The Triple Option LIVE from Columbus ahead of Penn State vs. Ohio State

Summary

The Triple Option: LIVE from Columbus – Penn State vs. Ohio State Preview

Podcast: The Triple Option
Hosts: Urban Meyer, Mark Ingram II, Rob Stone
Episode: LIVE from Columbus ahead of Penn State vs. Ohio State
Date: October 31, 2025

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Episode Overview

Broadcast live from Urban Meyer’s Pint House in Dublin, Ohio, this episode of The Triple Option dives deep into the new era of college football. Urban Meyer, Mark Ingram II, and Rob Stone unpack the ever-changing landscape—focusing on Ohio State’s dominance, the aftermath of conference realignment and NIL, and previewing the much-anticipated Ohio State vs. Penn State matchup. They field live fan questions, break down locker room culture, and even welcome special guest Dave Portnoy (Barstool Sports) for a rivalry-laden start to the show.

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1. College Football Rivalries and Guest Banter

[00:00–13:43]

Opening Energy & Costumes

• Live audience welcomes, with Rob Stone rallying the Columbus crowd and introducing co-hosts Mark Ingram II and Urban Meyer.
• Audience participation includes someone dressed up as Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh for Halloween, sparking friendly rivalry banter.

Barstool’s Dave Portnoy Appearance

• Dave Portnoy appears dressed as Jim Harbaugh, escalating the Michigan–Ohio State rivalry talk.
• Portnoy: “This is the easiest game we have on the schedule” (04:05)
• Urban teases about his collection of gold pants, referencing the tradition for OSU players who beat Michigan.
• Portnoy on the rivalry cycle:
  “It's a cyclical rivalry... Urban had his run. And right now, it’s our turn. I can't wait till November. That's the only game [against Ohio State] where I just go W. I pencil it in.” (04:54)
• They riff on the rivalry’s emotional stakes, both for coaches and fans.

Quick Pivot to Big Ten Rankings and LSU Drama

• Portnoy gives his Big Ten top 5: “Indiana and Ohio State 1-2, Oregon at three, then Michigan and Iowa. USC’s in the mix.” (08:53)
• The hosts discuss the news of LSU’s governor involving himself in the university’s athletic hiring:
  • Urban: “...what concerns me is, as a coach, if I’m not hip to hip with my AD... My concern at LSU—which is one of the top five jobs in America—[is that] a great coach is going to say, ‘I’m not sure. I’m not going to do that.’” (12:27)

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2. Ohio State: Defense, Offense & Locker Room Culture

[13:43–24:59]

Defensive Transformation

• Rob highlights Ohio State’s defensive dominance: “They've pitched two shutouts, six times held the opposition to single digits, allowed only 41 points in total, trailed just twice all year.” (13:43)
• Urban praises DC Matt Patricia’s leadership and versatility:
  “The best defensive coaches are the ones that know what the offense is thinking. ...The players love him. He loves it here. This is like, he’s been reborn.” (14:10)

Quarterback Play and Offensive Adjustments

• Mark Ingram discusses the development of QB Julian Sayin:
  “They’re taking the training wheels off... He made great throws, great decisions, and you kind of just see them opening up the playbook.” (16:03)
• Ingram, on the impact of Alabama transfers: “We were devastated when we lost [Julian] Sayin and Caleb Downs… He has leadership qualities—everything you want in a quarterback.” (16:16)

Coaching Strategy

• Urban outlines game-planning processes and the importance of culture and recruiting post-championship:
  • “The job of the head coach is not to score points but to win games. ...Against Penn State, what’s that number? New quarterback... I’d say 30, but deep down, 21 points wins you the game.” (19:17)
• Ingram: “Why are they so good? They're coached extremely well…by having great recruiting, by building a foundation in the culture.” (19:29)

Managing Post-Championship Pressure

• Rob: “For a lot of programs, following in the footsteps of a national championship team can be intimidating. Here, it’s like last year is actually benefitting this team's culture.” (20:06)
• Urban on Ryan Day:
  “Coach Day is a person that has the weight of the world...somewhat off his back, because he got that natty. He’s legitimized. And I see a team that is just…he looks healthier. ...He trusts the infrastructure and culture.” (20:49, 21:09)
  "The best thing at Ohio State is the infrastructure—the best recruiting GM, the best strength and conditioning... Now he can focus on managing the team." (21:09)

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3. Turning Points & Locker Room Dynamics

[22:14–26:44]

Leadership & Locker Room Impact

• Ingram on coaching transitions: “You gotta be yourself…You have to put your own personality and demeanor on this team.” (22:41)
• Ohio State’s 2024 turning point: their loss to Michigan spurred a player-driven turnaround and championship run.
  “After they lost that game, they haven’t looked back ever since. ...Their turning point was that Michigan Game. Ours at Bama was losing to you in the SEC Championship.” (22:41)
• Urban: “Your locker room gets exposed not when you win, but when you lose…Ohio State’s locker room and culture got exposed when they lost to the Wolverines—then they won 11 straight.” (23:45)
• Penn State’s response to adversity is critiqued: “I have a lot of respect for their talent…but do I have respect for the locker room? It is what it is. You can blame Franklin, but at some point, what goes on in the locker room matters.” (24:59)

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4. Rivalry Rankings & College Football Culture

[28:04–31:23]

Top College Football Rivalries

• Spurred by a Google trend: “What is the oldest rivalry in college football?” (28:04)
• Ingram: “That Iron Bowl is nasty…then Ohio State–Michigan, that’s one-two.” (28:18)
• Urban’s order: 3. Texas–Texas A&M, 2. Iron Bowl (Alabama–Auburn), 1. Ohio State–Michigan (“the greatest rivalry in all the sport”). (28:58)
• Rob drops “El Clasico” (Real Madrid–Barcelona) and UNC–Duke basketball for comparison, but ultimately calls Ohio State–Michigan the best rivalry in sports. (30:27, 31:06)

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5. Fan Q&A: Playoffs, Pressure, The Rivalry, and the Eye Test

[35:15–58:21]

On Playoff Expansion

• Q: Thoughts on a 24-team playoff?
• Urban: “Whatever we come up with, eliminate the committee…have it play in. NFL-style. No more committee decisions.” (36:07)
• Rob: “With NIL parity, I’m for expansion. Don’t want to see it shrink to 12.”
• Ingram: “It should be just like the NFL playoffs…you win your division, you’re in.” (37:40)

Handling Pressure as #1

• Q: How does a coach keep a team focused when everyone calls them number one?
• Urban: “Tuesday’s practice should be so hard that...they’re worried about getting in the training room, not social media.” (38:48)
• “The biggest enemy for Ohio State is Ohio State.” (39:53)

The Eye Test and Running Up the Score

• Q: Ohio State isn’t running up the score—does it hurt them in the rankings?
• Ingram: “If I’m Ryan Day, I’m taking my starters out because I don’t want to risk injury...my eye test: we won again.” (40:49)
• Urban: “If I was Signetti at Indiana, I’m trying to score 100. At Ohio State, I care less about the eye test. When in control, work on areas you’re not elite.” (42:13)

The Michigan Hurdle

• Q: What does it take to beat Michigan—especially after recent struggles?
• Urban: “You gotta play free, loose…I’d say last year was a perfect example. They just didn’t play their best.” (46:27)
• “It’s 0–0 when that game starts. I don’t care about records.” (47:41)
• Ingram: “You can feel the tension...Don’t be conservative, go win the game—not just ‘don’t screw up.’” (47:51)

Ohio State vs. Michigan—Staff & Culture

• The pressure of the rivalry for coaches; Rob: “That Michigan [game is] hanging over Day’s head every day. That’s his last hurdle.” (44:52)
• Ingram: “You get fired behind that [rivalry game] here.” (45:04)

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6. Big Ten Power Ranking & Previewing Penn State vs. Ohio State

[49:15–58:21]

Big Ten & National Contenders

• Fan asks which looks the best: Indiana, Texas A&M, or Ohio State?
• Urban: “A&M worries me. They might be the best team in the country…But Ohio State’s earned #1. Indiana is extremely well coached, but I don’t see the same twitch [explosive talent] as Ohio State or A&M.” (49:15)

Game Preview: Penn State at Ohio State

• Buckeyes are 20.5-point favorites.
• Ingram: “Defense is just dogs. Julian Sayin’s a beast. I see Ohio State rolling easily, but 20.5 is heavy.” (53:23)
• Rob: “Penn State had title aspirations…with a new QB, they’ll try to slow the game down. But if Ohio State hits them early, they’ll fold. I like Buckeyes 24–6.” (56:48)
• Urban: “I see this as an ass-kicking. You land the points. 35–45 points difference…Penn State walks into a buzzsaw.” (57:11)

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7. Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Portnoy (as Harbaugh), on the rivalry:
  “It's a cyclical rivalry...Urban had his run. And right now, it’s our turn. I can't wait till November. …That’s the only game at the beginning of the year—I just go W. I pencil it in.” (04:54)
• Urban Meyer on pressure:
  "The biggest enemy at Ohio State is Ohio State." (39:53)
  "You get fired behind that [rivalry game] here.” (45:04)
• Ingram, on losing to the rival:
  “Don’t be out here playing conservative and trying...not to mess up. No—go whoop their ass and win the game.” (47:52)
• Urban on culture:
  “Your locker room gets exposed when you lose.” (23:45)
  “The best thing at Ohio State is the infrastructure... Now [Day] can focus on managing the team.” (21:09)

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8. Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:00–02:56] — Show intro, crowd banter, and costume contest
• [03:26–12:56] — Dave Portnoy’s “Harbaugh” appearance, rivalry banter
• [13:43–17:04] — Ohio State’s defense, Matt Patricia, offensive development
• [17:04–24:59] — Coaching strategy, culture, Julian Sayin’s growth
• [28:04–31:23] — Rivalry rankings: Iron Bowl, Ohio State–Michigan, “El Clasico”
• [35:15–39:53] — Q&A: Playoff expansion, handling pressure as #1
• [40:49–42:13] — Q&A: The eye test and throttling back
• [44:42–48:10] — Q&A: Michigan rivalry pressure and what it takes to win
• [49:15–51:59] — Comparing Big Ten contenders and sleeper teams
• [53:23–58:21] — 2-Minute Drill: Penn State vs. Ohio State preview, betting talk

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9. Closing Thoughts

This live episode delivers the in-person electricity of college football, with candid analysis from championship-winning insiders. Urban, Mark, and Rob blend macro takes on college football’s shifting landscape with insider insight on locker rooms, coaching, and rivalry pressure—making the episode an essential listen (or read!) for anyone invested in the sport, especially Ohio State fans ahead of a pivotal weekend.

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Find The Triple Option on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and @3XOptionShow on all social channels for more every Wednesday.

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Transcript

[A]

Foreign is presented by Wendy's. Join team Tendies and enjoy a lineup like never before. Crispy, juicy Tendies now at Wendy's. All right. Good evening, everybody. Welcome to the triple option, presented by Wendy's. Coming your way live from Urban Myers Pint House here in beautiful Dublin, Ohio. Good evening, everybody. How we doing? All right. Not bad. It's going to get louder. I'm Rob Stone. So glad you guys are here with us. I know many of you are getting excited for Saturday's game. The Buckeyes taking on Penn State live on Fox. Big noon. Kickoff will be here. Our show starts at 10am if you're watching this, thank you for watching this live on YouTube. We are a podcast. We're there every week. You can find us on Apple, podcast, Spotify, wherever it is you find your podcast. Everybody here is a subscriber to the triple option, right? All right, we're going to work on that. We're going to work on that noise level a little bit later. You can find us on social media as well at 3X options. Show new episodes every Wednesday on YouTube. And wherever it is you get your podcast, don't forget, leave questions, leave comments. We'd love to answer them. We love to react to them as well. All right, let's bring on my co host, shall we? Um, let's start with Bama guy. We like Alabama here, right? We don't. Well, hold on, hold on. They're not Michigan. They're not Penn State. It's still Alabama. And he's a hell of a nice guy. He's a Heisman trophy winner. He's a national champion. He is Mark Ingram, the second Deuce.

[B]

Deuce.

[A]

Come on up here. Mark, where are you, brother? There he is. That is a slow walk, Mark Ingram. Pick up the pace. Pick up the pace, brother. All right, let's bring on the other gu on this show. I don't know if you've heard of him. He's okay. He kind of knows football. He is a national champion three times. Twice at Florida and once here at the Ohio State. He is an amazing human being. He runs this joint. He runs this town. He is the Urban Meyer. So on the triple option on Wednesday, when we were talking about we're doing the show show live, we said, listen, you know, a firm hit. Firm hit to the rib cage. We talked about, you know, obviously this is the day before Halloween if folks show up and we gave them some ideas. We said, if you're James Franklin or Ryan Day. Who else did we throw out? Connor Stallions you're welcome to the show. Like, we would love to have people dress up, right? I also threw out. I don't know if you remember, I was like, if anybody's dumb enough to show up as Jim Harbaugh, we have a special surprise for them. And guess what?

[B]

Somebody did.

[A]

Somebody showed up as Jim Harbaugh. Yeah, we have. We have Mr. Khaki himself. Everybody put your hands together. Big, warm Columbus welcome for Jim Harbaugh, everybody. Come on up, Coach Harbaugh. There we go. There's the first stealing sign. What's up, Coach? Good to have you here. Good to have you here.

[B]

Welcome Coach Harbaugh in the pint house.

[C]

Now, I know nobody in here is alive the last time Ohio State beat Michigan.

[B]

So here we go.

[C]

Here you go. Some gold pants for the little girl.

[A]

You're scaring her, Coach. You're scaring her.

[B]

Happy Halloween.

[A]

All right, let's put Coach Harbaugh on a headset here. Really brave of you, Coach Harbaugh, to join us.

[D]

Tell them what.

[C]

This is our friendliest territory. This is the easiest game we have on the schedule.

[B]

I love.

[D]

Hey, tell them what you got in there.

[C]

Again, because of gold pants, we got gold pants for everybody in Ohio. Now, I know Urban has a bunch of them, but as we've discussed, they all have mold on them. They're rusty. They're gray.

[B]

I have fresh gold pants.

[C]

I also. Look at this shirt I got. I broke this out for you guys.

[B]

You better have security up here.

[A]

There you go. The countdown continues.

[B]

All right, now, we got a high energy crowd tonight.

[A]

After that, freshly updated Dave. Well done.

[C]

Now, for all you mathematicians, that's close to six years. That's six years.

[A]

Hey, Coach Harbaugh, real quick, Coach Harbaugh, how many times did you beat Urban Meyer when he was in charge of the Buckeyes?

[C]

You know, I got diagnosed with Alzheimer's. I can't go that far back. I can't go that far back. He showed me a game up there. I was at the game. Listen, it's a cyclical rivalry. I went to school when John Cooper was there, so we won a lot. Then obviously, Urban had his run. And right now it's our turn. I can't wait till November. That's these. That's the only game at the beginning of the year. I just go w. I pencil it in.

[A]

By the way, Dave Portnoy from Barstool Sports, everybody welcome.

[B]

Dave.

[A]

He's fantastic. I know.

[B]

People clapping right here.

[C]

Listen, I've said this before. Say this before. Listen, if it wasn't for where I went to school and my sister and who I root for, we would get along very well. I love the people of Ohio. We have similar things. We like hard work, blue collar, all that. Very barstool. Unfortunately, it's just this one particular school that causes a problem for me, other than that I could be friends with them 364 days a year. Kind of like Ryan Day. He's a great coach 364 days a year.

[A]

But there's that one day.

[C]

That one day when I don't know what he's doing. He's got some wide receivers on the outside. He's just running between. He gets nervous, scared, whatever.

[B]

All right, let's hold that thought for a minute. Do you really, in front of this crowd, do you really believe that that Wolverine team can beat this one this year? I know that. I know that. Your passion. I mean, I'm going to ask these guys in a minute, but deep down, we're all family here. Can they be? Can they win that game?

[C]

I'll answer it this way. I think it's 100 times more likely than it was last year. Like, last year, I just. Last year, I fake sick like we were supposed to do.

[B]

You didn't go to the game? Didn't go to the game.

[C]

Didn't live stream it. I was just sitting in my house. I'm like, we're going to lose by 40. I believe that last year. I don't know how we won that. Michigan was horrible last year.

[D]

No forward pass.

[C]

We couldn't do nothing, you know.

[B]

You know, won that game. Those two defensive tackles for you, two defensive tackles. And, you know, and we didn't spread the ball.

[C]

Ryan Day has it in his head from Harbaugh, you got to be tough. You got to run it up the middle. And he just kept trying to run it up the middle. It made no sense. I was watching. I'm sure all you guys are watching the game. Be like, what are we doing? Because we were not very good. So if we beat you last year.

[B]

What happens in Ann Arbor?

[D]

I think, listen, that rivalry is nasty. And, like, sometimes you have to throw the records out the window. Like when we play Auburn, like, you throw the records out the window. Obviously, Michigan's gonna play tough. They have confidence. Like, they've been beating y' all since 2006 years. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Now, I think Ohio State is the superior team. They should go out there. They should handle business. They got beast on the outside, got offensive line, a tough defense. But we thought the same thing last year. You know what I mean? Ohio State should win. I think Ohio State should win. But, hey, you gotta throw all the records out when these two teams meet.

[A]

Yo, this is crazy. Like, Penn State's in town and we're talking about Michigan.

[B]

Oh, you have to.

[D]

You have to, because the man's right here with a shirt with 2,163 on it.

[A]

All right, so, Dave, I know you. I know you have to get out and eat some pizza in the Columbus area. Let's leave with one question for you.

[D]

Where are you eating pizza?

[A]

That's not the question, but that's. All right, go ahead. Where are you eating pizza today? Besides Urban Meyer's Pine House?

[B]

Igno.

[C]

What is the name of the place? IAC which is great.

[D]

Good pizza.

[C]

Yeah, we were here last time, so good on pizza.

[D]

How did you rate it?

[C]

I gave it a high seven, which is big score. It was very good.

[D]

What's the highest score ever on a pizza raid?

[C]

9.4. I gave it 10, but it was a hometown score.

[B]

And you're New York. You like. You like the.

[C]

I like New Haven. Connecticut's my favorite.

[B]

Oh, yeah.

[C]

Sally's or Sally's Pepes Modern. They're great.

[A]

That is wheelhouse pizza. All right, real quick, before Dave leaves, guys, I'm curious. Give us the top top five. Are you good with that? The top five in the Big Ten right now. You want to go five to one.

[C]

Indiana, Ohio State one. However you want to put one or two, Ivan.

[A]

Indiana better than Ohio State is Ohio State.

[C]

I have Indiana ranked higher because they have a better win. If they played. I'd give a slight edge to Ohio State, but. But they're both really, really, really good. Oregon, I was still put at three. And then you're looking at a Michigan and Iowa probably 4 and 5. USC's in there. Michigan, the quarterback so young. And I love your quarterback. It pains me to say it, but as long as Underwood keeps getting better, they can give them a problem. But it's a clear one.

[B]

Two.

[C]

And I think Oregon's clear three.

[B]

Hey, before we let you go, Dave, I think this is interesting that what's going on down at lsu, maybe the first time in my lifetime, and I've been around the game over almost 50 years. You have a governor. Yeah, of Louisiana, which I. I have friends down there. They love this governor. Now I'm in the state of Louisiana is a different place.

[A]

By the way, the governor checks all the Louisiana stereotypes.

[B]

So. John Landry. Right.

[C]

We were saying urban, and I When I first saw it, I thought it was AI.

[B]

Is this real?

[A]

Yeah, yeah, I've been.

[B]

And he came out and said, we made a decision during a game and then on Sunday that we're going to make a change at the governor's mansion. And I was the same thing. I thought, this is. Someone's making this up. And I went to bed thinking, that's not true. And then all of a sudden you start reading into it. And then he said, are you going to let the sitting being paid athletic director at LSU hire the coach? He said, no, we are. And who is we? The governor and the board of supervisors. The board of supervisors that the governor appoints. And you made a comment to me back there and I want everybody to hear us. You said you love that.

[C]

I loved it.

[B]

Why?

[C]

First of all, this guy's very Louisiana. I think whoever they hire as the next coach has to have that same accent. You mentioned Coach O. But the AD shouldn't if I'm a Louisiana resident. That's what I wanted to hear. I certainly don't want this AD who hired Jimbo Fisher at Texas A and M, who just hired Brian Kelly and has the two biggest buyouts in the history of college football. I don't want him picking the next guy. So somebody take accountability. Who else is going to do it? The president of the school. But what I was told, we have a guy, T. Bob Herbert, his dad, Bobby Heir Bear, the quarterback for the Saints. He went to school, he was a lineman. And he said from the beginning, Louisiana is a strange place. And the government does play a role. To me, that's what makes college football great. You have the different states, the different cultures. I looked at that guy and I said, that is what I expect out of lsu. I loved it.

[B]

The only concern is someone with a football. And I made it. I was kind of joking around that the governor played high school football. So I guess he's an expert. That makes all of us experts. But someone on that search committee has got to be a football dude that say, okay, now here's what we're looking for. And then I'm telling you, as a coach that went through the process of being hired, if I'm not hip to hip with my ad, and I know there's stability because you and the AD now are like this. You know, you witnessed that with Sharon and Ward Manual and all that stuff that went on. They stuck together. They stuck together out of Louisiana.

[D]

You were like this with the governor.

[B]

Gene Smith and I were like this. Jeremy Foley and I were like this because you are in meetings that are. It's hardcore stuff happening. I mean, in real time. If you don't have that. My concern at lsu, which is one of the top five jobs in America, no doubt. Have you been to a game there? I have. Sounds like you got to start working.

[C]

On your Southern accent family.

[B]

My concern is a great coach is going to say, I'm not sure. I'm not going to do that.

[C]

I could definitely see that raising a concern.

[A]

If you haven't had crawfish in your life, don't apply to be the LSU head coach. Right? There you go. There's the cuff, everybody. A warm Columbus, Ohio State.

[B]

Thanks for being here.

[A]

Thank you for Dave Portnoy, everybody. Please, I do like you guys. The best you can muster, Please. Fake it if you must. I do like you.

[C]

All we got do is win out and we're in the playoffs. Easiest game on the schedule is the last one.

[B]

Thank you, guys. You're going to take these with you.

[A]

Thanks for joining us, Dave. Appreciate it, man. There's only one Dave Portnoy out there, man. Thanks so much, Dave. Appreciate it, buddy. The khakis look good on you, my friend. If only he came out with the gloves and the. And the cleats, then I'd be in again. If you have questions, come to the back of the stage. If you have costumes, head over to Los Linderos. Let's talk about the reason we are here tonight. The Ohio State Buckeyes, the number one ranked team in the land, the defending champions in college football. And one of the main reasons they are number one again is their defense. And to me, this is. This is stunning. Coach, I don't know if anybody could have seen this. They returned three starters on defense.

[B]

Three.

[A]

They've pitched two shutouts six times. They've held the opposition to single digits. They've allowed 41 points, period. That's it. They've only trailed twice this season, both of them by three points. Were you expecting this level of defense from Ohio State? Particularly considering, coach, the fact that their defensive coordinator Jim Knowles is going to be on the opposing sideline Saturday with Penn State?

[B]

Well, the head coach has got a bunch of things to do when you get hired. And Ryan Day has done a phenomenal job. The first thing you got to do is the culture was pretty well set and he's added to the culture. Number one, everybody, this is really important. So you get hired your head football coach. First thing you do, develop, implement and push a culture that's by far number one. Number two, talent acquisition. And that's number one players by far. That's number one. But number two is the coaching staff. And he's had a transition. Chip Kelly and Jim Knowles leaves. His quarterback's gone. A bunch of starters gone. And I've known Matt Patricia since the New England Patriot days. We're very, very good friends. He had a tough go as a head coach for the Lions. He was bouncing around the NFL, and I talked to Coach Day about him. I love Matt Patricia. Here's Matt Patricia has worked on offense as well. He's called plays. Mark in the National Football League. On offense, the best offensive coaches I've been around are Dan Mullen and Ryan Day. You know why? They understand what the other side's doing. The best defensive coaches I've been around are the ones that know exactly what the offense is thinking. And that's what you have in Matt Patricia. The players love him. I talk to him every once in a while. He loves it here. You know, this is like. He's been, like, reborn in his coaching career. He's come to a place. He loves the players. He loves the culture. Coach Day lets him do what he does. And he's having great success, maybe as good a success as the defense coordinators had in the last two decades.

[A]

An amazing hire. Let's talk about the offense for Ohio State, because that's where the hype was. Jeremiah Smith, right. And then the question mark of who's going to run the ball? How good is this Julian saying kid going to be? It feels like the playbook is starting to open up more and more each week. Mark, for the Buckeyes, yeah, they're taking.

[D]

The training wheels off. You know, kind of came in week one versus a Texas team who we all thought was going to be vying for a national championship. And you kind of can see how they just wanted him to manage the game, and he did that.

[B]

He.

[D]

He made great throws, he made great decisions. And you kind of just see them opening up the playbook and taking the training wheels off. Obviously, they could. You know, all the Buckeye fans could thank Alabama for, you know, Julian sand and Caleb Downs. But, like, we were devastated, you know, when we lost those players. And it just shows what type of player he is. He has a lot of talent. He has leadership qualities. He has everything you want in a quarterback. So Ohio State is lucky to have him. And he's just going to continue to get better. And you see it, man, because he's balling right now. I mean, last week, what, 36 42, almost 400 yards, four touchdowns. He has receivers on the outside. The running game isn't what it was last year. And so you could just see him, you know, taking those strides, getting better each and every game.

[A]

Hard for the running game to be as good as they were last year, by the way, with that monster that's now in the NFL.

[B]

So, so let's, let's have this conversation that as the head coach, what you would come in on Wednesday was my day because we saw Monday was game prep and you would. All the coaches go in their offices for about 10 hours a day, 10 hours apart. You all come together and you start putting stuff on the board. I would spend time with you.

[A]

Ten hours, my Lord, that seems like a long time.

[B]

So you have, you have two coaches in charge of third downs, two coaches in charge of, two coaches in charge of this. And then you all come together and you sit there, a bunch of gray haired people, and start drawing on boards and all that. But by Wednesday, this is really cool. By Wednesday I would walk in after spending time with the defense because I'm an offensive coach, and I'd walk in with Ryan Day, Tom Herman, whoever was the offensive coaches, and in my mind I'd look at the game plan. I'd say we need to score 21 points, 28 points, 35 points, 42 points, God forbid, you know, what was the bad year we had a bad defense was 18, I believe, or 18, where I'm like, shit, we need to score.

[D]

Every time he touched the ball.

[B]

35, 45 points. Which is, as a, you know, that's a much more aggressive game plan when you got a defense like Ohio State, I'm telling you right now, 21 points, you're going to win. So as a head coach, you come in and maybe the fans are not going to like it because you're not as open, especially with a freshman quarterback. But I think Brian Hartline and I said this against Texas because I saw some fans being upset that we weren't scoring more points. The job of the head coach is not to score points. The job of the head coach is being the left hand of that column. And what do we say? The best thing about 70 is a chance to be 8 0. His job is to win. So the head coach is the game manager number one. And that's exactly what Coach Day's doing and Brian Hartline's doing so against Penn State, what's that number? New quarterback. They're not playing well on offense. They have the skill on the outside. Of Penn State is not what normally Penn State has.

[A]

Not where it should be.

[B]

They have two great tailbacks that aren't playing great. They have an offense line that was supposed to be the best offense line in the Big Ten stunt. So I can see what's going on over there in the Woody Hayes facility. Is Coach Day saying, what do we need to win this game? Because that's all that matters to keep getting better and win the game. What's that number?

[A]

What is it? What do you think?

[B]

If I'm the head coach, I'm saying I need 30 points to go win that much. Now, that's a buffer in my. Deep down. 21 points. You walk out of the stadium a winner.

[D]

He's right, man. Shoot the coaching. Why are they so good? Yeah, they're coached extremely well. How do you reload from a national championship team is by having great recruiting, by having great coaching staff, by building a foundation in the culture. And that's what Ohio State has. That's why they're right here undefeated. They're the number one team in the country. They haven't had a great schedule, but they've won and dominated all their opponents. They haven't trailed. You said they haven't.

[A]

Twice.

[D]

Twice.

[A]

They trailed twice by three points. Both times.

[D]

What was one? Texas, maybe.

[A]

I don't know.

[D]

Regardless. Regardless, they've been dominant through and through the season. That's because of the foundation they built with their culture.

[A]

What I find interesting about this edition of Ohio State is they are following in the footsteps of a national championship team. And I think for a lot of programs and a lot of players and a lot of coaches, that's daunting, that's intimidating, that's suffocating, Particularly here in Columbus. Right. Oh, you did it. Well, then the expectation should be rinse and repeat, Go do it again. I get this perception from an outside, and obviously I get some insight through you and through all the contacts that we have. The way Ryan Day and his staff are managing this team, I feel like last year is actually benefiting this year's team.

[B]

Well, I talked to Coach Day once while we text a lot, and I feel with Coach Day is a person that has the weight of the world, is somewhat off his back.

[A]

Because he got that Natty.

[B]

Because he got it. He's become legitimized. You know, he was the guy that. What was it said? Woke up on third base, all that nonsense. And then they lose the Wolverines and. And he's not in my. You're. You're not going to find a bigger fan of Coach Day than myself. But now it's like it's almost the heck with it. You know, I've done my deal. I know I'm good. I've. I've done it.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And I see a team that is just. And I see him. He doesn't look like he did before. He looks better, he looks healthier. I mean, I'm one to speak because it just beat you to death. Yeah, but. And he looks like a guy that trusts the culture and trusts the infrastructure. And I'm going to talk about this on Big Noon. The best thing at Ohio State, amongst the many things is the infrastructure that is there. You have the best recruiting and gm. His name's Mark Pantoni. There's none better. There's not a person better at the job than Mark Pantoni. The best strength and conditioning coordinator and he's in charge of all sport performance is coach Mick Moratti. There's none better. You can't say, well, A and M or Alabama. No, he is the very best and it's proven. And then you can say, okay, now the academics, this and that, the infrastructure set. He can focus on doing what? Managing the team and not replacing all those. That's what happens, Mark, when a guy takes a job like DeBoer. When you take over for Saban, it's very. It's like what Ryan Day did to a degree. You don't want to change, but you got to change because he's not him.

[D]

You gotta be yourself.

[B]

And I feel that with Coach DeBoer at Alabama. You're taking over for Nick Saban. Are you kidding me? That's a lose lose. But you can see him starting to grow into it right now. We had him on the show. He's phenomenal. He's a great football. His winning percentage is outrageous. He's won at every level. But he took over for the man. Yeah. How do you do that? You keep some of the good, but somehow you got to put your own face on it. And that's what's going on here and that's what's going on at Bama.

[D]

You got to have your own fingerprint. You got to have your own identity. I can't be trying to be you. I got to be me. So why? You left me with a great foundation. I still have to put my own personality and my own demeanor on this team. And like every program has like their turning point, right? And I feel like last year, this Ohio State's team, their turning point was that Michigan Game. After they lost that game, they haven't looked back ever since. They dominated the most. They had the best playoff run in history because, you know, there was only. They played four games, whatever. But they, they, they rolled through the playoff. They rolled through the playoff and they're rolling through this year. They, like when I was at Bama, our turning point was losing to you in the SEC championship when you have Florida, we were undefeated the next year. So I feel like that turning point was for them, for Ryan Day and for this entire program.

[A]

You know, it's interesting about the turning points is that turning point could have gone the other way.

[E]

It could have.

[A]

It easily could have fallen off a cliff. Penn State's dealing with that right now. Their turning point was home. Wideout Oregon, they lost in overtime. Off the cliff they went. They didn't respond, they didn't bounce back. Instead, they went into a spiral that they're still trying to pull themselves out of.

[B]

Okay, this is really important as well. So your locker room gets exposed not when you win, but when you lose. Ohio State's locker room and culture got exposed when. Mark, you said it. Michigan, when they lost to the Wolverines, they won 11 straight. They went on the greatest run in College Football playoff history against Tennessee, what was it? Tennessee, Oregon, Texas, and then the big one against Notre Dame. Penn State, they lost that game. Against Oregon, you get exposed. They go on the road to UCLA, lose to an 04 UCLA team. Then they lost Northwestern at home. So people are saying what kind of Penn State we're gonna see. I have so much respect for Penn State. I have a lot of respect for their talent, but deep down, do I have a lot of respect for the locker room. It is what it is. I mean, you can blame James Franklin, he took the hit for it. But at some point, Mark, what goes on in the locker room, Ryan Day took. Ryan Day deserved the credit, but, you know, really deserved the credit. Last year, Sawyer, the quarterback, Will Howard, the grown ass men in that locker room has said enough. The team meeting they had and all that, they put it all on cards and they did it. Yeah, I mean, it's actually a case study of locker room. To me, it was what's going on at Alabama, what's going on at Ohio State. Now what's going on at Penn State?

[D]

Well, your coaches, they could give you the blueprint, but it's up to the players to execute it. It's up to the players to police each other and hold each other accountable. That's what you saw with Ohio State last year and that's what we're not seeing with Penn State this year. For you to lose to Oregon and still have the whole season ahead of you, then go on the road and get beat by UCLA team who had just fired their coach, then go to home and lose to Northwestern, that shows a lack of accountability within the locker room. Like you said, you got, you had multiple players that could have went to the NFL draft. They came back for a chance to win a national championship. Now I think those expectations derailed them. You know what I mean? They thought just because Ohio State won a national champion, just because Michigan won national championship, that they was going to have the same blueprint and win it. That doesn't mean that you got to have accountability from the coaches to the players all through the facility.

[B]

And the example that I used, again, this is really good. Friends of the podcast. In 2005 I went up to visit 2000 spring of 6 or 5 I went to visit Bill Belichick, I think the greatest locker room in the history of sport. Brusky, Brady Vrabel and Rodney Harrison. And I went and he invited me up there and I went up and watched and learned. And you know what they told me? It's our job not to let it get to Coach Belichick. What happened to Coach Belichick now that he doesn't have the locker room? He's struggling in North Carolina the last half of his career or the last couple years. It wasn't great in New England. Bill Belichick, still Bill Belichick. The locker room's not the same. And so what is the strength of Ohio State? The locker room? What's the strength? I guess about, I don't know, you know, Alabama. What's the weakness of Penn State? It's not talent.

[D]

He didn't have Tom Brady anymore.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. It's a locker room.

[A]

Another fashion locker room.

[D]

Tom Brady went on to win another one.

[A]

Another fascinating locker room for me at least in college football is what's going on in Bloomington. You know what, what Coach Signetti has been able to build right there and it's not a one hit wonder right there. They are sitting at number two, right behind Ohio State. So that was your fresh take of the week presented by Wendy's Joint Team Tendies. Who here said Wendy's Tendies, huh? They're right here. They are smacking, according to my friend Mark Ingram. Smackable. Smackin. So the 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. They got the lineup of amazing sauces here as well. All right, let's pivot right now to three and out. Brought to you by Google. We're going to take a look at what fans have been searching for on Google this week. And remember, no matter what question comes next, you can just ask Google. So how about this number? We have seen a 730% increase in searches asking, quote, what is the oldest rivalry in college football? The oldest rivalry in college football. Anybody out here know it? It's not in the Big Ten. It's in the Ivy League, but it's not what you would think. Smart schools, smart schools. It's not Yale, Harvard. It's Yale, Princeton back in 1873, by the way. So we're talking rivalries. Mark, I'll go to you the top rivalries in college football. I. Number one. I know what number one is. Sorry, Columbus, you're not gonna. You're not gonna agree with it.

[D]

That Iron bowl is nasty. That Iron bowl is nasty. I mean, I ain't heard of nobody poisoning nobody's trees up here. That Iron bowl is nasty. It gets ugly out there for the Iron bowl, obviously. Me, you know, being a part of Fox and the Big Ten for the last few years. This Ohio State, Michigan, that's one too. Then I live in South Florida, so Miami, Florida State, I think that's a big one as well. There's some great rivalries. That's why we love football rivalries. But the Iron Bowl, Michigan, Ohio State and then Miami, Florida State, that's nasty too.

[A]

All right, coach, your top three rivalries.

[B]

I'm going to go backwards. I think Texas, Texas A and m is number three. I think the Iron Bull is number two. Texas A& M is a great one. I just have had friends coaching it. It's team that's right there next to each other. I've coached at Notre Dame when we played ufc. It's a great robbery. It's not that same level. I've coached in Florida, Georgia. That's a great one. Florida, Florida State is a great one. But the second one is arable, which is Alabama, Auburn, like you said.

[A]

Mark, where's your record? Byu, Utah, Coach.

[D]

Two on one dog two and one byu.

[A]

Holy Moore.

[B]

Byu. Tah. And also Bowling Green, Toledo.

[A]

There you go. Bg Falcons.

[D]

The one loss hurts more. It hurts me bad.

[B]

Where was it? On the road or home?

[D]

It was. It was at home. We were up.

[B]

Oh, at home.

[D]

We were up 24 to 3. Cam Newton and Scam Newton. Scam Newton.

[B]

It ain't.

[D]

It's Scam Newton. He came back on us, man.

[B]

And then the greatest robbery in all the sport is though the game, and that's Thanksgiving weekend in Ann Arbor or Columbus, Ohio, by far.

[A]

Ann Arbor this year. Anybody going to the game this year? Anybody booked their tickets yet?

[D]

Any bias on the one and two? Any bias on my one and his one?

[A]

No. No.

[B]

It's. What's your call?

[A]

What I expected. You know me. You know how I like.

[D]

You like to listen and then go wherever you want to go.

[A]

I go wherever I want to go, so I'm lucky that I've been able to touch a lot of sports.

[B]

You gonna.

[D]

You gonna put the soccer rivalries?

[A]

Because I can go soccer with you. I know you can't, so I'll go. I'll go number three for the soccer nerds.

[B]

Go.

[A]

Columbus Crew in the playoffs right now. Believe in your crew. Real Madrid. Barcelona. Insanity. Although. Although there's some fun in Argentina. I know, Coach. Don't worry.

[D]

Come on.

[A]

Put on your earmuffs for a little bit. You'll be fine. You'll be safe.

[D]

Call it what they call that match. What's the name of it?

[A]

El Clasico.

[B]

Yeah.

[D]

El Classico.

[A]

Yeah. I mean, that's a great name. Number two, college basketball. North Carolina, Duke. Twice a year. It's. It's something special. And that's. That's the same level of hatred and energy as you see with number one. It's Ohio State, Michigan. You can't beat it. It is the greatest rivalry, I think, in all of sports. That's professional, that's colle. That's international.

[B]

It's.

[A]

Whatever it is. There's a reason that Fox picks that weekend every week to air that game to close out the regular season. Ohio State and Michigan this year.

[D]

Company man.

[A]

I am a company man. If anything, that was your three and out. By the way. Speaking of company men, how about these chicken tendies? Take a little bite of those chicken tendies right there. Let me prop them up, make people happy. All right, so if you have some questions, we're to do Q and A here after a quick break. Again, the good handsome man over here, Chris in the orange shirt. We'll take your questions right now. We also have their costume contest. We already had Coach Harbaugh join us on the set.

[B]

Shelly's dressed up.

[A]

I don't know what Shelly dressed up as.

[B]

You? Yeah, I think so.

[A]

I think I saw some Ryan days floating around here.

[B]

Hey.

[D]

As well, for our first lady Back.

[A]

There, everybody, Shelly Meyer, everybody. The queen first lady, the queen Shelly. She'll probably have some Pilates. All right, we're going to take a quick break here on the triple auction presented by Wendy's. When we come back, we answer your questions live from Urban Myers Pine House right here in beautiful Dublin, Ohio. Welcome back to the triple option presented by Wendy's. We are live from Urban Myers Pint House here in Dublin, Ohio. Urban Meyer, Urban Myers blonde doppelganger, Shelley Meyer. Over there at the edge, he's Mark Ingram ii. Deuce, Deuce. I'm Rob Stone. Thank you guys so much here in person for attending. We love you. Thank you for watching and listening out there, whether it's on YouTube or on your favorite podcast. Right now, guys, we ready for some Q and A?

[B]

I'm going to tell a story about Shelly real quick. Here we go. So when we got hired in 2012. Let's everybody go back to 2012.

[A]

Simpler time, a happier time.

[B]

The Big Ten was bad, bad, bad. The Big Ten was bad. The stadium atmospheres in the Big Ten were bad. And I remember our first game, we played Miami Ohio. The score was 7 nothing. And on the field, it's not like we were playing bad. We just weren't good. We were slow. The Big Ten was slow. I get home, we beat them, so we're one. And, oh, I go home. And she goes. And usually that's kind of our rule. Don't talk. I want to see the kids. I don't want to talk football. And she goes, what was that? She was. That's the slowest football I've seen in obviously 10 years. Because we're in the SEC where the, you know. Yeah, there's no slow. I don't care if you're in the 10th place team in the SEC.

[D]

It's all the real SEC, too.

[B]

And I said, listen, we're going to recruit like the sec. We're going to elevate this thing. And she actually talked to Jean Smith. She actually got involved and she said our atmosphere at the SHU isn't what it needs to be. And our atmosphere at the Big Ten Conference is games. We go in games. Even the Big House wasn't. The Big House is hard now. It wasn't. Penn State's always been hard. Wisconsin was okay, but I mean, the conference schools think about this. Go back just. What was it, 15 years, 2012?

[A]

I was told there'd be no math involved with 13 years. I don't know, Coach, but.

[B]

But go back. The Big Ten, the SEC was Here. The Big Ten was here for sure. NFL draft picks, SEC here, Big Ten here. Ohio State's talent. I was good. It wasn't what you're seeing now because you had to push everybody's envelope a little. Get out of your comfort zone and go recruit the country, not just your footprint. But I want to give Shelly credit in front of our people here. She had a lot to do with. She said this is not the. This is not what she was used to.

[A]

By the way, can we open up this camera to a four shot? Let's get Shelly in on this shot. Shelly, put on that headset.

[C]

Yeah, you're.

[A]

You're up here. If you're hanging out with Live.

[B]

Is it live?

[A]

It's live. It's hot. It's hot. You're putting it on backwards. Help her out, coach. Oh, we can't do a fourth shot. All right, Shelly, you just hang out and be eye candy. Shelly, blow that whistle. Let's start the Q and A. Start that. Start the Q and A. Here we go. All right. Q and A time.

[D]

Or you can just go stand.

[A]

Question number one. Name and question, please. Hey, I'm. I'm Lainey. Hi, Lainey. Oh, okay. First of all, who invited the Jim Harbaugh guy here like you? Lainey already. I like her. She's got some moxie. I'd like to know what.

[B]

Here. I'm going to say this to you about Portnoy. When you get him behind the scenes, what's your thoughts?

[A]

Great dude.

[D]

Great dude.

[B]

He's a businessman all. Then all of a sudden he comes out on stage and it's like, ohio State sucks. I'm like, where'd that come from?

[D]

Shut up.

[B]

I don't know if he really believes that. I'm just.

[D]

Shut up.

[A]

I just want. What are your thoughts about a 2014 playoff? 2414 team playoff, 24 team. Big, big expansion. Coach, you want that one first?

[B]

Yeah. Here's what I'm in favor of. Whatever we come up with, eliminate the committee. And here's what I mean, have it play in. So I was a big fan of the Big Ten's model, where it said 442211. And I don't think that's going to fly, but I think there should be six teams for the Big Ten, Six teams from the SEC all involved. And there's a play in on Big Ten championship weekend, SEC championship weekend. And your six is playing what, three? Four is playing five. Those teams go to the playoff and go that way. You know what the committee is there's no committee. Because I think. And I'm not hammering a committee. But even if I was on the committee, I'm wrong sometimes. You're wrong sometimes, you know, So I would do whatever it takes. Never wrong. Speak for yourself. I would do whatever it takes, Rob, to get rid of the committee and have it be all playing. And if it's all playing, is that 24? Is it. Whatever it is.

[A]

Seems. Seems like a big number. But I'm in favor of expansion, I think, particularly now with nil.

[B]

It's.

[A]

It's the parity.

[B]

Man.

[A]

12 parody is insane. Like, so I'm going to be 12 more. I'm going to be bummed when it's down to 12 this year. You know, give me 16. Give me, you know, figure out a bigger number. And I think it's coming. Laney, to your point again, I just.

[B]

Don'T want the committee saying this team's better than this team because they don't know that my. Push.

[A]

Pushback, though, Mark. Somebody has to be involved with the wins and the losses, and then there will be some type of seating and somebody.

[B]

Okay. Is different. But who gets in the playoff? No, there's no committee.

[A]

Okay? You earn your way in four places.

[D]

It should be just like the NFL playoffs. You win your division, you win something like that. That's how you earn your way in. It's not this opinion that this team is better than the next.

[A]

And everything we've seen in college last couple years is NFL associated, as NFL related.

[D]

That's essentially what we're going to be going to. It's going to be sec, Big Ten, North, South, east, west is going to be some form of that with 16, 20 teams in each that I feel like that's what it's going to. But as far as the expansion, you know what I do like? I like the NBA, the play in tournament. So you got your playoff, then you got the play in tournament. So you know the outside teams you play in.

[A]

Mark those. Those student athletes have exams and studying to do and things like that, right? How are they going to find all that time to play football? All right, question number two.

[D]

You're talking about 24 teams.

[A]

Name and question, please. Hey, I'm Drew. Can you guys hear me? Hey, I'm Drew. My question is for you, Coach Meyer, as a coach, what is your advice to a team that, like our Ohio State Buckeyes has been told practically all year you're the number one team in the country? How do you get past that and past the noise?

[B]

We've been there, and I actually talked to Coach Day about that. I think what I would do is make Tuesday practices so hard. You know, when you're. When you're like Mark ingram on those 0809 Bama teams. And I was a coach of the Gators back then and also Ohio state in the 1415. When you're that good. I wanted to make sure the Tuesday practice was when they. When I walked in the locker room and I would do that, I'd walk in and I wanted to see people exhausted. I wanted to see people beat up. I wanted to see. It was Joey Bosa against Taylor Decker. It was Zeke Elliott against Curtis Grant. It was Michael Thomas against Eli Apple. It was good on good. And I mean, they were blowed out. So they're not worried about reading their phones. They're worried about getting the training room and getting their minds right. And I think that's what's going on right now at Ohio State. The biggest enemy at Ohio State is Ohio State. The biggest enemy in Alabama in 08 09, I know, was Julio Jones against whoever was playing that damn corner spot. Because they're not going to face anyone like that until it gets to gate, you know, Showtime, which is a couple weeks down the road.

[A]

Good question. Drew, I think Coach say has really handled that locker room excellent.

[D]

Well, that turning point that he had, that turning point, he changed. The whole thing has changed.

[A]

Bye week. Heading into Penn State, they're saying all the right things. They're doing all the right things so far. Question number three. Hi, there. My name's Adam. My question is, with college football, the eye candy test. The eye test, Ohio State, they typically pull back in the second half. Not running up the score. Indiana Coach Signetti kind of puts the foot the gas to the pedal. How does that vary with Ohio State going into rankings going forward? It's a good question. When you say I test, that's like a trigger for coach, right? Like, I know when Ohio State's been so dominant. 100%, I agree. So, all right, I'll start with you, Mark. I test you. I have no problem with throttling things back because you've got to worry about the bigger picture. You got to worry about late November, December and MLK weekend.

[D]

If I'm Ryan Day and I'm killing a team, I'm taking my starters out because I don't want to risk none of them getting hurt. So I'm going to get my other guys in, get some game experience. I get to see what they got, and I Get to get a win. So my eye test is I won again. I'm the number one team in the country.

[A]

The ultimate eye test.

[D]

I won again.

[A]

W. Yeah.

[D]

Now. Now we're Indiana. Like, Signetti, he feels like he has something to prove.

[A]

I agree.

[D]

He feels like he has something to prove. So he's going in, he has a Heisman candidate, and Mendoza, he's trying to get him numbers because he could have came out the game a little earlier last week, but he did it. So.

[A]

And we all want. We all watched that game. We said, I bet he gives him at least one more series. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like give him a touchdown.

[D]

He had the 40 yard touchdown pass. It looks. It cushions a little bit. I mean, but to me, like, I feel like the eye test is. It's, it's for them other teams, it's like from the 12 to the 20 range, I feel like they need to win big and they need to be dominating their performances. When you're Ohio State, you're the number one team. You keep winning, you're going to be the number one team. You're going to see the Indiana in the Big Ten championship. You have a chance to prove yourself. So the eye test, I don't play too much with it. I like the wins and losses. I like the quality wins. I like, you know, who's winning the big, big time matchups, and that's who I go against. I like resumes, who's beating ranked opponents. That's how I judge playoff teams and rankings, in my opinion, Coach.

[B]

Yeah, I test. I do agree. I think if I was Signetti, which I was at Utah, I'm trying to score 100 points because I want the country to see. Well, if I'm at Ohio State, I'm trying to say, okay, my run game right now is not elite, so I'm going to work on my run game. When, when we're in control of a game and there's certain things you want to work on, I could give to, you know, I know say the bad word, but I don't. I could care less about the eye test when you're there, but there's certain areas that you know aren't up to par. Jeremiah Smith, Carnell Tate, up to par. Okay, now let's figure out, BoJack, you know, the run game. Let's make sure we're starting to. Because at some point you have to run a ball to win, that you're going to have to pound the ball and get a first down when you need to get a first down. So now is the time to work on that.

[A]

It's interesting, the number of plays that Ohio State is running this season is down, and that's a good thing. That's just less wear and tear. That's keeping your eye on the prize. Right. That's keeping your eye on keeping my guys fresh. Keeping them fresh, keeping them healthy.

[B]

And the other side of the ball. Remember, I told you early in the show, you score 21, you win. Don't put your defense in by doing something stupid. Don't do that.

[A]

Thank you, Adam. Question number four. Hi, I'm Richard.

[B]

Thank you, Urban coach Urban Meyer, for.

[A]

Leading us to those victories against that team up north. What's it going to take to have.

[B]

That victory this year? Yeah, it's in Ann Arbor. Man, is that an awful place.

[A]

Especially late November.

[B]

Yeah. When you come driving in that bus, it's almost like I got post traumatic stress disorder, ptsd. You know, when you drive, when that bus comes in there and you turn that corner, you see the block m and your heart starts racing. You see the people. And I. I don't think there's another person alive that respects the rivalry like I do. And when I say that I respect, I can't stand them. But this. When someone says, Mark, that they don't have good players, they're lying to you. They have great players. It's like if I heard an Alabama player say that Auburn doesn't have. I've never heard him say that he can't stand them. But you respect him. You know why? Because at some point, that guy's good enough to hit you right in the square in the face if you're not ready for him. And so they got good players. They got a good running back. Their defense is getting better. Their quarterback, I worry about him down the road. He's a talented guy. So I. I think it's, you know, if our defense plays the way they've been playing, you go in that game knowing you need to score three to four touchdowns, you win the game. I think we win the game, if that's the mentality.

[A]

It's interesting you talked about Coach Day. He looks fresher. He does, right? He looks healthy. He looks good right now.

[B]

But.

[A]

But there's definitely that Michigan hanging over his head every day, right?

[B]

Every day.

[A]

But more so than it. I know it always hung over your head, but his issues with the Wolverines are playing in his head right now. I think that's his last. The last little hurdle.

[D]

You get fired behind that here.

[A]

Correct. You do.

[D]

You get fired behind that. You're not saying that he's going to get fired, but I'm just saying at these types of programs where you have these respectful rivalries. No, hated rivalries. You lose behind those games.

[A]

Yep. Agreed, Richard.

[B]

Good stuff. You know the name of the room? The name of the room is seven. Oh, it wouldn't be good if it was like five and two. I'll see it to five and two.

[A]

It's too close to like five and dime. It's not sexy. Yes. Seven and.

[B]

Oh, here we go.

[A]

All right, question number five.

[F]

Evening. I'm Brandon. A Buckeye born and bred. A Buckeye till I'm dead. I'm here with a coach. I brought a coach with me today.

[D]

That's fine.

[A]

By the way, Brandon's reading off his phone. Brandon, are you nervous about this question?

[D]

I'm excited, man.

[F]

I don't want to mess this up.

[A]

Okay. Screw it up, Brandon. You got one chance, Brandon, one chance.

[F]

I'm not going to mess it up.

[A]

All right.

[F]

Football, as we all know, is a very physical game, but it's also a very mental game as well. So today's roster hasn't beat that team up north for the first time since the 90s. And as years go on, you kind of maybe you forget, what does it take to get through there, to finish, to get it done? It's not from a lack of physicality or passion. So my question is, what does Ohio State have to do differently to beat Michigan?

[B]

I would say, and we've said it, you got to play free, you got to be play loose. And I've not seen that. You know, last year was the perfect example. I think we ran into a buzz saw two years ago. That was one of the great teams in last decade. The Wolverine team that won the national title, phenomenal team. Last year was not. So how did that happen? And we were there, Big Noon was there, and I stood on the sideline and I watched the game, and I, you know, it just didn't feel like it. The same team that you saw a few weeks later play against Tennessee certainly didn't feel like the team against Oregon or Texas. So you have to ask the question, why? The first one is the tightness of the staff. The second one is the locker room. What in the hell happened? And I still don't know. I'm waiting for that book to come out. I know. I think Bill Rabinowitz wrote a book because I wrote the forward in it. And I'm still anxious to hear exactly what happened, because that was one of the greatest turnarounds. We all walked down that stadium, the Horseshoe, like, what in the hell just happened? Great players, great coaching staff. Ohio State, what are we talking about? And then they went on the run. So it's a rivalry, man. And I'm telling you, it's 0,0 when you. When that game starts, it's 0,0. I don't care what the records are. And to me, to me as an.

[D]

Outsider, man, I can just feel the tension when you talk about that game, Right? So if y' all feel like that, how do you think those players and those people in that facility feel about that?

[B]

Don't screw up. Don't screw up.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah.

[D]

So instead of going into the game, like, don't lose the game. Go in that game and win it. Do everything you have to do to win it. Don't be out here playing conservative and trying to like, oh, I don't want to mess up because I don't want to lose. Like, no, like, go whoop their ass and win the game. Like, I could just feel that. I could just feel that in the room right now. So I know that's how they feel.

[A]

You know, Coach Ingram could be your next offensive coordinator. Columbus.

[D]

I'm not just a guy, and I happen to play a little bit of football ball, but that's it.

[A]

Good job, Brandon. Thank you. Question number six, Wendy's tendies.

[E]

All right, so first and foremost, Fox Crew. Welcome back to Columbus, Ohio.

[B]

Thank you, Mark.

[E]

G E A U X New Orleans Saints.

[D]

Who that?

[E]

Yeah, who that, baby?

[D]

That's what I'm talking about, baby.

[E]

We've met before. I think you're the best coach in Ohio State history. We met on the Buckeye cancer cruise in 2015 when it got fogged in.

[B]

Oh, my gosh.

[E]

And you know what? You left early cuz you had to work. I stayed the whole time. I had a $5,000 bar bill.

[A]

Yes.

[E]

Can you send me a check for $2,500, please?

[B]

I don't have one. I would in a minute.

[A]

Free Los Linderos for this gentleman.

[E]

Yes. So, Fox team. I'm like you guys. I watch football every Saturday. I tape 14 games. You guys know way more about than me, but I watch. There's three teams in my mind that stand out from the rest. Indiana, Texas A and M and Ohio State. Break those down and tell me which one of those you think is the absolute best at this moment.

[B]

I'm going to take that. I. I'm on the A and M train, man. I love. I don't know Their coach, I know of them. I watched some this week because I did a lot of film study on A and M. They're the real deal. Yeah, they might be the best team in the country. Their quarterback is hitting his stride. He was on our podcast a couple weeks ago or maybe last week. They're playing with energy, enthusiasm, obviously great players. But A and M, A and M worries me up. All the teams in the country that I would. I'd say Ohio State's number one, they've earned it. But the one that's nipping at their heels are A and M. And I think Indiana because they are so well coached. But I also stood next to them. I'm not. I don't see the same talent that I see at Ohio State. I see a really good team, Mark. I stood next to the offensive line. I made sure I want to size everybody up because obviously we're going to be covering a Big Ten championship. And as of now, Indiana, that head coach and those two coordinators, as well coached team as I've seen in two decades. A and M, there's some personnel there. And I'm not saying Indiana because I don't want to also need to add. That's not true. Indiana's got really. I'm not sure. There's a bunch of first rounders, Mark. No. A and M, there's first rounders, yes. When I watch A and M play, I see that speed and all of a sudden you know. You know what the word that I used to use is twitch. The difference between a good player and one of those guys make a lot of money is the suddenness or twitch. The thing that made Mark Ingram, obviously, his power. There's a lot of guys built with power. His acceleration from here to that camera, that's what separates the Nick Bosa from the good player. That's what separates from Mark Ingram, is the twitch. I saw that A and M, Rob. A and M is really, really good. Shocked me. I didn't know they were that good.

[A]

What's cool about A and M is somehow they're number three in the nation and undefeated. Stealth, quiet, under the radar.

[B]

I like the energy of the coach, too.

[A]

I mean, I'll go throwing chairs, but it's funny. Like, all the SEC conversation is on Bama. Rightfully so. I'm really high on now in Georgia and what Lane Kiffin's doing at Ole Miss. And somehow it's an A and M is just like, hey, that's. They'll talk about us. They're going to get their Flowers. Eventually.

[D]

A and M is getting a lot of love, but nobody has a better resume in the country than Alabama.

[B]

So nobody has.

[A]

Not wrong. He's not wrong. Bama's resume is remarkable.

[D]

Yeah, we have the worst loss of the college football season, but we also have the best resume too.

[B]

Are they twitched up enough to win it all?

[D]

Oh, they twitched up and they hitched up too. But now we, we, we, we can't run the football and we be doing undisciplined stuff. So I don't know about them yet. It's a day to day basis with them.

[B]

Yeah, I'll throw, roll down. I agree with that. And their quarterback, your quarterback means more to any other team in college football.

[D]

Yeah, he's the Most important player.

[B]

1 Julian Sain means a lot. Not like Ty Simpson.

[D]

Yeah, Ty Simpson is the most important player to his team in the country. If we didn't have ty Simpson, we'd be 500 at best.

[A]

I think there's a slew of SEC teams that are going to be in the conversation. We just mentioned them. Even Vanderbilt. My lord, inside the top 10. God, 88 years. Oregon. People have gotten off the Oregon train the last couple weeks. I would just say, I would just say be careful, be careful. They got to be in a quarterback. They're going to be in the playoffs. They're going to do some damage. But again, I think the big, I think it's really the big two is Ohio State and Texas A and M. Indiana's tucked in just underneath them and then a slew of one loss teams. All right, time for now for two minute drill. It's time to talk about the reason we are here in Columbus this weekend. It is Ohio State. It is Penn State and 2 Minute Drills brought to you by FanDuel. Visit FanDuel.com TripleOption to download the app. Take advantage of a 50% profit boost today. Earlier this week on the triple option we talked about some of the other big games. There's three ranked games in college football this week. Now we're going to talk about Penn State, Ohio State Saturday inside the Horseshoe. Buckeyes favored by 20 and a half over under Lord 43 and a half. Favored by 20 and a half over under 43 and a half. Mark, how do you see this one?

[D]

I see the Buckeyes going crazy. Twenty and a half, bro. That's heavy that half.

[B]

That is heavy.

[D]

That's a heavy. That's heavy, man. I listen, I got Ohio State winning. I don't know If I'm laying 20 and a half points, though.

[A]

Big number.

[D]

I think this defense is just dogs. Arvell Reese, Caleb Downs, Sonny Styles, first rounders. Them boys is dogs on the defensive side. They just reloaded and their defense is carrying them once again. Julian saying he's a beast. You got the wide receivers. I like to see this run game get going. I see Ohio state rolling easily. 20 and a half, though. I mean, Penn State going to come out here and fight a little bit.

[A]

Y going to fight.

[D]

They going to fight a little bit. So I'm not laying 20 and a half points, but I like Ohio State to win by at least two touchdowns.

[A]

Do we have any Olen Tangy Braves in the house? Any Olen Tangy High School products? I think I heard one, yes, somewhere. All right, well, their quarterback, Penn State's quarterback is from Olen Tangy. Yeah, yeah. Ethan. Ethan Gruckmeyer got the start. Versus from Olentangy High School, the Braves, about 20 minutes away from the stadium, grew up wanting to play inside Ohio Stadium. Didn't have big numbers in the loss to Iowa.

[D]

I wanted to play inside Ohio Stadium.

[A]

Who wouldn't want to play inside it?

[D]

They didn't offer me no scholarship. I came here to camp. They had. This is just a personal story, man. This is a personal story.

[A]

Who was the coach back then?

[B]

Trestle.

[D]

It was Trestle. I came to camp. I came to Ohio State's camp.

[B]

I.

[A]

They had looked good in scarlet and gray, by the way.

[D]

I swear. I wanted to. I wanted to put the stickers on my helmet. Ted Gint Jr. Was my favorite player. I wore number seven in high school because of him. But I came to the camp, coach. They had some recruit, four star linebacker. I went against him. Every replacement. I abused this man, coach. I abused him. I whooped him like he stole some. And they still didn't offer me no scholarship, man. But it's all good.

[A]

It worked out all right for you.

[D]

Go Bucks.

[B]

Go Buck.

[A]

I see the chain around your neck. Your neck. You're doing all right. All right, so Penn State, let's talk about them real quick.

[D]

That my personal story. I'm sorry, y'.

[B]

All.

[A]

I'm gonna.

[D]

Let me vent for a second.

[A]

Coming off a bye week and entering this one off, four straight losses. They lose their head coach, they lose their starting quarterback, they lose all the confidence that they had. Remember, this was a team that was number two, number two in the preseason poll, and here they are, winless in Big Ten play. My sense is, with that bye week, they've tweaked Their offense a little bit, some of it out of necessity. With a new quarterback, I feel like there's going to be some new wrinkles that they have to show against. Against Ohio State. They're going to slow the game down, Coach. You know that, right? They're going to limit the possessions. They're going to take the time on the clock. Will that frustrate Ohio State? Washington tried to do the same thing. They weren't frustrated. Didn't work.

[D]

Didn't work.

[A]

The scoring margin was manageable in Washington's eyes, but they slowed the game down, but it didn't impact Ohio State. The thing for Penn State is this is now their national championship game. They had national title aspirations coming into this one. They are going to invest and push everything into this game. And that. That scares me. But if you hit them early and you put them back in their place.

[D]

They'Re going to tuck that and it's okay.

[A]

That tail goes in. I like the Buckeyes 24, 6. I don't think they need to put up the 30s, the 35. Coach. I think they're like, so you're taking the good. They're just going to kick a couple field goals. This doesn't bother me. We're comfortable. We got bigger fish to fry later in the month of November and December, in January. I like the Buckeyes.

[B]

20 and a half.

[A]

Yes, I do.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Yes, I do. Barely, Coach. Barely.

[B]

Yeah, I. I'm concerned about Penn State's locker room. They've been exposed. You know, I. I think I see two good running backs. Great. I love the running back.

[A]

Allen and Singleton, they're going to be.

[B]

Stopped and I don't know what they'll cross midfield.

[A]

We're.

[B]

Where's the outside? What's going to happen with a new quarterback? So I see this as an ass kick and I see this as you land the points. Yeah. Oh, yeah. I'd say this is. This is the 35, 45. I think the second half because Penn State right now lost their coach. They lost a bunch of games in a row. There's a lot of conversation about things other than them and I think they're going to walk into a buzzsaw. Julian saying is getting catching fire. The defense, they're not going to. I don't know if they'll score. Who's going to score?

[A]

They can't.

[B]

They're great running backs, but they're going to stop the. You can stop great running backs if there's nothing on the edge and then who's going to do this. You said the guy from Olentangy. I don't know. I mean, I.

[A]

Four star recruitment.

[B]

I see Ohio State doing this.

[D]

So how much money are we putting on this line right here? You starting down 20 and a half.

[B]

It's going to be a 30, 35 point game.

[A]

35, 38. All right, all those here inside Urban Spine House, thank you so much. Thank you joining us. We really appreciate you guys spending your Thursday night with us. We appreciate the questions, the costumes, everything that came with it. Again, take your phone out right now, go to podcast and start following. Start subscribing to the triple option. You can find us on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, wherever it is you get podcasts. We're also on social media 3x option show coming your way every Wednesday on all those podcasts on YouTube as well. Send us your questions, send us your comments. Fire off all these tendies. Take these sauces home with you. Next week it is the first college football playoff rankings will be fascinating to see where the Buckeyes fall. We will be live on YouTube X and Facebook. You would think, but you never know. They like to throw curve balls. We're going to be live right after the announcement around 8:45 Eastern. So we hope you can join us. As always, thank you to our great sponsors, Wendy's, which is just literally down that road, FanDuel and Google. Enjoy the football this week and enjoy your Buckeyes this Saturday. And Los Linderos.

[B]

Pull them up.

[A]

Another round of Los Linderos for everybody. Let's go here. Thanks for joining us on the triple option.

[D]

No, no, no.

[A]

No, Sam.