendy's, bet, mgm and Zip Recruiter. And we will see you next week.