Ohio State-Michigan Fallout, College Football Playoff Rankings, Marcus Freeman Joins, Championship Picks

Summary

The Triple Option Podcast Summary Presented by Wendy’s Episode: Ohio State-Michigan Fallout, College Football Playoff Rankings, Marcus Freeman Joins, Championship Picks
Release Date: December 4, 2024
Hosts: Urban Meyer, Mark Ingram II, Rob Stone

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1. Ohio State-Michigan Fallout

Game Recap and Impact: The episode delves deeply into the recent showdown between Ohio State and Michigan, a pivotal rivalry that has significant implications for the College Football Playoff (CFP) rankings. Michigan triumphed over the second-ranked Ohio State with a gritty 13-10 victory at the Horseshoe Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. Urban Meyer reflects on the unexpected loss, citing Ohio State's key player absences and offensive struggles.

Urban Meyer (02:40): "One thing about the game of football, there's a scoreboard at the end and you have to take your hat off and give respect. And that was a rugged win for the Wolverines."

Emotional Reactions and Leadership: Meyer emphasizes the importance of resilience and regrouping after a tough loss. He discusses the psychological toll on Ohio State and the necessity for the team to quickly reset and focus on upcoming playoff opportunities.

Urban Meyer (04:27): "You have to pick them up and you have to grab each other and you got to go."

Flag Planting Incident: A major talking point is the flag planting controversy that erupted post-game, leading to a chaotic and violent melee on the field. The hosts express their disapproval and concern over the behavior exhibited by some Ohio State players.

Rob Stone (29:12): "There's no place for this in college football. There's a lot of spots I want to hit with this."

Meyer criticizes the NCAA's insufficient response to the incident, advocating for stricter penalties to deter future occurrences.

Urban Meyer (38:34): "The NCAA says we're allowing this. Yes, we're going to fine you $100,000. That is not a deterrent at all."

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2. College Football Playoff Rankings

Current Standings and Movements: The discussion transitions to the latest CFP rankings, highlighting significant movements and the evolving landscape of the playoff contenders. Key teams such as Oregon, Alabama, Boise State, SMU, Notre Dame, and Penn State are analyzed for their playoff prospects.

Mark Ingram (47:01): "The Big 12 has probably been the most exciting conference all year."

Outsider Teams and Playoff Prospects: Hosts express enthusiasm for non-traditional powerhouses like SMU and Boise State, recognizing their strong seasons and potential to disrupt the playoff landscape. Urban Meyer admires the competitive nature introduced by the 12-team playoff system, which offers more teams a chance to compete for the national title.

Urban Meyer (56:04): "This is the greatest thing that's happened in college football in our lifetime."

Debate on Team Strength: The panel debates the strengths and weaknesses of top-ranked teams, particularly focusing on Oregon's speed and defense, Alabama's fluctuating rankings, and Miami's lack of ranked wins despite a strong record.

Mark Ingram (52:54): "They have no ranked wins. They have no ranked wins."

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3. Interview with Marcus Freeman – Notre Dame Head Coach

Season Reflections and Leadership: Marcus Freeman joins the podcast to discuss Notre Dame’s season, emphasizing the importance of maintaining focus and resilience despite early setbacks. He shares insights into his leadership philosophy, highlighting the necessity of keeping the team unified and learning from losses.

Marcus Freeman (61:09): "We got to stay together. There's going to be a lot of noise outside of here. Stay together."

Handling Success and Future Focus: Freeman talks about balancing the joy of victories with the ongoing pressure to perform, stressing the significance of continuous improvement and preparation for each upcoming game.

Marcus Freeman (65:09): "Our guys bounced back, and we started to continue to improve as a football program."

Philosophies on Recruiting and Team Building: He outlines his plans to prioritize in-house talent over relying on transfer quarterbacks, aiming to build a sustainable and internally coherent program.

Marcus Freeman (66:17): "My vision is to major in high school recruiting. That's what this program is going to be built off of."

Flag Planting Perspective: Freeman condemns the flag planting incident, advocating for respectful celebrations and emphasizing the importance of unity and sportsmanship.

Marcus Freeman (73:26): "There's nothing more important than us celebrating together. Let's celebrate together in the locker room."

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4. Championship Picks and Predictions

Boise State vs. UNLV (Mountain West Championship): The hosts analyze the matchup, highlighting UNLV's balanced offense and Boise State's dynamic play. Urban Meyer expresses confidence in UNLV covering the spread due to their strong defense and balanced attack.

Urban Meyer (80:17): "I want to say UNLV has the number one defense in the Mountain West Conference."

Tulane vs. Army (AAC Championship): Rob Stone praises Army's resilient season, crediting quarterback Bryson Daley's exceptional performance. He emphasizes Army's ability to handle the physical and mental demands of the playoffs.

Rob Stone (83:24): "Army's magical season is capped off with an AAC title and they earn it at home in West Point."

Big 12 Championship: Iowa State vs. Arizona State: Mark Ingram and Urban Meyer discuss Arizona State's powerful running game led by Cam Scatterboo and Iowa State's versatile offense. They predict Arizona State will secure a playoff berth with their dominant run game.

Mark Ingram (86:56): "Cam Scatterboo is getting it done. Arizona State to the playoff."

ACC Championship: Clemson vs. SMU: The panel debates SMU's rapid rise in the ACC and their potential to compete against Clemson. While supportive of SMU's talents, they acknowledge Clemson's experience and quarterback struggles as factors in the outcome.

Urban Meyer (89:57): "If Clemson does beat them, it's going to be a tough, nasty, jagged, dry. They have no to swallow for SMU."

SEC Championship: Georgia vs. Texas: Georgia's consistent performance and Texas's recent struggles are scrutinized. The hosts favor Georgia due to their strong defense and improved quarterback play, predicting another victory in Bulldog territory.

Mark Ingram (93:19): "Georgia's going to beat them again this weekend, man. Out there in Atlanta in Bulldog territory."

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Notable Quotes

• Urban Meyer (02:40): "One thing about the game of football, there's a scoreboard at the end and you have to take your hat off and give respect."

• Rob Stone (29:12): "There's no place for this in college football."

• Marcus Freeman (61:09): "We got to stay together. There's going to be a lot of noise outside of here. Stay together."

• Urban Meyer (56:04): "This is the greatest thing that's happened in college football in our lifetime."

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Conclusion

The hosts wrap up the episode by reinforcing their analysis and predictions for the upcoming championship games. They encourage listeners to engage with the podcast on various platforms and thank Marcus Freeman for his insightful contributions.

Rob Stone: "Thanks for joining us this week, coach."

The episode provides an in-depth discussion on the critical moments and future implications of the Ohio State-Michigan game, the evolving CFP rankings, insights from Notre Dame’s head coach Marcus Freeman, and comprehensive predictions for the championship weekend. The conversation balances strategic analysis with emotional and leadership perspectives, offering a multifaceted view of the current college football landscape.

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Disclaimer: The summary above excludes advertisements, intros, outros, and non-content sections to focus solely on the substantive discussions and insights shared by the hosts and guest.

Transcript

[Mark Ingram]

But you know what's funny is the field's not even grass, so the flag didn't even plant. So like you go to plant this flag in a turf field, it just fell over. So you was never going to plant it anyway because it was turf.

[Rob Stone]

It's so true. You just got me to snort. Oh, man.

[Mark Ingram]

Roll down. Tight.

[Rob Stone]

Light it. Mark's always in charge of music. Coach, Coach, not so much.

[Urban Meyer]

I like it. I like my eyes. Go right to the top. Left, right, right.

[Rob Stone]

Let's see what Mark is doing when the triple option music hits.

[Mark Ingram]

Well, you can't tell me that music don't hit.

[Rob Stone]

I love it. I love it. Welcome to another edition of the Triple Action presented by Wendy's. Try Wendy's new saucy nugs today. This week. How about this, huh? Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman joins us. We're going to talk about keeping the pain in South Bend. Wonderful conversation with Coach Freeman. We're also of course going to discuss Ohio State, Michigan. The flag planting epidemic that took over college football last Saturday will also get you ready for this weekend's major conference championship game. So glad you're with us. Rob Stone, Alabama national champions winner, Mark Ingram, three time college football national champion winning head coach Urban Meyer, back here with you. Thanks for joining us. Remember, please rate, subscribe at Apple Podcast, Spotify, wherever you get your podcasts as well as across social media. You can find us at 3X option show. New episodes drop every Wednesday. And yes, we've been saying this kind of like all season but this past Saturday even more in particular that on any given Saturday anything can happen in college football, particularly when it's rivalry weekend. It's genuine, it's unpredictable and it is absolutely chaotic. And the heartbeat of that chaos was in Columbus, Ohio. A major upset. Second ranked Ohio State falling for the second time this season as Michigan comes into the horseshoe and wins A knockdown grind out kind of ugly rock fight 13 to 10. Only three points scored in the second half and that was the winning field goal by Michigan. They head back to Ann Arbor. They are bowl eligible. Had been bowl eligible for that week. The Buckeyes they drop in the rankings but they are still very much alive to continue on in the college football playoffs. Urban, your initial reaction to what, what transpired or what is going forward in Columbus right now?

[Urban Meyer]

Yeah, as I prep for that game, I did not see that Mark. And then the news we got Saturday morning, two of their best players are out.

[Mark Ingram]

Yeah.

[Urban Meyer]

One of their best coach in Loveland is an unbelievable player.

[Rob Stone]

One of the best tight ends in the nation.

[Urban Meyer]

I thought. I thought they're best db. Who do they go to on offense? You know, they're playing a quarterback that has minimal success and really hasn't played much. Dave Sworn. And I just didn't see that. But you got to get. I mean, the one thing about the game of football, there's a scoreboard at the end and you have to take your hat off and give respect. And that was a rugged win for the Wolverines. They controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides. They. Especially defensively, Those two future NFL draft picks, a defensive tackle. But here's the thing. Rob and Mark, when you lost that game, and I remember Woody Hayes distinctly saying, and Earl Bruce would say it to me, it's 365 days of pain. You have to live with that. Here's the reality now, that's somewhere in you, but you better get it out because you have a playoff to go to. And back in the day, you'd lose that game. You'd go to some bowl game you wish you weren't at, and you just. It'd be misery. And you got to regroup right now. I mean, like, now. It's got. Now given 24 hours. And I mean, that talk about a heart. That's how you would always do this. That's captain stripes for your leaders and for your coach, man. I mean, don't, don't. Don't stand up in front of the team when you win. And that's, that's not hard to do. What's really hard to do is when you get punched right square in the mouth. And I mean, you are hurting. You're bleeding. Your. Your guts are laying on the floor. You got to pick them up and you got to grab each other and you got to go. And if they don't do that, they'll lose.

[Mark Ingram]

They don't got to get ready because.

[Urban Meyer]

There'S a bunch of good teams coming up.

[Mark Ingram]

I'm sorry, they don't got to get ready now. They got to get ready right now. Right, because they got Oregon in the Big Ten championship coming up this weekend. And coach you.

[Rob Stone]

No, no. Penn State. Penn State.

[Mark Ingram]

I mean. Oh, yeah. Penn State.

[Marcus Freeman]

Dang.

[Mark Ingram]

They not even.

[Rob Stone]

How dare you disrespect Happy Valley.

[Mark Ingram]

Oh, my goodness.

[Rob Stone]

They're on a bye week, man. Their. Their regular season is done. Certainly thought they were going to play Penn State.

[Mark Ingram]

You get your opportunity.

[Rob Stone]

But Martin, that goes to your point, like everybody was already talking. Oregon, Ohio State, rematch, Big Ten championship game. And that's that is different, man. It is a special rivalry, Mark.

[Mark Ingram]

Yep, it is. It is. Hey man, you know me, man. I'm from Michigan, man. So I grew up Michigan State, Michigan, Michigan, Ohio State. Then I went down to the south and the Mason Dixon line and that Auburn, Alabama, you know we had a scrapping too this weekend too. So y'all weren't the only ones bumping, you know what I mean? But that, that, that rivalry is special. That, that the game is a special rivalry, man. I got a lot of respect for it. And when you watch that game, man, it is physical, it is nasty, it is tough. Coach mentioned Michigan goes in without two of their best players. Colson Loveland, Will Johnson and guess who they turn to. They're six 2,230 pound monster of a running back, Khalel Mullins.

[Urban Meyer]

He was unbelievable in that fourth quarter. Unbelievable, unbelievable.

[Mark Ingram]

Breaking tackles like. But that's what Michigan had to do. They had to make this game ugly. They had to get turnovers on defense, they had to control the line, scrimmage on offense. And Khalil Mullins was the heart of it. He ran hard, he broke tackles, he got the tough dirty yards all game long. 116 yards and a touchdown. This dude is a beast, man. He made a switch from linebacker to RB1 and the man is single handedly carried the Wolverines to a victory on the road. Not single handedly, but he had his big hand in it. So shout out to Khalel Mullins, man.

[Urban Meyer]

Rob, think about this. That was their first road win of 2024.

[Mark Ingram]

Yeah, they came in there.

[Urban Meyer]

I read that, I read that. I, I mean I couldn't believe what I just read. I want to throw these two names out to solidify themselves as first of all legends in the game. Mason, Grant and Grant, those two. I watched that game three times already. I just keep watching it and like trying to figure out what happened. And Ohio State had three offensive linemen out. Future draft first round pick Josh Simmons out at left tackle. He's out. The backup left tackle is out. The center is out. And you could tell they were discombobulated in there. And it was, it was a beating that I'll tell you that. Mason Graham, number 55, he plays with his hands as well as I've ever seen. The defense lineman, he plays full extension. Mark, he's playing right here. That's it. I'd love to see how strong that cat is, but he plays the entire game. Mark and Rob, what I'm talking about is defense lineman that can just Offense lineman want to engage. That's what he was holding. Defensive linemen want to disengage. And his power in hands were incredible.

[Mark Ingram]

I just had to talk. I just had to talk about the. I just had to talk about the offense real quick of Ohio State. Like, how do you not force feed Jeremiah Smith with Will Johnson out? How do you not.

[Rob Stone]

We've been saying this, haven't we?

[Mark Ingram]

Yes. Like, throw the football to these guys. You're trying to line up and run into the teeth of a Michigan defense who was built to stop the run. What is mission? What does Michigan see every day at practice that they're good at defending the run? What do they see at practice every day that they're not good at defending? They don't see it at practice because they. Michigan doesn't throw the ball well, so I would be throwing the ball at them like Mecca. Egbuka had only five. He had only four catches. Jeremiah Smith only had five, and four of them was in the first half.

[Rob Stone]

Like, some of that may be a Will Howard problem.

[Mark Ingram]

Will Howard definitely did have two interceptions. He had two bad interceptions in the game.

[Rob Stone]

That's the thing. There's interceptions and there's bad interceptions. Bad interceptions and. Coach, I want you to get into the white outs, what you saw from them.

[Urban Meyer]

But.

[Rob Stone]

But let's. I'm forgetting. Let's get right to Will Howard. All right, let's start with that.

[Mark Ingram]

Well, him and Davis Warren were in a competition who could throw the worst.

[Rob Stone]

Interceptions, who could hurt their team the least? And. And I feel like. Coach, I feel like this is just me here. Outsider Rob Stone. I look at that first Will Howard interception, and all of a sudden I'm tight. I have no. I have no say in this game. Right. I got. I got no dog in this race, but I'm tight. And I'm like. Every time he steps back to throw it, I'm like, ooh, ooh, watch out. I'm. I am nervous for what could happen for Ohio State right now. And my feeling is that translated up into the coach's box in Chip Kelly and Ryan Day on the field felt that as well. Do you. Do you agree?

[Urban Meyer]

Yeah. Number one job of the head coach is to, man, be the game manager. And that means that you're not calling plays, you're not calling block punts or whatever you're calling a cumulative effort of offense, defense and kicking. When your defense is as dominant as Ohio State's defense is, you have a Wolverine offense that for the season, they've not been very good. They've been struggling. How do we lose this game? You turn it over. And so, but, but you also. At some point you got to do something other than run at the strength of the defense. So I'm just, I'm painting a big picture for you. How do you lose that game? You turn the ball over. Well, they also didn't get. How about this, the last 14 snaps, not one first down. Digest that for a minute. 14 snaps, that means three straight drives to go win a game and they don't. And this is really interesting Mark too. We talk about the rece receivers at Ohio State. A lot of credit to the Wink Martindale, the defense coordinator at the Wolverines. You know how many staffs and man coverage they played?

[Mark Ingram]

5. Yep. Protect the game, protect your defense.

[Urban Meyer]

And a couple of those are in short yardage. So they. Because I kept watching it, I started marketing on my pad. Zone, zone, zone, zone, zone. And remember early in the game they kept giving them those outcuts.

[Mark Ingram]

Yeah.

[Urban Meyer]

And you're not going to lose a game by giving up an outcut, Mark.

[Mark Ingram]

Yep.

[Urban Meyer]

So the Wolverine defense said keep these monsters in front of you. They pass interfering calls when they got behind them. But they played zone coverage and it was really, really smart. Usually against zone you can have find ways of getting an extra hat in there and run the ball. But it's amazing how this worked out. To stop the run. Normally Mark and Rob, you got to stick your guy.

[Mark Ingram]

Yeah.

[Urban Meyer]

And behind. That's usually man coverage. They didn't really necessarily do that.

[Rob Stone]

So how did they get away with it?

[Urban Meyer]

The offensive defense. Those two tackles inside were two gap. And I mean they were, they were. They're playing the B gap, disengaging and making a. Playing a gap.

[Mark Ingram]

But it was.

[Urban Meyer]

It was unbelievable.

[Mark Ingram]

But they had success early in the game. Will Howard and Quinn, Sean Jenkins doing an option pitch on the edge. It went for 17 yards. It was almost uncontested. We didn't see that again the rest of the game.

[Urban Meyer]

Right.

[Mark Ingram]

You keep running inside A gap, B gap into the strength of two first round deep tackles. Get on the edge and get these guys into space. Quinshawn Jenkins and Trevion Henderson. I just felt like there was like really no. When you have a defense who is their strength is the D tackles. You want to get on the edge. You know what I mean? And stress the edge. They did it early in the game, had success. They didn't continue to do it the while.

[Urban Meyer]

I'm going to give you just a 15 second. So. And I did this on Big Big Ten Network to stop the run. I'm not talking about pressures. To stop the run, you need to edge the defense. That means you have to have contain the defense. And that doesn't mean run up the field. That means squeeze the C gap. You set the edge. And you know what that does, Mark? It squeezes the B gap. And then you squeeze it just. It works together. The whole line works together. And that defensive line of the Wolverines set the edge.

[Mark Ingram]

Yes.

[Urban Meyer]

I mean it was really something to watch. And then they let those two first rounders, when the A and B gaps and the linebackers ran, it was so you can say run around it. They set the edge.

[Rob Stone]

You know the one staff. Did the coaching staff lose faith in Will Howard at some point in that game?

[Urban Meyer]

I think the weather, I think it was not an easy day to go flip the ball around, okay. And zone coverage is. You better be on, on point. And he didn't have much time. He also was pressured a lot. So it's a cumulative effect on the quarterback. He lost his confidence early when he flipped the ball out there and got picked off on about the eight yard line. You got, you know, the winds in your face. The reality of you have three new offensive linemen and they're getting on you every time you pass now there was people breathing down on them. So it was cumulative effect. And then the other thing that you had zone coverage, so I mean, you had to be really on your mark, man. Coverage is easy to beat. Put a freak against a non freak and throw him the ball. That didn't happen. Coach, what did you see from.

[Rob Stone]

I'm sorry, Coach, what did you see from the wide receivers? Because I know you were focusing in on the Buckeye receivers.

[Urban Meyer]

Yeah, I didn't feel them. I didn't feel them. And I went back and I kept watching them, watching them. And was it lack of effort? I don't believe it was lack of effort, but I think it was frustration because I've coached that position. I've been around the just, you know, high draft picks and they get frustrated. You gotta, you gotta keep them engaged. And the Wolverines played behind them. They were not going to give up a big one, man. They were going to force you to dink and dunk and Ohio State didn't have the patience and accuracy to do it.

[Rob Stone]

The 45th meeting of the game, that was decided by one score. And remember, the Buckeyes came into this one favored by 21 points. That is the biggest point spread for the rivalry since 1978. Which makes it the biggest loss point spread wise in the history of the game. That is your saucy nug of the week. Try some at your nearest Wendy's. Let's give you a bonus saucy nug from Wendy's. And Mark, this goes to your point. The team that has won the rushing battle in the game has now won the last 23 straight games between Ohio State.

[Mark Ingram]

The damn ball.

[Rob Stone]

Well, and again, Ohio State has hats. They literally hand out hats that says run the damn ball.

[Mark Ingram]

Yep.

[Rob Stone]

And they could not run the damn ball even though they had Henderson and Judkins. But, yeah, the offensive line, I think, is a. Is a real concern for.

[Mark Ingram]

I don't care who you are, Stoner. I don't care who you are. If you don't have space and room to run, you will not be successful as a running back or as the team. In the running game, you have to have people moving the line of scrimmage, moving people off of their spots, and then allow your backs to be able to hit the space. But if you can't block, you're not going to be able to run light it.

[Rob Stone]

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[Mark Ingram]

And I love them.

[Rob Stone]

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[Mark Ingram]

Oh, more than 10.

[Rob Stone]

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[Mark Ingram]

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[Rob Stone]

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[Mark Ingram]

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

[Rob Stone]

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[Mark Ingram]

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[Rob Stone]

We are counting down the days to one of the greatest games of the year, the Army Navy game presented by USAA. And this year marks the 125th meeting of army and Navy and both will be battling for the win and the chance to sing second.

[Urban Meyer]

As a proud presenter, USAA knows this game is so much more than football. It's a time for the country to come together and recognize the commitment, teamwork and sacrifice our service members make for our country.

[Mark Ingram]

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[Urban Meyer]

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[Rob Stone]

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[Urban Meyer]

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[Rob Stone]

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[Urban Meyer]

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[Urban Meyer]

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[Rob Stone]

Custom window coverings, save up to 50% site wide plus door busters and a free professional measure. Right [e-mail] rules and restrictions may apply. Let's be blunt, the Buckeyes have a lot to play for. I I know this everything to play for stings in Columbus but my goodness, everything is still in front of them. In fact if you look at your bet MGM championship odds, the number one team right now favored wise of course it would be Oregon at +350. Then there's three teams there at quote unquote second at +450 Georgia, Texas, the Ohio State. So people still believe in Ohio State going forward. So coach, how does Ohio State how does Ryan Day go forward from this moment knowing that they're not playing in the Big Ten championship game again this weekend and they they do get a buy if you're trying to look for a positive but boy, this is a big time psyche buildup project. It feels like in Columbus right now.

[Urban Meyer]

Yeah, you this is this is not psych 101. This is graduate level psychology. You got to figure this one out. And I'm not saying I have the answer because you know we've all got our face kicked in in a game and and it's so dependent upon I've always been a guy that I always had a group of players mark that you you would certainly be one of Them, you know, that's the alpha. That's a personality guy that also will let me know, Will talk to me. This is not a co, you know. Yeah, it's, it's Ryan Day and it's the coordinators and all that. But to me, this and always will be a player. You gotta reach the players.

[Mark Ingram]

Yeah.

[Urban Meyer]

And I don't know this team. I don't know. You know, I, I see Will Howard talk a lot. Seemed like a great leader. But who, who is the dudes that you know? Is it Jack Sawyer? But I, I would, I mean it'd be every day I'd be meeting with those cats and figuring the pulse of the team. I think they had practice yesterday, I heard. But you got to rinse and rinse and spit and get going because it's, it's, it's upon you if you, you don't even want to think this way. But if they lose the first round, I mean. Oh my God. I mean.

[Rob Stone]

Well, all right, let's, let's do, let's do that ugly hypothetical. If you're a Buckeye fan. All right, and, and, and this, this starts going right to Ryan Day, Mark. Right. You're having. What is this? Four straight losses in the game. This was a win the natty or bus type vibe around Columbus. They may not want to say it, but clearly the donors will tell you.

[Mark Ingram]

That you don't put 20 million not.

[Rob Stone]

To win and then should they lose a first round playoff game, that's a big if. Right, I, I understand and, and I'm not here to. But, but the pressure on Ryan Day's job and the athletic director that did not hire him will be under major, major scrutiny. If, big if, if Mark, that is to happen.

[Mark Ingram]

Stoner coach, what you say every week this is going to be more pressure next week, this is going to be more pressure than next week. It's just a matter of the fact.

[Rob Stone]

That it, but if there's no more weeks going forward, if it ends, then it's this. In the playoffs.

[Mark Ingram]

There has to be uncomfortable, tough conversations. But at the end of the day, it's like, who is out there for Ohio State to coach? Who's going to coach that job? And then like with this, with this calendar or the college football schedule, you fire a coach. Not everybody could poach off of your roster just relentlessly and you can't even get nobody for 30 days or whatnot. So it's just a tough position to be in if you're Ohio State because you can't. If you fire Your coach, much like what happened with Alabama last year when we, when Coach Saban stepped down, there was 30 days where he couldn't, where Alabama couldn't get anybody out of the portal, but everyone could poach off of their roster. So the college football calendar is just, it's like, it's tough right now and it makes it tough to fire a coach at the end of the season. So.

[Rob Stone]

We'Re not using the F word, Mark. We're just saying maybe.

[Mark Ingram]

I'm not saying, I'm not saying, by the way, for Ryan Day, I'm saying for just any, any, any college football program who wants to move on from their head coach at this point of the season, you have a window that closes where you can't go out and grab nobody in the portal. But everyone in the portal can poach off of your roster. So it puts your program in a bad position to let go of your coach at this point in time of the season.

[Rob Stone]

Well, Michigan went through it last year. Right. And coached it on, on Big Noon. You know that, that gap when they're fighting for a national title and then they lose their head coach and the coaching staff and the players and the players to the NFL. It was brutal for them. But to me, the things that are going on in Columbus are just absolutely fascinating and somebody's going to write a wonderful book about this someday. And I'm a Ryan Day fan. I know you are a coach as well. I want to see him succeed. And guess what?

[Mark Ingram]

He's a great coach.

[Rob Stone]

He has absolutely succeeded. That was his first loss to an unranked opponent and you look at his win loss record and the things he's achieved, it's been amazing. But the game is how people get. Are judged in Columbus and Ann Arbor.

[Mark Ingram]

We were with Charles titles. We were with Charles Woodson last week. He even said, he said Ryan Day is a great coach, but people get fired behind this game right here.

[Rob Stone]

So Cooper.

[Mark Ingram]

Yes, Brady said it. John Cooper, he lived in that era. People get fired behind these rivalry games and you know, it's amazing.

[Urban Meyer]

Jim Harbaugh started 05 now.

[Mark Ingram]

Yep.

[Rob Stone]

And he was on his last legs because. Because.

[Urban Meyer]

And they didn't play the sixth.

[Rob Stone]

Yeah.

[Urban Meyer]

Think about that. A three touchdown favorite in that one. And so, yeah, I, it's uncomfortable to hear the fired word and it's uncomfortable to hear about pressure. But it's also reality that you're compensated very, very well. You get all the resources. You know, I talked to someone, I said, man, it's a rugged job, but it's also arguably the best job, you know, and there's no one saying that. There's plenty. And I would start. And you guys laugh at this. Here's my first team meeting every year and my first staff meeting. You're expecting just everybody understands their job description. At. I said this at Florida and also out of state, you're expected to be the very best at what you do in the country. If you're a coach, a running back coach, you better be the very best. If not, you're going to have to answer to me and say, why? Because whatever resource you need, I'm going to give you to go study. Whatever you need to be the best as a player. If you're playing tailback, Mark Ingram, you're expected to be the number one tailback in the United States. If that doesn't fit your job description, you can go, I'll help you right now. I'll sign your lease papers and you can go. Because there's a lot of places out here, Mark, it's really not that important. Yeah, you know, you don't have to be the best. You know, there's. There's 130 schools, or was it 120 schools? You don't have to be the best tailback. Yeah, you'd be good. You're fine. You go eat your dinner and you, you go home for vacation and all that at Ohio State. So the world. You don't.

[Mark Ingram]

Yeah.

[Urban Meyer]

And that's why you got to clean. You know, I call it a cleansing. You got to clean your mind and say, this is my job. That means people say, this is drastic. Every waking moment you have. If you're not the best, find a way to become the best.

[Mark Ingram]

Yes.

[Urban Meyer]

And that's your job description. I get it. If you don't like that, go pay your taxes, be a good person, but leave here.

[Mark Ingram]

Yes.

[Urban Meyer]

And so that's.

[Mark Ingram]

And that's what I think. That's what a lot of these programs are. Mission. A coach with that type of message to his team because it makes guys uncomfortable. And when you're uncomfortable, you gotta work.

[Urban Meyer]

Not all guys. It doesn't make Mark Ingram uncomfortable because.

[Mark Ingram]

It don't make me uncomfortable, because I know I'm a work. But that type of message, that type of tone resonates through the entire team. So if you have someone who is on the edge now, they know I need to get going or I'm going to be left behind. So that type of tone and that type of messaging to a team is the difference between a mediocre team And a championship team, in my opinion.

[Rob Stone]

Well, after Thanksgiving, a lot of people do go on those cleanses. My wife is doing it right now. So I'm really excited for the mood swings that are come firing my way in the next couple of days. But Ohio State has to cleanse themselves of this win, Coach. Right. So how are you, how are you managing those moments? And we haven't even gotten to the flag planting and we're going to get there in a moment. But how do you manage those moments? Starting that post game meeting with the team Saturday and what you're doing the next couple days and then how you bring them back and how do you move on? Is it, is it a white glove treatment or is it fire and brimstone? I know each team has their different psyche and.

[Urban Meyer]

Right.

[Rob Stone]

And it feels like this Ohio State team is a little bit more introverted than maybe elite football teams typically are. And you were saying, like, I don't know who these leaders are. I don't know who that guy is that's taken them. I think Bobby Carpenter had a comment a couple weeks ago that this is kind of a subdued, calm, introverted Ohio State roster. To me, that just makes things that much more challenging. Although sometimes there's those cats over there where you got to like calm them down a little bit. But how is Ohio State, Ryan Day, the coaching staff, the leaders on this team, how are they managing? Let's just say this next seven day block.

[Urban Meyer]

Yeah. Lou Holtz was a mentor and I would ask him, he'd be on speed dial and he would always, every time I'd ask a question, your leaders first, what kind of team is it? Remember, there's three types of teams. There's the arrogant, overconfident team. There's the team exactly the way you want it, very business like, but very confident. And then there's the teams that introverted and deep down, they don't trust each other and they lack confidence. Yeah. So if you got a team that's here, you got to beat them down a little bit. I would bring them right in and watch the video and I'd get after their tales about what happened. There's plenty of that. I watch the tape a bunch. There's plenty to get after them. There's the perfect team and you go right back to work and that's the team that you want. That's a team that's got a little swagger to them. They realize they screwed up and you just keep building them. And then there's that. The team that's really, really hard. And that's the one that lacks confidence. They don't really. And I'm not, I don't know what kind of team it is. I'm not on the inner walls of that but. But the team. You probably been around some teams like that Mark, where there's just not a lot of dialogue. It's kind of a quiet team and you, you come in. I used to walk in a locker room and I'd like come on tables table over and I'd be like turn up the music man, let's go. And yeah, but then there's other teams when you had the Boses and Zeke, I didn't have to do that. They were doing it.

[Mark Ingram]

Yeah.

[Urban Meyer]

You know, so dogs, them dogs. Yeah. So it's really dependent. I know we could go on and on and on and it's great question. If someone had the answer to that then I mean that's, to me that's the essence of coaching what you just said, Rob. That's the essence of coaching.

[Rob Stone]

Is this team still a viable candidate to win the national team?

[Urban Meyer]

Absolutely. That roster is still the, I mean Mark, you tell me other than the offense, you name a better roster in college football. I think it's, it's Oregon, Texas, Ohio State are the best rosters in college football, Coach.

[Mark Ingram]

When you have a defense that plays at a high level like that and you have those playmakers in the backfield and on the outside, you are always going to have a chance because players win games. So all it takes is putting them in the right position, having them confidence, having them believe and they are just as dangerous. They're probably even more dangerous right now because people are overlooking them. Michigan beat them this, that they're probably even more dangerous now because they get a week off. They come into the playoff with a chip on their shoulder, with an edge. I'd say right now just like, just like they had after the Oregon loss, how they bounced back, how they've been overcoming adversity all year long. This team might be more dangerous right now than they have been, even though everyone begs to differ. But I think they're going to bounce back.

[Rob Stone]

Let's get to maybe the biggest talking point from that game and so many other rivalry games this week. This flag planting pandemic, if you will, epidemic, whatever you want to call it. It's a demic that went around college football and it's going to have a say in what Ohio State does going forward. So these are some of the scenes from the post game melee and for Those who didn't know the Big Noon kickoff team, we were in one of the end zones getting ready to do a post game show when this broke out probably 60 to 70 yards behind us. And I was going, oh, pepper spray being shown right there. What? Young Camden Stone was somewhere in the outskirts of that, filming some shots. And this was an ugly, ugly scene on so many levels. It got violent. And there's a. Listen, there's no place for this in college football. So let's, there's a lot of spots I want to hit with this. Let's talk about just, you know what, let's just talk about Ohio State, Michigan and how this impacts Ohio State, this incident. All right? And then we're going to talk about it as a whole. But right now we're going to stay with Ohio State, Michigan and literally the flag planning episode that I think triggered the whole weekend. All right, so here's Ryan Day after the game, addressing the media on what transpired after the game at midfield.

[Urban Meyer]

Yeah, I don't know all the details of it, but I know that, you know, these guys, you know, are looking to, you know, put a flag on our field and our guys weren't going to let that happen. So, you know, I'll find out exactly what happened. But, you know, this is, this is our field and certainly, you know, we're embarrassed with the fact that we lost the game. But, you know, there's some prideful guys in his team that weren't just going to let that happen.

[Rob Stone]

You hear it in his voice. Hey, he's exhausted.

[Mark Ingram]

He's spent.

[Rob Stone]

I mean, and I, you know, Mark, that's the point. The numbness of Ryan Day post game. There's also some video kind of following Coach Day while they were singing Carmen Ohio. That's when some of the players peeled off and coach just kind of looked around and. And he went towards the eruption, but didn't do anything. He didn't do anything.

[Mark Ingram]

He was not stoner.

[Rob Stone]

He didn't run in there. He didn't pull guys out. He was just kind of like he's in pain. What are you looking at? Right? Like, I felt bad for him. I also know that I think I would have wanted my coach to get his tail in there and start pulling guys out and figuring what's happening and ending it. But you're right, Mark, he looked. It was this, you can't see me, John Cena. This glaze of. I don't know what is happening. I don't know what just happened. And now I don't Know what is happening in front of me. And just such a bizarre visual that he gave us after the game.

[Mark Ingram]

He was numb, stoner. The pain of losing four straight, that you're trying to process that loss. You're doing your little sing and then you turn around and there's just a scuffle. Like, you're just like, what about what's going on right now? He was just in a storm that, like, it was like a dream. It was like a nightmare, and he wanted to wake up. You know what I mean?

[Rob Stone]

Nightmare part two. Right. I didn't know this was. I thought it ended with, you know, just the loss and now there's more coming.

[Mark Ingram]

Yeah, but at the end of the day, man, like, I Ohio stateside, like, you ain't gonna let nobody just plant a flag in your field, like, so you are gonna retaliate. But at the end of the day, you had. You had 60 minutes to fight. You had 60 minutes to fight in between the lines. And now I show him more fight after the game than you was during the game. Not the defense, by the way. But, you know, it's just. It's just a bad look, man. It's just a bad look. Coach, what you got for me?

[Rob Stone]

Coach, what you got for your take on what transpired?

[Urban Meyer]

Yeah, there's so many layers to this. That. And I get accused of being. While you're old school. Old school. And I so proud to be old school on that, that I used to have that rule. I think I told you guys, when you score a touchdown, you flip the ball, the official, and you go hug your teammates. Most importantly, offensive line. Oh, and I used to tell Mark, if you don't rip your helmet off, punt the ball, I'd take your jersey off, too, because, I mean, you're done. You're not going to play. You've scored your last touchdown for at least two to three weeks if you do that. So if you watch Zeke and all the guys, they just. It just became a standard norm that you go hug the guys that got you there. I'm the same way about winning. And you just heard Marcus, or, you know, Marcus Freeman, I've heard him talk about it before. Where, you know, the greatest part of winning is celebrating with your brothers. Where? In the locker room. And so this is wrong on all fronts. Ohio State needed to sing the alma mater and get in the locker room and go figure out how to win the next one playoff game. And to me, the Wolverines had a responsibility to go celebrate with your fans and your teammates and get in the locker room. Get off the field. Yeah, get out. You know, don't. I just, I'm not into the, I'm not into taunting. I'm not into embarrassing your opponent. I'm into beating her ass. As best you very can. And that's what they did. But then go celebrate and don't, don't do that. And, and then, and then. Okay, now the next PAT is Ohio State turn and charged them and. Was that Ron? Absolutely Ron. I mean and it's criminal. It's called assault. You know, in the real world you can't do that. So it's, it's, it's wrong on all fronts. But I also, I'd be disappointed in my team. If I'm standing there and you see your arch rival going to do something on your field. It's time to go fight them.

[Mark Ingram]

I mean that's, you know, about to let. That's what you do.

[Urban Meyer]

It shouldn't, it shouldn't come that, you know, last thing I'll say and I'll let you guys talk. The ncaa, he's got to finish that. Someone's going to get badly hurt. A fan's going to get badly hurt. They were spraying, mate. Whatever. That's pepper spray.

[Mark Ingram]

That was.

[Urban Meyer]

I had a friend was there and got hit with it and told me, he said, you know, he was not right for the next hour after getting hit with that stuff. And so. But is a police officer, Ron? No.

[Mark Ingram]

Yes.

[Urban Meyer]

You got 320 pound men.

[Mark Ingram]

He's wrong.

[Urban Meyer]

Getting ready to go after each other.

[Mark Ingram]

Nobody.

[Urban Meyer]

I'll let you guys talk.

[Mark Ingram]

Nobody's armed, coach. Nobody has guns.

[Rob Stone]

Nobody has those helmets. Those helmets are weapons. If they come out and they're swinging, you can.

[Mark Ingram]

You're an officer stoner. You don't have to pepper spray.

[Rob Stone]

Hey, look at me. If I'm an officer. Look at me. Look at me, Mark. Hey, if I'm an officer £160 stinking.

[Mark Ingram]

And you're fearful and you can't handle yourself, you might need to find a new, a new profession.

[Rob Stone]

Dude, that was a train wreck around him, man. Those 300 pound grown men angry and swinging and fighting and that's a melee, man. How do you bring a melee?

[Mark Ingram]

Needs to be.

[Rob Stone]

How do you calm it down?

[Mark Ingram]

That's assault. Coach. What he did is assault. He needs to be on. He needs to be getting some repercussions for him because you can't just pepper spray all the kids.

[Rob Stone]

I'd say the pepper spray actually kind of calmed things down and got people out.

[Urban Meyer]

Yeah.

[Mark Ingram]

Because they couldn't see or breathe no more.

[Rob Stone]

Bingo. That's the plan. Get him out, man.

[Mark Ingram]

Get him out.

[Rob Stone]

All right. Do we agree? This is not a shot at Michigan. This is a shot at every school out there this week that wanted to take their flag on somebody else's territory and plant it. That is the trigger. 100%. Those are the moments that triggered all of these eruptions across the country.

[Mark Ingram]

There was no flag patent in the iron ball. We were still bumping. So.

[Rob Stone]

Yeah, and there were those rows, and there were some coaches out there who stopped the flag planting, whether it was last Saturday or even a couple of weeks ago. Member James Franklin at Southern Cal, when Pen State 1, he's like, no, no, no, no, no. And took that flag away from him immediately to diffuse what could have been an ugly situation.

[Mark Ingram]

You go out there, you whoop a team, you get on with it. Like all this flag playing stuff, we never thought about doing that when I was at Bama. Like, we never thought about bringing our flag and just planting it against Florida or planting it against Auburn or planting against lsu. No. You do all your work, you do all your talking on the field. Strap the pads up, talk with your helmets, talk with your pads and go on with it. Like. I don't know, man. It's. It's. Ever since the Baker thing, the Baker Mayfield, when he planted his flag, you know what I mean?

[Rob Stone]

At Ohio State.

[Mark Ingram]

Yeah. Now it's a fad. Now it's a whole fad now. So Michigan and play balls. Get on with it.

[Rob Stone]

They were Both fine, Coach. $100,000.

[Urban Meyer]

Don't stop. Stop with that. I mean, it's like saying, okay, let's take off wins from 20 years ago. Or, you know, let's. What is that? What do they call that? I used to die laughing when our AD would tell me some school who was cheating, you know, they made them. What do they call that? Give up wins.

[Rob Stone]

Rescind. Rescind.

[Urban Meyer]

Rescind the wins or something like that. That's going to do a lot, you know, you punish it, you know, and you got to punish, you know, 100,000. Fine. Okay. I think. I don't know. I gotta. Whoever has grabbed a flag, that person's done for a game, and the head coach is going to be potentially suspended as well because he didn't enforce it. That's how I would handle it. The money. A hundred grand. Where's that money go? I always crack up about that. Oh, it's $100,000. Fine. Okay. All right. Big Ten Conference. Tell me exactly where the $100,000 goes and who cares? That's not going to deter people from doing that when someone's going to get really hurt badly. And it just looks awful for the great game of the greatest game that exists. I'm very biased as college.

[Mark Ingram]

Well, essentially, they're allowing it because. No, there is no.

[Urban Meyer]

Every action is either taught or allowed, Mark. Every action that anybody does is either taught or allowed. And right now, the NCAA says we're allowing this. Yes, we're going to find you $100,000. That is not a deterrent at all.

[Mark Ingram]

Right. Because none of the. None of the people who are involved are getting disciplined. So you could do it again, and then the school has to pay.

[Urban Meyer]

I think the Walgreens, actually, the flag that they did two years ago is, like, in the hall of Fame and the Wolverine.

[Mark Ingram]

But you know what's funny is the field's not even grass, so the flag didn't even plant. So, like, you got to plant this flag in a turf field. It just fell over. So you was never going to plant it anyway because it was turf. Whatever. Let's move on. Roll down tight.

[Rob Stone]

You just got me to snort. Oh, man.

[Mark Ingram]

But I swear I saw him plant the flag.

[Rob Stone]

I'm like, I know they did. I know it's symbolic and all that other stuff. Coach, I'm with you. It has to be. Big Brother has to come down with a heavy hand, and it has to be suspensions. But at this time of the year, I think conferences would be fighting the suspensions, right? Because they would be hurting their brand. They'd be hurting their team. If Ohio State. If 10 dudes were handed suspensions for their next game. Yeah, that next game. Guess what is a playoff game. And all of a sudden, one of.

[Urban Meyer]

Those, no, you can't do it now.

[Rob Stone]

And is handcuffed.

[Urban Meyer]

You can't do it now. That's done in the off season.

[Rob Stone]

So you do it in the off season when the guys jump to the NFL and it doesn't even matter.

[Urban Meyer]

No, no. This one's done because the ncma. You're right.

[Rob Stone]

I mean, that's what I'm saying is.

[Mark Ingram]

You said suspensions, Coach. The suspensions have to happen after it happens.

[Urban Meyer]

Well, there's.

[Rob Stone]

Otherwise, it doesn't matter.

[Urban Meyer]

There's no rule. There's no rule. What if the player says, you can't. There's no rule out there. So you can say, don't do that. But there's got to be a rule. Say, you cannot taunt your opponent. You can't Slam a flag in middle field from.

[Rob Stone]

And they have taunting. They have taunting penalties on touchdowns.

[Urban Meyer]

No, I'm not saying you suspend the kids now because those players weren't told that. But there's got to be an off season going forward.

[Rob Stone]

There has to be.

[Urban Meyer]

Oh, yeah, yeah. No, no.

[Rob Stone]

I play.

[Urban Meyer]

You are not going to suspend players for what happened. You can't. That's the nca. It's really the program's faults for letting it happen, but it happened in five different schools, I would think five different. Four or five different games. So this is. It's an epidemic now. You got to fix it. How do you do it? You come down with legislation and say, okay, here you're suspended for a game if the following game. And same thing, your coach can't coach the next game either. Like, you know what happens. You won't see any. That won't. It's done.

[Rob Stone]

That's going to end immediately. Yeah, it's done immediately. Can we talk about college football getting no flags? Yes, we get with that. Can we move on from flags and planting them in artificial turf and concrete? Coming up next, artificial turf. We react to the penultimate college football playoff rankings and what it means for this weekend's championship.

[Mark Ingram]

Roll down. Tight light. It's.

[Rob Stone]

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[Mark Ingram]

Yeah, I'm.

[Rob Stone]

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[Mark Ingram]

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[Rob Stone]

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[Mark Ingram]

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

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[Urban Meyer]

Methods of the animals on December 13th.

[Mark Ingram]

Once you're on his list, there's only one way off.

[Rob Stone]

Are you like your father?

[Mark Ingram]

He puts evil into the world and get rid of people like him. Who's next?

[Urban Meyer]

Witness the making of a new Marvel villain.

[Rob Stone]

You think you have some kind of honor?

[Urban Meyer]

You're a criminal just like our father. Aaron Taylor Johnson is Craven the Hunter. Rated R under 17, 90 minute without parent. In theaters December 13th. So you want to be a marketer? It's easy.

[Rob Stone]

You just have to score a ton.

[Marcus Freeman]

Of leads and figure out a way.

[Rob Stone]

To turn all into customers.

[Urban Meyer]

Plus manage a dozen channels, write a million blogs and launch 100 campaigns all at once. When that's done, simply make your socials go viral and bring in record profits.

[Rob Stone]

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[Urban Meyer]

Launching benchmark breaking campaigns is easier than ever.

[Rob Stone]

Get [e-mail] marketers. Time now to react to the fifth College Football Playoff rankings again. The final one, the one that really matters, comes out on Sunday. 12 teams make the playoffs. Five highest ranked conference champs get automatic bids. The four highest ranked conference champs get a first round by seeds five, six, seven, eight host first round games on campus or at the location of their choosing. When you download the full episode of the triple podcast, starting Wednesday, Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman is going to join us. We're going to talk about that very topic. All right, let's go through the rankings right now, guys. And there they are. Miami down six spots to number 12. They do not play this week. Strength of schedule is 55. They've lost two of their last three. The problem for Miami is the team that's right above them, guys, Alabama at number 11. They go up two spots. So Alabama has been fluctuating all over the place over the course of the five let's go. Playoff rankings that have come out. They've been at 11, 10, 7, 13 and now 11 just above Bama up one spot. Boise State at 10. They win on Friday in the Mountain west championship game. They are in and by all accounts, they will be host. Not hosting. They will have a first round by Indiana. Moves up a spot. They go to number nine. They absolutely laid it on Purdue last week. Again, the concern with them, strength of schedule, 65th. They do not play again in the regular season. SMU, the stangs up a spot to number eight. They have Clemson in the ACC championship game. A lot more on that in a second. Tennessee up a spot to number seven. Their regular season is done. Buckeyes, what happened to them? They fell four spots after falling at home to Michigan. They sit there at number four. 10 and two. Still two wins over current top 10 programs. Georgia up two spots after surviving. Georgia Tech to number five. They're in the SEC championship game. Notre Dame now at number four, up one spot. Penn State also moves up a spot. Nittany Lions at three. Texas up a spot. Longhorns now at two. The highest that they have been ranked all season. And once again, where they've been all season long, Oregon sitting there at number one. All right, coach, from your Make A Wish foundation banquet right there. I know we're stealing you away from Chef Meyer and his specialty of tomato soup and grilled cheese, but what's the big thing that jumped out at you?

[Urban Meyer]

Boise State and SMU got a bye week. Yeah, I mean that.

[Rob Stone]

No boys. Oh, yes, you're right. You were saying this week.

[Urban Meyer]

Yeah, yeah. They gotta win. They gotta win. Obviously, he's got clamps in a. Boise State's got unlv. But I just stare at that. And the one thing that you hope for, it would be a little bit NCAA men's college basketball feel to it. I think this has an absolute Final Four feel to it. When you. When you look at that, I mean, what are we talking about? Smu. And I've watched them on tape. All due respect, they're really good team. But if you said, okay, three or four years from now, Mark, SMU might have a buy in a playoff and find a way to win a game. And are we one game away from a national championship? So I think the interest level is incredible. Yes. I think the committee is tasked with. There's no chance they can be right, but they are right because they pick it. So whatever they pick, there's going to be people pissed off, of course, either way. But they're already pissed. I like it, man. I'm telling you, I like it.

[Mark Ingram]

They definitely pissed. Oh, they definitely pissed.

[Rob Stone]

SMU Sitting there as the three seed coach to your three seed Boise State. The.

[Urban Meyer]

Wait, wait, say that Mark, Mark, Rob, say that again.

[Mark Ingram]

SMU as the three.

[Rob Stone]

Three seed. Boise State is the four seed. They both have buys and sit in the quarterfinals as of now.

[Mark Ingram]

And Notre Dame has to play round one because they're independent. Wow.

[Rob Stone]

Correct.

[Mark Ingram]

And they are at a four frank team though.

[Rob Stone]

So Notre Dame's the six seed hosting your Alabama right now. But listen, things are going to go Notre Dame's way assuming. And there's a big assumption in from what we've seen in college football this year. But should Penn State lose, Notre Dame is going to move up to number three at a minimum. At a minimum. And they are going to be your five seat. They can't be a top four seed because they're not a conference champion. So all of a sudden Notre Dame after that week two home loss to Northern Illinois. We're going to talk to Marcus Freeman on the triple option full podcast that drops Wednesday. Are sitting there in the best spot that they possibly could have thought they could be in heading into the campaign. And Mark, you and I talked about this last week. That the top of the bracket is interesting. Is very interesting. Probably a little. It changed a little bit lighter than the bottom half.

[Mark Ingram]

It changed. It changed. Well, yeah, it was the top half of the bracket last week, but now it's, it's looking more even now.

[Rob Stone]

Is it starting to even out for you?

[Mark Ingram]

You now you got, now you got. Last week you had Georgia.

[Rob Stone]

Correct.

[Mark Ingram]

Ohio State, Oregon all up top. Then now Georgia's down, Bama's down. So now it's kind of starting to even out a little bit. You know, the bracket looks like. But you know this is going to change because I still think smu, they host Clemson, if Clemson wins that one, SMU is going to get bounced. ACC is only going to get one team in.

[Rob Stone]

Whoa, whoa, whoa. You think SMU is going to get bounced with the loss? They moved up one.

[Mark Ingram]

ACC is only going to get one team in. They have no current rank. They have no wins over currently ranked teams in the cfp.

[Rob Stone]

If Clemson beats SMU in Charlotte, you say SMU falls below the cut line. They're moving. They're going to get bounced.

[Mark Ingram]

ACC is going to get one in. The Big 12 is going to get one in.

[Rob Stone]

You're going to get one, I guarantee you. Yeah, that. That's a, that's a no brainer. Brainer. It's going to go to the winner of Arizona State. Iowa State.

[Mark Ingram]

Yep.

[Rob Stone]

So Big Ten is Going to get four, and the SEC is going to get four. At least that's what they have right now. One Mountain west and one independent in Notre Dame.

[Mark Ingram]

It's going to get.

[Urban Meyer]

How about Arizona State? Man, look at that.

[Mark Ingram]

Arizona State. They. And they got to play. And they got to play Iowa State. So, you know, Iowa State is on the outside. They could get in. They could play they way in.

[Rob Stone]

I think one of the big talking points is. Is that Alabama, Miami again. Alabama sitting at 11.

[Mark Ingram]

Miami hasn't played a ranked team. They have.

[Rob Stone]

There you go.

[Mark Ingram]

They have no ranked wins. They have. They have no ranked wins. They haven't played a ranked team and they lost two of their last three.

[Rob Stone]

So that's a big one. The momentum is.

[Urban Meyer]

Hey, Mark, you got a reposado?

[Mark Ingram]

I got it right there in the.

[Urban Meyer]

Bar right behind the door. Slow Sunderos, right here.

[Rob Stone]

Okay, so.

[Urban Meyer]

So you're saying Miami. I. I felt all year because I watched him a bunch. That was a little bit of a house of cards.

[Mark Ingram]

If they didn't have Cam Ward Coach, they'd be a.500 team, maybe less.

[Urban Meyer]

Yeah. And he is everything that. That you thought he would be and more, but without that cat, you know, so. Yeah, I agree that that's really. That conversation's over.

[Mark Ingram]

They have two losses and they have two off. Controversial endings. Remember we were watching one at the bar at the hotel with. The night before our show with the Hail Mary. I forget who it was again.

[Rob Stone]

I think it was Virginia Tech.

[Mark Ingram]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So they've had two that really saved them. So the fact of the matter is they haven't played a ranked team and they have no ranked wins, while Alabama has the 10th strength, 10th strongest record, and they've had three wins over current CFP top 25. So I think they did get that right. Then South Carolina is behind Ole Miss and Alabama because they lost to both of them in the regular season. So everyone wants to make this noise about South Carolina getting in, but they lost to Ole Miss and Alabama, so they should be behind them.

[Rob Stone]

Yep, they got that part right. I want to throw out a couple interesting quotes from Mord Manuel, who's in charge. He's the committee chair for the playoffs. So number one, his line quote, those who are not playing will. We will not adjust these teams. Okay, so if you're not playing.

[Urban Meyer]

Say that again. Say that again.

[Rob Stone]

Those who are not playing, we will not adjust those teams. So Notre Dame at number four, not playing, they're not going to sink. Right?

[Mark Ingram]

Right.

[Rob Stone]

They can. They can go up Right. Ohio State at six, not going to be punished. Tennessee at seven, not going to be punished. Indiana at nine. And again the big one, Alabama locked and loaded over Miami in that 11:12 spot. So Alabama is always through Sunday going to look better on paper than Miami. So Miami needs full on chaos for teams to drop and plummet and it's going to be really hard to see that. Let me ask you, Boise State can be one of them.

[Urban Meyer]

How good is Arizona State?

[Mark Ingram]

Arizona State is a good football team in the Big 12. Like they run the ball really well. They're playing good on defense. They have Cam Scattable. Cam Scattaboo. If you don't know who Scattaboo is, you ain't a football lover, man. Cause Cam Scattaboo is that guy. Yes sir. And he gonna tote that rock. But Arizona State, they're decent because you.

[Urban Meyer]

Look at Penn State's track to the semifinals. They have to beat Arizona State. And once again I, I apologize. I've watched them. I'm going to really study them now and then Boise, that can move though.

[Mark Ingram]

Because if Penn State loses, it changes the the bracket where they fall in the bracket. So they might not end up having Arizona State, right, Rob?

[Rob Stone]

Oh, oh, oh, by the way, how about if Penn State wins?

[Urban Meyer]

I don't think they can move. I'm sorry, Rob, go back to what Mark said. They don't get punished because they're, they're going to be there, right?

[Mark Ingram]

If they lose, maybe Notre Dame.

[Rob Stone]

Well, yeah, I guess, but Notre Dame could rise. Ohio State could fees.

[Urban Meyer]

But you can't punish Penn State in the championship game.

[Mark Ingram]

You just said you can't punish them and kick them out. You go punish them and move them in the rankings for sure.

[Rob Stone]

So consider this though. Should Penn State win, they are going to be. And again, listen, there's a chance that Penn State is going to be the number one team. There's a chance. Penn State is the number one seed. All it takes is an upset over Oregon and Georgia to beat Texas. Come on, Georgia.

[Urban Meyer]

No way.

[Mark Ingram]

Penn State gets it done.

[Rob Stone]

I'm telling you. Penn State is at number three. And they beat the number one ranked team in the nation in Oregon. And Texas happens to lose to Georgia. Penn State is going to be number one people. They're going to be the number one overall seed.

[Mark Ingram]

It's not happening, Stone.

[Rob Stone]

All they need to do is beat Oregon and that's a big all they need to do. But if Penn State wins and the.

[Mark Ingram]

Spread'S only minus three and a half, it's only minus three and a half seed.

[Rob Stone]

Correct. And in a number of.

[Mark Ingram]

I'm putting money on that game. I'm putting money on that game in.

[Rob Stone]

Indy and I think the fan base is going to be. Oregon travels well, but I think. I think that Indy is going to skew a little bit more.

[Mark Ingram]

The spread is only 3 minus 3 and a half Oregon. I'm buying. I'm a buy the hook and I'm putting money on it.

[Rob Stone]

I can't believe I just. Coach. What blows you away more, Coach? SMU and Boise State are going to get buys or Penn State could be the number one overall seed.

[Urban Meyer]

All the above, man. I'm just staring at this thing. I'm like, damn, I wish this is when I was coaching. I wish we had this.

[Mark Ingram]

SMU getting a buy is beyond me, coach.

[Urban Meyer]

Like, I just think it's one of the greatest things that's happened in college.

[Mark Ingram]

It is. It's awesome. I love it.

[Urban Meyer]

In our lifetime.

[Mark Ingram]

I love it.

[Urban Meyer]

You know, back when Utah was in 04, we would have beat Matt Leinert and Reggie Bush in the usc. I just think this is the greatest thing because once again, you wake up in the morning and there's now what do you got? You got.

[Mark Ingram]

There's 15 teams.

[Urban Meyer]

Probably another. Probably three or four teams. You have 15, 16 teams in the first week in December that think they got a shot. That is freaking awesome, coach.

[Rob Stone]

That's a shot to win the national title.

[Mark Ingram]

Yes.

[Rob Stone]

Not a shot just to get to the playoffs. A shot to win it all.

[Urban Meyer]

Damn, I wish we had this.

[Mark Ingram]

Me too. Because I was part of a three loss bama team. Like this team right here. And if I. My junior year, if we would have had a shot to get in the tournament, we would have been a bad draw for anybody.

[Urban Meyer]

I'm going to throw this out here. Mark. Mark. We won in a 14 at Ohio State. 15. We were better.

[Mark Ingram]

Yeah.

[Urban Meyer]

Our 15 team. When we lost in a rainstorm to Michigan State, we went and beat the brakes off in Notre Dame. And then. And the Wolverines, we ran for 400 yards on them. That team would have won it, but we. We just didn't have a shot. Damn. This is awesome.

[Mark Ingram]

Well, because this is incredible. You guys didn't have a bowl. You guys couldn't go to the bowl that year or. No, no.

[Urban Meyer]

There was a college football playoff when we were like fifth or sixth.

[Mark Ingram]

Yeah.

[Urban Meyer]

Because we lost late.

[Mark Ingram]

This is great for college football. I mean, this is beautiful. I mean, when have you ever thought that? Arizona State, Boise State, SMU Indiana would be in a college football playoff like this is amazing. And then Iowa State can play their way in. Clemson could play their way in. So there's still stuff to be done here. This, in this championship weekend.

[Rob Stone]

I tell you what, I want to see SMU in there. I hope there's not a conversation. I hope they have to win. They can take care of Clemson and there's not a conversation. And if Clemson does beat them and gets that automatic bid, it's going to be. Boy, that's going to be a tough, nasty, jagged, dry. They have no to swallow for smu.

[Urban Meyer]

You know, some of you lose Clemson, Mark, Rob, they're out. You can't do that.

[Mark Ingram]

Yes. Because they have no wins over current CFP top 25 either. They beat a Pittsburgh team who is not even.

[Urban Meyer]

That'll actually, I'm going to say that that'll actually hurt college football because you'll get. Why play a difficult non conference schedule that don't, don't do that. You have to play rank. And if I'm smu, I change my scheduling philosophy right now. Because you're a big boy now. You weren't a big boy earlier, I'd go start scheduling some really good teams because you may and I know some people that are involved in smu. The minute they made a decision a lot of people donated to said let's go play big time football and they did. So now go schedule an SEC or a Big Ten opponent early or maybe two of them. Rob, because you have to or the non conference schedules go away.

[Mark Ingram]

Right?

[Urban Meyer]

Well you can't do, you can't do that.

[Rob Stone]

I'll add this coach. The ACC is down right this way down. This is Florida, remember Florida State? We were talking about them making it to the playoffs last year and they just fell off the cliff. Clemson is staggering around. There are programs that can elevate that conference which will give you better wins if you schedule. You know, who knows what North Carolina is going to be. Can NC State get themselves back into a top 20, top 15 type conversation? Virginia, they elevate themselves. Louisville, Duke, all these teams are just kind of hovering in that, that, that dad bod belly area. Right. They need to tighten it up. And Syracuse up to the, up to the chest here, up to number 22 this week. Nine and three, they were non ranked last week. So Syracuse, you know, softly helping the cause if you will.

[Urban Meyer]

I'll tell you Syracuse's coach, man, we got to get him on the, on the podcast one. He's got a little swag To, I don't know him, but I, I mean, he brings it.

[Rob Stone]

Put that on the to do list. Coach.

[Urban Meyer]

Yeah, he, he's, he's getting ready to buy Ryan Day. What, Don Perry only or something?

[Rob Stone]

Yeah. France.

[Urban Meyer]

Yeah.

[Mark Ingram]

For send him Comicord.

[Rob Stone]

And, and he got the shower this week because he had a win. He doesn't shower after the losses, apparently.

[Mark Ingram]

Yeah.

[Rob Stone]

Things.

[Urban Meyer]

That's too much information.

[Mark Ingram]

Does he shower after what?

[Rob Stone]

Yeah, after losses. He doesn't shower.

[Mark Ingram]

You need to go wash your ass, dog. It's nasty.

[Rob Stone]

We welcome you back to the triple option presented by Wendy's Rob, Mark Urban. We're now joined by the head coach of Notre Dame, Marcus Freeman. Coach, before we even get going, you got to tell us and our viewers about the background that's behind you right now. This is so cool.

[Marcus Freeman]

Yeah, these are the old stadium bleachers from Notre Dame Stadium. Before they redid it, they took all the bleachers and really they put it around campus in different offices. So these are the authentic, the original.

[Rob Stone]

That's real wood. That's real wood. That's not a tapestry. That's not a poster. Yeah.

[Mark Ingram]

History legendary, man.

[Rob Stone]

The things those, the things those planks of wood have seen in South Bend. Amazing. Amazing. Well, thanks for joining us this week, coach.

[Marcus Freeman]

Absolutely, thanks.

[Mark Ingram]

Appreciate it, Coach.

[Urban Meyer]

Hey, Marcus. So good to see one of my favorite people and I love our dialogue throughout the year. I talked to you after you had a tough loss early in the year and you know, I always try to watch your press conference because when I was a young coach, people helped me and so I, I reached out to you and one of the great comebacks in college football season, college football this year. You guys been on a great run. What was the message after the getting hit in the face like that early in the year and then you brought him back, your team came back. What was the message?

[Marcus Freeman]

Yeah, I think you go through your natural emotions as a leader, right. The first part, first thing I wanted them to know, I remember saying in locker room is I've been here before, right. Not everybody in that locker room has been there before. I've been here before. I've had some tough loss. We lost to Marshall my first year. But understand it's going to be a long week, but we got to stay together. That's why I said, stay together. There's going to be a lot of noise outside of here. Stay together. And from that Saturday night to Sunday, I really took a deep dive and a self evaluation as the leader of this program and said there's a bigger lesson to learn. There was some mistakes in the way we play. We weren't as good as we thought we were at that moment. But I thought the thing for this group and for me as a leader was this was the first time that we've won the big game to start the season since I've been the head coach. The first two years, we lost to Ohio State. This year we beat Texas A and M. And I said, that's it. Like, we weren't ready to handle success. I wasn't ready as the head coach to handle success. And I said, this will be the greatest thing that happens to this football program if we utilize the things, the lessons that this game has taught us. But then we got to keep the pain. We can't forget the lessons this loss in Northern Illinois has taught us. And so our guys bounced back, and we started to continue to improve as a football program. But I always reminded him, we got to keep the pain. We got to keep the pain and remember the lessons we've learned from that loss in Northern Illinois.

[Mark Ingram]

So you talked about this game being emotional and how that loss affected you guys. You just had a great win against the rival usc. The cameras kind of caught you being excited, a little emotional. We all know how these wins are. What did that win mean to you in this program?

[Marcus Freeman]

Well, I think, first of all, it was a rivalry win. And I tried to really paint the narrative, make sure our guys understood we know what the win at USC would do for our future. But I didn't want to focus on that. I wanted to focus on this rivalry that we had with USC and the opportunity to go out there and claim a rivalry game and to win this rivalry game. And I think in that moment, when the game, the time ticked off the clock, it was one of relief and joy that we got it done right. You know, now, hey, let's enjoy this victory. But now we can allow our minds to think into the future. And it was a special moment, man, with a special group of guys that have done a tremendous job.

[Rob Stone]

Coach, this is really interesting because you just said you're going to allow the guys to think about the future, but it was thinking about the future after that week one win over Texas A and M, which got you guys in trouble, Right? And then you reeled off, you know, 10 consecutive wins. So. So how do you. How do you look forward while also maintaining that focus that you've instilled since that loss to Northern Illinois?

[Marcus Freeman]

Yeah, we had a team meeting yesterday, and I said, take this week and Use it as a by week. Right. This is our buy. We don't have a first round by. This is our bye week and really decompress. I said reload, reset, recovery, and let your mind go wherever you want. Like take the stress off of having an opponent off your mind and off your plate. And so when we find out who our opponent is on Sunday, the first thing I'm going to do is narrow our focus back to what's important.

[Urban Meyer]

Right.

[Marcus Freeman]

And that's the present. But I wanted this week to just be one where they could focus on academics. They can really have a unstressful week and really just kind of reset as we get back together on Sunday.

[Urban Meyer]

You know, Marcus, last year you got Sam Hartman, Riley Leonard. This year, the transfer quarterbacks, you got C.J. carr, Lloyd's grandson coming up. You know, ideally, do you want to, you know, try to develop, keep a young guy and develop them, or do you see that continuing or do you want to kind of get away from the transfer stuff?

[Marcus Freeman]

Yeah, my vision is to. I want to major in high school recruiting. That's what this program is going to be built off of. And, you know, I made a decision after my first season. The next two years, I say we needed a transfer portal quarterback. But I have a strong conviction that the future of our football program is in house. And I believe in the guys we have here and those guys being able to lead this football program. And that's what I want to continue is recruit at a high level and have our starting quarterback be a guy that we got from high school that understands what this football program is all about.

[Mark Ingram]

Hey, coach. And saying that, I know we just talked about it, you said that you have a bye week coming up. Essentially because of no conference championship like in the, in the current college format, there is no bye week for you guys because it's only for the fourth conference champions. So does that change your mind at all about being independent, or does the independent actually build you in a bye week before the college football even starts? Like, what's your thoughts on that?

[Marcus Freeman]

Yeah, I think that's. That's the way we got to approach this thing. We have to look at it as, this is an advantage for us. We don't play in a conference championship game. This is our bye week, and this is the week we get to use to recover physically and mentally to put our place ourselves at a place where it needs to be to go into this playoff and make a run. You know, as far as joining a conference, there's some higher ups that make those decisions made. You know what I mean?

[Urban Meyer]

Yeah. You're not, you don't make that decision.

[Mark Ingram]

No, definitely not.

[Urban Meyer]

Definitely not. Everybody thought you did.

[Marcus Freeman]

So I'll let those higher ups make that decision. But again, we got to sell. Us being independent is the most positive thing we have going for us. Our tv, own TV deal with NBC. Some of the, the, the, the unique games that we play from coast to coast.

[Mark Ingram]

Right.

[Marcus Freeman]

Is all these different conferences. And so we try to sell that is. That's one of the greatest things that is about this program.

[Rob Stone]

But coach, you know those higher ups are going to come to you for your opinion on should Notre Dame join a conference. So what. What would.

[Urban Meyer]

He's not going to give that.

[Rob Stone]

Right. I'm not saying like, hey, let's sign up with the ACC or the Big Ten right now. But you know, I honestly do.

[Mark Ingram]

You have.

[Rob Stone]

Because you can't be a conference champion. And again, this whole, this whole year, this 12 team playoff is going to flush out a lot of things. And we know it's going to be things, things are going to fluctuate and how seeds are really going to be viewed going forward. But you know, if I put a gun to your head, hey man, do you want to be in a conference or not right now? Would you rather be in a conference?

[Marcus Freeman]

We're good right where we're at here.

[Urban Meyer]

I'm going to add salt, Marcus, because I coached there and I think it's a whole different animal now with a 12 team playoff. Rob, when I was there, if you don't win a national championship, it's over. It was hard to keep the players fired up. I mean, you lose a game, game three, game five, game six. And then all of a sudden I remember I'd walk in the meeting room and there's no way to get a ring. There's no way to go playing a conference championship game that. I think that it's a whole different animal for Notre Dame now. And Marcus, apologize, interrupting. But you got you. You gotta swing for the playoffs now every year. So I just.

[Marcus Freeman]

The greatest thing that has happened for us is the 12 team playoff.

[Rob Stone]

Right.

[Marcus Freeman]

Is that we understand that it's not one loss and you're out. We knew that after we lost Northern Illinois, every week was a playoff game and. But you know, with 12 teams now, we have a better opportunity to make the playoffs. And once you get in, you know, here we go. Every week is the Super Bowl. But I think the greatest thing that happened for us was the 12 team playoff.

[Urban Meyer]

Hey, let me ask you real quick about this, because I thought about this with Ohio State and Ann Arbor and Penn State and Notre Dame, that home team, the home. A home game in December and you hear those two words, lake effect come rolling across Lake Michigan, man, I'd hear that and I'd wake up with five foot snow drift in our driveway. Is there any thought conversation of going, playing in a controlled environment like Indy? If it's a bad day or a bad week, you can see it coming.

[Marcus Freeman]

No, we're going to use that to our advantage for sure. We'll practice outside. I'll tell you that right now. Coach. We're going to be practicing outside. I'm assuming we're going to have a home game and we're going to make sure we're ready for this environment. That's got to be an advantage for us, right? Let's get as much snow and as cold temperatures as we can find.

[Rob Stone]

You mentioned you, you assume you have a home game. So if you're talking to the committee right now, what would you tell them to say? Yeah, we're absolutely deserving of being, you know, seated that high. To have a high. To have a home game in the first round.

[Marcus Freeman]

You know, Rob, I don't, I don't like to spend a lot of time.

[Rob Stone]

I know, but all. A lot of your brethren are doing it right now, right?

[Mark Ingram]

You know, they ranked 4 right now. Stone.

[Marcus Freeman]

Listen, where we're at is where we're at, you know, and if we don't have a home playoff game, we don't. We'll adapt and we'll adjust. But I got a strong conviction that the rankings will take care of itself and we'll have a home playoff game.

[Mark Ingram]

Coach, man, do that when you're sitting.

[Rob Stone]

Inside the top five, right?

[Mark Ingram]

Yeah. Sitting at number four. They should be having a buy.

[Rob Stone]

Basically steer things for the conversation. You're not Lane Kiffin down down there at Ole Miss and South Carolina. What? Not having to do the politician. Do you, do you like that in college? Are you, are you all right with coaches and Ads, you know, speaking up, you know, a weekend change out of the final playoffs, fighting for their spots in there?

[Marcus Freeman]

Absolutely. If the coach and the ads don't have a strong conviction for their program and they're being deserved to be in the playoffs, then why should anybody else? And so, yeah, I have no problem with that. I think that's great for college football. But at the end of the day, what matters most is what you do on the field. And that's what I like to spend My time thinking about coach, man, I'm.

[Mark Ingram]

A running back and I love how you use your running backs up there in Notre Dame, man. Estimate last year, even going back further years. But Jeremiah Love, he's just been amazing this year. I think he's one of the best backs in the country. A full complete back. What you, you are showing that the running back does have value. So what does the running back position mean to you and your offense? But more importantly, what has Jeremiah Love meant to this team this year?

[Marcus Freeman]

Yeah, he's a special football player and we try to find as many ways to put the ball in his hands and let him go and make plays. But you know, I think Jeremiah will be the first one to tell you he's not going to have success without those big dudes up front. And our guys up front have been blocking their tails off, man. They've been doing a heck of a job of reestablishing a new line of scrimmage. They've been playing as one, which any great offensive line has to do. And what that does is when you have success in the run game and it truly gives you an opportunity to have success in the pass game. If you want to put a guy in the box good. Now we have one on one coverage and we got to go make plays. But that's always been what I believed in my heart as a player. But now even as a coach, like you have to be able to run the football and not be a one dimensional offense and that's going to create a lot of openings in the pass game.

[Urban Meyer]

Hey Marcus, last week obviously tough day in Columbus and you played with Laron who is a Larinitis, carpenter, Hawk and Schlegel. I mean all cartoon characters, right? I love those guys. But after the game I stood there and I really couldn't believe what I saw. You know what I saw? The amazing blue flag being planted at midfield and that because I grew up in the great state as Wolverine would grow up in the state of Michigan, you see that happen. Any thoughts? And first of all, as a former player played there and then the reaction by Ohio State and does something have to happen in college football to stop that?

[Marcus Freeman]

Yeah, I don't think obviously that's a great look for college football. You don't want to see these young individuals that you care about that are going to take over our country, man, that we're on a football field fighting and pepper spray and those type of things. That's not a great look for young people or the game of college football again. I always speak for our program here, and my message to our team is to make sure we're celebrating together. Like there's nothing more important than us celebrate together. It's not to celebrate on somebody else's field or I'm not okay with going to plant a flag in somebody's field like you guys have all worked your tails off to achieve success. Let's celebrate together. Let's get in that locker room where we celebrate team glory. There's no better feeling than that. There's nothing greater than the moments after a game when you can celebrate in that locker room with everybody that put everything they had into accomplishing that victory. And so that's my message to our program is, you know, we have big wins. Let's. Let's go in that locker room and we celebrate together. And that's what's important.

[Mark Ingram]

Coach, you're undefeated in that game. Ohio State, Michigan. What is your greatest memory of the undefeated in that. What, what most people say is the greatest rivalry. What is your best memory of being undefeated in that rivalry?

[Marcus Freeman]

You know, probably I think back to 2006, it was number one versus number two. Troy Smith was our quarterback. We were the number one team in the country. They were number two. It was one of the few 330 games that Ohio State and Michigan played against each other. And I remember it kind of led into a nighttime and it was a hard fought victory. I think it was 42, 39 victory. But that was special. It was an undefeated season before we had to play Coach Meyer and those Florida Gators national championship game. So I like to end that season right there. Right. I don't like to think about what happened.

[Rob Stone]

Coach, let's end this conversation talking about Notre Dame. And I like to use my resources. So I went out to my people. I got a Notre Dame grad with a question. This is from John Perugini, class of 1991. He would like to know if the parade route has been planned already. I'm kidding. I'm kidding. That was an actual question. He's a buddy of mine. I was like, I'm going to say it to coach, but I'm not even going to let him.

[Urban Meyer]

I was going to say, Rob, I was ready to push end meeting.

[Rob Stone]

All right, so here's his question. Oh, God, I love the parade route. All right. He goes, I'd also love to know how to avoid a letdown in the first playoff game. We kind of touched on this. I'm going to tweak it in a second. He goes, I know that sounds crazy, but they were completely laser focused for 12 weeks on making the playoff, which seemed like a long shot right after the NIU. So after gripping that wheel for 12 weeks, I'm sure there was that huge exhale Saturday night, as you mentioned. And then you talked about coach keeping the pain. Okay, how do you keep the pain going into the playoffs?

[Marcus Freeman]

I think there was something said in that statement that's wrong. We weren't laser focused for 12 weeks on making in the playoffs. We were laser focused for 12 opportunities to win that game. And that's our mindset, is to prepare to win a game each week. Right. Each week. We're ultimately focused on what we have to do to win this game. You know, and that's something I believe in. To stay in the moment. Right. We don't. You know what? To stay in the moment. Like, the future's uncertain. The future's uncertain. Why waste time daydreaming about an uncertain future? So just like as we'll. We'll get our opponent named on Sunday, we'll be laser focused on preparing to win that game. I don't care what happens after. Let's prepare to win this game because that's the only thing that matters. And so keeping the pain is, you know, something that you, our players, will often hear me say. What does that mean? It just means that I think you learn the most about yourself as an individual and us as a program in your lowest moments.

[Urban Meyer]

Yeah.

[Marcus Freeman]

You know, winning's great. It makes you feel good.

[Mark Ingram]

Yeah.

[Marcus Freeman]

But you really learn a lot of valuable moments and a lot of lessons when you lose now, you lose too much, you won't have a job. All right, I understand that. So that's why I say keep the pain. Keep those lessons that you learned about yourself, about your program when you're at those lowest moments and what it takes to have success. And we got to make sure we. We understand how important that is.

[Rob Stone]

And, coach, if it gets to that point, you know, I know you can text and call Urban about the parade route thoughts. You know, where to start, where to end, how long it should be. Do you. Do you do one in Chicago as well or. Just keep.

[Urban Meyer]

Marcus, you stay focused. I'll handle.

[Mark Ingram]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Rob Stone]

I'm here to keep things softly off the rails. And then back on Marcus Freeman. Congratulations on a wonderful season. Enjoy that bye week. Enjoy the bye week and enjoy what we all think will be a home playoff game. Marcus Freeman from Notre Dame, thanks so much for joining us.

[Mark Ingram]

Appreciate you, Coach. Good luck, man. We rooting for you appreciate you unless you play Belmont.

[Rob Stone]

Welcome back to the triple option presented by Wendy's Mark Ingram, Urban Meyer, Rob Stone back here with you. Time now for Pick Six, brought to you by BetMGM. Place your money line, prop parlay and same game parlay bets at BetMGM. Download the app today. Please gamble responsibly. So we've got six games against the spread here on championship weekend. Mark is getting ready for his deuce deuce dog of the week. We remind you these lines are current as of Tuesday and can change. Let's start with the Friday night tilt in Boise. We'll be there live on Fox. The old Trapper Mountain west championship game. UNLV versus Boise State. The Broncos coach now favored by four.

[Urban Meyer]

Yeah, we're headed there and I'm my wife even asked that you've ever seen the blue field. So now we get to see the blue field and I've been watching a lot of film that's hard to watch the game. You got blue jerseys, blue field. And I had to run things back a bunch of times but never been there. A lot of respect for Boise over the years. It's a four point game and Boise is the topic of conversation when you mentioned the, you know, the non four conference teams that are going to make the playoffs. But I'm telling you this, Mark, listen to me. UNLV will be right there. Man, they are really, really good. It's a four point spread and started at three and a half. UNLV is 10 and 2. They haven't had great wins. Their two losses though they had, let's see here, they had two losses are Boise and Syracuse, but they beat Kansas. Barry Odom, who used to be the head coach, I've heard, I don't know him but I've heard a lot about him.

[Rob Stone]

He's a hot name in the coaching market, right?

[Urban Meyer]

He should be. He should be. How about your best quarterback after Week 3 because of his agent or whatever said quit playing and then this cat Haj, Malik Williams comes in, excellent runner. They utilize his strengths. It's a fun offense. It's spread option. It's a spread option offense and that cats all over the place. They got an excellent receiver in Ricky White. I think my concern with Boise is it's a one, it's, it's the one and done. One of the greatest players that I've seen, Genti, but I don't see. I see good players around them. I see more balance at unlv. I see a better defense at unlv. I want to say UNLV has the number one defense in the Mount West Conference. So I'm going to take points. I might. I need more time, but I'm certainly going to take the points. You want to be going to Boise again?

[Rob Stone]

This is a de facto play in game into the playoffs. Absolutely is so much online. That's going to be a fun show. Friday in Boise again, that one live on Fox. The USAA American Athletic Conference championship game also Friday night. And how about poor Tulane, right? They're favored by six against Army. Last week we were talking about the Green Wave, remember they went up three spots to number 17 in the rankings. They had a real good chance to get themselves into the playoffs. Particularly when we now reflect back and see all the chaos that went down last week. So what do they do? They laid an egg at home to Memphis. What are those weird things about those Thanksgiving Day games? That kind of draw drives me nuts. I know you don't get it, Mark, with, you know, Auburn and Alabama. You don't get it with Ohio State, Michigan, but you get it. A lot of places these Thanksgiving games, you know, the student body is gone, they're back home. And the home games that weekend aren't as homey as you would like. Right. The crowd just isn't in there. You don't have that student body to the masses that you normally do. I see that as a big drawback. If I was in charge of my schedule, I'd be fine with having that game as an away game because to me that's going to be more like a neutral site game. So Tulane laid an egg at home to Memphis. Good news for Tulane. They're still off to their third straight conference championship game. But now they don't even host it. Instead, 10 and one army. One of the feel good stories of the season. They went 80 in their first year in AAC play. And scenic, beautiful Mikey Stadium is going to host a conference championship game for the first time. Here's the bad news. Third game coach in 14 days for Army. But if there's one group of young men who you like to think can handle that workload mentally and physically, right, it's the Black Knights. It's the United States Military Academy 6 and 6 last year. Why did they rebound and have such a good year this year? Well, let's give a lot of credit to the senior quarterback. Bryson Daley leads the conference in rushing over 1300 rushing yards. He went over 100 yards nine consecutive times and rush for at least two touchdowns in eight consecutive games heading into the championship game Friday. And by the way, he's coming off maybe his best passing game of the year. Get this. Coach completed a season high. How many passes? A season high? How many completions?

[Urban Meyer]

Nine.

[Rob Stone]

Really close. 10 for 199, 190 yards in the win over UTSA. Army, a home underdog. Go ahead, tell me you want to bet against army in West Point. Have at it. Be my guest. I'm not man enough to do that. Army's magical season is capped off with an AAC title and they earn it at home in West Point.

[Mark Ingram]

Like that.

[Rob Stone]

All right, thank you. Saturday. Boy, the Big 12 championship game will be at AT&T Stadium. Iowa State, Arizona State. The winners should by all accounts move on to the playoffs. And they might even get themselves a buy. That's a big Mike. They'll probably know what happens because of Friday's Mountain west game. But the big 12 man mark, it's, it's been wild and fun and there's been a lot of coaches this week who are kind of like putting their, their, their stake down and saying, hey man, give, give credit to this conference. Give credit to the Big 12.

[Mark Ingram]

The Big 12 has probably been the most exciting conference all year. Would be surprising. But now you have Arizona State and Iowa State. Like there's two contrasting styles here. You got a running back centered offense with Arizona State and we love that boy. Guess who. Cam Scatterboo. And the man is toting that rock. Then you got, then you got Iowa State. They're the only team in the country with multiple thousand yard receivers in Jaden Higgins and Jalen Noel. But listen, Arizona State's, they have one of the hottest offenses in the country right now, averaging over 35 points per game during their five game winning streak against the number one scoring defense, the Big 12 in Iowa State. So this is going to be a clash of, you know, who can get it done. But obviously we all know about cams, huh? We all know about, we all know about that boy. Cam Scatter leaves the Big 12 with 170 scrimmage yards per game, second in the nation, only behind, guess who. Your boy Ashton. Jt who you just messed, who you just talked about, coach. But it's not just him. It's their quarterback. It's Sam Levitt. It's their wide receiver, Jordan Tyson. The defense is allowing under 15 points per game in the last three weeks. And I'm telling you, this, what has been the Achilles hill of Iowa State. It's been good running backs. Ohio State has the number one defense in the Big 12. But they do have a weakness in stopping the run and that's not good when you got Cam Scattaboo coming to town. Both of their losses this season has came against really dynamic running backs. Lost to Texas Tech with Taj Brooks. They lost to Kansas with Devin Neal. And now guess who's coming to town. Scatterboo. I got Arizona State led by guess who. Cam Scatterboo AKA Scat Pack. I got Arizona State, Kev Scatterboo AKA Scat Pack for the dub. Arizona State getting their playoff Bertha. And we've been talking all year about coach of the year candidates. We've been talking about Signetti, we've been talking about this and talking about that. But what about your boy Kenny Dillingham? Arizona State was finished to pick last coach dead last, spanking last. And now they about to have a playoff berth off the back of a young swaggy 34 year old head coach. And they are beast. Cam Scatterboo who was toting that table.

[Urban Meyer]

34 years old.

[Mark Ingram]

34 years old going against 4 years old. A long time stoic going against your old school coach Matt Campbell for Iowa State. But I got Cam Scatterboo getting it done. Arizona State to the playoff.

[Rob Stone]

When did you, when did you go to Arizona State? Did I miss that on your resume?

[Mark Ingram]

I did go to Arizona State for an official visit. Official visit. And I love.

[Rob Stone]

Hey, by the way, when did Skatteboo become Big Noon's favorite football player?

[Mark Ingram]

Last year?

[Urban Meyer]

About seven years ago. Right?

[Mark Ingram]

Last year.

[Rob Stone]

Both. Both are right.

[Mark Ingram]

Both are right.

[Rob Stone]

Our, our, our crew lights up when there's anything that should be Scattaboo. All right, let's move on.

[Mark Ingram]

He is.

[Rob Stone]

Let's move on to the ACC championship game in Charlotte. Clemson, smu, let's take you back to last September. Do you guys remember when Florida State and Clemson voted against SMU's admittance to the ACC? Maybe it wasn't so much about dollars and perception. Maybe it was actually about not wanting to play the Mustangs on the field. Matt Leinert has written this. We're all in on the Mustangs right now. Since making the move to Kevin Jennings at quarterback. The Stangs, that's what we call a mark. The Stangs. The Stangs, they have won every league game. They've scored at least 28 points in every game that he has started. That includes 38 or more in six of nine games. As for the Clemson quarterback, Cade Klubnik nearly led the Tigers to that signature Win against in state foe South Carolina. By the way, it was in Death Valley. It was at Clemson, so he probably should have done it. They went for 280 through the air, had another 62 on the ground. A pair of rushing touchdowns. But a late INT cost Clemson and Klubnik the game. His one weakness this season has been dealing with elite pass rushes. And smu. Guess what kind of fits the bill. The Stangs D line ranks top 15 in the country in pass rush grade. They have an opportunity to get into the playoffs. SMU has an opportunity to earn a buy if they can get a signature win over an established program. The face of the acc, a program that didn't have their back to get into the Atlantic Coast Conference. Mark Payback is a mother.

[Mark Ingram]

Know what a mother.

[Rob Stone]

Shut your mouth. Win the ACC in their first year in the conference. Ghostangs Big Ten championship game indoors Saturday night in Indy Penn State, Oregon the Ducks coach the last remaining unbeaten team in fbs.

[Urban Meyer]

Yeah, when I watch Oregon play, Mark, I think they're the fast. I don't know there's 40 times but they're fast. Fast everywhere. They're fast on defense. They had 10 sacks last week and they a lot of it wasn't pressure.

[Rob Stone]

Wait, 10 sacks versus Washington?

[Mark Ingram]

I thought you was about to say the last like four games.

[Rob Stone]

Yeah, last 10 games.

[Urban Meyer]

No 10 sacks. Tosh, their D coordinator was on my staff and he's phenomenal. He's one of the best motivators I've ever been around and they play like their hair is on fire. Man. When I say fast I mean fast. Fast across the board and speed wins, especially indoors. And if this was in a rugged, sloppy, nasty, you know, I think it'd be closer. But I think I'm going to pick Oregon to cover the three and a half. My concern is Tyler Warren is I think he's one of the best tight ends to ever play college football. I know that's a bold statement. He. I just. I'm amazed. And he's got a really good coach. Coltonicki, the offense coordinator for Penn State that utilizes him. I would find a way and I said this on Big Ten Network. He had 17 touches against USC. I'm putting a ball in his hand at least 20 times. Mark, that's direct snap at quarterback. That's handed to him. That's what I'm running and obviously throw it to him because I'm just worried Penn State just doesn't have the other spots. Yeah, they have K, Tron Allen and. And Singleton. Yeah, I Just don't see the juice on the outside that they normally have. I just don't see the juice. So I'm going to. I'm going to say Oregon's going to cover the spread. The fastest team in college football. On. On that fake grass and controlled environment in Indy.

[Rob Stone]

The game that we all thought would be Ohio State, Oregon, instead it's Penn State. James Franklin has a big opportunity to kind of get some of those naysayers off his back. He's had troubles in those top five games. This is a huge opportunity for him to kind of get over that hump, get his program over that hump and get a buy.

[Mark Ingram]

Right?

[Rob Stone]

Get a buy. That is. Wow.

[Mark Ingram]

All right.

[Rob Stone]

What an opportunity to have a buy.

[Mark Ingram]

And I've been hating on Penn State. I don't think they worthy. So they have a chance to prove me wrong.

[Rob Stone]

Yep. I think they have a chance to prove a lot of people wrong.

[Urban Meyer]

Let's.

[Rob Stone]

Let's put it that way. Let's go to the SEC championship game. Georgia, Texas, round number two. Round number one went for the Bulldogs and this one is at a neutral site in name only. Like, let's be clear, Atlanta is Bulldog territory with the Longhorns. Really guys, depending what happens in Indy, they could enter the playoffs as the number one overall seat.

[Mark Ingram]

Round two, ready?

[Urban Meyer]

Round two.

[Mark Ingram]

Fight. Ready? Fight. In week eight, Georgia beat that Texas tail 30 to 15. Yep. Texas had just 29 rushing yards, coach. And they gave us seven sacks in the game. And Carson Beck didn't even play well. No touchdowns, three interceptions. Coach. It was a bad day for what many may say is the best offensive line in the country in Texas. But they're different teams since their last minute. Carson Beck has finally found his stride. Last in the last three games, 330 yards per game, 12 touchdowns, no turnovers.

[Rob Stone]

Speaking for Georgia fans, I can't wait.

[Urban Meyer]

Where are you going with this mark?

[Mark Ingram]

Where are you going? I'm laying the ground law. But Texas, they had 29 rushing yards in the first game.

[Urban Meyer]

Where you going with this mark?

[Mark Ingram]

They found an identity with Trey Wisner. He has back to back games with 150 plus rushing yards and 207.

[Urban Meyer]

Where you going with this mark?

[Mark Ingram]

Last week versus A and M. So I wouldn't just assume this game is going to be like the last one. Which Georgia team will show up, Coach, we've seen A or B.

[Urban Meyer]

A or B.

[Mark Ingram]

We've seen them smash. Clemson, we've seen them smash.

[Urban Meyer]

Where you going, Mark?

[Mark Ingram]

Tennessee. But we've also seen him going to 8 OT against Georgia Tech. We seen this defense look like the Georgia of old. We seen him give up 40 points to Georgia Tech and 31 in Mississippi State. So the Georgia team will show up. Who is playing quarterback for the Longhorns? Coach Queen, yours is health. He's playing through a high ankle sprain. Coach Sark says he has some things to work through to get ready for the game. Is it art season? Is it art season? Carson Beck versus Texas defense. What's the slime? Stoner I knew is Texas minus two and a half.

[Rob Stone]

It's close. Hold on, I'm scrolling. Two and a half.

[Urban Meyer]

I'm just. I'm sitting on the edge of my seat.

[Rob Stone]

I know.

[Urban Meyer]

What could it be?

[Rob Stone]

Oh, well, it all depends. I'm with you. It all depends.

[Urban Meyer]

What Georgia team is getting just rattled off stats. Talk to me.

[Mark Ingram]

What. What. What's going on with this, with this game here? Coach? I don't know, man. Oh, no.

[Rob Stone]

Gotta make a pick.

[Mark Ingram]

Horror, horror, horror. There it is. Georgia Bulldogs with the horror. Horror, horror. They go on. Georgia gonna beat them again this weekend, man. Out there in Atlanta in Bulldog territory. Beck playing better. The defense playing better. They had to wake up call. You got the horns up. You got to hook them horns up. Beck didn't even play good in the first game.

[Urban Meyer]

I know. That blew my mind when I saw that playing much better.

[Mark Ingram]

The defense were suspect versus Georgia Tech. Yes, they were. But I got the hurrah for the dog of the week. Georgia. Georgia, Georgia, Georgia. For your deuce, deuce. Dog of the week.

[Rob Stone]

There you have it.

[Mark Ingram]

All right.

[Rob Stone]

There you have it.

[Mark Ingram]

That's good enough for you. Coach, did you like the anticipation? Did you like the climactic finish?

[Urban Meyer]

This is a beautiful thing.

[Rob Stone]

This is coach right now. Let's go.

[Urban Meyer]

Gone.

[Rob Stone]

Let's go. Punch it out. All right. Follow subscribe rate us on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, wherever you get your podcasts, as well as across social media at 3X Options Show. Don't forget, submit your questions. We love to answer them during the show. New episodes coming your way every Wednesday, as always. Big thanks to our sponsors, Wendy's, bet, mgm, usaa. Big thanks to Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman for joining us as well. And thanks for watching. Thanks for just hanging out with us for whatever. We went like an hour and a half. It's a big commitment. We appreciate it and enjoy championship weekend and no flag planning this week. No flag planting, please.