Texas and Penn State Out of Top 25, College Football Playoff Dark Horses, and Week 7 Picks

Summary

The Triple Option – Episode Summary

Episode: Texas and Penn State Out of Top 25, College Football Playoff Dark Horses, and Week 7 Picks
Date: October 8, 2025
Hosts: Urban Meyer, Mark Ingram II, Rob Stone

Overview

This episode dives into seismic shifts in the 2025 college football landscape: preseason powerhouses Texas and Penn State tumble out of the AP Top 25 after shocking losses, and the hosts debate if either can rally back. The crew dissects hot-seat conversations, quarterback ceilings, and the tectonic impact of NIL, the transfer portal, and an expanded playoff on traditional program hierarchies. The show wraps with “dark horse” College Football Playoff picks and quick-hitting insights on Week 7's biggest matchups.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Texas and Penn State’s Collapse: What Happened?

[03:00–10:00]

• Preseason #1 and #2 Both Gone
  • Rob Stone: “Pause and think about that. Five weeks in, out. Texas, number one, Penn State number two, out.”
• Quarterback Woes and Coaching Questions
  • Urban calls out the elite QB hype failing to translate: “The guys with these returning quarterbacks, people said would carry them, haven't gotten it done.”
  • Mark expresses skepticism about Penn State’s Drew Allar: “I just have not been a believer… I have not seen it come to fruition on the football field.”
• Penn State’s Two-Game Spiral
  • Penn State lost to winless UCLA after a hangover from the Oregon overtime defeat, becoming the first top-10 team in four decades to lose to an 0-4 squad.
  • Meyer: “They beat the teams they’re supposed to beat—they’re not even doing that right now.”
• Coaching Critique
  • Meyer emphasizes coaches’ responsibility: “When you start bitching about your players, calm down… It’s your job as a coach to find it. UCLA’s kids played their ass off.”
• James Franklin’s Hot Seat
  • Stone reports an alumni-driven “buyout for a better tomorrow” campaign: “$58 million is the goal.”
  • Urban contextualizes with history: “Bo Schembechler never won a title, was 5-12 in bowls, and has a statue. Now, for $7-8M a year, patience is gone.”
  • On Franklin’s future: “There’s been a building undercurrent… this has been tolerated because they’re winning, but I don’t know if they totally feel it.”

Notable Quote:

• Urban Meyer on modern coaching:

  “That was the day when Coach would stay at a place 20, 30 years—that’s over. I don’t think it’ll ever happen again.” (13:19)

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2. Texas: Did We Buy the Hype?

[20:18–26:36]

• Florida Deflates Texas
  • Rob: “Preseason number one losing to a Florida team that lost to the University [of Miami]… What’s wrong?”
  • Ingram: “They can’t run the football. Arch Manning is their leading rusher. Defense isn't getting pressure. Arch turning the football over.”
  • Urban questions Manning’s top-prospect billing: “Pump the brakes… He’s fine—but fine is not a top QB in big games.”
• Who’s More Likely To Bounce Back: Penn State or Texas?
  • Mark leans Penn State due to an “easier” schedule with more winnable games.
  • Rob and Urban highlight Texas’ opportunity: Four ranked opponents present a chance to right the ship, but little margin for error.
  • Urban: “This is all a locker room thing now. The head coach is responsible."

Notable Quote:

• Urban Meyer:

  “Either they’ll make a run, or it’ll be catastrophic. It will be one of those ones we’ll all look at each other and say, ‘What in the hell?’” (23:12)

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3. UCLA’s Big Win: Jerry Neuheisel & Nico Iamaleava’s Breakout

[32:23–37:19]

• A Feel-Good Story Amidst Penn State’s Plummet
  • Jerry Neuheisel (interview clip): “We had two days to practice the new game plan and all they did was believe. How can you not love college football when you have days like this?”
  • Hosts praise the new Heisels’ genuine passion and the team culture shift:
    • Urban: “Number one obligation of a coach is to get your guys to play hard. [Against New Mexico] they looked awful. Then... they were the better team—harder, better coached, better players. That’s a credit to what went on in that locker room.”
    • Mark: “The team is a direct reflection of your coach... They want to run through a brick wall for you.”

Notable Quote:

• Jerry Neuheisel [33:09]:

  “We had two days to practice the new game plan… and all they did was believe.”

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4. Why Is Parity Exploding? NIL, Transfer Portal, Roster Mobility

[38:13–50:25]

• Shrinking the Distance From Blue Bloods to Dark Horses
  • Urban: “There used to be eight teams that could win the national title. Now? 30 can take a swing and get in.”
  • Mark: “Identify position of need, go out there and get them in the portal... It can change your program overnight."
• Transfer Portal Fallout: Depth & Development
  • Urban: “With the portal, second- and third-stringers aren’t content to wait—they’re going to play somewhere else. Now nobody’s three-deep with All-Americans.”
• NIL & Hunger
  • Urban shares a refrain from NFL scouts: “The majority of football players lose their stinger when they get paid.”
  • Mark: “Imagine having seven figures in college... You’ve got money, houses, cars. I love that for them, but you have to find out what’s inside.”
  • Rob: “We’re seeing fewer leave for the NFL. Underclassmen declaring for draft: every year it goes down.”

Notable Quotes:

• Urban Meyer:

  “The majority of football players lose their stinger when they get paid… When you’re hungry, what happens when you eat? You’re not hungry anymore.” (41:35; 43:36)

• Mark Ingram:

  “Every single kid it doesn’t apply to, but you have to make sure you find the right type of character.” (48:48)

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5. Audience Q: Dark Horse Playoff Picks

[52:27–58:24]

• Rob reads Question:
  “What are your three dark horse College Football Playoff teams?” (from listener 'colemarie619')

• Mark’s Picks:

  • USF
  • Memphis
  • Notre Dame ("they have their own slot in the playoff")
  • Texas Tech (“running the football at a high level… not one but two quarterbacks, defense top of the line”)

• Urban’s Picks:

  • Texas Tech (“can compete in the SEC… body types, speed, depth at QB”)
  • Notre Dame (“not playing another ranked team as of now”)
  • BYU ("don't know a ton yet, but they’re in it")

• Rob’s Picks:

  • Texas Tech ("only team to never have trailed this season")
  • Notre Dame
  • Georgia Tech ("no ranked games till final week")

• Bonus: Mark tosses in Arizona State (“with Sam Leavitt”).

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6. Week 7 Picks, Parity, and Matchup Previews

[58:24–end]

• Game of the Week Picks
  • Alabama at Mizzou
    • Mark: "I like Alabama to cover… they're playing with a chip on their shoulder, new identity.”
  • Oregon vs Indiana
    • Urban: “Oregon's lines make them dangerous—finally matches their skill—but Indiana is big and disciplined. Oregon wins, but closer than the spread.”
  • Oklahoma vs Texas (Red River Rivalry at the Cotton Bowl)
    • Rob: "Defense is Oklahoma’s calling card—#2 scoring D in the nation at 7.2 ppg, 21 sacks. I'm taking the under and like Oklahoma to cover."

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• Mark Ingram (on Drew Allar):

  “The one common denominator the last three seasons at Penn State is he’s been the quarterback... I have not seen drow [Drew] develop into that guy.” (06:12)

• Urban Meyer (on transfer portal parity):

  “Alabama, Georgia used to just stockpile All-Americans that were third on the depth chart. That's not happening anymore." (46:55)

• Mark Ingram (on coaching impact):

  “When a team knows their coach cares about them, there’s nothing they won’t do... you are a direct reflection of your coach.” (36:33)

• Rob Stone (on Oklahoma defense):

  “Number two scoring defense in the land... 7.2 points per game. Number one total defense, only 190 yards per game.” (65:27)

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Timestamps of Important Segments

• [03:00] – Texas and Penn State’s abrupt exit from Top 25
• [13:13] – History lesson: patience and pressure in college coaching
• [20:18] – Texas’ issues with offense, Arch Manning’s struggles
• [26:36] – Can either team rally? What the locker room culture means now
• [32:23] – Jerry Neuheisel interview, UCLA's upset of Penn State
• [38:13] – The rise in parity: transfer portal, NIL, expanded playoff
• [41:35] – “Losing the stinger”—does NIL money take the edge off?
• [46:55] – End of stacking 5-star depth at Bama/Georgia
• [52:27] – Listener question: CFB Playoff dark horses
• [58:24] – Week 7 Game Picks: Alabama, Oregon/Indiana, Oklahoma/Texas
• [65:27] – Oklahoma’s defense by the numbers
• [66:44] – Housekeeping, upcoming Michigan tailgate promo

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Tone & Chemistry

The hosts keep the conversation lively, ribbing each other (“You always do this, man…”), trading friendly jabs, and mixing insider perspective with accessible fan banter. Humor (the “Deuce Deuce Dog of the Week” almost being awarded to Rob for dessert delivery), nostalgia, and real talk about the business of football keep the show engaging and authentic.

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In Summary

• The Triple Option this week spotlights a new era of volatility in college football: bluebloods can collapse, dark horses can surge, and behind it all, player movement and money are re-shaping everything.
• Texas and Penn State’s falls are attributed to locker room culture, quarterback play, and coaching ceilings—while the door is now wide open for programs previously considered playoff afterthoughts.
• The transfer portal and NIL are fundamentally shifting depth, hunger, and team-building—possibly for the better.
• Parity is here, making this season’s playoff picture wilder—and wider—than ever before.

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For more, find the Triple Option on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and @3XOptionShow on socials.

Transcript

[Mark Ingram]

You always do this, man. You always just want to wait till someone says the dog and then you want to come back door and say something like, you just better than me.

[Rob Stone]

You know why? I'm going to tell you why, Mark. It's personal. This week the triple option is presented by Wendy's. Join team Tendies and enjoy a lineup like never before. Crispy, juicy Tendies now at Wendy's. Welcome to another edition of the triple option. Urban Meyer, Mark Ingram ii, Deuce Deuce, Rob Stone back here with you. There might be a few things to talk about this week. Oh, you can talk about roll tie, but a couple teams got rolled and are making major headlines. We're going to talk about those two and coming up in a second.

[Mark Ingram]

I love hear you say roll tie, coach. I ain't going to lie.

[Urban Meyer]

I love your shirt, man. I'm a tight shirt.

[Mark Ingram]

Yeah. You know, and we got the cut off sleeves too. You know what I mean? And we do the roll Tide on the hoodie too.

[Rob Stone]

You know, this is what happens when you beat Vanderbilt now, right? You go all decked out. You wear in the gear and the logo. You beat Vanderbilt, man.

[Mark Ingram]

Y' all love Vanderbilt.

[Rob Stone]

You don't see coach breaking Northwestern.

[Mark Ingram]

Y' all anointed Vanderbilt as the new everything. I mean, we have Johnny Manzel on the sideline.

[Urban Meyer]

That was a solid shot. That was solid.

[Rob Stone]

Thank you.

[Urban Meyer]

You're welcome.

[Rob Stone]

You're welcome.

[Urban Meyer]

I'm.

[Rob Stone]

I'm trying to. I'm going to lay a couple body.

[Mark Ingram]

I mean, everybody must think Vandy, is it because I mean even Johnny Football was on the sideline wearing a Diego Pavia jersey.

[Rob Stone]

That was weird. That was. That was so.

[Mark Ingram]

I mean, roll down tight. Go on. Going with the show, man.

[Rob Stone]

All right, carry on. We're going to talk about some programs that maybe we're not talking about enough as far as the college football playoff picture is concerned. Hey, Notre Dame. Hey, Texas Tech. How you doing out there? It was a very, very, very good week for the new Heisel family. You'll see and hear what we're talking about. Mark's dog, Dog juice Dog dog of the week. Yeah, it was a good one. It is unfortunately going to disappoint at least one of us. Sorry, Mark. And of course we will hit. What in the world is going on in Austin and Happy Valley. Crazy days with Texas and Penn State, as always, thank you for joining us. Please rate subscribe over at Apple Podcast Spotify. Wherever it is that you find your podcast, you can find us on social media at 3x option show new episodes coming your way Every Wednesday on YouTube and wherever it is that you find your podcast, remember, leave questions and comments and we might hear it in the show. We have one this week coming your way. So let's start. We ready? It is time. For any given Saturday, Penn State and Texas, your preseason number one and number two teams both out of the top 25 this week. Just like pause, pause and think about that. Pause. Five weeks in, out Texas, number one, number two out.

[Urban Meyer]

The guy. The guy. And the teams with the returning quarterbacks.

[Rob Stone]

Correct.

[Urban Meyer]

Guys that were like, I kept hearing, well, Rob, you said it that well, all these scouts are here to watch Arch Manning. And I'm like, wait, yeah, that was.

[Rob Stone]

Week one in Columbus.

[Urban Meyer]

Yeah. And then obviously Drew out hour has been a. You know, he's had good gains, but in the big ones, he has no, he's not there.

[Rob Stone]

So Penn State, they fell to previously winless UCLA 42 to 37. Texas, they go to the Swamp. They lose to a floundering Florida team, 29, 21. As we mentioned, both are out of the top 25. What is next for each program, by the way? Let me start with this. I refuse to believe that Texas and Penn State are not top 20 teams. Okay, I know they're not in the top 25 this week, but I refuse to believe that. I understand the big fall off the cliff due to what has happened all season and what transpired on Saturday. But coach, these rosters, these coaches are too damn good to not be top 20 teams.

[Urban Meyer]

No, but you're going to. You're going to. This is going to go one of two ways. It's not going to be medium. They're either going to fall off the cliff and it's going to be an embarrassment for both places, or they'll fight back. And. And I can't tell you, I don't know. The locker rooms, you know, this is. Ohio State lost a horrific game against the Wolverines last year, and they had some grown men in the locker room flip it and turn it around. You saw Florida State 2 years ago have an awful locker room, and as a result, they were an embarrassment to their school. So I don't think it will happen. I'm guessing at the end of the year, It'll be a 8, 9 win for each of these teams and they'll go to some bowl game and try to go again. But Penn State followed Mark, Penn State followed the Buckeyes and the Wolverines. The players said, we're going to come back. We have unfinished business. There's a bunch of dudes, both those tailbacks could be playing in the NFL right now. And they said we're coming back. And as a result, they get on a plane. And that was first time in 40 years, 45 years, the Big Ten Network told me that a team in the top 10 lost to an 04 team. Think about that, coach.

[Mark Ingram]

They come off a tough loss, overtime loss in Oregon. Then you go on the road and lay an egg like we've been talking about. Penn State, they beat the teams they're supposed to beat. They're not even doing that right now. Like this is.

[Urban Meyer]

Well, here, here's the question mark. And Rob too. So Drew Eller is going to be a person of, of contention here. Every game they've lost, the ball ends in his hands. Remember Oregon? He underthrew the. Threw in the triple coverage in overtime.

[Mark Ingram]

Yeah.

[Urban Meyer]

After doing a great job, scoring, going down the field and scoring twice. And then they do a run play with them that I still on 4th and 2, 4th and 3 against UCLA. I ran that playback 25 times trying to find out exactly what went wrong there. And coach Franklin said they missed a block. It was a tough block. The number two receiver, Mark had to block a guy that was coming. I mean, that was a tough block and got hit right in the face and Penn State walked off.

[Rob Stone]

So maybe don't call that play.

[Mark Ingram]

Well, I just haven't been.

[Urban Meyer]

I don't know, man. I mean, so I just haven't been.

[Mark Ingram]

A believer of Drew Aller coach. Like everyone says the measurables, everyone says the arm talent. I just have not seen it come to fruition on the football field. The one common denominator of the last three seasons at Penn State is he's been the quarterback. So I mean, he has all this talent, all this ability, but I have not seen it come to fruition yet for Penn State. That's one of the reasons they have not beat Ohio State or Michigan or, you know, or Oregon this year is, you know, I don't think he has had tremendous help on the outsides. You know, I mean, they have the.

[Rob Stone]

Running back couple years running right.

[Mark Ingram]

Yes.

[Rob Stone]

Thin it wide receiver. They have not upgraded that position.

[Mark Ingram]

Always his fault.

[Rob Stone]

But you're quarterback pretty good tight ends though. Let me tell you, when you're that.

[Mark Ingram]

Guy at the quarterback position, you elevate your level of play and, and you elevate the level of players around you. And I just haven't seen drow develop into that guy who Penn State needs him to be.

[Rob Stone]

Let. Let's be honest. This was a game that we should not have been watching. Right. When we all got on the plane after Michigan took care of Wisconsin, I was like the one who's just like, hey, let's just kind of check in on Penn State, right? How they do it. I'm like, they're down. What? Yeah, they're still down.

[Mark Ingram]

What?

[Rob Stone]

And all of a sudden, all of us on the plane are watching that game. They. This should have been a nothing game. Instead, Penn State let Oregon beat them two weeks in a row. That's. I, I am convinced about that. Oregon took them down last week and the carryover, the hangover traveled with them to the west coast and they laid an absolute A. And it's because of performances like that. And we talked about James Franklin last week. Has Penn State and James Franklin hit that ceiling? Listen, I think there's a lot of Penn State fans and alums out there who are very appreciative what James Franklin has done for them. But I think that ceiling, he keeps.

[Mark Ingram]

Smacking, he hit his head on it. Bam. Bam.

[Rob Stone]

This, ah, this is only as good as we can get. And this good is really good.

[Mark Ingram]

Yeah, this good is really, really good. I mean, in the second half, in the second half, Penn State was clearly a better team. But you lose to Oregon, you make a West coast travel.

[Rob Stone]

You come out, you start that west coast travel stuff. I'm tired of that bs. That's, that's what the conference is right now, right? Hey, west coast team's got to come Midwest and kick off early. That's what you signed up for.

[Mark Ingram]

They felt, they felt sorry for themselves, offer overtime, loss. You travel to the west coast, think you just going to wake up and beat a, a, a winless team in UCLA. You start slow now you're down 27 to seven at the half. You come out in the second half, you're the better team in the second half. But it's too late. You went four. You, you, you go 14 to seven in third quarter, 16 to eight in the fourth quarter, but it was too late. You didn't have enough to come back.

[Urban Meyer]

So, man, and I watched, I watched that film in depth, the game on depth for the Big Ten Network this weekend. Nico, I told after that performance, invite him to New York for the heist. I'm just kidding.

[Rob Stone]

But I mean, waiting for that all year.

[Urban Meyer]

His talent, my God, he, he made them look silly. He ran for well over 100 yards.

[Mark Ingram]

And it was 28 and three TDs.

[Urban Meyer]

If you had no idea and just Watching it like I did. UCLA is by far the best team, Rob. Yeah, I mean, and here I'm going to say this, too. And I hope this gets out there. This tells the media, the fans, and most importantly, young coaches, when you start bitching about your players, calm down. You know what? UCLA's got bad players. Go watch the film. They have really good players there. For some reason, they weren't playing good now. But that's where you got to look yourself in the mirror as a coach and say, hey, why aren't they playing good? It's so easy for people. And I get so pissed off when I. When I used to hear my coaches do it. Well, this guy's not very good. He's a good player. He's. He's wearing a UCLA uniform. That means he was good somewhere. It's your job as a coach to find it. And I'll tell you what, new Heisel son and skipper, I believe that. Interim. Interim. I mean, absolutely. Hats off for that. I mean, because they played their ass off, Mark, in that game.

[Mark Ingram]

Yes, they did. Yep, they did.

[Urban Meyer]

They. They.

[Mark Ingram]

They came with it, man. They came out. They started fast and they balled out, man. And Nico I. Amaliava, the man who was the forgotten man, the poster child of what not to be, he showed you what he truly can be, his abilities. It was on full display last weekend on Saturday.

[Rob Stone]

But I just want to wrap up Penn State, guys, and I want one more comment from you both before we get to Texas. So here's Penn State right now, 3 and 2. 02 in the Big Ten. Okay? All right. The good thing, they return home this weekend. They've got Northwestern and then they go at Iowa. Tricky bye week at Ohio State. Remember, these buys fell right in line for them. Buy before Oregon, buy before Ohio State. How much do I have to buy that, right? Like 100%. Thank you. This was. This schedule was a gift. A gift to Penn State.

[Urban Meyer]

3.

[Rob Stone]

Three preseason games, right, Coach? And then a bye week and then Oregon. All right, so there is no excuse in the schedule front after Ohio State, Indiana. So there's your two ranked remaining teams left for Penn State. Give them losses. That's four conference losses. If we're going to give them those two losses. And I'm not right now, but I'm just saying it, then it's at Michigan State versus Nebraska, at Rutgers. So, you know, I'm an East coast guy. I have a lot of people that went to Penn State care about Penn State. Somebody forwarded me this email that circulated around Penn State alums. I don't know if I went to all the alums. I don't know what exactly how it got there, but it somehow came from me, from a good source. And it's a buyout for a better tomorrow. $58 million is the goal.

[Mark Ingram]

Wow.

[Rob Stone]

I mean, are you even kidding me? So they're saying, hey, if every. Every alum chips in this much, we can get to this thing and we can move on from Coach Franklin. So that. That's the situation that's happening right now in Happy Valley.

[Mark Ingram]

My question is, you just finally draw the line Just now you didn't draw.

[Rob Stone]

Well, that's the point. Yeah. Because I don't.

[Mark Ingram]

Because you've been. It's clear when you.

[Rob Stone]

It's clear when you see that mark that, you know this has been building and not just building this year. And again, there was such great hype and expectations for this Penn State program with all that they've accomplished, with all the dudes coming back at major positions with the way the schedule is laid out for them, that this was going to be the year that they get back, that they get back and get that holy grail of college football. Remember, they were so close last year to getting to the championship game. But I read this mark and it says to me that there has been a building undercurrent here that, hey, we're tolerating. We're tolerating this coach in this program because they are winning. But I don't know if they just totally feel it or bought in with Coach Franklin. Again, like Dabo Sweeney has struggled the last couple of years. There's not quite that angst, undercurrent. It's there for sure. But again, Dabo's won national titles. Right? That's going to buy you some time. Coach Franklin hasn't done that yet. And that's what's. That's what's like he doesn't want a.

[Mark Ingram]

National title or a Big Ten title.

[Urban Meyer]

I'm going to. Yeah, he won one in 16. They beat us.

[Mark Ingram]

Yeah, I don't even remember that coach.

[Urban Meyer]

But I just want to throw this out for a conversation that Joe Paterno, Woody Hayes, Lou Holtz, Bo Schembecker, Bobby Baum, that was my generation. And. And that was the day when coach would stay at a place for, I mean, some of those guys 20, 30 years, and that's over. That's done. Coach Forensic at Iowa just broke the record, Woody Hayes record for most wins in the Big Ten history, because he's been there forever. He's a great coach, but it's also a school that allowed him to do that. This won't ever, ever happen again. Certainly not my lifetime or I think forever. Because now. Now, Bo Schembechler was at Wolverines for 21 years, Mark. He never won a title. And there's a statue of him out front. You know what his record in bowl game Was? He was 5 and 12 in bowl games.

[Mark Ingram]

Wow.

[Urban Meyer]

And he did win some Big Ten. He won a bunch of Big Ten championships.

[Rob Stone]

And you flipped that record, coach, to 12 and five. And you're. And even that, you're like, that's it.

[Urban Meyer]

He was just 5 and 12. And there's a legendary.

[Mark Ingram]

And never won a Natty.

[Urban Meyer]

And there's a statue of him out there. And I'm legendary. Immortalized.

[Mark Ingram]

And you never won a Natty.

[Urban Meyer]

But he also probably made $85,000 a year coaching. So now you're.

[Rob Stone]

And it was a more patient society.

[Urban Meyer]

Seven digits and maybe eight.

[Rob Stone]

Yeah.

[Urban Meyer]

What these coaches are getting paid.

[Mark Ingram]

Just reclarify yourself. You said the man never won a Natty.

[Urban Meyer]

Never.

[Mark Ingram]

And he's immortalized.

[Urban Meyer]

There's a big statue immortalized. Show. Beckler Hall.

[Rob Stone]

Yeah. You know, the other thing interesting about Coach Franklin, and I'm really not trying to pile on. On Coach Franklin, I just. I can feel the angst in Happy Valley and the Keystone State is there always seems to have been kind of. I don't know if rumors is the right way to say it, but there's always been chatter that, hey, this program's interested in Coach Franklin, and this program is interested in Coach Franklin. He's always been very passionate, like, this is my home. This is where I'm going. But still, when you keep hearing that, Coach, you know, there's. There's usually, you know, if there's a little smoke, there's usually a little fire somewhere around. And, you know, you wonder if it is time. You know, you wonder if it's time for him, and if you wonder if it's time for the program.

[Urban Meyer]

When I was coaching, I used to have people. I really didn't have agents. I, you know, a couple guys helped me out. But they would say, you know, do we want to get it out there that this school's interested? You know, I'm like, what? Why?

[Rob Stone]

Why?

[Urban Meyer]

Right? And they're to, you know, to have leverage on your school. I'm not saying Coach Franklin does that, but it's like, every year. I Like, where is that coming from?

[Rob Stone]

Yeah. Wait, why is his name associated with this?

[Urban Meyer]

Yeah.

[Rob Stone]

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[Urban Meyer]

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[Mark Ingram]

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[Rob Stone]

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[Urban Meyer]

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[Urban Meyer]

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[Rob Stone]

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[Rob Stone]

+ and present in select states. For Kansas in affiliation with Kansas Star Casino or 18 + and present in DC, Kentucky or Wyoming, opt in required bonus issued as non withdrawable profit boost tokens Restrictions apply including any token expiration and max wager amount. See [e-mail] gambling problem. Call 1-800-Gambler or visit fanduel.com rg call 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org chatincenetic or visit mdgamblinghelp.org in Maryland, hope is here. Visit gamblinghelplinema.org or call 800-327-5050 for 24. 7 support in Massachusetts or call 1-877-88 hope ny or text hope ny in New York. The holidays are upon us and businesses are hiring for seasonal roles. That's everything from haunted corn maze workers, a job that coach had just 10 years ago, to lead elves and real bearded Santas to even snowplow drivers. Have you guys ever driven a snowplow?

[Urban Meyer]

Yes. Negative.

[Rob Stone]

I think I would actually really like to drive a snowplow. That means people with certain skills, certain experience or even a special license are are in high demand right now and also they are not easy to find.

[Urban Meyer]

Whether you're hiring for one of these roles or any other role, the best way to find the perfect match for your role is on ZipRecruiter and right now you can try for free at ZipRecruiter.com option ZipRecruiters matching technology works fast.

[Mark Ingram]

To find top talent so you don't waste time or money. You can find out right away how many job seekers in your area are qualified for your role.

[Rob Stone]

So let Zip recruiter find the right people for for your role, seasonal or otherwise. Four out of five employers who post on ZipRecruiter they get a quality candidate guys within the first day. And right now you can try it for absolutely [e-mail] option again, that's ziprecruiter.com options ziprecruiter the smartest way to hire. So again, Penn State, they've got Northwestern this week, still two more ranked opponents coming your way and they are looking for their first Big Ten win. The other big news coming out of Texas, the preseason number one one team, all the hype around Sark and all the hype around Manning and all the dudes and the great recruiting class and they go down to Florida and they lose. Arch Manning.

[Mark Ingram]

I'm going to tell you this though, I'm going to tell you this though about Florida. Their defense keeps them in every single game they've lost. They don't look great like they're looking like they're unwinding. But that Florida defense keeps them in every single game. They've had a chance to win every single game because of their defense.

[Rob Stone]

That's fine at all. It's still Texas, the preseason number one losing out of Florida, team that lost to the university.

[Mark Ingram]

You know what's going on. They're, they can't run the football.

[Rob Stone]

Arch leading rusher.

[Mark Ingram]

Yeah, Archman is a leading rusher. Their defense, they're not Getting pressure on the quarterback. We looked at Texas last year. You look at their offensive line, their defensive line, they look like superhumans. Like these guys aren't performing how we thought they should have early in the year. Archman is turning football over. So I, I, I don't know.

[Rob Stone]

So did we value these guys too high or, or do we need to put a little of this on Sar, Arch Manning.

[Mark Ingram]

We put a lot on Arch Manning just because his last name is Manning.

[Urban Meyer]

I agreed and I, I, I got some pushback early in the summer because I, I said a few times, I think it was on Colin Coward or something, said pump the brakes now. I mean I went back and watched all 48 snap, whatever it was a year ago. And he's, he's fine. I mean he's, but fine, I'll never forget.

[Rob Stone]

Fine is not a combo in game.

[Urban Meyer]

One is saying all these scouts, potential number one overall pick. And I remember going, who?

[Mark Ingram]

Right.

[Urban Meyer]

No, he's not, Someday he might be. Here's the problem I have and I kind of gave him benefit of the doubt against Ohio State because the receivers to me, and they still don't look like Texas receivers. But march Manning, week in, week out, after five games, you should start to see that progression. That's what happens to really good quarterbacks from Dwayne Haskins to J.T. barrett to Tebow to Alex Smith, the ones I had my hands on and I saw, you saw steady progression where game three is better than game two, game four is better than game three. Here's my problem, Mark, not so fast.

[Mark Ingram]

Yeah, you see it with your boy at Ohio State. He's developed each from first game to the fifth, sixth game, you see him, there's a progression going. That's what makes Ohio State scary. Where you have that kind of stagnant each game, you don't see that progression, you don't see that growth that's concerning. And you, you see he has the arm talent, you see he has the ability with his legs, but it's just, man, it's not all him. You know what I mean? Like when you're the leading rusher, it's not all you. When you're not getting pressure on the quarterback, it's not all you. So this is a whole Texas thing, it's not just Arch Manning thing. It's a team game and the whole program needs to take a step back and reevaluate.

[Rob Stone]

So Texas, they still have four games left versus ranked opponents.

[Mark Ingram]

They got the Red river coming up.

[Rob Stone]

This week, Oklahoma, this week in Dallas. We'll talk more about that coming up a little bit later. They host Vanderbilt, they're at Georgia. Lord, they host Texas A and M. That's what's still ahead for Texas.

[Urban Meyer]

I will say this about the two teams we just talked about out of the top 25. And this could be. Either they'll make a run or they'll be catastrophic. Yeah, it will be. It will be one of those ones. We'll all look at each other and say, what in the hell?

[Rob Stone]

How about this one? Coach, let me throw this at.

[Urban Meyer]

Because these players nowadays, I mean, there's a bunch of cats now making some serious, serious money at these places.

[Rob Stone]

Who do you believe in more at this point? Who do you believe can rally things around and get themselves back into the playoff picture? Is it Texas or is it Penn State?

[Mark Ingram]

When you look at the schedules, I have to lean Penn State, that schedule you just rattled off. While people want to say the sec, this sec, that, that is no slouch right there. Oklahoma is a good football team. They're lucky they're catching them without John Mateer.

[Rob Stone]

Correct.

[Mark Ingram]

Vandy is for real. They had Alabama on the ropes. If it wasn't for a couple turnovers, timely turnovers from Diego Pavia. A Marcel Reed, he's playing lights out right now. And at Georgia, at Georgia, you know they gonna want to keep doing their thing. So when you talk about comparing schedules, Penn State has Northwestern, Iowa, they go to Ohio State. So I'm. I'mma count that as an L. Indiana too. Like Indiana.

[Rob Stone]

Mark, I'm with Indiana.

[Mark Ingram]

Indiana. At Penn State.

[Rob Stone]

At Penn State.

[Urban Meyer]

Y so.

[Mark Ingram]

But I don't man.

[Rob Stone]

See, I would look at Texas, that schedule like oh, not Lord laud. Right. Lwd. Am I saying it right? Lod But I would say it gives them the opportunity to get right. Super challenging. But against four ranked opponents. You get yourself right with those, those teams, you get yourself back into the conversation. Not just in the sec but in the College Football Playoff. Penn State, there, there is no margin for error. I mean, if you give them Ohio State loss, that's three in conference play, they're done.

[Urban Meyer]

Yeah, they're.

[Rob Stone]

They're done. At least in Big Ten championship conversation. I think they're done right now.

[Mark Ingram]

But could they rally?

[Rob Stone]

There you go. That's the thing. If they make a rally and it's how you judge a team in November, not here in early October. But our early October observations are not great.

[Mark Ingram]

They run the table. They're in the Big Ten championship, which means they're going to the playoff Again, they run the table. They somehow find a way to beat Ohio State. They somehow find a way to beat Indiana, which I don't know how that's looking, but anything's possible any given Saturday.

[Rob Stone]

It's a chance. There's a chance.

[Urban Meyer]

Well, here's the thing. Penn State. Penn State will jog on the field however many times. Seven games left, I think it is. And they'll have one team across the field that will have the same talent or better talent than that one. Texas won't have any. So keep that in mind as this is all a locker room thing to me. This is not you. And which is the head coach is responsible. This is where they find out, man. Again, Penn State, the white blue jerseys are going to jog on the field. There's only one team that has what you got. That's. It is Ohio State. And then Indiana does not. Now they have Signetti and some pretty good team now, but not the same five star and all that nonsense. Texas, zilch, Zilch. There's not another team that has the same. Now, Oklahoma's close and Georgia's close. Yeah, but not the same. Not the same.

[Mark Ingram]

We get to sit up here and say what we think, but at the end of the day, you gotta line up, you gotta kick that football off and you gotta play football. That's what I love about this.

[Rob Stone]

It's still insane. Penn State, Texas not in the AP Top 25 after being 1 and 2 in the preseason. Let us know your comments. Let us know your thoughts.

[Mark Ingram]

Wait. We ain't gonna have no jobs no more at this rate.

[Urban Meyer]

Why?

[Rob Stone]

Wait? Why are we in jeopardy?

[Mark Ingram]

Because we all picked them to be one of the best teams. I mean, everybody saying the Big Ten had the three best teams in the nation.

[Rob Stone]

Well, and listen, by the way, they. All right, so now it's two. Two. Oregon and Ohio State are next level.

[Mark Ingram]

Yes, they are elite.

[Rob Stone]

Can't wait to see the Buckeyes live this week in Illinois. Time now for the Deuce Deuce Dog of the Week.

[Mark Ingram]

The Deuce Deuce. Ara. Ara. We already talked about a man, but the forgotten man, the man who everyone was just killing saying he's the poster child of what not to do. But I got love for my dog, Nico I Amaliava. He went out there, Penn State came to town and he just balled out. He showed his capabilities, his abilities, his leadership. He had 166 yards, two touchdowns, 97 QBR, 17 to 24. So efficient, accurate. But also the running ability, the playmaking ability with his legs, 128 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. So he had nearly 300 yards and five total touchdowns. And getting their first win of the season against the Penn State team, who was number seven in the nation. So, Nico, Nico, I your boy for the the dog of the week.

[Rob Stone]

That was your fresh take of the week presented by Wendy's. Join team tendies and enjoy a lineup like never before. Crispy, juicy tendies now at Wendy's. Go ahead, coach. Sorry.

[Urban Meyer]

I'm glad you read that. I couldn't have done that.

[Rob Stone]

But that's what I'm here for.

[Urban Meyer]

Last year when I first Nico first came on the scene, I called both Brady Quinn and Matt Leiner, two gurus, a quarterback play. And I said, am I wrong or this is the best quarterback in college football. His height, his size, his athleticism, his ability to reset his feet. The ball gets out fast. And you saw it. I mean, you ain't seen that. You haven't seen that in a long time. But you watch that tape, man, and you're like, oh, my God, what? Where's this guy been hiding?

[Mark Ingram]

So you see the ability, man, and it flashed.

[Rob Stone]

It's there for sure. Speaking of forgotten men, I'm not happy with the deuce Deuce dog of the week. It was an excellent pick, right? I'm not, this is not me.

[Mark Ingram]

You always do this, man. You always just want to wait till everyone says the dog and then you want to come back door and say something like, you just better.

[Rob Stone]

Yeah. You know who's, you know why? I'm going to tell you why, Mark, because this is, it's personal this week. You know who should have been your deuce deuce dog of the week? This guy, Rob Stone should have been your deuce deuce dog of the week. Look at this text chain. All right, Rob Stone collected a bananas foster for Mark Ingram at restaurant Friday night. All right? Mark went out and look at this. We cleaned it up. What, what does, what does, what does your teammate do? He collects your bananas foster. He takes your room key. He hand delivers Bananas Foster. Not just hand delivered. Mark Ingram ice cream was put where?

[Mark Ingram]

In the freezer.

[Rob Stone]

In the freezer? Bananas foster in the refrigerator. I tidied up your.

[Mark Ingram]

I mean, what else? What more do you want from me? What more do you want from me? Do you see you the goat appreciate you?

[Rob Stone]

Like, well, then I should have been your deuce Deuce dog of the week.

[Mark Ingram]

You? My, you, you. I, I, I commented under your post. I said my goat, my host. Like, what more do you want from me, bro? Like, I show you the utmost love, the utmost respect. I hold you in high regard. And you just want to expose me on national Expose, our text thread for the world to see.

[Rob Stone]

I love you. I didn't, I didn't.

[Mark Ingram]

I'm a stand up guy. You got me cussing all in the thread and everything, bro.

[Rob Stone]

I didn't share the video, man.

[Mark Ingram]

What you think about that, Coach?

[Rob Stone]

Coach? I made a video for Marcus. I was delivering.

[Urban Meyer]

Rob's an I guy, though. I mean, this is. I get it now. I've seen it before and it's what about me? What about me? What about me? So that's good.

[Mark Ingram]

I love it.

[Rob Stone]

That's good.

[Mark Ingram]

Smacking.

[Rob Stone]

Yeah, smacking, smacking.

[Mark Ingram]

S C H M schmack.

[Rob Stone]

Oh, you're welcome. Love you, brother. Love you. Coming up next on the triple option presented by Wendy's, we take a look at the parody in college football. And folks, it's at a level we have never experienced before.

[Urban Meyer]

Light it.

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[Rob Stone]

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[Rob Stone]

Rob Deuce Deuce Herbs Back here with you on the triple option presented by Wendy's. Earlier in the show, we talked about Penn State falling at the Rose bowl to ucla, but we wanted to touch on one of the real positive Side of that game. Former UCLA quarterback, the son of former former head coach Rick Neuheisel, Jerry Neuheisel took over as offensive coordinator, helped lead the winless Bruins to their first victory of the season. So where did this victory rank in his UCLA career? Take a listen.

[Mark Ingram]

Coach Neuzel. You've been in some great moments as a lifelong Bruin. Where does this one ring?

[Rob Stone]

It's up there.

[Jerry Neuheisel]

First thing I want to say is I love UCLA more than anything. And the kind of kids that you see that played on that field today is exactly why you love a place like this. We had two days to practice the new game plan and all they did was believe. And we came out and played as hard as we could for 60 fold minutes. Had to take a safety at the end because we messed it up a little bit. But like, how can you not love college football when you have days like this? Special, special, special.

[Rob Stone]

Great images of his dad, Rick, back in the CBS studio watching the game live. And his, his real genuine reaction and, and pride for not only his university, but obviously what his son was able to accomplish. Man, people forget, and I know you guys know this intimately, how much football families sacrifice.

[Mark Ingram]

Yes.

[Rob Stone]

And to see that level of achievement, to see that level of gratitude and happiness and joy going across generations in a family, like I got little tingles in my leg and arms right now. That was just so. It was so cool. Say what you will about Penn State, but you can't not but feel happy about the new Heisel family in UCLA.

[Urban Meyer]

I've known the new Heisel family since early 90s, I believe. I was trying to go back. And he was at Colorado under Bill McCartney and I was at Colorado State and we became friends and I. It just cracks me up when I saw that Jerry speak. That's Rick. I mean, that is, that is the mini me. And his wife was there, I think sue, and she's out there watching that game. And Rick got emotional about it, which he should. Yes, but there is so much greatness in college football to see you talk about a guy that loves ucla. I'm sitting there going, that's what you see with ucla. And I almost want to say, well, where has that been? But regardless, they got it done. And, and here's what I love about the new Heisel, Rick. And then obviously his son, how genuine they are. And what I mean by that is he was joking. He was honest about screwing up to take a safety. And then the fact that, you know, as an assistant coach, you tend. You're told to put your mic up here, if that makes sense. You know, why.

[Rob Stone]

Don't be hurt.

[Urban Meyer]

Because don't be hurt. That's not your time to speak. And he was, you know, for years he's been popping up there and all of a sudden he's trying to call a play and the mic's back here. I saw him say that and I started laughing, saying, absolutely, I've been there, man.

[Rob Stone]

And Nico was saying the same thing. Like a lot of times plays weren't coming in because Jerry wasn't hitting the button to talk, to communicate. So they were just kind of figuring things out on the fly sometimes.

[Urban Meyer]

So I'm going to throw this at you, Mark, and here's. I've always felt this way. The number one obligation of a coach is to get your guys to make sure that. To make sure they're health and saf safety. That's by far number one. Number two, get them to play hard, whatever. Dangle the carrot, Scare them, push them, make them love you, make them hate you. But when they put the foot in the ground to go as hard as you possibly can, I went back and watched because I had to. I wanted to make sure I was speaking correctly. They looked awful against New Mexico. I mean, like Mac, you know, like Mac players. And I shouldn't say it because Mac has great players, but awful. And then you flip on the film and they are the better team. They're player harder, they're playing harder, they're better coach and I'd say better players than Penn State. And we know what that roster looks like.

[Mark Ingram]

Wow.

[Urban Meyer]

So that's a. That, that's a credit to what went on in that locker room.

[Mark Ingram]

No, 100% coach. The team is a direct reflection of your coach. So when you have a coach who cares about your players, put you in the best position to be successful, and loves his players, you're going to have a team that wants to run through a brick wall for you. When a team respects their coach, knows their coach cares about them, there's nothing that that team won't do as far as playing hard with effort, toughness and a great attitude to do their best, ability to win the game. So it's crucial the coach, player, relationship. And you know how they pour into the team because you are a direct reflection of, of your coach and shout out to UCLA and shout out to coach because they played their ass off last week, man, and they balled out for show.

[Rob Stone]

And again, Jerry Newel saying they had about two days to put in the offense versus Penn State. Do you remember who he went up against? Who Penn State's defensive coordinator is? Oh, this guy who's the highest paid defensive coordinator in the nation, Jim Knowles.

[Urban Meyer]

Yeah.

[Rob Stone]

And he gets that result, gets those points, gets that out of his players. Really impressive. Now the UCLA brass is like great. Now we gotta, now we gotta consider this, this kid, it looks like he just got off the Malibu beach with the long block, blonde, blonde hair flowing. And now we gotta put him on the list of interview candidates. By the way, did Rick ever play guitar for you, coach?

[Urban Meyer]

Oh, probably 40 or 50 times on the beach. Oh yeah, on the Nike trips he always did. Oh my goodness. I sank a putt in on me last year. A 15 footer to win the Peach bowl challenge. But I'll just throw that out.

[Rob Stone]

Always comes back to golf with you at some point. Chicken, steak or fish or golf. What is it going to come to? All right, let's continue our conversation around what's going on with the Texas's and the Penn states of the world. We're approaching kind of midterms for college football right now. And the parody that we're seeing is it's off the charts, it's unprecedented. Let's kind of set the stage. How about this guys? We talked about preseason number one, Texas, preseason number two, Penn State. Let's throw preseason number four Clemson in here as well. Those three teams, wow, not only are they not ranked, they are a combined eight and seven. But wow, just one in seven versus power four teams. You know what that one win is? Clemson over North Carolina last Saturday, Bill Belichick, things going from worse to worser. All the great names we talked about, wow, preseason for the Heisman. Nussmeier, Arch Clubnick. Jeremiah Love is starting to get back there. Lenore Love is South Carolina, DJ Lagway. These were all heavy names in the Heisman preseason conversation. They have certainly slipped out. And a bunch of dudes that we weren't talking about.

[Mark Ingram]

Jeremiah Love's name should not be in there.

[Rob Stone]

He's still, he's still in the conversation. But that, that slow start by Notre Dame hurt them. So coach, you used to like to say there was roughly eight, eight teams that had a legit chance to win the college football national championship. It feels like that number has expanded a little bit this year.

[Urban Meyer]

It is. I actually did a little homework on that. I used to call it the Elite eight and I would share it with our team and say these are the, the peoples that we have to compete against. You know, you had the normal Alabama Ohio State, Wolverines and you know, whomever, Georgia maybe. And then you had every once in a while TCU show up in there or another program show up, you know, a Penn State show up in there. But now I went through this and I'm counting over 30 teams that can still take a swing and get in the 30, 30 teams now. I mean, there's some that are long shots, you know, I, you all know these five. And oh, but they're five.

[Rob Stone]

They're five. And oh, that puts them in the.

[Urban Meyer]

Conversation and, and that's without studying the personnel and all that. But there's 30 teams, Mark, which it's true, Coach. All you have to do is get.

[Mark Ingram]

To your conference championship.

[Urban Meyer]

I want to throw this out here. There's a big question, why? And I know it's coming up here and I just wrote this down. You know, the first question. The last five years of my career at Ohio State, when the pro scouts came into my office, Mark and Rob, they would sit down, every one of them. It used to be about, how do they handle cover2? How did, how, how they get off releases when they're a bump and run? And how do they handle this? How they handle this? You know what the number one question was? And it was, how do they handle money? Because the majority, this is a. Several scouts told me this. The majority of football players lose their stinger when they get paid. And I was like, wait, when I say lose their stinger, that means to play the game. When Mark Ingram, if I was coaching Mark, I try to find a way to piss him off or make him hungry. Yeah, because I don't want to motivate your players because I don't know how you play the game unless you're pissed off or hungry. It's too violent, it's too tough. This isn't all due respect to shooting three points and stuff like, this is different. This is a violent, tough ass game. You better be pissed and you better be hungry. And that's what I'm hearing out there, is there's a little loss of that hunger.

[Mark Ingram]

Yeah, Coach. I mean, imagine having seven figures in college. Like, I don't know if I'd be the same person who I am to this day. You know what I mean? So finding a way to motivate kids, seeing if kids truly do love football. Because even if money does come with football, you're still going to have a passion to be the best person at what you do. You're still going to have a passion to be the greatest football player you could possibly be. And that's why the character traits come into play more when you're recruiting a. When you're scouting a kid for the NFL or you're. You're bringing a kid in for the. Through the transfer portal. What is important to this kid? Who is surrounding him? What matters to him?

[Rob Stone]

I like that they lost their stinger.

[Urban Meyer]

Right.

[Rob Stone]

The stinger used to be. Try to get to the NFL and get that right.

[Urban Meyer]

It was, you know, when we used to recruit Lake Okeechobee and Belglade and they call it the muck down there. It was Bel, Clay, Pohoki, those areas and Charlie Strong first. It was the best players in the country. You know why, Mark? They were hungry.

[Mark Ingram]

It was the only way to get.

[Rob Stone]

Out hungry to get me in there.

[Urban Meyer]

And said, this is how do you eat? And I saw it now family's depending on me.

[Rob Stone]

Yeah.

[Urban Meyer]

Now I'm a college kid, 19 years old. I'm driving around, whatever I want to drive. I'm. I'm not worried about a meal. I'm not worried about my house. I am. I have people telling you're not.

[Mark Ingram]

These kids are owning houses, they're owning vehicles. They got money in the bank and I love that for them because Blake Corum was in at Michigan. What he was doing with his money was great, but he still had the passion, desire to be the best he could be. Bijan Robinson did great with Nil. Still had the passion to be the best, to be what he wants to be. So every single kid, it doesn't apply to, but you have to be able to make sure you find the right type of character, individual, especially when they're making this kind of money before they get to the pros.

[Urban Meyer]

And then last thing I'll close with this Ralph, where I hand it off to you, related that when you're hungry, what happens when you eat? You're not hungry anymore. That's how people would equate it to me and say, tell me about this guy. What's going to happen when so and so gets paid? Yeah. And I saw about half my players and I talked to them. They got paid.

[Mark Ingram]

Yeah.

[Urban Meyer]

So they're, you know, that that way of survival is no longer survival now. Now for the unique view that it doesn't matter if you're rich or not. I mean, you're still a dog. So I don't know.

[Mark Ingram]

You get that money, it's cool. But you want more of that money. And the only way you get more of that money is by eating even more greedier. So yeah. You got to make sure you got the right one. You fear me.

[Rob Stone]

That's right. If you want that bananas foster for dessert, you got to keep fighting. You got to keep grinding. All right, so. So getting paid, losing the stinger, that's still. That. That's part of this conversation. I think another big part of it is the transfer portal. Just a couple examples, right? Virginia. What a great season Virginia is having. Like, I know the Friday night win at home over Florida State was. Was that trigger, but they've been able to continue it sitting in the top 25. They brought in eight defensive backs. Right. We're just throwing some numbers out here. Illinois, again, not a traditional power. They brought in six edge and DL players. Florida State knew they had to figure some things out. They got three starting offensive linemen from the portal. Also their starting quarterback, Indiana, also got starting quarterback. Also got their leading running back and got two starters on the offensive line. Mizzou, they went to Penn State, picked up their backup quarterback, Prabula. Now he's a Heisman favorite. Mizzou is undefeated. So a lot of these teams are dipping into the portal and doing it correctly, Mark. Not just getting guys, getting the right guys that are the right guys for the right spot at the right time.

[Mark Ingram]

Texas Tech, Bingo. Miami. Like, these are just a few of the teams that are, like, up here in this conversation. So when you identify the transfer portal is. I think it's a great tool. Obviously, you want to build within your program, recruit the right players. But when you have positions of need, you go out there and you get them in the transfer portal. You get the right player who fits the culture, the right player who is hungry, has that chip on their shoulder. You can change your roster around. We're seeing it. You mentioned it. Mizzou, Texas Tech, Miami going to get Carson, Beck and a few of their players on defense. You can change your. You could change the trajectory of your program by identifying the correct player and making sure that they fit your system. And so we're seeing that with Illinois. We're seeing that with Mizzou, we're seeing that. We with Texas Tech, Virginia. You know, let me.

[Urban Meyer]

Let me add to that mark. So here's two things that happen. First of all, when the transfer portal has taken the rich and the third, second and third stringers like Prula leave.

[Mark Ingram]

Yep.

[Urban Meyer]

Okay. There's a lot to unpack there. Number one, you're losing a good player and you're losing depth. But we're all human beings. Drew Aller with PRA right behind him. Is a much different player than someone that's not very. And I don't know who's behind them, but I. I saw that last year. Yeah, If I was James Franklin, I'd be playing Prula like it did Tim Tebow and Chris Leake. I'm rotating them.

[Mark Ingram]

Well, they had packages for Bula. There was moments where Drew Aller was coming off the field.

[Urban Meyer]

So human element is.

[Rob Stone]

And they lost him during the college football playoffs. He has to.

[Urban Meyer]

I had Chase Young and Nick Bosa. You know who's with them? Jalen Holmes and Sam Hubbard. They. They were right behind him. So if you want to take a playoff, pal. All good. Good luck in here. Yeah, there's a draft pick right behind you.

[Mark Ingram]

And that's what you're seeing with the Portal. These. These like Alabama, Georgia, how they used to just stockpile All Americans that were 3 3rd on the depth chart. That's not happening anymore in college football. That kid, if he's third on the depth chart, he's going to find somebody in the portal is coming to get him, and you're going to find a better opportunity. And they're leaving. That's why you're seeing a parody in college football, because you're not having All Americans three deep on the roster anymore. They're leaving for a better opportunity. And so it's good. It's good. It's good and bad.

[Rob Stone]

You know, it's.

[Mark Ingram]

It's pros and cons, for sure.

[Rob Stone]

You know what's really interesting, too, is and. And coach, you know this, when you got those, I. I bet you had a bunch of gas, right? And you're just like, all right, go do this, right? Like, I don't know, go do good. Some. Some of these guys, you just had to probably find a little bit of busy work for. There's no. There's no time for busy work right now. Those gas. Those assistants are being told, hey, go watch the SEC, right? Let's say you're in the Big Ten, go watch the SEC True Statement and find dudes who are 3, 4, 5 on the depth chart or guys who look like they're not getting enough playing time that can help us next year.

[Urban Meyer]

So how about this is happening as well.

[Rob Stone]

Yes. Spending this amount of time watching dudes who aren't playing.

[Urban Meyer]

So you know what's happening now, too, is when you go play a game, they have assistant coaches that will go watch the team warm up and size them up. So you go look at the backup offense line and warm up. And during the game.

[Mark Ingram]

Warm ups. Hey, nobody used to watch that 42 to 7 game. Now they watching them because guess what? Somebody that potentially can help your roster is playing in that game.

[Rob Stone]

It's just crazy. I think the. The other thing with the money with the transfer portal, Coach, is that we're seeing less and less of people leaving early. You're seeing more guys stick around their college program. Maybe it's their first, second. Well, that's. That's it. If, if you look at the underclassman, the NFL draft, if you go from 20, 2018 to 2025, every year, it goes down. So like 2018, 106 underclassmen went to the NFL draft the next year, down to 103, and then to 99 in 2021, down to 98. Every year it's going down. Then a big jump. 2022. Only 73 underclassmen went to the NFL draft, then to 69, then to 54 last year, bumped up by one. But now we're in the mid 55s instead of talking the low one hundreds.

[Mark Ingram]

Yeah, man. Hey, you get the chance to go back to school, earn a degree.

[Urban Meyer]

Earn a degree also, mark and make some money.

[Rob Stone]

Coach, come on.

[Urban Meyer]

You don't make money until your second contract in the NFL. I'm not talking about the bonus babies, but the majority of drafted players really make much less than college football players until you get that second contract. Think about that.

[Mark Ingram]

Yep.

[Urban Meyer]

And some. There's that hunger. There's the hunger that we're talking about.

[Mark Ingram]

Some of these kids will never play a snap in the NFL. You go back to your college, you go return for another year, you probably would have been undrafted. Now you're making 650, 750. You know what I mean? Close to a million, maybe more. So, hey, man, like the N. Carson.

[Urban Meyer]

Beck, how many years he's gonna have to play before he makes the same money he's making at Miami?

[Mark Ingram]

Depends on what pick he goes.

[Urban Meyer]

Yeah, he might go early, though.

[Mark Ingram]

Depends on what pick he goes.

[Rob Stone]

Coach, regardless, he's gonna be just fine.

[Mark Ingram]

Hey, you get up in that top 10, you. You talking about that, that, that money.

[Rob Stone]

Generational money, man. Generational money.

[Mark Ingram]

Real money. That, that, that, that paper.

[Rob Stone]

Yeah. So coach was talking about, usually there's maybe an elite 8 of programs that could win a national title. Now because of the bags, now because of the portal, because of everything that college has to offer, we're seeing that list expand. We're going to talk more about that and also hit some of this week's big matchups when the triple option, presented by Wendy's returns. Welcome back to the triple option presented by Wendy's. Rob Urban. Mark. Mark, how was your lift this morning? Did you get a good lift in.

[Mark Ingram]

Crucial Shout out to my boy Gilliam, you know what I mean? Went to the gym. Got real righteous. Got that pump in.

[Rob Stone]

Oh, look at those guns.

[Mark Ingram]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's for show. It's for show. And it's for dough, too. You know that.

[Rob Stone]

Coach time now.

[Mark Ingram]

You good over there, Coach?

[Urban Meyer]

Yeah, I got someone trying to get there. Where? It's palm tree day today.

[Rob Stone]

Oh, man, you good.

[Mark Ingram]

You need me to go handle your.

[Rob Stone]

People who live in Florida know what palm tree day is?

[Urban Meyer]

Him.

[Rob Stone]

Right. So who's talking to you right now? Is that Queen Shelley talking to you?

[Urban Meyer]

No, who's bugging you?

[Rob Stone]

Who's bugging you right now?

[Urban Meyer]

Coach, the guy wants my number here real fast.

[Rob Stone]

What? All right, we're going to carry on without coach for a moment. Somebody. Somebody's showing up in coach's basement. Just randomly showing up in coach's basement, trying to get his phone number. What are we doing here, Mark? I don't let people in my basement that I.

[Mark Ingram]

It's palm tree day, man. It's the officials down here, Mark.

[Rob Stone]

Listen, if you're in my basement, you already have my phone number.

[Mark Ingram]

Is not. And you know, this is Florida, so it's not a true basement. It's just like an extra level. People who are very fortunate, you know, get paid, man.

[Rob Stone]

Those palm trees, by the way, you don't have to clean those palm trees.

[Mark Ingram]

Listen, there's no basements in Florida because if you get under the water.

[Rob Stone]

Low level.

[Mark Ingram]

Yeah, yeah. Oh, he just is. The coach is very fortunate, thanks to Florida and Ohio State and many other places. And he has the extra level that he calls a basement, but ain't no basement. But it ain't a basement.

[Rob Stone]

Ain't no basement. It's a Florida. It's a Florida basement.

[Mark Ingram]

It's a Florida basement. Which means you got that. That money.

[Rob Stone]

This is great. I. I want to talk about the palm tree cleaners in Florida so bad, but we'll. We'll save that for another edition of the triple option. All right, time now to go three and out. Guys, we've got a question. And I Love this. Cole Marie619.

[Mark Ingram]

Hey, Cole Marie619. That means they from SDSD San Diego, baby.

[Rob Stone]

They start off yelling, hey, hey, next week I'd love to hear each of your three dark horse college football playoff teams. And why does it matter where they come from? So coach was talking earlier in the show that typically there's eight teams that really can make a run for the national title again. With the college football playoffs expanded to 12 and now with the portal and nil and everything changing, there are definitely some dark horse teams that can get themselves to the postseason. So Mark, as always, I'm going to go last because I like to save a couple stingers for you, right? Cause I still got my stinger, coach. I got my stinger. I'm going to let Mark start in the muck with a couple dark horse teams that can make the playoffs.

[Mark Ingram]

Starting to muck a mug boy. A couple of dark horses. So if you want to talk dark horses, we got to start group of five first. Okay? In group of five, the two teams are standing out. To me, we all know how USF has started their season at a high level. They're only losses to Miami, who is the number two team in the country. So you got to grow group of five, you got to go usf possibly Memphis. So those are two people to look out for in the group of five. Now everyone counted Notre Dame out, they're three and two. They find a way to run the table. There's going to be some losses and some, you know, damage. At the top of the list, they find a way to get in with two losses if they run the table. Cuz why the gold helmets and the brand and Notre Dame, they have their own slot in the College Football playoff. So they continue to do their thing.

[Rob Stone]

Somewhere I can hear Brady Quinn arguing right now, like complaining like, of course.

[Urban Meyer]

No, of course we belong there.

[Rob Stone]

We're an elite organization. I do love Jeremiah year in and year out.

[Mark Ingram]

They got two bags. Jeremiah Love and Jadaria Price. I'm big fans but, you know, we'll see. So that's three dark horses for you there then if you want me to go to the Big 12. The cream of the crop right now is Texas Tech. The that money that they spend on their roster, they look for real, they're running the football at a high level. They got great quarterback play. Not one, but two quarterbacks. And their defense looks to be top of the line. So right there, there's four dark horses for you to keep an eye out on.

[Rob Stone]

Yeah, we only asked for three. We only asked for three. Mark Ingram, he over delivers with four.

[Mark Ingram]

I'm always put a little whipped cream with the, the strawberry on top. I'm a strawberry guy, not a cherry.

[Rob Stone]

Coach, Coach, give me three teams that are Dark horses to get in the college football playoffs.

[Urban Meyer]

I was just following along there. So I got Texas Tech. I think there's certainly a playoff team. And what I like to do, Mark, you'll recall that every game, I mean, in the sec, you just go out and size them up. And I try to do that when we go on the road. A big noon. I sized up Texas Tech. I think they can compete in the sec. I really do. I think they got body types, they got speed, they got some depth of quarterback we saw right in front of us. And they put it to Utah that day. Next, I got Notre Dame. Notre Dame's got a schedule where they're not playing a ranked team as of now the rest of the season. I can't believe that. Notre Dame used to always play ranked teams every week. And then finally byu. I don't know a ton about them yet. There's a chance the old Big Noon might be making their way out there again. But BYU in the Big 12, I see them Texas Tech and then I see Notre Dame.

[Rob Stone]

So we got a bit of a.

[Mark Ingram]

I know you like to wait for everyone to say their take so you can get yours in. It's your turn now.

[Rob Stone]

Yeah. Well, here's the problem with batting cleanup with you guys is a lot of times you take all the good ones, right? So there's only one team in the nation that has yet to trail at any point this season.

[Urban Meyer]

Tech.

[Rob Stone]

Texas Tech. Number nine, Texas Tech. So we all agree, Texas Tech is one of those teams. They're five and oh, they're two big games home to number 21, Arizona State next week. And then, coach, you mentioned BYU. They are at, at unbeaten BYU November 8th. I agree with you guys on Notre Dame. They beat Boise State over the weekend. They're now at three and two, which isn't that sexy. But it's a three game winning streak. They moved up number five spots to number 16 again, the brand of those golden helmets, right? Well, it's Notre Dame and they won. Of course, we got to move them up. So they took a big jump. Their schedule, you guys talked about it and it's. You're right, it's legit runnable, right? North Carolina State this week, then USC also home. That's the test, right? USC's got a bye week coming into their game against Michigan this Saturday. Let's find out how good USC really is. And then what's left for Notre Dame at a bad BC team this year versus Navy, who's always tricky against the Irish at Pitt, who just Got blown out versus Syracuse. Who knows what coach Brown is up to with Syracuse. That could be tricky than at Stanford. So I agree that's a pretty manageable one. Let me throw the third one out at you. And coach is going to like this one. 13th rank Georgia Tech.

[Mark Ingram]

Tech.

[Urban Meyer]

Yeah, I like that.

[Rob Stone]

Nasty Georgia Tech 5. And I like that a lot. No ranked teams on their schedule until the regular season finale versus Georgia in Atlanta. It's. It looks like Georgia Tech should be in the ACC championship game at this point. And even, even a loss to Georgia, even a loss in the ACC championship game, that would be a two game losing streak. So not great. But if they get a split, I think Georgia Tech's in the college football playoffs. No problem. Let us know what you think. Send us a comment, send us a thought, send us more questions. We love to respond to them. Time now.

[Mark Ingram]

A super dark horse.

[Rob Stone]

Super dark.

[Mark Ingram]

Why?

[Rob Stone]

You got another one? You already gave us four. You're going to give us a fifth or are you just saying four?

[Mark Ingram]

I'm just say keep a peek for Arizona State with Sam Levitt out there.

[Urban Meyer]

I'll buy that.

[Rob Stone]

I'll buy that. So Mark's giving you. We asked for three, Mark gives you five. Yeah, that's the kind of guy he is.

[Mark Ingram]

Two strawberries on top.

[Rob Stone]

We're going up tempo, guys. Two minute drill, right? We're cracking, we're moving. Two Minute Drill is brought to you by FanDuel. Visit FanDuel.com triple option to download the app and take advantage of a 50% profit boost. Today we're going to start with Mark's Crimson Tide at on the road at Mizzou. Bama favored by three and a half. The over under 50, three and a half.

[Mark Ingram]

Mark, man, listen, man, we got another one. We got a chance to prove ourselves again and you're going to have to because you got Bo Probula. We know how he can be dangerous with his arms and his legs actually as a quarterback. So another challenge for this Alabama defense who has not been great stopping the run, but I'm very proud of how they responded last week because they gave up a 65 yard touchdown early in the game but kind of was stout after that. I think team Tim Keenan coming back, being the leader, the anchor of that defensive line. I think he. I think they've been playing with a new kind of energy, a new kind of swagger and everything's not always perfect. But they turned the ball over twice last week against Diego Pavo and Vanderbilt and they stopped the run. Other than that Long run by Cedric Alexander early in the game. And then I think offensively, Ty Simpson is playing like one of the best players in the nation right now. The, the playmakers that we have on the outside, Ryan Williams, Jeremy Bernard, Isaiah Horton, Jam Miller went for 136 yards and a touchdown last week. So I think this team is starting to click at the right moment. Now Missouri is undefeated. They play really good defense, they play really good offense. And we're going to their, we're going to their place. So they're, they're going to be ready to roll. But I, I like my, I like Alabama to cover the points just because I think that they playing with a chip on their shoulder. They're playing with a new swagger. They're playing with a new identity. And they have a tough opponent in Missouri Tigers. They're for real. They're undefeated for a reason. With Ahmad Hardy, you talk about being able to stop the run. Ahmad Hardy is one of them dogs. Missouri's running back. If you haven't watched him, you need to watch him because he's going to be a treat to watch. And he's, He's a special player and he could give Alabama a lot of problems. But with all that being said, I take minus three and a half. I take the points. I lay the points with the crunch. The Tide today, I mean.

[Rob Stone]

All right. Top. Saturday, Saturday, top 10 showdown. Are you done?

[Mark Ingram]

No.

[Urban Meyer]

You.

[Rob Stone]

You want one more Alabama?

[Mark Ingram]

I'll give a piss about nothing but the Tide.

[Rob Stone]

There we go. Thank you, Coach. You're up.

[Urban Meyer]

I got number three, Oregon. Oregon minus nine and five. Nine point five. It's starting.

[Rob Stone]

Hanging out with Dave Portnoy too long. You're pronouncing Oregon the way Dave does.

[Mark Ingram]

Oregon.

[Rob Stone]

Oregon.

[Urban Meyer]

All right. Oregon minus 95. But it's gone down. And I always trust Vegas. It's amazing over my career how many times in someone said, boy, do you see what's happened here with this? No, not so much my career, but post career watching what's happened with point spreads. And now it's eight and a half. So something's going on. A comment about Oregon. So Oregon played for two national titles. I watched them. I think it was Auburn, right, With Cam Newton. Am I correct there? And then the second one was against the Buckeyes. Us. And they never had the line in the trenches. They always had great skill, but guess what they got now they have that line. So Oregon, you know, it's hard to. It's them and Buckeyes to me are the two best Teams in the country. However, Indiana has also matched them in the offense line. We watched them, me and Jerry DiNardo this weekend. Really close. They're not as athletic as Oregon, but they're big. I'm going to pick Oregon to win the game, but I think it's going to be a little closer than eight and a half. I bet it comes down to seven and a half in the next couple days. I think it's going to be a pretty good street fight. You know why IU doesn't make mistakes? They tackle you, they keep the ball in front of you on defense, they don't turn the ball over and they move the chain. So I think it's going to be a great ball game.

[Rob Stone]

Interesting. Both teams coming off of buys. Indiana moving up one spot to number seven. Oregon, off that rousing win at Penn State, able to kind of breathe, take it in, come down, and then now build themselves back up again. By the way, we're talking a top. This. This still seems weird to me. A top ten showdown from the Big Ten. It's Indiana at Oregon. You're like, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, that's not. No, that's not. Rob. No Rob. But it is. It's legit.

[Urban Meyer]

It is.

[Rob Stone]

It is the job. Kurt Signetti. You know, it could have been so easy to just google him. My guy, Google one year at Indiana be like, that's pretty good year. Good job, coach. Good job. He's showing that he can sustain it right now. He gets a win at Oregon. Laud Indiana is a legit national title.

[Mark Ingram]

Man, he recruited me in high school. I'm recruiting, I'm rooting for him, man.

[Rob Stone]

It's hard. It's hard to root against him, right? It's easy to google him. It's hard to root against him. All right, I've got Red river rivalry from the Cotton Bowl. Number six, Oklahoma versus unranked Texas. Still feels weird to say that Texas guys favored by two and a half over under 40. Two and a half. Curious. Will Sark let Florida beat the Longhorns two weeks in a row? Like James Franklin let Oregon beat Penn State two weeks in a row? Or is this that. Is that that smack? Is that that that hit that wakes up Texas and they finally come alive again? I think Texas is just too damn good not to be in the top 25. Arch Mannings got to figure things out. Two interceptions last week. Took six sacks as well. Led them in rushing again. We talked about Texas needing to get healthy at the running back spot. You can't count on Arch Manning to lead you in rushing. He had 15 carries for 37 yards. That's not going to win it against Oklahoma. That's not going to win it against a lot of teams. Oklahoma down one spot to number six. They absolutely throttled Kent State last week at home. 44 nothing. Again. They're doing it right now without John Mattier. Had that thumb surgery. It certainly looks like he's going to be out for the Texas game. He might even be out for the next game versus South Carolina as well. So they brought in Michael Hawkins. Got his first start of the season. Did pretty well. 14 to 24, 162. Three touchdowns through the air. Also ran one in with his legs. No interceptions. Big one. They need a rush game right to back him up. Tory Blaylock, Jaden Ott. They combine for 127 yards. That's good enough. But you know what's what we're not talking about what's up for Oklahoma.

[Mark Ingram]

Talk to me.

[Rob Stone]

Defense. That's. That's Brett Benville's bread and butter. Right? Like we've been, we've been given Ohio State their flowers for their defense. Deservedly so. Don't sleep on the Oklahoma defense right now. Number two scoring D in the land. How many points a game, guys, do you think Oklahoma is allowing this season?

[Mark Ingram]

12.

[Rob Stone]

Remember they just shut out Kent State.

[Urban Meyer]

12.

[Rob Stone]

Lower 8. Lower 6. 7.2 points per game.

[Mark Ingram]

The number one touchdown a game.

[Rob Stone]

A touchdown. Again. The number one total defense in the land. 190 yards per game. They're allowing. You want more laud? Give me another LOD because they have 21 sacks this season.

[Mark Ingram]

Have mercy.

[Rob Stone]

21 sacks. Tied for second in the nation. I'm taking the under and I like Oklahoma to cover inside the cotton ball. One of the great scenes for college football. Before we go, we want to let all of our Michigan fans out there know, coach, I know you're one of them, right. That the team up north is going to be hosting the athletes first tailgate tour. It will be in Ann arbor Thursday night, October 16th from 5 to 8pm Ahead of the Wolverines showdown against Washington. That game will be on Fox. And a noon kickoff. Head on over to the Fiji house. My dad was a Fiji. The Fijis know how to get after it, man. The Fijis know how to get after it. So head to the Fiji house. House. Epic free tailgate. We got food, got drinks, got music. Special NFL guest as well as a live show of the blueprint hosted by our good friend Jake Butt. Man, Jake does his work, man. Jake knows college football. Jake knows ball.

[Mark Ingram]

Jake knows ball.

[Rob Stone]

Jake knows ball. Follow subscribe rate us on YouTube, Apple Podcast, Spotify Wherever it is you get your podcast, you can find us on social media at 3X option show. Send us your questions, send us your comments. Hit like Share. Subscribe. Do all that great stuff.

[Mark Ingram]

Tell your mama.

[Rob Stone]

See you next week on the triple option. Before that, love Mark Right to Bananas Foster and to all of our great sponsors, Wendy's FanDuel and ZipRecruiter. Enjoy all the football that Week 7 has to offer.