Trouble in Georgia, College Football Playoff Rankings, Week 12 Picks, & Colorado a Sleeper?

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Triple Option Episode: Trouble in Georgia, College Football Playoff Rankings, Week 12 Picks, & Colorado a Sleeper?

Hosts: Urban Meyer, Mark Ingram II, Rob Stone
Presented by: Wendy’s

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Introduction

In this engaging episode of The Triple Option, hosts Urban Meyer, Mark Ingram II, and Rob Stone delve into the tumultuous state of the College Football Playoff (CFP) rankings, with a particular focus on Georgia's surprising drop to the 12th spot. They also explore Week 12 game picks, discuss Colorado as a potential dark horse, and tackle the controversial Jake Pope incident involving Georgia's head coach Kirby Smart.

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College Football Playoff Rankings Shake-Up

The episode kicks off with a breakdown of the latest CFP rankings, highlighting significant movements and exclusions. Rob Stone (00:00) expresses frustration with derogatory language in coaching, setting the tone for a candid discussion.

Mark Ingram (03:11) emphasizes the dramatic fall of Georgia from the second seed to 12th, attributing it to a poorly viewed loss and the subsequent impact on their playoff aspirations. Urban Meyer (03:49) underscores the chaos within the SEC, noting, “The SEC thing is chaotic right now... They control their own destiny.”

Key Points:

• Boise State slips to the 13th spot but secures the 12th seed.
• SMU and Texas A&M also see downward movements.
• Ole Miss benefits from Georgia's drop, jumping to 11th.
• Indiana surprisingly climbs to the 5th spot after a narrow win over Michigan.

Urban Meyer (06:00) praises Indiana’s rise, “I was shocked what I saw because SMU... but Indiana clearly does belong up there at number five.”

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Blind Resume Ranking Test

Presented by ZipRecruiter, the hosts conduct a "blind resume" ranking test, analyzing five teams based solely on their records, offensive and defensive rankings, and strength of schedule.

Notable Quotes:

• Rob Stone (40:21): “I think I know who that is.”
• Urban Meyer (40:54): “This thing is difficult.”

Discussion Highlights:

• Urban Meyer selects SMU as top team due to their ranked wins despite a challenging schedule.
• Mark Ingram picks Indiana, appreciating their recent performance and potential for immediate impact.
• The conversation underscores the complexity of evaluating teams beyond just win-loss records, considering strength of schedule and quality of victories.

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Team Analysis and Predictions

The trio transitions into analyzing specific matchups and predicting outcomes for Week 12.

Colorado vs. Utah

Mark Ingram (47:45) expresses strong support for Colorado, citing their dynamic offense and high-powered receivers:

“Colorado's on fire. They're going to be on fire with us there.”

Urban Meyer (48:23) highlights Utah’s defensive prowess but remains inclined towards Colorado’s offensive strengths.

Virginia vs. Notre Dame

Rob Stone (50:02) evaluates Notre Dame’s impressive seven-game winning streak, despite a significant loss to Northern Illinois:

“They are doing it in convincing fashion.”

He anticipates a strong performance from Notre Dame, whereas Urban Meyer (51:01) favors Oregon against Wisconsin, emphasizing Oregon’s dominant performance and struggling Wisconsin defense.

Texas vs. Arkansas

Mark Ingram (53:11) confidently picks Texas to cover the 13.5-point spread over Arkansas, praising their elite defense and coaching:

“I think they're going to cover the spread.”

Clemson vs. Pitt

Rob Stone (54:09) analyzes Clemson’s recent performance and picks them to cover the 10-point spread against Pitt, noting their resilience and strong coaching.

Tennessee vs. Georgia

A critical segment revolves around Georgia’s dire position in the CFP rankings and their upcoming must-win game against Tennessee. Urban Meyer (55:49) comments on Georgia’s offensive struggles:

“They had 10 points on offense. They had three turnovers and allowed five sacks.”

Mark Ingram (58:11) discusses Tennessee’s robust defense and quarterback performance, ultimately predicting a closer game:

“I'm going with Tennessee to cover nine and a half.”

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Controversial Incident: Jake Pope Celebration

A significant portion of the episode addresses the viral incident involving Jake Pope, a player celebrating on the field post-game, leading to Kirby Smart publicly calling him an "idiot."

Notable Quotes:

• Rob Stone (24:28): “What are you doing to me?”
• Mark Ingram (25:01): “What an idiot... just not real smart.”

Discussion Highlights:

• Urban Meyer (28:25) defends the criticism, emphasizing the importance of maintaining professionalism.

“Don’t call your player an idiot in front of the media.”

• Mark Ingram (30:02) reflects on his own experience with fines from the SEC for criticizing officiating, advocating for internal resolution rather than public shaming.

The hosts collectively express concern over the use of derogatory language and its impact on player morale, urging coaches to handle criticisms privately to maintain a positive locker room culture.

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Betting Picks with BetMGM

Sponsored by BetMGM, the hosts share their betting picks for the upcoming games:

1. Utah vs. Colorado: Mark favors Colorado despite Utah’s defense.
2. Virginia vs. Notre Dame: Rob Stone leans towards Notre Dame covering the spread.
3. Clemson vs. Pitt: Rob Stone predicts Clemson to cover.
4. Tennessee vs. Georgia: Mark Ingram picks Tennessee to cover the 9.5-point spread.

Rob Stone emphasizes responsible gambling and the latest BetMGM promotions.

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Final Thoughts and Upcoming Segments

The episode concludes with a playful discussion about the Baltimore Orioles and a teaser for upcoming segments, including a "blind resume" ranking test and future betting picks.

Urban Meyer (58:45) reflects on the emotional toll of coaching:

“Winning matters, but who you play matters too.”

Mark Ingram (60:39) wraps up with enthusiasm for upcoming games and a shout-out to Shelly, highlighting the importance of teamwork and support behind the scenes.

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Conclusion

This episode of The Triple Option offers a comprehensive and spirited analysis of the latest developments in college football. The hosts provide insightful commentary on the CFP rankings, individual team performances, and ongoing controversies, all while maintaining an engaging and relatable conversation. Their balanced perspectives cater to both passionate fans and casual listeners, ensuring a rich and informative experience.

Follow the Triple Option Show:

• YouTube
• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• Social Media: @3XOptionShow on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and Facebook

Sponsors:

• Wendy’s
• BetMGM
• ZipRecruiter

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Stay tuned for the next episode every Wednesday, where Urban Meyer, Mark Ingram II, and Rob Stone continue to navigate the exciting landscape of college football.

Transcript

[Rob Stone]

Idiot is a trigger word. Idiot says something. That's what really got me going. And then that led me down this, this rabbit hole. Don't call your player an idiot from the triple option. Don't call people idiots.

[Mark Ingram]

You're welcome.

[Rob Stone]

There's the music as we welcome you to another edition of the triple option, presented by our great partner, Wendy's. Try Wendy's new saucy nugs today. So whether you're joining us for this live stream, if you're watching later, A. Thank you. B. Please rate and subscribe at Apple Podcast, Spotify, wherever you get your podcast, as well as across social media. You can find us at 3x option show new episodes coming your way every Wednesday. We are here to talk nothing but college football right now. Rob Stone, Mark Ingram, and Urban Meyer here with you as we get ready.

[Mark Ingram]

Stone.

[Rob Stone]

Yes. Am I going too fast? I'm too excited?

[Mark Ingram]

No.

[Rob Stone]

What's the matter?

[Urban Meyer]

Where's coach?

[Rob Stone]

I know. I don't even care. I was doing background every episode.

[Mark Ingram]

Like the secret, secret location.

[Rob Stone]

How many College football Playoff.

[Urban Meyer]

How many backgrounds could Coach Meyer have? More backgrounds than Texas Tech has tortillas, by the way.

[Rob Stone]

I thought I was the background king. And Urban, as you surpass that title from me, who knows where coach will be next week? You know what? Who knows where coach will be later on here on this week's edition of the triple option. Stand by for that one. You can find us on social media at 3X option show. We're three dudes who love each other and care intimately about college football. New episodes, as we mentioned, coming your way Wednesday. Rob, Mark, Urban, we're here with you. We're getting you ready for week number 12. But to really talk about week number 12, you have to talk about the College Football playoff rankings. The second edition of the college football playoff rankings just came out. We're going to hit it in just a moment. Want to remind you how the playoffs play out this year again, 12 teams make the playoffs. Five highest ranked conference champions. Remember that because that's going to be impactful. Get the automatic bids, the five highest ranked conference champs. Those remaining seven spots, they get parceled on out to the next highest seven ranked teams, four highest ranked conference champions. They get that really important first round by the 5, 6, 7, 8 seed teams. They get a home game on their campus. Guys, are we ready to get to it here? Because there was moving and there was some shaking. So we're going to put it up here for you. Craziness at the bottom, right? So the next three out Boise State, they got in at number 13, down a spot this week, but they're in as the 12 seed. So you're going to see them in the bracket. But right now they are not one of the quote unquote, 12 best teams. Same for you.

[Mark Ingram]

How did they go down? How did that happen?

[Rob Stone]

You know who also went down? SMU went down to number 14. Texas A&M at number 15, down a.

[Urban Meyer]

Shot because Ole Miss jumps them. I think Ole Miss jumped them in the rankings because Ole Miss.

[Rob Stone]

Ole Miss sitting there at number 11. But Ole Miss was.

[Urban Meyer]

Ole Miss was on the outside and.

[Rob Stone]

Now they're on the inside and looking good. But guess who's on the outside but also on the inside, right? Try to figure that one out, folks.

[Mark Ingram]

Bulldog.

[Rob Stone]

This is insane, guys. If you go back last week, I have my sheet. Georgia, last week they were the number two seed in the whole tournament. The number two seed and they had the number three ranking. That's last week. Oh, boy. Seven days can change things a lot. Georgia, a ranking of number 12. But they are the first team out because of what Boise State does as winning the Mountain west and moving into the bracket. Georgia, without a doubt. Mark has to be the talking point of this, the second edition of the College Football Playoff rankings.

[Urban Meyer]

I mean, you go from the three seed to out. I mean, that just shows you the emphasis on how bad that loss was viewed by the committee. But at the same time, they played number seven Tennessee here in a couple days. So they're on the outside looking in. But they can easily be right back on the inside with a win against the number 17 ranked, the number 7 ranked team by the committee. So we'll see. This SEC thing is chaotic right now. A and M is on the outside. They control their own destiny. They could be playing in the SEC Championship game. They have Texas at home, the last game of the season. So this SEC thing is going to come down to the wire. Man, it's a crazy conference, man. I played in it. Coach, coach coached in it. We know how tough that conference is.

[Mark Ingram]

Yeah, in 2015, we got bounced. We started the preseason number one the year after winning it. And we lost late against Michigan State and we got the same. We got, you know, we dropped way out of that thing. And so you're right, it's when you lose who you lose to and how you lose. And I. Who do think you would lost 10 spots? I mean, they're out. Georgia's out. If the world ends today, Georgia's out of the playoffs.

[Urban Meyer]

Right?

[Mark Ingram]

Amazing.

[Rob Stone]

Ole Miss, the big benefactor, 8 and 2. They jumped up five spots, and they're sitting there with the 11 ranking. Right? And Ole Miss with the 11 seeds. So right now it would be Ole Miss at Penn State. Another big talking point. The Big Ten. Are you kidding?

[Urban Meyer]

For the top five.

[Rob Stone]

Top five. Penn State. They moved up two spots. Their best win all season, guys. Illinois. But there's Penn State sitting there at number four. They went up above Indiana. But give. Give the crew and the committee some credit for Indiana. They bumped Indiana up three spots this week.

[Urban Meyer]

Wow.

[Rob Stone]

The narrow win at home over Michigan, their idol this week. And then the big test at the HorseShoe live on Fox. Not this Saturday, but next Saturday. So Indiana moves up three spots, coach to number five. Does that feel right? Does that feel fair for the hoo.

[Urban Meyer]

One second before coach goes. I don't want to give committee credit for moving them up because Miami lost, Georgia lost.

[Rob Stone]

I know. I say it's still. I think it's still a brave move to have an Indiana team up there that hasn't done much through their history and doesn't have that brand star power to sit there at 5. But I think that win over Michigan, you know, over those winged helmets and the brand that is Michigan, and we know Michigan is down this year, but I feel like the committee and others, including us, needed to see them beat a real program. You know, like they beat the defending national champs. I think that makes people breathe a little bit easier that, yes, Indiana clearly does belong up there at number five.

[Mark Ingram]

Yeah, Indiana. If. If the committee is watching film, and I would always challenge that, say, you know, I don't. I'm going to get that for next week. The who is actually on the committee. I mean, used to have commissioners from smaller conferences. Used to have, you know, people on there that, you know, all due respect to really good put good people. I didn't say that. But when they watch video tape, Mark, or they watch film, they're going to be like, I have no idea what I'm watching.

[Urban Meyer]

Right.

[Mark Ingram]

And Indiana, you watch them, which I have all year. I've been saying that for the last six, seven weeks. They're one of the best coach teams, certainly the Big Ten, and I'll say the country. So that is certainly deserving of it. Absolutely. But once again, are they watching film? Are they. When you said they beat the Wolverines, I got news. The Wolverine version 2024. It's not. That's not a good win. I actually thought Indiana should have played much better. You know, Wolverines just are a shell of themselves. Than they were a year ago. So I know it's. I wish we'd get away from the blue blood and all that. That's.

[Rob Stone]

It's hard though, Coach. It's hard because that is what college football is.

[Mark Ingram]

I know, but push play if you're on a committee and I know if.

[Urban Meyer]

You push play, you respect Indiana though. If you push play, you respect Indiana. They're a very well coached team. They haven't played anybody yet, but they will play somebody in two weeks. So they will have their shot to prove their worth.

[Rob Stone]

Coach, this week you pushed play on SMU sitting there at number 14, down one spot. What did the Mustang show you?

[Mark Ingram]

Yeah, I did because there's, you know, I coached at Utah and I've also coached at a couple of blue bloods and it would pissed me off to no end when someone would criticize us like they did in 2004. You know that you guys aren't in the BCS. You're not the BCS. And I came out on national team. I said the hell with the bcs who beat most of, let's go play them all. You know, I was a young guy and popped up a little bit back then, Mark. But I, I just wanted, before I spoke, I wanted to turn them on and say, you know, SMU used to be in a smaller conference. LSMU was, you know, you just didn't think much of them. But you don't want to know what they really invested. They must have, I've heard they invested in their players. They got some really good players and you watched you push play. Damn.

[Rob Stone]

I mean, I mean, damn, they're good. They've got some really pockets.

[Mark Ingram]

They are good team. I mean, you throw a Wolverine helmet on them, you'd be okay. I get it.

[Rob Stone]

Yeah.

[Mark Ingram]

So smu, God bless them, man, they are a really good football team.

[Rob Stone]

Another big, another big jumper this weekend. BYU getting a little more respect. They were at number nine last week. They go up three spots to number six and again they, they showed some escapability last weekend getting that win at Utah and they're on top of the Big 12 and they're undefeated and sitting there at number six. Again though, the big talking point is Georgia. If we could call up the Georgia schedule right now, guys, and, and this triggers the big part of the conversation. We were saying, like, are we going to get a three loss team into the playoffs? I don't know. Georgia's got to beat Tennessee right now. The way that the committee set up the Bulldogs currently dropping them down all the way to number 12 and outside of the bracket. This is an absolute must win game for them this weekend versus Tennessee.

[Urban Meyer]

100%. But I mean, look at this schedule. This is just brutal.

[Rob Stone]

It's a brutal schedule.

[Urban Meyer]

You pop off the year with Clemson. They beat Clemson and had everyone thinking Clemson was done for. And Clemson crawls back. They fight back there, what? Right in the teens. In this playoff picture, you go to Alabama.

[Rob Stone]

Clemson was 14. That's when the win was. And when Texas was one, that was when the victory was right.

[Urban Meyer]

Then you got Alabama with a close loss. Then you have. There you go, number one, Texas with a big win. Then you have Florida, which they're a little bit down, but then Ole Miss. Now you got Tennessee. Like, this is a brutal schedule, man. This is back to back to back to back.

[Rob Stone]

And Mark, who beat. Who. Who beat Miami on Saturday? Georgia Tech.

[Urban Meyer]

Georgia Tech. Yeah, down there.

[Rob Stone]

Close up with. Right with that. So the age old.

[Mark Ingram]

The old age old question, and I love to hit Mark with this, is that. Okay, see the big G up there on the. On the top left.

[Rob Stone]

I see that logo.

[Mark Ingram]

Go ahead and white that out and put SMU there. Mark or put B. Let's go smu. All right, SMU and take a shot at that schedule. What. Honestly, what's. What would happen?

[Urban Meyer]

Mark, that's 13 games. What's that? That's 13 games. 12 games. I see, I don't see him beating Clemson. I don't see him beating Bama. I don't see him beating Texas. I don't see him beating Ole Miss. I don't see him beating Tennessee. That's five losses right there. And you could add up another loss or two in the schedule. So I'm like, all due respect to smu, but like when you go and play the quality of that schedule, that thing is brutal. So I mean, you have to look at the quality of the schedule. You have to look at the opponents, you have to look at the strength of schedule. You have to look at the ranked wins, you have to look at the full body of work because you have a few of these teams. I'm not disrespecting anyone, but you have smu, you have byu, you have shoot Notre Dame who lost to Northern Illinois, you know what I mean?

[Rob Stone]

But Notre Dame up two spots to number eight.

[Urban Meyer]

Does a three loss team get in like from the SEC if they were supposed to lose to Tennessee, Georgia. Let's see who they lost to. They lost to Bama, who is in the playoff race. They lost to Ole Miss, who was in the playoff race and they have Tennessee coming up. So do you punish them for three losses against a team? A two loss ACC team who you know that's not an ACC champ? We'll see. You know what I mean?

[Rob Stone]

But Mark, it's tough. You are so good. You are. You're transitioning me to this next conversation. We ran a Twitter poll earlier today on the triple option social media handle. We essentially asked that question right now. 53%.

[Urban Meyer]

What do people say? What the people say?

[Rob Stone]

The people said 53% of.

[Urban Meyer]

We love the people.

[Rob Stone]

We said putting in a three loss SEC team over a two loss ACC championship game loser, which would be Miami or SMU. So they feel like a three loss. They're given big value to a three loss SEC team. 47% of those chiming in would be putting in a two loss ACC championship game loser over the three loss SEC team. Still pretty tight. Pretty tight on that pole. But.

[Urban Meyer]

But it's more.

[Mark Ingram]

Did the people speak on the BYU SMU conflict?

[Urban Meyer]

No, they didn't.

[Rob Stone]

Well, no. An athletic. I have respect byu. We'll talk.

[Urban Meyer]

I love Cosmo. I respect for smu. My boy Cole Liner. That's your future at the qb. I have respect for him. But it is a truly honest discussion. If you put those schedules for those teams, how would it fare? So just. I, I'm not, I'm not hating on nobody.

[Mark Ingram]

So here's the other thing. I want to throw this out at you because I have talked to people on the committee that have left the committee because I was asked. And now when you watch tape, which I, I was a maniac about that. You got to watch a tape. Got to watch a tape. Okay, watch the tape. You watch the first half against Texas or the second half. I'm talking about Georgia first half against Texas, second half against Bama. You're saying that might be the best team in the football.

[Urban Meyer]

Yeah.

[Mark Ingram]

You watched that mess last week.

[Rob Stone]

Yes.

[Mark Ingram]

And you say SMU is a better team. Yeah, I. Because I watched them both. And in Carson Beck, something's wrong. Something's there. There's something wrong. Coach.

[Rob Stone]

To that point it's. It's Alabama as well. Like I, I want to trust Alabama and then I can't trust them and then I want to trust them and then I don't know. They're down one spot to number 10. Sitting there seven and two mark. It is crazy. Let me throw out this spicy nug for you. It was a good one. Three weeks are left in the college football regular season. All 18 conference championship game spots still open. Nobody has booked a ticket yet. That's your.

[Urban Meyer]

I love it.

[Rob Stone]

That's your saucy answer. Try some at your nearest Wendy's. We love those saucy nugs coming your way. That's a good one, man. Things are wide open. So much, so much to play for.

[Urban Meyer]

And you, Big 12, the SEC, the Big 10, the ACC, every conference championship is open. And we love it because that means players are playing hard right now. That means players are bought in. Coach, would you say there's 15, 20 programs that wake up tomorrow morning knowing they have a shot to accomplish the ultimate goal, which is to raise that gold championship trophy? Right? And this is why we love college football. Look at this. This is going to be like amazing. Can you imagine going the Crimson tied to Bloomington in the cold.

[Rob Stone]

I love it.

[Urban Meyer]

Ole Miss going to Penn State. Notre Dame going to Tennessee. Ashton Gentee going against the Fighting Urban Myers. The Buckeyes.

[Rob Stone]

That game up top, man. Yeah, that game up top. Boise State, Ohio State. So that was the same game that was predicted last week and it holds its spot. That's the only game. You know, Tennessee remains there as an eight seed. Last week they were hosting Indiana. This week they're hosting Notre Dame. Penn State, six seed. Now, home game against Ole Miss. Indiana, home game against Alabama. How about of the four first round games, three of them will be on home Big Ten sites. As of now.

[Urban Meyer]

As of now. But we know Indiana has to play Ohio State. We know Georgia has to go to Tennessee. We know Miami still has to do they say against smu. You know what I mean?

[Rob Stone]

Hey, Miami, watch out, be careful. Miami, right? Can't. They've been playing with fire all season long.

[Urban Meyer]

All season long. You play with fire, you might get burnt.

[Rob Stone]

Yeah, down five spots. They're nine and one. They're down now to number nine, highest ranked ACC team. But there they are though, getting a buy and off to the quarterfinals. But the Buckeyes.

[Mark Ingram]

How about. How about this, Rob? How about this, Robin? Mark. So you got Ohio State little beat boys here. They should. Then they beat Miami. They're going to play Oregon for the third time in a season.

[Rob Stone]

You've been on that one for a couple weeks now, Coach. I was pretty proud of you.

[Mark Ingram]

That's a nightmare for a coach in a trilogy. Yeah. So you're going to have. They played at Eugene. They're going to play in Indianapolis probably. And then they're going to play again in a semi. Unbelievable.

[Urban Meyer]

They probably first time ever.

[Rob Stone]

Ooh, is there a team, guys, that's not on that bracket right now, besides Georgia, that people maybe need to be thinking about a little bit more. Is it an smu? Is it an A and M? Is it. Oh, by the way, the team that checked in this week at number 17, up three spots. Coach prime and the Colorado Buffalo control their destiny and they host Utah this Saturday. Big noon. Kickoff will be there in Boulder in early start, but Colorado at number 17, 7 and 2 overall, up three spots to number 17. Watch out for the Buffs.

[Urban Meyer]

The Buffs control their own destiny, man. They have to take it one week at a time.

[Mark Ingram]

Offensive line, guys, I just, I think if I, I'm. I'm jumping on that SMU train a little bit. I was. I kind of took shots at them a little bit the last couple weeks, but they're a balanced team. They're a really good team. And oh, man, we're gonna be a Boulder. I love Boulder.

[Rob Stone]

I love.

[Urban Meyer]

You're jumping on the Matt Leinert in the SMU train, huh?

[Mark Ingram]

Yeah. Just watching him, you know, I just, I wanted, before I popped off, I said I wanted to at least look at this thing. And I was not hoping, but I was a little shocked what I saw because smu, I just never, never have thought of them that way. They've been down for so long. I mean, they're always been a decent program, but they are legit.

[Rob Stone]

Yeah, legit, legit, legit SMU.

[Urban Meyer]

That's ACC. Colorado's in the Big 12. They got to have to see BYU. They got Utah this week. You know, Utah is tough on defense.

[Rob Stone]

Guess what? We're not talking blue bloods. We are not talking blue bloods right there. And as an underdog type guy, I love that. I love the fact that we're discussing Boise State and can SMU get on in there and, you know, how much longer can BYU and Indiana hold on to those spots? Can they continue to move up?

[Urban Meyer]

But you look at these rankingstoner and like, I feel that on any given Saturday, any given whatever day one of these teams play their best, they could be any one of these teams. Like, this is what. This is beautiful. Everyone wondered what. Wonder what this college football player would look like. And I think this is like the most exciting thing that could be happening for college football. I've been saying it like bitcoin is at 85,000, 86,000. If college football is the stock right now, I'm buying it, and I'm buying it in bulk. I'm loading the boat on it, coach, because, I mean, this is Crazy.

[Mark Ingram]

Yeah, it's great stuff, man.

[Rob Stone]

So Kirby Smarts had himself a couple days.

[Mark Ingram]

Here you go.

[Rob Stone]

Nope, nope, not yet. It's coming soon. This is me teasing things. Coming up on the triple option. Kirby Smart with a. With a sound bite that. That caught our attention. We say hello to our new friend.

[Mark Ingram]

Your attention, Jake.

[Rob Stone]

Jake Pope out there. We're going to have our bet. MGM pick six coming your way. Also, a blind resume on the way. This is fascinating. We're going to look at five programs, give you some of their credentials, but not tell you who the program is. And it will be a fun watch and listen to see who Mark and Urban said is the better program. But there it is.

[Urban Meyer]

My program is up here.

[Rob Stone]

Your. Your program is on good side, sitting there at number 10. The big news this week, coming out of the college football playoff rankings, Georgia down all the way to number 12, and they are not in the 12 team college football playoff bracket. Light it. You've had Wendy's nugs dipped in sauce, right? Mark? You've had the Wendy nugs I've had.

[Urban Meyer]

And I love them.

[Rob Stone]

All right. But Mark, I ask you, have you had them covered in sauce? Wendy's new saucy nugs. Take the crispy and spicy nugs that I know you love. And you know what they turn them up to? They turn them up to 11, Mark.

[Mark Ingram]

Ooh.

[Urban Meyer]

More than 10?

[Rob Stone]

More than 10.

[Urban Meyer]

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

[Rob Stone]

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

[Urban Meyer]

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

[Rob Stone]

Yeah, I can do the peppers, pick a flavor, grab some extra napkins, and then go back and get a few more napkins and prepare to nug. Apparently, the word nug is a verb now. So, Mark, prepare to nug like you've never nugged before. For a whole new way to nugget, it's got to be Wendy's at participating us. Wendy's Keep on nugging America, Nug city. In our job, the office is always changing, whether it be at the big house, the Coliseum, or even Death Valley. While there are many different types of offices out there, one thing is for certain. Choosing the right candidate for any office is a huge responsibility. Coach.

[Mark Ingram]

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[Rob Stone]

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[Mark Ingram]

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[Rob Stone]

ZipRecruiter.com option Again, that is ZipRecruiter.com options ZipRecruiter the smartest way to hire Prep.

[Urban Meyer]

For Thanksgiving at Whole Foods Market. Save now on no antibiotics ever. Frozen whole turkey, just 149 a pound with prime sales on Brie and select seafood appetizers help get things started. For sides, go with Wallet Happy Favorites from 365 by Whole Foods Market and finish with decadent desserts from the bakery. Or get your whole spread catered. Just order early. Get Thanksgiving ready at Whole Foods Market. Terms apply.

[Rob Stone]

Welcome back to the Triple option presented by Wendy's longtime Baltimore Oriole fan, Urban Meyer, Mark Ingram, Rob Stone back go home with you. Is that what the. Yeah.

[Mark Ingram]

Where is coach?

[Rob Stone]

Kind of works.

[Urban Meyer]

Where's coach this week? That's always my favorite thing of the week, Rob, is where will coach be next week?

[Mark Ingram]

I'll tell you what, I'm not far from where you dominated.

[Urban Meyer]

Hey, you right there. I see you.

[Mark Ingram]

Baltimore Ravens right down the street.

[Rob Stone]

Wow, that's good.

[Mark Ingram]

I think I ran by a statue of Mark Ingram. Here.

[Rob Stone]

You. Wait a second. You went for a run. Coach.

[Mark Ingram]

I've been to Baltimore 25, 30 times, but I've seen the not pretty side of Baltimore.

[Rob Stone]

Yeah.

[Mark Ingram]

Downtown and the waterfront. The harbor is beautiful.

[Urban Meyer]

Yeah, great. You need a place to go eat, man. I got you, man.

[Mark Ingram]

Oh, man. Oh, they crushed us the last two nights here.

[Rob Stone]

So he's got a place. I bet there was freedom.

[Urban Meyer]

The Navy. Navy Yard.

[Mark Ingram]

No, no, it's up on that hill with all the flags.

[Urban Meyer]

No, no, no, I haven't. I haven't been up there. Maybe you could take me next time.

[Rob Stone]

This segment brought to you by the Baltimore Tourism Board. Also, we're going to pivot here and do a little herd that we had a couple of interesting Sound bites this week in college football. Let's start with George's Jake Pope. There was video out there. Yeah. Of him celebrating on the field at Ole Miss with some people in Ole Miss jerseys. It was just a quick little glimpse. And of course, Georgia had lost the backstory. Real quick, we're going to get Kirby Smart's take on the backstory is he's trying to get off the field after the loss. Runs into some old friends from Beaufort, Georgia, who have gone to his games who have cheered for Pope. They were also at the Ole Miss game cheering for some of their other friends. He ran into them out of the blue, was so surprised, was kind of hugging them and happy to see his friends. But the reaction obviously went viral. Here's his head coach, Kirby Smarts.

[Urban Meyer]

Kirby, there's a video on social media of Jake Pope seemingly celebrating with some Ole Miss fans on the field after the game.

[Rob Stone]

Just wanted to see if you had seen that and what your reaction to it was.

[Mark Ingram]

Yeah. What an idiot. I mean, what. I mean, just stupid. I didn't see it till today. But he's embarrassed about it. He's upset about it. That's obviously a childhood friend of his he grew up and played with there at Buford and knows him. Hadn't seen him in forever, but just not real smart. But to be honest with you, I don't have time to waste energy on that. I mean, you know what I'm saying? My focus is on Tennessee. I'm not worried about that.

[Rob Stone]

Okay. There's a lot to take in on this one. You guys are kind of giggling and. Yeah, there's some laughter.

[Urban Meyer]

Curvy curve.

[Rob Stone]

Serious points, too. But, man, Kirby, Mark, you and I were talking about it like, Kirby has been through it this season.

[Urban Meyer]

Kirby's got some stuff going on this year.

[Rob Stone]

He does. It has been a tough year for him, man.

[Urban Meyer]

You talk about how he's over here pushing other players. Now he's calling his own dude an idiot on in front of everybody. Like, my man Kirby is just fighting it right now. But it's okay, man. It's tough in the sec just coming off a tough loss. But come on, man, don't call your dude an idiot. But it's not a good look for Jake Pope. It's not a good look for him, man, to be bouncing around, jumping up and down, the team's eyes on you. Look like you celebrating. We probably going to dump you on your head or something, man. Like, but, Jake, what's that movie?

[Mark Ingram]

What's that movie called? With the jack Nicholson, where it's like they gave the guy a code red. You can't handle the truth.

[Rob Stone]

You can't handle the truth.

[Mark Ingram]

Yeah. Where they gave the guy a code.

[Rob Stone]

Down in D.C. wasn't it.

[Mark Ingram]

Oh, I can't remember that.

[Rob Stone]

I know you're talking about a few.

[Mark Ingram]

Good men you can't handle because I gave a guy the. All the. I don't know how you go eat dinner. And those players, you know, the defensive tackles and the, you know, the offensive guard been getting your teeth kicked in and a lawn snapper is screwing around after the game. That's. That's a tough deal, man. And it's silly. I mean, move on. But what in the world.

[Urban Meyer]

Yeah, man, like, to your point, it is silly.

[Rob Stone]

Move on. Don't. Don't even address it. And. And the big. At least I thought. Coach, and particularly in your. Your industry, you praise in public and you criticize in private. Okay? And I understand there are sometimes that. Apparently the. The private criticism hasn't taken hold and you need to maybe go out and have a stronger word, but keep that internally. You don't need to throw your player under the bus. Calling your player is an idiot. That's bs. That is. That is bush league. That is jv. And Coach Smart is way above it. Number two, you want stupid, you want idiots. Let me tell you that visor. That visor is not a halo, right? Why don't you look at some of the player transactions and transgressions that have been happening in your program the last couple of months, right? All of those driving problems, speeding, racing, reckless driving, dui. There's a battery and assault case out there as well. And you're going to call this guy an idiot and stupid for hugging somebody that he was genuinely happy to see, Right? You want dumb and idiot and stupid. It's getting behind the wheel in a reckless manner and driving around and killing people and possibly impairing others. That is being an idiot. That is being dumb. Listen, guys, if I have a bad bowling show or a bad soccer show, I'm down. But if I see one of you two cats walking down the hallway, guess what I'm doing? I'm smiling and I'm going to be happy to see you guys and I'm going to hug you, and I get. Football in the SEC is a little bit different, right? And I have all kinds of respect for that. But to throw your player under the bus, calling him an idiot when there are a whole lot of other problems behind the scenes that are really stupid, right? That to Me seems out of character.

[Urban Meyer]

It's all valid. It's all very valid.

[Rob Stone]

Yeah, that really adds stoner.

[Mark Ingram]

You.

[Urban Meyer]

He heated up about that one.

[Rob Stone]

I did get heated up about that.

[Urban Meyer]

But it's true, though. It's true.

[Rob Stone]

It's very true. I'm upset about that, man. I wish. I hope every player in college football, college basketball, college soccer, whatever it is in life has people that bring that type of joy to them where they had just had a horrible defeat on the road, and yet they're still happy and smiling and ready to throw out a hug to see these people. I hope we all have friends and emotions like that.

[Urban Meyer]

So, like, I've seen some. I've seen some people that I really love after a tough loss. And, like, you know, you do smile. You do hug them. But, like, when you get whooped like that, though, I don't see the jumping up and down part. It's a little different. You know what I mean? But don't call the man an idiot in front of the media. Don't call him stupid in front of the media. Just let it go.

[Rob Stone]

And Mark and coach wanted to move on, right? Coach Smart wanted to move on from this.

[Urban Meyer]

Yeah.

[Rob Stone]

Guess how you move on. You don't say that.

[Urban Meyer]

You don't say that. Because now we got to talk about it. Now we got to talk about it. I would.

[Rob Stone]

I would have been happy to not have mentioned the name Jake Pope. And I hope folks in Athens and whatnot treat Jake Pope with proper respect. Right? I hope. I hope you who want to yell at Jake Pope have friends like Jake Pope.

[Mark Ingram]

Right?

[Rob Stone]

I hope you got those dudes out there that you want to hug and see. All right, I'm moving on. Coach, I'm not even going to let you talk about this.

[Urban Meyer]

I don't get a two cents in.

[Rob Stone]

Do you want. Do you want two cents? Because I know there's another topic we got two cents for.

[Mark Ingram]

Listen, everybody's got virtues and vices, right? And my vice was handling the loss. So I. And the run want to talk about. There was no hugs. No. I mean, it was hard to hold on to solid food for three months.

[Urban Meyer]

After a loss, especially getting whipped like that.

[Mark Ingram]

And I will just say this, that the investment on teams like Georgia, Ole Miss, you know, Ohio State, so, I mean, the investment is beyond reproach. I mean, people really. The normal human being really doesn't understand the amount of time, blood, sweat, and tears that goes into that. You play in that freaking sec, you get kicked in the face. I know. I'm serious. I'm the wrong guy to ask because, I mean, you guys know me. It would take me months to get over a loss. Still not over six years old. I'm still thinking about the 2015 when we lost to Michigan State. So. Yeah, I get, I mean, it's a kid. He's a young kid. And you apologize. But I also, I feel Kirby, I would never said the idiot word, but I'll tell you, I would have busted him up. I would say don't take home and that's fine.

[Rob Stone]

Bust him up behind, behind the locker room.

[Mark Ingram]

And the player, you imagine Mark. I mean, I know Mark Ingram now.

[Urban Meyer]

Yeah. The players giving it to him too. But I, I, I don't know if I've seen any players come out. I don't know if I've seen any players come out in public and, and put their guy down, but I know they gave it to him in the locker room.

[Mark Ingram]

I think Rob's best thing was that's behind the doors.

[Urban Meyer]

Yes, yes.

[Mark Ingram]

But he was, I'm going to give. He was asked about. He didn't bring it up. Yeah, but family problem is standing in front of a media. You're always going to ask those questions and you have to say so you can't just say move on. Yeah, I guess you could, you can.

[Urban Meyer]

Say, you can handle it.

[Rob Stone]

We handle it internally. You can say, I talked to him about it.

[Urban Meyer]

I talked to him about it and that's it. I want to talk about this week, Tennessee. You know what I mean?

[Rob Stone]

So, and listen, idiot is a trigger word, right? Like idiot says something. And that, that's what really got me going. And then that led me down this.

[Mark Ingram]

I'm with you, Rob.

[Rob Stone]

Don't call your player an idiot. Right? This is, man, according to the triple here from the triple option. Don't call people idiots.

[Mark Ingram]

You're welcome.

[Rob Stone]

That's, that's, that's today's big.

[Urban Meyer]

My man Kirby going through it, man. But let's. He is. All right.

[Rob Stone]

You know who else is going through it now? The athletic director at Utah. All right. Mark Harlan upset that Utah's bid to upset byu. The, the team, I think we call them the team down south, right? Correct. Did I learn that coach?

[Mark Ingram]

Last week? Yep, yep, yep.

[Rob Stone]

The team down south. All right, so this is Mark Harland, the athletic director, not the head coach, not a player, not an offense coordinator, coming in to the post game locker room and addressing the media.

[Mark Ingram]

12 years, this game was absolutely stolen from us. We were excited about being in Big.

[Rob Stone]

12, but tonight I am not.

[Urban Meyer]

We Won this game. Someone else stole it from us.

[Rob Stone]

Very disappointed.

[Urban Meyer]

I will talk to the commissioner. This was not fair to our team.

[Rob Stone]

I'm disgusted by the professionalism of the officiating crew tonight.

[Urban Meyer]

Thank you.

[Rob Stone]

So a controversial call that went against Utah, which kind of triggered that whole conversation. He said, I will talk to the commissioner. My guess is the commissioner beat him to that. And commissioner Brett Yormak reached out to him immediately. I have nothing but love for Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark. Yes. Who has already fined Harlan $40,000, saying, quote, There's a right way and a wrong way to voice concerns. Sound familiar? I think we just went through that. Unfortunately, Mark chose the wrong way. Harlan, in a subsequent statement, accepted the fine, acknowledged there are, quote, more appropriate times and avenues to address officiating. Correct. There are. And there is a part of me, coach, that loves to see your ad, you know, stand behind his program and stand behind his players. But I think there's a place and there's a way to do something like that, because him walking out there and calling out the Big 12 and calling out the officiating is just saying, you might as well just hand over your account number and pin to your bank code right now, because you're going to be lighting the lot, you're going to be lighting the wallet.

[Mark Ingram]

There's one person on this triple option that experienced that in 2007.

[Rob Stone]

It's not Mark or me.

[Mark Ingram]

No. Yeah. The commissioner of the SEC was really upset with all the coaches for criticizing officiating and officiating and said, there's a new rule. You're going to give fine 30k. And I mean, we can look it up. It was actually the Georgia game. And I. They reporter asked me a question. I said, yeah, I don't agree with that call. I don't. You know, some calls are missed. It wasn't something like that where they stole the game. And so I got a letter from the SEC saying, you're fined 30k. And I'm thinking, oh, that's. Who cares? Move on. And I thought, well, the school pay that. You know, I'm their guy. No, that came right out of that. That was.

[Urban Meyer]

Came out of that check.

[Mark Ingram]

Oh, she didn't even see it.

[Urban Meyer]

They take that, right?

[Mark Ingram]

No, no, no. Shelley had to write the check for. Oh, she had to be like, oh, yeah, yeah.

[Rob Stone]

From the desk of Urban and Shelley Meyer. What did you put in the memo section, Coach?

[Mark Ingram]

Yeah.

[Urban Meyer]

See, in the NFL, if you get that fine, you don't even write no check. You just come straight out the check. Like taxes. You know what I mean? So I thought they would do that to you, Coach, like.

[Mark Ingram]

But I'll tell you to say this. That's one of those ones. Press pause, get your mind right and step up. You know, just calm down. You know, we've all been there. You're so angry. But then the problem is you watch the videotape and it was holding, you know. Yeah. If that's what he's come. I don't know. The whole game, I didn't watch. I watched most of it, but was a good. Bad officiating. You know, that's the one thing about officiating and I learned over my career, you know, Mark, I.

[Rob Stone]

The right.

[Urban Meyer]

It's consistently bad.

[Mark Ingram]

You see, I just. I think.

[Urban Meyer]

I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

[Rob Stone]

But consistent is the buzzword. That's all you want as a player. And coach, like, be consistent if you're.

[Mark Ingram]

But here's what I will say. I did it for. You know, after every game you do, you fill it out.

[Urban Meyer]

Yes.

[Mark Ingram]

And there's some bad. There's been a couple where you missed three, maybe four. You know, the majority of the time after you're pissed off and you. During a game, you're like, how do you miss that call? You go watch a film, say, damn, it was. He was right.

[Urban Meyer]

Yeah.

[Rob Stone]

So funny how that happens. I just want to go back to that moment real quick. Coach, when. When you were a head coach, did you have any idea where your checkbook was in your house?

[Mark Ingram]

I still don't know.

[Urban Meyer]

Hey, Ms. Shelly holding it down. Ms. Shelly holding the four down. Man, oh, man.

[Rob Stone]

When's the last time you paid a bill? Coach, do you have any idea when last time you paid a bill?

[Mark Ingram]

Obviously, I paid that fine in 2007. I didn't. Shelly.

[Rob Stone]

Shelly did.

[Mark Ingram]

Nine times. How many times have I been there? Closing and nine moves zero.

[Urban Meyer]

Hey, that's why you got a queen holding down the fort.

[Mark Ingram]

Man, those three words, Mark, careful when you hear him. Power of attorney.

[Urban Meyer]

Mm.

[Mark Ingram]

Yeah.

[Rob Stone]

Give her the two words. Queen Shelly, when the triple option comes back, we're going to put blindfolds on the guys and we're going to look at some blind resumes. Who is the top team out there in college football? Well, as you all know by now, we have teamed up with our great friends at BETMGM this season, and we're going to be using BETMGM lines to make all of our picks. We'll also have special offers for our listeners each week. Mark, you're listening, right? You're listening to this. Yeah, I'm listening to Pay attention. Pay attention. All right, so if you haven't signed up for BetMGM yet, we urge you to use the Bonus Code option or go to betmgm.com option and you will get up to 1500 dollars. First bet offer mark on your first wager with betmg and we're talking 1500 bucks, mark 1500.

[Urban Meyer]

But here's how it works. Download the betmgm app and sign up using Bonus Code Option. Deposit at least $10 and place your first wager on any game. You'll receive up to 1500 dollars in bonus bets if your bet loses. Just make sure you use Bonus Code option when you sign up or go to betmgm.com option.

[Rob Stone]

It's all about the option, Mark.

[Urban Meyer]

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

[Rob Stone]

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[Urban Meyer]

Like, you know to check the date of the big game first before you.

[Rob Stone]

Accidentally buy tickets on your 20th wedding anniversary and have to spend the next 20 years of your marriage making up for it.

[Urban Meyer]

Yeah, checking first is smart.

[Rob Stone]

So check Allstate first for a quote that could save you hundreds. You're in good hands with Allstate Savings. Vary terms apply. Allstate Fire and Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates, Northbrook, IL we welcome you back to the triple option presented by the Wendy's and this week, guys, a fun little blind resume ranking test presented by ZipRecruiter. Try ZipRecruiter for free ZipRecruiter.com option ZipRecruiter the smartest way to hire so we partnered with ZipRecruiter here and we're going to put up this graphic. 5 resumes of teams that are currently in the College Football Playoff rankings and you're going to tell me of these five, I'm curious, who is the number one team in your eye? Just of these five programs? I'll tell you the brands in a little bit, but we look at them right now. All right, so we've got the record offense and defense where they're ranked in the nation, the amount of ranked wins. Team number one's got the most by the way at two. And then the strength of schedule. And there's. There's a couple big ones, right? Number one, strength of schedule, 81. Team number three, strength of schedule 100. So this is the old blind test brought to you by ZipRecruiter. And Mark, you start staring at these numbers. What are the first thing, maybe what's the first thing that draws your eye? Because I see that 10, 0 at team three and that that pulls immediately.

[Urban Meyer]

Yeah, the 10 and 0, the second rank offense, the seventh ranked defense. And then 100, 100 strength of schedule is.

[Rob Stone]

And it falls. Crazy, falls off the cliff.

[Urban Meyer]

I think I know who that is, by the way. I think we all know who that.

[Rob Stone]

Is, by the way.

[Urban Meyer]

But the 8 and 2, the 5th and the 6th ranked defense with the one rank we're in and the 23rd rank schedule, like we always talk about the quality of your wins, we always talk about the strength of your schedule being respected as such. And team one has two ranked wins, but they're 81 strength of schedule. So I'm like, this thing is difficult.

[Mark Ingram]

This is hard.

[Urban Meyer]

All right, so what's your question for me?

[Rob Stone]

I want to know, and I don't want it right now because I want coach to kind of look at these numbers and spit it out. But I'm going to come back to you, Mark. I want to know who is your top team of those five programs. As you look at the ZipRecruiter blind resume, who is your top team? Mark? I'm sorry, coach, what are the numbers that kind of end up, I guess influencing your thought process on this as we stare them down?

[Mark Ingram]

Yeah, I've coached in the big ten, the sec. So my. And I. But I also coach in the Mountain west and the Mid America conference. But my eyes go right to who you play. That's, you know, I don't know how you. That to me is the number one. If you got rank, wins and who you play if you have a loss.

[Rob Stone]

The strength of schedules, your kind of number one component.

[Mark Ingram]

I look at the 10 and all that's great, but then I go, boom, right over there and I'm like, wait a minute, you know, so Are you.

[Rob Stone]

Putting a red line through team number three right now with that 100?

[Mark Ingram]

Oh, kind of. And it's. I hate that because I love players and I love good, well coached teams. And obviously they are.

[Urban Meyer]

And that's a really well coached team.

[Mark Ingram]

That is a really. Well, I mean if I'm, if I.

[Urban Meyer]

If, if I'm right with my assumptions.

[Rob Stone]

We'Ll tell you who tune three is in a moment. Go on, coach.

[Mark Ingram]

So that's where I go. And I think this committee is going to be. Man, they're in a street fight for. And I, I still think at some point maybe we will. We're going to take Georgia schedule and you put smu, put Miami, put Brigham Young and you put and say, okay, what, what's truth and what's real and not. Once again, we are not defaming what these freaking players are doing to go 10 an hour. Because that's hard, Mark. You know it's hard, Rob. You know it's hard. I know it's hard. Winning matters, but there's also a lot of reality here.

[Urban Meyer]

Yeah, winning matters, but also who you play matters too.

[Mark Ingram]

Right?

[Rob Stone]

All right, so Mark, I go back to you then, coach, it's your turn. Who is your top team Mark of those five and why or maybe. And also maybe. Who is it? Are you caught between two programs right now?

[Urban Meyer]

It's just so hard, man, because I like the strength of schedule, I like the rank wins. But I think winning matters, man. I think winning matters and I think, I think Team 3 is going to have their say soon. So right now, ah, Team four first offense. I think I know who that is too. I like want to put respect on Team 5's name right now.

[Rob Stone]

Okay, so Team 5 with two losses.

[Urban Meyer]

Though, I can't put them above. I can't put them above.

[Rob Stone]

All those other numbers are.

[Urban Meyer]

I can't put them above. I can't put them above 10 and. Oh. Or 9 and oh. Cause winning matters, man. I'm gonna have to take team three right now, man, just off of.

[Rob Stone]

Wow. Team three. Okay.

[Urban Meyer]

I'm gonna take team three just because I think there's. I think I know who they are and I think they're gonna have their say coming up shortly so they'll be able to prove my ranking right or wrong.

[Rob Stone]

Okay, we're gonna find out in a second who team three is.

[Mark Ingram]

I'll go rank team 100%.

[Rob Stone]

The schedule. You're going team one? Yeah.

[Mark Ingram]

Just rank wins. I know it's 81st. I mean this is really hard here. This Is really hard, I think. I know, I know.

[Rob Stone]

Second worst strength of schedule of the five programs, Team one with the most ranked wins, an eight and one record. All right, so Mark is going Team three, Urban. Team one. All right, let's see who the teams are right now. Here's the big zip recruiter blind resume reveal. So team one that you picked, Urban was smu. And how about that, Mark, you picked Indiana. You were thinking about Ole Miss at number five. And I, and I get you, I get you. But coach went with SMU and Mark, you went with Indiana.

[Urban Meyer]

I was right because I knew this was Indiana and I was like, I don't care about the 100 straightforward schedule because next week they have the opportunity to play the second best team in the country. Possibly the best team in the country. So I was right. They will have their say here in about a week, in two weekends they will have their say. So I'm not mad with my choice.

[Rob Stone]

You know what's going to be interesting is ranked wins obviously matters, right? We get it and we put a lot of value on it. Obviously, coach, you did right because you gave SMU your top pick and their two ranked wins. But their two ranked wins are not against top five top ten teams. Right, Right. They're against lower quote unquote ranked teams as well. So that's going to be one of the conversations is like how much value do you put on this win compared to maybe these ranked wins? Or how many points do you get for a good loss like Indiana losing in Columbus in a tight game if they don't win, it is a, is going to be a good loss. I don't think Indiana is going to get dinged that much if they have a bad next Saturday in Columbus.

[Mark Ingram]

I agree. I, I, I mean this just woke me up here and smu, but I, I keep just going back to the reality. Take smu, who by the way, incredible story down there in Dallas. Go slap that Georgia schedule right in there and just have it and have a conversation. But you know what?

[Urban Meyer]

And look at this.

[Mark Ingram]

They don't play it right. They play their schedule. They won two ranked games.

[Urban Meyer]

And winning matters. And winning matters. But look at this. Ole Miss down there, eight and two. Remember I was kind of hesitant about the Ole Miss. I think this is the best team on the schedule. This might be the best team out of the five. This is a good, this is a good, this is a good list right here. I like to see my resume, I like resume here. These are laid off teams right here.

[Mark Ingram]

Well, I ask you, you know, I'm sure you could do this. Ask Vegas. What's the point spread.

[Rob Stone]

Ole Miss, they always got it right. Mark, I'm with you. I think all five of these teams. I think, I think four of these programs will Miami College football playoff. I think smu, Miami. I think it's kind of only a one week conference. Yeah. Conference at the moment. Ole Miss keeps winning. They have to be in there. And you're right, those numbers validate it. What a big win for coach Kiffin. I think Indiana is in even with some type of manageable loss and I'm happy for BYU in the Big 12. I hope the Big 12 comes in and is a disruptor on that final college football playoff run. I'd love to see them sneak two teams in there. I'd love to see Colorado run the table, win the big 12, get that bid and BYU also gets it as well. It's going to be. It's going to be a lot of fun. A lot of football left to be played. Which pivots us now to pick six. Brought to you by BetMGM. Place your money line prop parlay and same game parlay bets at BetMGM. Download the app today please. As always, gamble responsibly. We've got six games against the spread every week. Mark has got his deuce deuce dog of the week. I will start things off by sending it over to coach Utah at Colorado. Buffs favored by 10. Big Noon in Boulder this Saturday. The Buffs we just mentioned, they control the Big 12 and their playoff destiny. If they can win out. Rocky Mountain rivals Utah in town and we already talked about it. The utes are probably not going to be in a great mood for this one coach.

[Mark Ingram]

No. And obviously my feelings for Utah and the coach Kyle Whittingham is I wear it on my sleeve. I love the guy. He's one arguably the best coach I ever been around. What he's done at Utah's bank is incredible. I know he's getting near the end of his career and it breaks my heart to see it going like this year. They took BYU right to the end. I think they cover the spread. I don't know if they win. Good thing. I'll have to pick a winner there but I'm going to pick. Colorado's on fire. They're going to be on fire with us there. They have four receivers can play anywhere in the country. Are you be the best quarterback in the country But I'm going Utah because of defense will keep this thing somewhat.

[Rob Stone]

Close 10am local kick. Better be prepared for that one. That is morning in the get up and go. Let's roll. Let's roll. Virginia at Notre Dame. Irish, 22 and a half point favorites. I was thinking about this one last night, guys. And coach, you'll know this intimately. The Irish, they are a national program, right? Their fans are everywhere. When I say everywhere, we're talking internationally as well. Alumni from coast to coast. If you are a one beaten Notre Dame team and in contention for a national title, you hear about it, you're not hearing about it this year. Almost kind of like suspiciously quiet in South Bend. And I think if you're the Irish right now, Coach Freeman, you are loving that you guys are under the radar right now while all these things are happening. Everybody's too busy talking about the SEC and the Big Ten. And here's Notre Dame, right? Had that big win over Texas A and M to open up things. Had that stunning Week 2 home loss to Northern Illinois and everybody jumped off the train since then. The Irish, seven straight wins. Of those victories, only one of them guys was a one score game. So they are doing it in convincing fashion. You want a convincing win? How about last week? How about the fact we don't even mention Notre Dame, Florida State, Like I can't. I'm stunned by the fact that there was no conversation leading up to this game. And here's why. 52, three was your final. That is how bad Florida State is. And maybe one in nine, one in eight. Awful. Just to quote coach, awful. Maybe a double awful. Yeah, Florida State, you are awful.

[Mark Ingram]

And this is hard to say.

[Rob Stone]

I watched pounding them.

[Mark Ingram]

They might be worse than their record to three. They might be worse than they are.

[Urban Meyer]

Worse than the record. Who they win, who they beat.

[Rob Stone]

Hold on. We're talking about Notre Dame now. Florida State. Right? Florida State. Everybody's already piled on them. They're done. They're. They're done. Let's talk about, talk about Notre Dame. A bit of a hit early this week. Their stud defensive tackle Howard Cross, ruled out with an ankle injury. Out for the game, but now not out for the season. Virginia. They got a big upset win over Pitt last week. They now remain one win shy of bowl eligibility. But we talked about that big spread. I think it's too big. I like the Irish to improve to 9 and 1, but I don't see them covering against Virginia. This one is interesting in Big Ten country. Oregon, 14 point favorite on the road mark at Wisconsin. Just two regular season games less left for the top ranked Ducks this week it's their last road trip as they go to Madison.

[Urban Meyer]

They go to Madison and I just expect Oregon, who's gotten better and better as it seems. See as this team is, as this season has went on, they just gotten better and better. I expect them to dominate and control the physicality at the line of scrimmage in this game. This Wisconsin defense has struggled to generate pressure in the last four games. They have four sacks total. And if Dylan Gabriel, when he gets a clean pocket, he is lethal. Look at these numbers when he kept clean in the pocket this year. 80% completion rate, 17 touchdowns, four interceptions. And like we talk about him being Heisman contender, I think I looked at the eyes. He's kind of falling a little behind J.T. and Travis Hunter. So this could be a, a patch dadding game for him. But I'd also look for a heavy dose. I said they're going to control the line of scrimmage. I look for a heavy dose of Jordan, James and Noah winning it for the Ducks. Wisconsin has the second worst rush defense in the Big Ten, 165 yards per game and just gave up 329 yards to Iowa. So like I could see Oregon having a huge game and it's just for me, it's just hard for me to see where Wisconsin offensively can even remotely keep up with Oregon. So I like Oregon in this game. I think this team is on a mission. They're extremely well coached with Dan landing. They continue to improve, they continue to get better. It's hard for me to find an advantage for Wisconsin in this game. I see Oregon going and continuing their dominance in Madison.

[Rob Stone]

I tried to find an advantage for Wisconsin for you, Mark, because you triggered something in my brain. I went to the weather app and I did this. I did this for the Notre Dame game as well. And my second game. And the weather this Saturday across most of the nation is going to be fine, right? You could say to like, hey man, if it's snowing in Madison, maybe I'm going to start changing things. But right now it's saying a high of 53, low of 40 in Madison, cloudy. So it doesn't look like weather is going to.

[Urban Meyer]

Even so it gets cold in Oregon.

[Rob Stone]

It's a wet cold. It's a wet cold. All right, let's go to the. Let's go to the ace. No, no, Coach, I'm going to you guess who's on top of the SEC right now? The Longhorns back on top of the conference. They are 13 and a half point favorites. But coach, they are at a tricky place. Arkansas, very tricky place.

[Mark Ingram]

I've been there. Mark, you ever been there? Yeah, twice.

[Urban Meyer]

I snapped on him to about a buck 40, a couple TDs.

[Mark Ingram]

People forget Arkansas was the epicenter, one of the epicenters of college football years ago with Darrell Royal and. No, not Daryl.

[Urban Meyer]

Darren. Darren McFadden.

[Mark Ingram]

You know, at some point, Texas, man, I've been picking you for two years to win this thing. I mean, that's how good and respect. I have their players. I respect their staff. That is a great coach. Yeah, I think they're, they're. You can swing for them to be other than they that freaking stumble that they had against Georgia that when you watch them play, they are excellent football team and they had that bad loss. So I'm going Texas to cover the sprint. Here's a couple of things. Elite defense, Arkansas has given up a lot of sacks. There's going to be a lot of tackle for loss. I just think Texas knows what's coming. They got a good head coach, a good staff. I think they're going to swing really hard and they're going to start trying to make statements and it's tough to do it there, but I'm going to have them cover the spread.

[Rob Stone]

All right, ACC, Clemson favored by 10 at Pitt. And the Tigers guys, remember, given some life over the weekend in the acc, they're trying to claw their way back into the championship game of the conference. They beat Virginia Tech last week. They saw Miami lose, which for the moment has Clemson in second place, right behind SMU in the acc. This though, this is interesting, guys. Their last conference game of the season, they closed with Citadel and South Carolina. So if you're Dabo Sweeney, you a have to take care of business. You have to win this game and then hope. And it's a big hope right here that SMU loses twice or Miami falls once. Wow, the Hurricanes. Yeah, they own the tiebreaker over Clemson. So Saturday, Clemson in the Steel City pit, five and one at home. This year, the Penth Panthers remember that exceptional 70 start. Since then they've dropped two in a row. Their freshman quarterback, Eli Holstein getting the feeling that maybe he hit the wall if he hit the numbers. The Bama transfer. Last four games, just two touchdown passes, three interceptions. He's taken eight sacks. His completion percentage, this is what's worrisome, down to 56%. Remember I was telling you, Mark, I was looking at weather across the Midwest and East Coast. It doesn't look like it's Going to be a factor in Pittsburgh as well. I like Clemson winning, covering and then cheering against whoever the heck Miami is playing for the rest of the season. To the sec. Tennessee in Athens taken on Georgia Bulldogs mark favored by nine and a half in Georgia has won seven straight meetings in this series and all of them by double digits.

[Urban Meyer]

All of them by double digits. Is that why they put the hook nine and a half right there?

[Rob Stone]

The little hook man, they love them hooks.

[Urban Meyer]

But let's talk about Georgia for a second man. Georgia didn't just lose to Ole Miss, they got dominated. They had 10 points on offense. They had three turnovers and allowed five sacks. The defense gave over six yards per play. How will Kirby get this team to respond after just getting Belt to Arce? How would they respond after just getting Belt to Arce? You know what I mean? Because they have no more room for error if they want to make this playoff. Carson Beck, I'm the one that's been believing in Georgia because I'm like, he has to get off the struggle bus. Four straight games of multiple turnovers, five total touchdowns and 10 turnovers in the last four games. And he isn't. And this isn't like a get right game for him. Tennessee defense is really. Tennessee defense is like really good. They've. They're the only defense in the country that held every opponent under 20 points. They are top five in the country in scoring defense, total defense, third down defense and red zone defense. And they have one of the best pass rushers in the. In the land and James Pierce. Then you talk about their quarterback, Nico Ia Malia. He got a little bit. Yeah, yeah. You know, your boy is right. He got a little banged up last week, but she's supposed to be okay. And we know he could run the ball, we know he could sling it. But if Tennessee wants to win this game, I feel like they're going to have to lean on Dylan Simpson. Dylan Sampson. I'm sorry. Dylan Sampson. The Vols have the number one Russian attack in sec and he's just playing at a very high level. So I expect kind of like a low scoring game, defensive driven game. And just based on their defense alone, I think I think Tennessee can keep this game close. And so that is your dudes dudes dog of the week. And I feel good about this one. Sometimes I don't feel good about the dog, but I feel good about Tennessee going into Georgia. But hey, what do I know at the end of the day? Because Georgia has their backs against the wall playing for their college football Playoff lives right now so they could come out and, you know, play like they did versus Texas and just be dominant. But I'm going with the horror, horror, horror. I'm going with Tennessee to cover nine and a half. I'm going.

[Rob Stone]

This Carson Beck on the struggle bus thing is fascinating. Like, he can't get off. They keep driving by his stop. It's like, it's like that Uber driver that you're in the backseat, you're like, no, no, no, right here. Stop, stop. You just missed the road. Why? No, no, no, no. Not this.

[Urban Meyer]

What are you doing to me?

[Mark Ingram]

Like, I'm never, I'm not sure my lifetime if I've ever seen such a fall from a first round potential draft pick heist trade and turnovers. You see, the team looks awful right now and it just, they're not getting.

[Urban Meyer]

He's not getting any help from his receivers, but it's like the receivers aren't throwing the interceptions consistently either. So I'm the one that's been the believer in Georgia. Like, they're going to. I've been giving them the benefit of the doubt. I've been saying Carson Beck is going to overcome the adversity. But hey, he hasn't. He hasn't.

[Mark Ingram]

So always remember when you see an interception too. This is great for. It's a 50, 30, 20 rule.

[Rob Stone]

Mark.

[Mark Ingram]

Do you remember that, Rob? 50, 30, 20. When a quarterback throws an intercept. Quarterback.

[Rob Stone]

Yep.

[Mark Ingram]

Misread. Poor throw. Then you got 30% was on the receiver tip ball. It's a drop Ron route run leverage. And people forget about leverage. It's the receiver's job to get leverage on the defender, not the quarterback. The quarterback throws the ball. If someone beats him inside, beats them outside, that's on the receiver. And then 20% is on the O line or something happened. The ball gets tipped, you know, the old lineman gets trucked. You know, the tailback gets beaten in pass protection and the ball gets hit. So it's 50, 30, 20 rule. And that's held up for 30 years. I remember starting out years ago.

[Rob Stone]

Before we end, coach, I have a.

[Mark Ingram]

Question for you about the Orioles close. Okay.

[Rob Stone]

What is the 45 shirt over your right shoulder? I have no idea what that is. Let's see it. Take it down. Let's see. What is it? Mark, do you have any idea? I have no clue.

[Urban Meyer]

It's a Iron Birds.

[Mark Ingram]

Yeah, I'm a huge fan.

[Rob Stone]

Big fan of the. Oh, I am the Iron Birds. Located in where?

[Mark Ingram]

Baltimore. Oh, it's a beach. There's a beach. Right there. They're laughing. These guys are laughing. What's the iron bird fight song?

[Rob Stone]

The Iron Birds. So good. Go Iron Birds. Yeah. Everybody knows the words to Go Iron Birds. All right. I think that's appropriate place to end this week. Follow subscribe rate us on YouTube, Apple Podcast, Spotify, wherever you get your podcasts, as well as across social media at 3X option show. Don't forget to submit your questions and we will have them answered through the course of our shows. New episodes coming your way every Wednesday. Thank you as always to our wonderful sponsor sponsors, Wendy's, bet, mgm, and Zip Recruiter. Enjoy the college football this weekend and.

[Mark Ingram]

We'Re going to Boulder.

[Urban Meyer]

Pasta J's.

[Rob Stone]

Pasta J's. Let's go, baby.