Andy & Ari On3 - College Football Playoff Picks! | Can Tennessee upset Ohio State? | Is Notre Dame ready for Indiana?

Episode Date: December 16, 2024

You’ve had Wendy’s Nuggs dipped in sauce. But have you had them covered in sauce? Wendy’s New Saucy Nuggs take the Crispy and Spicy Nuggs you love and turn them up to 11.Choose between flavors like Buffalo. Honey BBQ. Garlic Parm. Or, if you’re a real heat seeker, try Spicy Ghost Pepper, only on Wendy’s signature Spicy Nuggs.  This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. If you’re thinking of starting therapy, give BetterHelp a try. It’s entirely online. Designed to be convenient, flexible, and suited to your schedule. Just fill out a brief questionnaire to get matched with a licensed therapist, and switch therapists any time for no additional charge. Visit BetterHelp.com/andyandari today to get 10% off your first month.  MasterClass has an incredible new class called Bet Smart: Top Sports Betting Strategies. Winning at sports betting isn’t about luck—it’s about skill and strategy. Nick Kostos, Captain Jack Andrews, Joe Fortenbaugh, and other pros who’ve made millions betting on sports know this firsthand. Now they’re sharing insider secrets—from managing your bankroll like a champ to spotting hidden edges and avoiding rookie mistakes. Stop guessing and start betting smarter with tips from the best in the game.  With MasterClass you can learn from the best to become your best. MasterClass is the only streaming platform where you can learn and grow with over 200+ of the world's best. For just $10 a month, an annual membership with MasterClass gets you unlimited access to every instructor. Visit MasterClass.com/On3 for up to 50 percent off! Thank you to Gametime for sponsoring today's episode! Planning your college football travel for this season? Gametime has tickets to every game. (And every concert and comedy show.) Download the Gametime App and enter code: STAPLES for $20 off your first purchase, terms apply. Last Minute Tickets, Lowest Prices, Guaranteed. This show is also sponsored by PrizePicks, America’s most fun daily fantasy game. Use the code STAPLES to play $5 and get $50 instantly. https://prizepicks.onelink.me/ivHR/STAPLES(0:00-0:36) Wendy's Saucy Nuggs(0:37-3:40) Intro: Ari's trip to the arcade(3:41-13:49) Mike Norvell Restructuring Contract(13:50-20:04) Jackson Arnold headed to Auburn(20:05-20:52) Miller Moss going to Louisville(20:53-22:12) BetterHelp.com/AndyandAri(22:13-34:20) Beau Pribula in the transfer portal(34:21-41:46) SMU at Penn State picks(41:47-45:29) MasterClass(45:30-57:30) Clemson at Texas picks(57:31-59:28) Download Gametime, Code: STAPLES(59:29-1:08:46) Indiana at Notre Dame picks(1:08:47-1:10:18) Download PrizePicks(1:10:19-1:22:13) Tennessee at Ohio State(1:22:14-1:22:53) Conclusion; Bonus Picks tomorrow!  It’s time to pick the College Football Playoff games! Andy and Ari will pick all four first-round games against the spread. Because we’ve never seen this scenario before — on-campus games in a single-elimination tournament — how will it change preparation and performance? Before we pick the games, there is news to discuss. — Colorado’s Travis Hunter won the Heisman Trophy — Bill Belichick the recruiter is going to work — Marshall opted out of the Independence Bowl — Several players have emerged from the transfer portal and found new schools, including former Oklahoma quarterback Jackson Arnold (Auburn) and USC quarterback Miller Moss (Louisville). Now let’s pick some games…  Indiana at Notre Dame (-7.5) Total: 51.5  SMU at Penn State (-8.5) Total: 53.5  Clemson at Texas (-11.5) Total: 51.5  Tennessee at Ohio State (-7.5) Total: 46.5 Watch us on YouTube instead! https://youtube.com/live/CXDcLItAS9w Hosts: Andy Staples, Ari WassermanProducer: River Bailey

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For a hold away to nub, it's gotta be Wendy's at participating US Wendy's. Welcome to Andy and Ariane 3. It is day. The first. It is a football playoff. We have never seen games like this before on campus games, single elimination tournament, the determined national champion in major college football Ari. It's electric. To borrow my word.

It was very weird weekend this weekend. Andy, I missed you. I missed you too. I felt like we didn't even talk. Yeah. It was crazy. I went to a child casino. I went and I... You mean an arcade? Yeah, it's a child casino.

You sent me this, by the way, and said we have to talk about how these are casinos and I thought about when we were on a cruise and my wife was playing the prize game in the in the arcade with our kids and then I was like you know if we go downstairs you can play that same game and when cash you know she's actually really good at it the one where it pushes you push the thing in and it pushes the thing out. And so she won like 200 bucks cash, like third try. I walk into this place because I haven't been doing arcade in a long time. And my daughter now is old enough to, to do these types of things and enjoy it.

They've got decorative carpet. There are no windows. There are no windows. There are no clocks. There are ATMs everywhere, and by ATMs, I mean like the recharge on the game card situation. Oh, yeah, yeah. They're pumping oxygen into this place.

I'm looking up and I'm seeing it. They got I'm home cashiers cage where you can take your tickets and exchange them for cheap gifts. $14 beers, slot machines everywhere. They're all lit up. Like this is, and I was like thinking like I'm $250 deep trying to get a stuffed animal. Like I should be over in shot car right now, you know, playing, playing the slots myself, but it, all it is, is a, it's an indoctrination and a conditioning for children to start gambling. That's all it is. It's the same thing

Well, you figured that out is it not the same exact thing. Oh, it's a hundred percent the same thing I was just there to play air hockey. I don't know what you're talking about. But We got a lot to talk about today are because we're gonna be picking these games which Again, we've never seen this before. I heard Riley Leonard, the Notre Dame quarterback talking about and he's like, look, it's when we boil it down, it's just a game and it's our it's at our stadium, you know, there's another team coming in and he's right. But then you think about, oh, man,

the stakes of these things are super high. It is going to be so much fun, but there's more going on in the sport than just the college football playoff. Everybody else is trying to deal with the transfer portal. There's one transfer portal story that very much hits the college football playoff. But before we talk about the transfer portal, I do want to talk about news that just broke. Ross Dellinger from Yahoo reported this this morning. Mike Norvell is going to restructure his contract according to Ross and give four and a half million dollars back to Florida state of his $10 million salary. So like this just happened, right? So we're trying to this is, and this is not over a course of years. This is this year So we're not trying to die like we're still trying to die. Just us. Sorry. We haven't podcasted since for Thursday

So my my mouth is a little rusty. Yeah, I need to get back into the flow of things here Does this feel hard body to you? It feels a little hard body, but the thing is, like, Harbaugh did it because they were going to fire him otherwise. And that's the part that, if we go back to after the 2020 season when Jim Harbaugh got his contract restructured, he basically got his pay cut in half, Michigan would have owed him, I think, eight million bucks in buyout money, and they were prepared to pay it. And basically, they went in and said, we're going to either cut your salary in half, or we're going to fire you your choice. Tell us what you'd like to do. This is not that because Florida State has no leverage in this situation. Like they would

owe Mike Norvell $70 million if they fired him. But Mike Norvell probably is sitting here going, you know, they gave me a raise to $10 million a year last year. I certainly didn't earn that with my performance last year. So perhaps I can help because I'm financially taken care of here. So let's give it because remember revenue sharing is coming. So that four and a half million probably goes straight to football player money, which we don't know exactly how much Florida State will contribute in its rev share. We do know how much North Carolina will because we, we, we saw it in the bill Belichick contract that North Carolina is going to contribute $13 million toward football player salaries, essentially. So Florida State is going to be near that or maybe above it. Here's the thing that we need to explain though.

So if he, so like this is the thing, right? We are talking about and theorizing about the future of coaches' salaries, just in general in this new world, right Andy? Like if you are doing revenue share with a program, rather allocate more money to the head coach's salary or to the salary pool of the players, I don't know if we're allowed to say salary pool, but whatever the money pool. We don't work for the schools or the NCAA. I don't give a crap what they think. It is the salary. What do we call that? The salary pool? OK, I'm calling it salary pool

because that's what it is. I love that. We don't have to say what it's not. It just let's call it what it is. But is this four and a half million dollars extra that Florida State's going to have or are they just going to allocate it from a different spot? Like that's the thing. It's like there's a certain cap here of how much is there. It's not just like every coach in America can give a piece of their salary back and then they have more money to spend. It just well he

may be saving people's jobs in the athletic department by doing this. OK, but that money is going to come from somewhere, but people have to understand that a coach doesn't have the power to create additional funds, right? Like maybe in the future, if a program decides not to max out what they contribute to that salary pool, a coach could say, hey, take some out of my salary and put more in the salary pool, but once you get to a certain point,

it's not like an unlimited amount of untapped money that the coach can just say, here, here's my entire salary. Go buy me players. Like, that's not how it works. Correct. Yeah, because the, so Sailor Joe in the chat asked to explain revenue sharing. And so basically the revenue sharing

that they're planning to do, which again, the house versus the NCAA settlement has to be approved by the court. Still, we think it's planning to do, which again, the House versus the NCAA settlement has to be approved by the court still. We think it's going to be, it's been preliminarily approved. So it's capped according to the schools, which were part of the conferences were part of the settlement.

So it's capped at 20% of the average power conference schools athletic department revenue per year. So right now, this year, it's 22 and a half million. The way it's written, two and a half million of that has to be used toward new scholarships because they changed the roster caps and all that and how many scholarships are available. So essentially you can fund up to $20 million

that will go toward player salaries. So if Bill Bellagio's like, I don't want to get paid at all. You guys are already committing 13 million to revenue share. Take my salary and get at the 20. Does he have the ability to do that? He does. He could do that. Yeah. And so Brian Kelly's doing this too, by the way. He's going to match up to a million dollars in donations to LSU's athletic department. So with his own money, so that will get LSU two more million dollars, essentially. And the reason is like, and this is different though, Andy, because you, a coach couldn't donate to an NIL fund. No, and he's not asking them to donate to NIL. He's asking them to donate to the, to the athletic

department. So, and, and department. And that is the difference, because now it comes out of the same pot. And the other thing to think about is, let's say you are the average Power Conference Athletic Department and you make $100 million or $110 million in revenue. To suddenly have to earmark 20% of your budget for something that you didn't earmark it for the year before is an incredibly difficult.

I mean, imagine you're running a business and suddenly somebody tells you your costs have increased 20%. You would have to cut people, you would have to do a lot of pretty drastic things. So that's why they're doing these things. Our athletic department's going to say, we will donate X number of percent to the 20 million and that gets us to 11 million a year in revenue sharing that we're able to do.

But here is a person or here's a place that you can donate and we will give 100% of your donations to that pot. So we're going to do, so it's kind of like a, like a telethon almost like, yeah. And you can earmark your donation if you're a donor to a department, like you can say, I want this to go toward a softball stadium, or I want this to go toward player revenue share

for football. Like you can, you can do it. They don't have to accept that, but you also don't have to give it if they don't follow your wishes. But the reason why I'm bringing this up is that we're nowhere near the burden of financial culpability being off of the fan shoulders.

Like there's still gonna be a fan element to this in terms of where you're donating matters. Yeah, but now they can use money from the TV contract. They can use money from their ticket sales, but there's going to be campaigns to raise as much money as possible from fans directly in order to add to or bolster the revenue sharing budget that the school has already outlined. It's going to be the same. It's the same stuff they always did when they wanted to put waterfalls in the locker room except now they

can pay the players. Yeah, but I wonder too if like we're still going to get and I'm sure we will coaching rants of like well if our fans donated more than we would you know what I mean like that same crap. Yeah, they gotta be careful. This a, this is a very savvy move by Norvell. So Florida State's official release just came out on this and he's according to the quote in the release, he's the one who brought it to Florida States. You know, he's the one who said, let's, let's try this. And I think it's pretty smart because obviously that fan base was really mad at him because they suck this year. And he had just gotten this massive raise and this iron

clad contract that they couldn't get out of. And this is a way to say, Hey, look, I get it. I'm going to, I'm going to try to make this better. So I think it's pretty smart. Like I realize I'm nowhere near this level of salary arc, but I could not give almost half my salary to anybody and continue on like nothing happened. Yeah, well, maybe we're in the wrong business, but I did that recently, but I gave it to the IRS instead.

So that is to stay out of jail though. That's different. I did that recently, but I gave it to the IRS instead. So that is to stay out of jail though. That's different. Yeah, that was we got a love letter in the mail about taxes from two years ago that we didn't pay on accident or something and it was just the worst week of my life. But you know, here we are. We're alive. We're well. We didn't have to we had to sell a few cards, but you know, we're back in business. So anyway, yeah, I Get it. I get why you would do that, especially if you're making an abundance The amount of money that he was making and like it'd be weird like if if on three came to you and was like hey We're gonna

Give you this ironclad deal. We're going to go all in on you. You're our guy and then like the show just had 100 views of like the next year like you feel like I would feel awful. Yeah, I feel like I was stealing so I understand where he's coming from on this and look, he's let's be real here. He's being well taken care of. Still, he's got plenty of money, but this is a pretty big gesture.

You know this is not like the because the Mike Gundy Oklahoma State thing, which is a similar situation. Like they had to kind of fight it out in the media first. Like, it's a standoff. This was not that this was we just, you know, drop this in our lap Monday morning, and here we are talking about it, so We'll see I mean We'll see if that helps Florida State in terms of the kind of players they get and and what the results are obviously They've revamped the coaching staff, so that was it but a very interesting move and one that I don't think will be the last I think we're seeing a correction here coaches salaries are gonna go down as player salaries go up because Good players just as important as good coaches and in some cases more important. Let us talk transfer Portillari before we get to the one that

is crazy. Let's talk about some of the more routine transfer portal moves couple quarterbacks changing locations Jackson Arnold. We talked about this the other day. Jackson Arnold from Oklahoma, we said, what is Auburn looking for? Who's the ideal person? Well, they have decided it's Jackson Arnold.

Jackson Arnold joins Auburn's QB room. And Ari, this is an interesting one because we keep talking about we haven't seen Jackson Arnold what he really can do because of their offensive line situation there receiver situation. He now enters a program where they've got some really good young receivers.

Oh yeah. I love it. You know what I think too. It's just like giving. I felt like Oklahoma gave up on him too fast, and I know that they put him back into. The starting lineup at the end of the year, but I I felt bizarre to me and you lived through that reaction with me lot real time like you knew that felt weird for me anyway and. I understand and we talked through it a lot that Oklahoma was in a position where they didn't have an offensive line and they didn't have explosive

Playmakers and you wanted to do the best that you could to put somebody in a position Who can escape pressure and create in a different way that Jackson Arnold might not be as good at right? So I guess they're part of it too It's like I don't even know if I'm necessarily blaming Brent and Benables for putting his team in the best position to try to win a football game But like if this kid has the ceiling that we think he does, it's a really crappy way to lose out on it. If Oklahoma fans have to watch him go be awesome at Auburn,

that's just gonna suck for them and I'm gonna feel for them. Because it's not that the quarterback was ever not good. It was that the offensive staff did a poor job of situating the talent on the offensive side of the football to allow him to flourish. And then he goes to a place that has cam Coleman and then it's just awesome. Like that's on the table. That said, Jackson Oklahoma has a plan for quarterback though. Yeah, they do.

I don't think this is happening in the back. Oklahoma has a plan for quarterback though. Yeah, they do have a plan. But I'm just saying like. If. Jackson Arnold and the discourse around him was that he's one of the best high school football recruits at the quarterback position of the last five years when he was in high school, he's from a few 100 miles South. He was the poster boy for who was going to be the player that led Oklahoma into the new frontier.

And I know that might rhyme with somebody who could be on their way. But like that to me is just kind of tough, you know, especially if he goes to Auburn is awesome. Now that there's a flip side of this too, which is Brett and Venables was correct in his assessment early on in the season and they had to make a change and the turnovers were something that Oklahoma could not overcome and that the

turnovers were more predicated on Arnold's inability to protect the football than it was being a deer in the headlights based on a bad offensive line and then Jackson Arnold goes to Auburn, a place that's been tortured by turnover prone quarterbacks continues those ways and then Auburn gets gets beaten in SEC games. They shouldn't lose again next year because they had three

turnovers from the quarterback position that were unforced or bad. I don't know which way this is going to go, but I like the move to go take a swing at it because like Auburn knows better than anybody how much a transcendent quarterback can change your dynamic as a program, right? Now I'm not calling Jackson Arnold, Cam Newton by any stretch. There was a former Auburn quarterback

talking about a freshman taking his number earlier this weekend that, but yes, Cam Newton, you saw what he could do and like that's not his one season at Auburn. That's not a comparison. The comparison though is that they have a few guys at Auburn now that could be the guy and no one I don't think is ever going to do what Cam Newton did ever again which was carry a team on his own shoulders by himself to a national title. I don't think the sports worked works that way anymore. Nick Fairley helped a little.

Come on. Yeah, I mean, I guess what was it like? What would you assign the percentage of of well, they didn't have to play defense and Cam was not Travis Hunter. He didn't play defense. So Nick Fairley was was very helpful. But yes, Cam Newton dragged an offense that now rest in peace. Phil Lesson Kirk and cause he would have played in the NFL for a long time, but

the the rest of Auburn starting offense that year combined for one NFL start. Other than Cam Newton, you could say that. And this is an off season conversation, but a little preview to whatever that is that Cam Newton's percentage of responsibility for that national championship was the highest in cultural ball history, right? In terms of like how much one player meant to a run. Yes. And certainly in the modern era. Yeah. And I don't know that that could ever happen again. Maybe now maybe right. Maybe now that the spreading out. Yeah, certainly could never

happen three years ago, so. Yeah, so I think that the thing that I love about the transfer portal. Is that every year? We get these stories, these situations that are just. In interesting, there's downright interesting like and we're going to

be talking about the Auburn quarterback battle or the Auburn quarterback situation from now until next August and it's going to be awesome. So we'll see. We'll see about that. Yeah, Nick Terry said Vince Young might have something to say about that. But still, I think that Texas team was there a lot more NFL players on that Texas team. Yeah, that Texas team actually was pretty loaded. I don't think people because that was the only way you're going to beat that USC team as good as it was. And that comment isn't to nag other great quarterbacks. It's to say that what he did makes him pretty like impossible to leave out of the greatest college football player conversation. So that one more traditional quarterback portal move and then we'll talk about the weird one that leads into our first game pick because it's very relevant. Miller Moss, USC quarterback headed to Louisville. There was talk that some of the USC skill players who entered the portal would be following Miller Moss, but I'll be curious to see if they do. Deuce Robinson was at Arizona State over the weekend, the receiver. Yeah. And Kenny Dillingham, you know, introducing the man to Sam Levitt and saying, look, hey,

we're in the playoff. You sure you want to look elsewhere? You want to come home? I think that's a really enticing one, but Miller Moss might have a little pied piper effect to Louisville. So let's keep an eye on that one. But Ari, before we talk about the next one, because it's a strange one, and it leads into our first game pick. Let everybody know this episode of Andy and Ari on three is sponsored by better help. If

you're thinking of starting therapy, give better help a try. It's entirely online designed to be convenient flexible, and suited to your schedule. Just fill out a brief questionnaire, get matched with a licensed therapist, switch therapists anytime for no additional charge. You visit betterhelp.com slash Andy and Ari to get 10% off your first month. And I'm telling you right now, if you feel like you need to talk to somebody about anything, give it a try. It helps. I've done it before. Shout out Dr. Matt, my guy actually had a sport has a sports psychology background. And it really helped because he

kind of speaks the same language I do based on you know, the people I talked to my job. And it allows me to kind of unload some stuff and figure out how to deal with some things that happened a long time ago. Like I'll give you a prime example. Saturday was the 18th anniversary of my mom's passing. I have not handled that well through the years. Talking to somebody definitely helped me handle it better. So if you've got something like that that's weighing you down, give BetterHelp a try. BetterHelp.com slash Andy and Ari, 10% off your first month. BetterHelp.com slash Andy and Ari. All right, Ari, we have a very interesting transfer portal story that feeds into the

playoff that I think is something that coaches, players are going to have to figure out because I don't think the schools and the NCAA are going to be able to figure it out. I don't think there's a solution that is readily available for them and I think coaches and players are just going to have to figure out how they're going to handle this stuff. So Bo Purbula, the backup quarterback So both your Bula, the backup quarterback for Penn State is entering the transfer portal. He posted a note on Instagram on Sunday night, thanking the Penn State community for everything and saying this was an incredibly difficult decision,

but he's leaving now. Like he is not playing for Penn State against SMU, which is very interesting because it's not like both Bula was a backup who never played. He had a role. They would bring him in several plays a game, the Wisconsin game he played the entire second half led them to a win. Ari, this is a an odd situation and made more odd by the fact

that SMU, which is Penn State's opponent in the first round on Saturday, has the same situation. With their backup quarterback, Preston Stone, their former starter in the portal, but Preston Stone is playing like if Kevin Jennings goes down, Preston Stone goes in the game. Yeah, this situation gave me PTSD Andy because I made one of the biggest mistakes of my career at this time last year around a situation. That was like this. And if you go back and remember Texas quarterback Malik Murphy entered the portal around the same time before the playoff.

Now that wasn't the 12 teamers, but it was a four teamer. And I thought when he went in the portal that he was done and not playing for Texas. And that was a Which triggered me to form opinions about Steve Sarkeesian's Philosophy on this because there are coaches out there and I believe James Franklin is one of them That is if you if you're in the portal, you're not on the team, right? Like isn't that like a thing that coaches have said I felt like was a perfectly reasonable way to handle it in the past, but that was a situation where you might be playing a bowl game that wasn't for anything. Like now it's, it's a different

situation because you need that depth. Like it helps your team and it hurts your team if that person leaves. And for the time being last year Andy, I thought. That Malik Murphy wasn't going to play with Texas because of that policy and I thought it was stupid because Malik Murphy. Stepped in for an injured Quinn yours for multiple games last year helped Texas get to the playoff and was an important piece to Texas's team because as you know, Quinn yours has a pretty, he has a propensity to get injured. And I was like, Texas is really going to go into the 14 playoff

without their backup quarterback because of the transfer portal and a stupid Steve Sarkeesian thought that if you're in the port and then it turned out that Steve Sarkeesian came out and said Malik Murphy is an integral part of our team. He means a lot to me. He's a perfect, tremendous young man. We is an integral part of our team. He means a lot to me. He's a perfect, tremendous young man. We won my part of the run and he played so like I was wrong for thinking that like Steve

Sarkeesian like shot himself in the foot because he didn't and like he evolved his thinking on it because he had to. You have to. Yeah, cuz here's the deal in the spring when a person leaves in the portal, you don't need them. But like, I think you could make a reasonable case that Penn state needs bow Pribula during this run. If drew Aller were to get hurt, or if they want to have an extra package, although Tyler Warren is somebody that they've also used in the wild cat for lack of a better term, take direct snap, throw whatever, you know, he's done a lot of stuff.

lack of a better term, take direct snap, throw whatever, you know, he's done a lot of stuff. You watch your backup quarterback that you've gone to multiple times this year on your team and it's not just two games now, it's four potentially. So I don't know what the reason for him leaving before the run is, but it gets very muddy because you have to acknowledge that in the transfer portal world and even just college football in general in high school football recruiting quarterback dominoes are important. If a spot opens and somebody takes that spot, then that opens another spot. You want to be available to get your rightful or preferred

landing spot. That said, you can still do it while playing, so I don't understand what's going on here. I want to hear James Franklin talk about this because when I saw it initially, I had started to form a take and I'm like, I think I need to be careful on this one. Because I don't want to assign blame Before we know Exactly what happened because if James Franklin said if you're in the portal you're not on the team That's a different story if James Franklin said we'll support you anyway We can please keep playing and then both people said no, I'm not going to that's a different story entirely as well as you pointed Out about the dominoes there are more quarterback spots open now Then there will be like

we think pins. I mean Penn State's gonna be favored in this game. If they win this game, they'll be favored in the next one. So we're talking about a long time. They did three and three and a half more weeks. That's a lot of spots that will get filled. That said, pointing out again, the backup quarterback on the other team in this game, Preston Stone, is in the

same boat and he's playing. So you take from that what you will. And maybe the Preston Stone already knows where he's going. That may have already been decided. But it's a very interesting situation because I want to know Who said what when and how the decision was was made before I Render a judgment on this thing because I don't I don't want to come off blazing on per Bula or on James Franklin If I don't know exactly where they stood on this thing. Yeah, and it's a very easy thing to go

well, Bo per Bule is a terrible teammate, but it's like And it's a very easy thing to go, well, Bo Prabiola is a terrible teammate, but it's like. Is it? I, the thing that is frustrating about situations like this is that there is a solution in the middle, which is Bro Prabiola goes into the portal, does what he needs to do, finds his team, does not remove himself from the thick of the quarterback Domino Derby and still plays. So like that's the, it's not like a choose your adventure situation. There is a route in an avenue.

There's a grown up way to handle this, which we're watching SMU do it. We're watching Arizona State do it right now. Kenny Dillingham is like quote tweeting his players portal announcements saying we love this guy. He's he's a great teammate. You're going to love him on your team, but also he's going to stay with us through the playoffs. Like you can do that. And I kind of turned on that last year when we had Eli Drinkwitz on the show before the

Cotton Bowl. And he was explaining why instead of just saying, if you're in the portal and you're not on the team, he said, no, you're absolutely still on the team. You helped us get here. You make it not make sure it's not a distraction and we'll support you any way we can but we want you to be with us through the end of the season and I think that's a really grown up way of handling it and if you're in the playoff, it's absolutely the way you should

handle it because you need the depth. Yeah and and James Franklin, I should add if it were hey, you, if you're in the poor world, you're not on the team, is only hurting his own chances. So I think that would be a poor coaching move. Let's see what he says about that. It can't be that. Because why would a coach make his team worse on purpose? Right.

Now, let's also, since we're talking about dominoes falling, let's talk about what, what this also probably means if Boper Bula is entering the transfer portal. It probably means the starting job at Penn state is not open next year. I don't think that means they're taking a portal quarterback. That seems a strong indication that drew Aller comes back next year. Yep. Which is nuts because there was a time where it's that it seemed like he might

be a first rounder this year, right? Oh, I think that time is right now. I think the way he played in the Oregon game now, I mean, think about this. You look at all the quarterbacks who are going to be in the draft next year. They're going to be right. There's a lot of core. It's not a deep draft at all. I said a week draft. Yeah, it's a week.

Definitely a week draft. And there's several quarterback needed teams. There's multiple teams that are probably going to want to take a first round QB. Like, who do you trust as a QB in the first round? Maybe Shador Sanders? Quinn yours, Carson Beck? That's, I'm not taking either of those guys

in the first round. Yeah. And like, quarterbacks will go in the first round because they have to take quarterbacks in the first round, right? Right. Has there ever been an NFL draft where they're like how we don't like anybody we're just gonna wait and then like no quarterbacks got taken in the first round at all there's been somewhere they

went a while without taking one but not in this era like this era yeah they're gonna they're gonna take quarterbacks like you saw with Pennex going in the top 10 last year to not even start like they're gonna take quarterbacks like you saw with Penex going in the top 10 last year to not even start like they're going to take quarterbacks if they feel like they want one so. Aller but but here's I mean it also like brings up a secondary discussion which I don't know if we're going to get into but like there have been.

Rumors of what's going to happen with Quinn yours this year too of like is he ready to go talk about that when we get to the Texas Clemson game. OK. But Aller, before we pick this Penn State SMU game, which is now suddenly way more interesting, Aller, imagine him playing the way he did against Oregon for an entire season. That's maybe the first guy off the board, right? Yes.

Because he was very, uh. And like he's doing it too without any like help. From like a skill position standpoint, they've got the Tyler Warren, yeah, yeah, yeah, but I'm saying like there's no cam Coleman on the outside. There's no Ryan Williams. There's no Jeremiah Smith like no. He was super mobile. You know what it kind of

reminded me of a little bit, and I don't know if this is going to sound insane to you, but like for a quarterback like cuz Drew Aller didn't run much this year, right? Right? You know when CJ Stroud played against Georgia in 2022 and it's

just kind of like the best quarterback performance that Ohio State had seen in years. And it was like, where the hell did that come from? And then that game actually like turned in to be like the reason and the thing that people point to of like, you should have seen it right there of why he's really good in the NFL. Like I'm wondering if that or,

and I'm not saying styles and everything, but like I wonder if Drew Aller's performance really good in the NFL. Like I'm wondering if that or and I'm not saying styles and everything, but like I wonder if Drew Allers performance against Oregon was that like, hey guys, look a little closer at this because this this tape here shows what he could be. Yeah, but then that to me wouldn't signal going back that would be made. He may want to put a whole year of that on tape, but you don't need a whole year of that on tape I know but listen he may like it this is a different era Ari no I know I mean he's getting paid out there too so I mean I'm not saying that it's the it's dumb I'm just saying like if that is what he

plays like in the first round I don't know that he has much to gain going back from a draft perspective particularly in a year where there isn't a ton of competition at the position. Like, I mean, he himself into a top, if through aller plays really well for the next two or three games, he is a top 10 pit. Right? This is true. This is true. So, all right, let's talk about his next game. Okay. Talk about his next game. Penn State SMU. Let's talk about his next game. Penn State SMU. Penn State is an eight and a half point favorite. This is a really fascinating game, Ari,

because I think, I look, I go back to the, the ACC Championship game. What SMU did early on in that game, where they dug themselves a massive hole. You know, they fumble early, Clemson cashes it in for a TD. They had trouble stopping Clemson early. They end up coming back and they end up losing on a walk-off field goal. If you dig a hole like that against Penn State, Ari, I think you lose.

I think Penn State just makes, I think you lose. I think Penn State just, it makes it like the Illinois game essentially. Like they'll just beat you 24 to seven if you do that. Yeah. Well, also like there's a lot, there's a lot here to unpack. One is, as you guys know,

I'm a very big proponent of the Penn State atmosphere. And it's gonna be like 12 degrees out there. Like SMU is walking into like there's nothing like that in the ACC, right? Like am I forgetting any? Is there a single thing, but they didn't play in it? Yeah. So they're walking into because like in the SEC it's like, oh wow, it's going to be loud. And it's like, yeah, well, it's loud every week. Yeah. Clemson and Virginia Tech, but they didn't play in either place this year. And like, I always get like, oh yeah, okay, the crowds loud, whatever. Like, Clemson and Virginia Tech, but they didn't play in either place this year and like I always get like, oh yeah. Okay, the crowd's loud whatever like but like

this is a different type of loud for SMU especially considering the fact that they're they're only one year into a power league to begin with and that league doesn't really isn't really known for. I mean Virginia Tech too like but isn't really known for imposing crowds and the temperature and all that too and it gets a little chilly here in Dallas but nothing like that but also too. It's like did SMU work out the yips that and that's that's the thing because if they come in if they come in playing the way they

did in the second half of that ACC Championship game, this is going to be a really competitive game. This is going to be a lot of fun. I just they got to they cannot. They cannot start slow like they did in the ACC Championship game because Penn State is one of those teams that can just sit on you. And you got to make Penn State work. And you saw Oregon make Penn State work and you saw Ohio State make Penn State work. And. I think if you do that, you have Ohio State make Penn State work and.

I think if you do that you have a good chance of winning this game. Yeah. Yeah. 8 1 half is a lot of points and it just kind of depends on which way you think this is headed. And what I saw from Penn State like I think I'm liking this side of it. What I saw against Oregon was a different gear. And if they can build off of that and play that way at home, like I do like their odds of winning by 10.

And that doesn't mean that SMU isn't competitive, but you know, this could also be a blowout, right? Like I don't know. Okay, and then I'm not again. We're not wishing injury on anybody, but this we just spent 10 minutes talking about this and it were kind of remiss if we don't.

What if something happens to drew Aller? What do you do if you're Penn State? I don't know. I don't know. I mean, we're going to watch three quarters of Tyler Warren playing quarterback. Is that what it is? No, it's not what it's going to be. I mean, what are you going to watch three quarters of Tyler Warren playing quarterback? Is that what it is? No, that's not what it's going to be. I mean, they're going to go to the freshmen, but it's, I mean,

it's a very strange situation and that would change the math on this considerably. Like if Pribule is there, you're not even worried about it. Like you kind of know what the offense is going to look like and you're, even worried about it. Like you kind of know what the offense is going to look like. And. You know, it's different. It's it's a different offense, but, you know, is Ethan Grunkmeier coming in? I think that's who comes in, right? Yeah.

And he was a pretty, uh, highly rated recruit out of Ohio. Kind of like it was a little bit of the same type of path as Drew Aller to get to Penn State. But like, yeah, what I don't know. Like, is that what you want to be doing? It's very fascinating. Welcome to the show, Ken. Like, golly. Yeah. This, this Pribula situation is just fascinating to me. I don't know, man. It is. It is because they were one of the ones, now SMU is one of the other ones that look if something happens you got a backup quarterback who can just hop in and you're good

to go like SMU and that that's the thing if something happens to Kevin Jennings in this game we've seen Preston Stone start 16 games for SMU he's 13 and three as a starter like we know what he can do and there's just something about this game Andy too and And not just I mean in in college football Where your weakness is or if you roll the dice on something That it has a funny way of popping up on you doesn't it always seem it kind of works out that way I'm like, okay, we're going into a game where you know this is a deficiency and then all of a sudden here we are like having

to face that head on on national television with the whole country watching like that. That happens a lot in college football. Now again. Nothing but hope and well wishes for Drew Allard to remain healthy and to continue on in his campaign. The way that we all want to see. If Drew Aller looks like he did against Oregon, Penn State's winning and covering here. Let's be real here.

Yeah, so that's kind of where I'm at with it. It's like there's some risk involved here that isn't necessarily just who do you think is better, but I also think like when we get to the other games, like what should happen or what could happen just kind of depends on circumstance of a few things and it's kind of hard to predict what the circumstance is going to be when the game starts. But like my gut feeling here is that Penn State controls this football game and wins by by 10 at home. I think so too. I think as long as hours healthy that they're going to be able to cover this spread, that defense is pretty hellacious. You know, you've got Abdul Carter coming after the quarterback and they are going to punish mistakes.

So SMU has to be almost perfect here. And we saw in the ACC Championship game where the moment looked a little too big for them. Now maybe they've gotten over that. And they, I like, if I'm Rhett Lashley, I am saying to this team, you've already experienced that. You belong here, don't worry about it. Go out there, play fast and lose. Like, let's not be tight going into this game because if they are tight, they're gonna lose.

They cannot start the way they started against Clemson because this team's too good for that so the the temperature in in state college on Saturday is a high of 25 and a low of 10 degrees with winds of 10 to 15 miles an hour yeah the the team that can control the game on the ground like this that sounds like a Tyler Warren day to me that sounds like you get the ball of Tyler Warren however you can. B one G Andy. B one G. Imagine trying to tackle Tyler Warren in the cold. Tackling him in perfect condition sounds awful to me, but tackling him in the cold sounds terrible. Yeah, give me Penn State to cover.

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Thank you. Exactly. Exactly. And you took their poker class, right? Yeah, I took a class from Daniel Nagrano like three years ago because I don't know if there's listen guys When I say I am a capital D degenerate like this It's not just on sports bet guys like I mean I was You know 200 bucks deep trying to get a teddy bear at the at the arcade the other day You know 200 bucks deep trying to get a teddy bear at the at the arcade the other day

But I play poker a lot in the offseason and I don't know if you're in the Texas area, but I drive up to Chalk talk all the time to play in the offseason at night Like my wife goes to bed early and I'll drive up an hour play all night and come home So like when you play poker at like the casual level that I play like one, two, two, five, no limit, like you're playing against other people like yourself. But when you get into big environments and I've played in some bigger games in Vegas with people who are really, really good,

like the way that they think, the way that they perceive the game is on such a higher level that like I was just fascinated by what they're doing from a processing standpoint during the game. so is on such a higher level that like I was just fascinated by, you know, what they're doing from a processing standpoint during the game. So I would just like wanted to learn. So I took the Daniel Negron new class, um, just to hear like how he thinks and how he views the sport or the game.

And it was one of the most fascinating things ever. And it actually helped me a lot, like processing during what I'm playing. Cause like I go and I try to make a hundred bucks an hour you know he's playing in these high-stake games but you learn a lot from the high-stake players because that they're the more advanced their math geniuses they teach you how to view things and it was really yeah and it's not just poker and sports betting master class has classes that can help you in every aspect of your life it is the only streaming platform where you can learn and grow with over 200 plus the world's best.

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It probably involves a meltdown by the Texas offense. Is Clemson's defense good enough though, like cause we've seen George's defense do this to Texas is offense. But can Clemson do it? This is a lot of points. So that's the thing that jumps out to me the most, but let me ask you this way, Andy, which unit is the most no doubt about it unit coming into the Texas defense, right? So I have my thoughts and my fears about Texas's

offense. I think what we saw against Georgia is who they are. Okay. Yeah. Um, like if you are, I'm seeing in the chat here, some like, Oh yeah, Texas by a thousand. It's like, you think they're going to score a thousand. You think they're going to go score 45 in this game all of a sudden, but but I can see it. Here's my thing. Ari. I can see it playing out similarly to the Clemson Georgia game at the beginning of the season. I do think Clemson's offense is better than it was at the beginning of the season, but I can see it mostly being played on one side of the field because Texas is defense is so dominant even if Texas

is offensive because remember George's offense was not very good in the first half of that game. Clubs just got worn out because they had to keep defending their own territory over and over again. Yeah, so I also could see a game like 20 to 6 where, you know, Texas's offense is what it is. They scored just enough because they're not going to get shut out, right? Even against Georgia, what do they score? They out, right? They're going to even against Georgia. What are they? So they have playmakers. They're going to score the

other. The only thing I worry about and this is where I see the path. The Clemson winning is if you like we were at the Texas in Texas A&M game. Two really bad turnovers in the second half and they get a punt blocked in their own territory. now their defense stood up. But you can't do that over and over again and expect it the defense to come through every single time. Yeah, because for it, but as much as we want to like talk

negatively about Texas is offense like Clemson is also shown. Spurts not just this year, last few years of like offensive inefficiency for long periods of time like the Louisville game, for instance, this year was not a pretty offensive performance, right? That said, Cade Club Nick is probably playing its best football right now and like is Quinn you were playing his best football right now, which goes back to the saucy take that I gave you on the show a few weeks ago, which was.

I think it's possible that Texas wins this game ugly, and then there's a different quarterback starting for them in the second round. Like I think that that's on the table here. So like I like Texas in this game because I don't think that Clemson's going to score a bunch, I think. Right. But I also like the under because I don't think Texas is going to score a bunch. I think right, but I also like the under because I don't think Texas is going to score a bunch like I think this could.

This game could be like 27 to 13 or something. 51 1 1 half feels high for this like because like even if Texas dominates like the way Texas would dominate a dominant win for Texas probably is a is like a 30 to six game which would be 15 points under the total. Right, like I don't see Texas winning this game for the is a is like a 30 to six game, which would be 15 points under the total. Right, like I don't see Texas winning this game 44 to 24.

You know what I mean? Like yeah, like somebody in the chat says 2410 like I think that that is on the table and 11 and a half point seems like a lot to lay when your offense is struggling or isn't as explosive as it should be. But if your defense doesn't allow the other team to score much, you don't have to score that much to cover that spread.

So I think that a lot of people are going to put their foot in the 11 and a half point bear trap. And I think they're going to come up. I think that Texas is going to cover by playing a great defensive performance and having scored just enough to get past the spread here. So we're trying to search eight teams playing in the playoff this weekend. There's, there's four games, eight teams. Offenses and even 16 units.

Is the Texas defense the most trustworthy of those 16? I think it is. Probably. Yeah. That that's the one like what game has Texas given up a ton of points in what game is Texas's defense looks shaky in. Right I don't think I've seen it yet. If you want to like question Texas's schedule like they're

not playing a juggernaut like let's not mistake what Clemson is right like Clemson has not been very good this year Well, they've been good by the standard of 85% of the sport But they have not been like elite good and they're playing against the team that we've perceived at times this year to be one of the elite good super teams, right so like I My brain hasn't just like gone from like Oh Clemson stinks to like wow They're gonna go be Texas on the road like I'm not there yet But I also am NOT 100% bought in on Texas's offensive

prowess, so I think it's gonna be an ugly game. I think it might be a Lot like the Georgia Clemson game, but I don't think that the scoring is going to go off the rails like it did in the in the in that game. I it's going to be I trust that defense and that's that's where I'm going with this pick. I'm going to take Texas to cover because I don't think they're going

to let Clemson score very much. Sailor Joe points out in the chat. You guys said you were going to talk about the Quinn Ubers draft versus portal thing. Let's talk about it. Okay, let's talk about what do we think happens? My father texted me over the weekend and said, I'm hearing that Quinn Ubers is thinking about going to the Ohio State. I'm like, Dad, I think that's going to happen. I don't know how that would work. Ohio State has too many quarterbacks. They have a lot that they're planning on using next year.

But I do think that, Quinn, you were so the Big Ten is an interesting discussion because if he's not ready for the NFL, I don't know if he has shown enough or if it's even a tenable situation for him to return to Texas next year, right? Like even if he wanted to. Yeah, they had a plan and the plan was that he was heading to the NFL after this year. Arx was gonna take over. It'll be a situation, it'd kind of be a situation like kind of the original quarterback portal situations like one that I can recall. Remember NC State had Glennon, Mike Glennon and Russell Wilson, and this is a time when you had to be a grad transfer to transfer and play right away, but it happened that they both graduated. And so Tom O'Brien had to pick one, and he picked Glennon and Russell Wilson went to

Wisconsin. Like this is a situation where if Quinn Ewers decides not to go to the NFL. You gotta pick a quarterback and I think I also think too. The question is, is that like what is Quinn Ewers actual draft stock right now? Because I have seen mock drafts throughout the years with him like going to Cleveland at number nine or

whatever like obviously the numbers have changed, but is he a top 10 pick? Because here's the thing about Quinn Ewers that you have to acknowledge. He and his team, whoever is behind him have done an incredible job in his marketability. He is making a shit ton of money in college. So I don't know if going to the league is best for his income right now either if he's not a first round pick like if he can expand his NIL revenue sharing income for another year and then maybe play himself back into the first or second round then. That makes sense to me or declaring for the NFL draft, even if he isn't a first round pick because he knows where he

stands in Texas. That also makes sense. I don't know, but I just know he's not going to be starting quarterback at Texas a year from now. So I don't know. Dane Bruegler from the Athletic is is probably the guy the draft analyst I trust the most and so he put out his big board recently and he updated it. So this is his top 50. He's only got four quarterbacks in it. And the highest is number 16. He's got Kam Ward, Jalen Milrow, Shador Sanders and Garrett Nussmeyer. Like those

are the ones he feels like if they were in the draft would be chosen the highest. So yours not being there. And obviously, quarterbacks are going to go higher than the number that you put next to their name on the hot board on the big board. But if you don't think you're going to be a first round draft pick, and you might not be a second round draft pick. If you're Quinn, you are especially with the amount of money he's made in college, you

say and find find a way to do it. Yeah, and if you like type in if you type in mock draft into Google like you can come up with a bunch of just quick drafts some of them are reliable some of them are more exercises but I just went through four while you were talking and none of them had Quinn viewers in the first round so again they might have just been some fan doing it. I don't know. But like I don't know if that's on the table right now. So if it's not on the table, maybe he'll be Bill Belichick's quarterback. He needs one would be interesting. Bill Belichick was recruiting this weekend. Bryce Baker is committed to North Carolina is so difficult with the

Quinn Ewer situation is that he's done a shit ton for Texas. But Texas is not the same place it was. And I wrote this a month ago that that it is now when he took over. Like, you remember what what he what Texas was when he went there? And now what it is like, he has left Texas in a better spot. Now, part of that, too, obviously, you can't overlook what Sarkeesian has done from a talent acquisition aspect and like actually getting players that are being developed for the NFL draft because it

gets like remember like for Texas 20 years they were recruiting. Top five classes and nobody was getting drafted. I think they went from between. I think Bijon Robinson and Vince Young were the two players bookended on first round offensive draft picks, which is like, blows your mind. Like when you think about how many good players have played at Texas over the years to go 15, 20 years or however long it was been between two first round picks is a, a, a absolute straight line between why Texas stinks because they haven't been able to develop. So they've done a lot of how they can and now you have guys like to Vandre sweat right who you know who was actually for Texas not a big time recruit, but they developed him into a really good player. like a running back, like it's there. They're producing NFL players now at Texas.

That's the biggest difference. Ubers would be an attractive portal entry though, right? Like people would want him. Oh sure, he's played a ton of games. He's faced elite competition. He's been good in big games. Like yeah, absolutely. So we'll see what happens.

Like this game could tell us a lot because your hot take, if your saucy take came true, then we'd probably have some answers on that. My saucy take just let like is, look at the conversation we just had. Like it might not come through, but like it's already kind of true. Right. Exactly. Exactly. But we still think Texas covers both of us in this game. So yeah, but maybe because we think they're going to turn it into a laser show. No, because of their defense, because their defense. All right, let's talk about game time.

If you want tickets to any of these college football playoff games that are happening this weekend, you can get them on game time. And for some surprisingly good deals, you can get into Penn State like around 100 bucks. If you want to watch that game, the 300 plus thousand seat stadiums that are, that are hosting games relatively reasonable prices for games this weekend. The one that's, that's still pretty expensive, but has come down quite a bit. It's actually feel like it's been cut in half in about a week is the Indiana Notre Dame

game. That's still a tough ticket. It's still in the $500 a seat range, but it was quadruple digits for most of the seats as of a week ago. So keep looking at game time. I'll give you an example. I've told you about when I got tickets

for my wife and daughter to see Taylor Swift. We were watching him. We weren't gonna buy him. We watched him over the course of several days before the show, woke up the morning of the show and they had dropped dramatically. So you hit that GT picks button in the game time app, it'll give you the best deals relative to the market

of all the seats that are on the market. So if you're trying to figure this out last minute, like if you wanna go to the Tennessee Ohio State game in Columbus or you wanna go to the Clemson Texas game, you may want to hold a little bit, just keep checking game time over and over, watch the trends. If it starts to go up, grab one before it goes up. If it starts to go down, see if it'll go down a little bit. But it is a, it's a very fluid market right now, but there are tickets available for all of these games.

There are really good seats available for all these games on game time. If you use the code staples, you'll get 20 to $20 off your first purchase. Use the code staples $20 off your first purchase terms apply. Of course, they're all there. You want to go to one of these games. You can go. There are tickets. And in fact, there are reasonably priced tickets for quite a few of them

the one game re Where it's Still pretty tough to get in Is indiana nother dame they are pumped about this game in the south bend. It's going to be very exciting You and I are going to be there The electric it's going to be awesome. This is this is a Place that's been clamoring for a game like this for a long time. Notre Dame hasn't won a game like this in a long time, like 1995.

Because they didn't win a BCS bowl. They didn't win a New Year's Six bowl when they were playing, you know, when there was a 14 playoff, they didn't win any of the semi finals in the 14 playoff. This is a fan base that is starved to win a game like this. And I have a clip here from Marcus Freeman's press conference on Sunday. And it's interesting because with Notre Dame, it always seems to come back to the Northern Illinois game. So let's let's hear what Marcus Freeman has said recently about what that game did for them, to them, and if he's thinking about it now. This isn't an Indiana related question, but I think it was either after the Northern Illinois

game or the Monday after Pete Sampson asked you whether you thought that your program had evolved beyond a performance like that. At the time you said yes, I just wonder what your thought process has been over the last ten games as far as, you know, because you preach preparation so strongly with your team. I mean, do you live in perpetual prevention of upset alert at this point moving forward? I mean, I would be lying if I say I don't think about that loss or being upset. Fear is a motivator. It is what it is. A lot of people motivated by fear agree. And there's times that I have to remind myself what's the result of not preparing the right

way. But sometimes it takes the performance that we had versus NIU to go back and say, okay, hold on, what lessons do we have to learn? If you knew exactly what it took, the perfect formula, you would correct it right when it's not right. But sometimes it takes going back and saying, okay, where didn't we prepare the right way? And that's after a win too.

There are situations that happen in a win that you gotta go back and say, okay, we didn't perform the way we needed to in this situation. Third down offense, third down defense, first down offense, whatever the situation may be, special teams. Hold on, is our preparation, is this something that's showing up in practice? If it's not, okay, was this a schematic thing that we weren't ready for? And I think that's the mindset I have. I still believe in preparation. I choose to believe that is the number one indicator that gives your program a chance to have success on Saturday.

Now, we've talked about this a bunch, that Marcus Freeman is still a young head coach, is still early in his journey as a head coach. And that's the sort of thing you have to take lessons from to make sure it never happens again. Now, I don't think you can turn on the Indiana tape from this year and not be impressed. So I don't think you can turn on the Indiana tape from this year and not be impressed. So I don't think Notre Dame is going to look at this and be like, it's just Indiana. We're going to roll over these guys. But

Notre Dame probably has better players at most positions than Indiana. Like they should win this game. How do you prepare properly for this? So after the Ohio State, Indiana game, I wrote a column about how Indiana's playoff candidacy cannot be determined on how close they play a team that at the time I perceived to be one of the best in the country. And now I'm thinking about it and I'm wondering where do you put Notre Dame on the pantheon of? Well, I'm going to say it right now. Like people are asking me, who do you like in the playoff? And Notre Dame is 14 to one to win it all. And I think that those are really tasty odds.

Like I think that it's a good price, but everybody just rolls their eyes like, oh, Notre Dame, yeah, right. Like, I'm not going to do that. Like, okay. I think that there's this perception from the casual fan or just from the fan in general that Notre Dame lost to NIU and that they stink. But I think that Notre Dame is as close to Ohio State, at least from a defensive standpoint, as

just about anybody else outside of Texas in college football this year. And I'm wondering if you take away Indiana's performance from Ohio state and bring it to this one, like is Notre Dame and Ohio state in your mind. And do you think that Indiana though, very good this year is going to be susceptible to succumbing to just a more talented team because we have one sample size, one game of Indiana playing against the team that we think could win the national title and they did not show up now. They were also and also they're of their 11 wins of their 11 wins. What was the toughest win to get?

Michigan when they were playing against a team with elite defensive talent and this is time to point out that Howard Cross, the third, the nose tackle for Notre Dame is going to be back this week. He hasn't played since the Florida State game. So that Cross and Riley Mills together, pretty formidable combo up the middle. Now they've seen more. They've seen Kenneth Grant and Mason Graham. So they've seen this at Indiana, but this Notre Dame defense is nasty. So yeah, I'm

having a hard time with that because it's like do I think Indiana's a really good football team? Yes. Do I think that Indiana deserves to be in the playoff? Yes. Do I question whether or not they're equipped in year one of the Kurt Signetti era to compete against a team that has really good players everywhere I'm doubtful of that. Yeah that this is this is the tricky part because I believe in Signetti I believe that he will have this team ready I believe he'll have them with a proper mindset they will be exactly where they need to be the game plan will

be sound schematically they'll do everything they can to attack the weakest parts of Notre Dame's team. Like all of it. That said, if Notre Dame prepares properly and comes in with the correct mindset. They can just out talent them like here's here's what we want to set. We watched that army-navy game between two really good teams. Here's what we want to set. We watch that Army Navy game between two really good teams Really good teams like Navy was nine and three Army was ten and two Notre Dame crushed those teams because they had better players at the line of scrimmage

That's gonna be the same situation here. Indiana is gonna have to be perfect Here's the difference Ohio State's rushing defense is number seven nationally. Notre Dame's is number 51. So if you can find a way to run the football effectively, if you're Indiana, you might be able to put yourself in a much better position to compete in this game, which the Indiana's had games where they've been effective on the ground.

Yeah. Two scores is a, is a tough thing to lay, but I think I'm going to lay it. Andy, I think Notre Dame can win this game by 10. I, I will go back to what I just said. I trust Kirsty Gnetti to have his team prepared, have the correct mindset, be in the right places and have the right scheme. So I'm going to take Indiana to cover. I still think Notre Dame is probably going to win the game. You're going to give me seven and a half points though.

I think Indiana is going to come prepared for this thing as well as they possibly can be, you know, you play the this is the biggest game in Indiana history. Game. So really big game for Notre Dame to really. Oh, yeah, this is for Notre Dame or Notre Dame. So in terms of motivation, I don't know that I would give the edge to either side on that. Like, I think they're both hungry.

So, yeah. And that's that give the edge to either side on that. Like I think they're both hungry. So yeah. Okay and that's the other part. I'm glad you mentioned that because I kind of came in with that. I do want to point this out. I don't think Notre Dame is going to come in thinking this is Northern Illinois. I also don't think Notre Dame's looking ahead to Georgia. Like none of that. They have not won a game like this since the 90s. This would be a huge win like and there's no oh it was Indiana like no no no if you win this game it's a huge win and like I said I think Indiana will come with as good a game plan as you could possibly have to attack Notre Dame. Whether that's good enough, we're going to find out. But I at this point, I feel like we can trust Kirk Signetti to do that.

So Ari will take Notre Dame to cover. I will take Indiana to cover. I think we both think Notre Dame advances after this game. I don't know if you've noticed this, Andy, but we have a hive of Tennessee fans in here. Oh boy, it's time. It's time. First though, we're gonna tell you about prize picks. Best daily fantasy game in America. Download the app, use the code staples, play $5, get $50 instantly. They've already started to

populate the board for this weekend's college football playoff games. I'm looking at the rushing yard board for the Ohio State Tennessee game. Will Howard 10 and a half more or less. We've we've fallen to that particular bear trap before Ari because Will Howard does not usually wind up running for a bunch. Nikos is 19 and a half. That's a tricky one too because Nikos one of those guys they can get that all in one play and then you just sort of count back sacks to see if you end up with the more than. So that's a tricky square as well. Dylan Sampson though, I think this may be the key to the game here. 93 and a half rushing yards more or less when you're playing prize pick, you pick a square, you go as few as two squares. You can pick more squares if you want. The more squares you pick a square, you go as few as two squares, you can pick more squares if you want,

the more squares you pick, the higher the potential payout. That Dylan Sampson, 93 and a half rushing yards, whoo boy, if he goes more than that, I think we may be talking about a Tennessee victory in this game. But if Trevion Henderson and Quinshaw Jenkins are running the ball very well, then it may be Ohio State winning the game, but could play it on prize picks. Download the app, use the code staples play $5 get $50 instantly Ari. Let us talk Tennessee at Ohio State.

I mentioned when we did the game time ad. The prices for this are very reasonable. Tennessee fans are highly motivated. And have been waiting for a game like this for a long time. Ohio State fans. Your athletic director Ross Bjork mentioned this the other day. I will point this out again. Like you better buy these suckers up or there's going to be a lot of orange in that stadium. Well, isn't that like a thing? Like, isn't that like what people are saying that Tennessee is buying all the tickets on their train? Like they were they were trying to use a I saw on Twitter people talking about themselves trying to use a I generated photos of themselves in Ohio State gear to get on the Ohio State ticket buying website.

Just buy them on game time. They're not that expensive, right? Well, exactly. Especially for the the Tennessee fans. Again, there's a lot of Tennessee fans. They're highly motivated. I'm telling you, I say you may need to protect your stadium here. Well, here's the thing.

Covering Ohio State for 10 years, I went to every Ohio State football game for a decade. And there have been a lot of instances of Ohio State doing the O H I O chant in opposing stadiums in the fourth quarter when the state Oh, yeah, right. I've seen that a lot in my life. I have never seen Ohio Stadium taken over by another team. No, there have been fans celebrating at the end when they've lost games, but I've never seen that. It's that one little corner where that's their section and that's it. Yeah, I have not seen opposing fan base come in and do that.

So I know that morale is really down in Columbus. And I think there is a at least semi large segment of fans that are out on Ryan Day and won't buy tickets as long as he's the coach there anymore. But I also am doubtful that like it's going to be a sea of orange on Saturday. So I don't know what your thought on that is. But if it is, that would be incredible. I I don't know what your thought on that is, but if it is, that would be incredible. I can't. I can't imagine it. I just can't. This is because Ohio State, Tennessee's fan

bases are very similar. Ohio State is just bigger. As big as Tennessee's fan base is, Ohio State is bigger and in terms of passion, I'd say they're probably pretty close and they're both kind of at the top. So Go Vols in here says he's estimating that 30% of the stadium will be Tennessee. That would be incredible. I cannot imagine. I just can't imagine it. I really can't. 30% would be high. I think if like Tennessee has the best possible turnout, like 25% would be an incredible show. I don't know. I don't know. But also, if Tennessee is

successful in taking over their stadium, then that is a really bad look for Ryan Day too, because you don't want that if you're the athletic director. So here's the question about the game. Who's a better team? They both have their flaws, and that's what I keep coming back to like Ohio State probably player for player has the better roster. But. Like who has the better running game? This is the question I've asked myself. Like because we talk about the weather we're talking about the weather affecting game, and it's supposed to be like 15 degrees of game time. And I pointed out that it snowed in Knoxville last week,

and it gets cold in Knoxville too. But like, it's more a stylistic thing, where the weather matters. Which team you trust to run the ball better? I think that might be Tennessee for me. I don't trust Ohio State to do anything. That's that's scary. When when you talk about a roster like that.

How could you? After the Michigan game, it's very hard. Like I get accused of being a homer for Ohio State all the time because I'm very complimentary of their players because they have really good players. Ohio State has shown me nothing this year that makes me think I should lay to to okay all right here we go let me I don't know if I'm playing devil's advocate or if I'm talking myself into this other than than the Michigan game, which you and I have said was clearly some mental blocked, like rent free in the head people. Going against

their own best interest stylistically to try to beat Michigan in a way that I guess would make you seem more manly or something. I don't know. You're going galaxy brain here. Yeah, I love it. No, but let's think about this. They played Oregon to a one point game on the road. They beat Penn State on the road. If they're not trying to beat somebody at their own game, which is not their style, which is what they do against Michigan, and they just play their style. They're still better than almost everybody.

Are they better than Tennessee? That's who they're playing. So which Tennessee? Tennessee that went to Arkansas? Tennessee played Alabama. Which Tennessee we're talking about? Tennessee that went to Georgia? Here's the thing about the Tennessee that went to Georgia will lose this game. Yeah. I think Ohio State could cover the spread if they play really well and they're motivated. They drop a good game plan and they throw the ball to the receivers. I'm saying that I don't trust them to do that. I don't either. Why would I don't trust Tennessee? Yeah. Like we've seen Nico overthrow receivers.

We've seen Nico. We've seen Nico throw accurately in the receivers, drop the ball. Then we saw the Vanderbilt game where that's what it looks like when it actually all works. But we haven't seen it all work that much. So I've been anybody who has followed my coverage this year especially written have been pretty high on Tennessee ceiling, right? if Nico who has a long time to continue to develop into the player plays well, they are fine

Okay. Now the one thing that I think you have to look statistically is that Tennessee statistically Has one of the worst offenses in the playoff. So there is a lot of onus on Nico taking the next step and them hitting some balls down field which they've struggled to do this year. But you have one of the best running backs in college football on your team. You're going to run the ball. Ohio State's offensive line is not great. This is the part I'm glad you brought this up because this is this is the part this is the part where it gets interesting. Ohio State offenses line versus Tennessee D line. Now, Tennessee does not have anybody up the middle on the level of Mason Graham or Kenneth Grant. They do on the edge with James Pierce, but their their talent up the

middle is probably deeper than almost any team in the country. Like there are four NFL defensive tackles that they rotate through. I just don't know how you can lay two scores when you have a team's weakness going up against the team's strength in the most critical spot in the game. Now here's the question that we haven't mentioned either. Is Ohio State just mentally broken right now? Like I think that there is a level of that where you know two years ago Ohio State lost to Michigan and they play Georgia really well and like everybody is like kind of pointing back to that. But this one feels different because Ohio State lost to Michigan two years ago

was out of the playoff and lost to a good Michigan team and was like hurt that they lost but got themselves back up off the mat when they unexpectedly still got into the playoff and were playing with an extra like an extra life that they didn't have. This year, Ohio State knew it was going to the playoff and got beaten by a bad team at home. I don't care what their uniforms are. They played like ass. Their game plan was ass. And like everything about that game was a complete and utter failure, both from a performance standpoint and a coaching standpoint.

So now you're going to tell me that they have three weeks to sulk in that and they're going to be motivated by that and they're going to be great when everything that Ohio State has. Now I've seen it once before and so have you, but it was a different head coach. Well we saw it in a different circumstance. No, 2015 they lose to Michigan State They make some changes because like Zeke Ellie well Pops off and they're like, oh, maybe we should get the play in a little faster

And then the next week no, they lost Michigan State destroyed Michigan Beat Notre Dame by a hundred and the cotton ball. Yeah, I don't know. So like, let me ask you it this way then. Do you have faith in Ryan Day to emotionally have his team ready? And do you believe in Ryan Day to be prepared for this? Not after the Michigan game. He's going to have to prove it. I'm taking the points. I am taking the points as well. I think Tennessee can win outright. Yeah, I think Tennessee can win outright, but I feel comfortable getting more than a touchdown either way. And if Tennessee wins, they have to plant a flag. I think there should be a ring of state true. It's not illegal yet, right? They didn't pass

the bill. So I'm not sure how the legislative calendar works in Ohio. I just don't want anybody to catch a felony for for plastic. Yeah so someone goes do you really think that Ohio State players are sulking? I don't think that like Jeremiah Smith is crying in his dorm room every night that's not what I'm saying. I'm saying there's an emotional like hanging from players on that front and really not so not just a player thing it's the coaches and their ability to pick themselves up and design an offense. And then on top of it, they have personnel deficiencies that Tennessee can exploit. So it seems like a, you know, like Ohio state laying seven and a half,

it seems like a lot of points. We'll, we'll see if I'm wrong, but, um, never once like had that like gut feeling of like, Oh yeah, go, go, go get Ohio state. The Ohio State that played Georgia two years ago is gonna show up. It's like that team had a really good offensive line too. And this team has some deficiencies on that front that can torpedo their entire offense. So we'll see how it goes,

but Tennessee has been very proud on Twitter the last few weeks. I don't know if you've seen Vol Nation and all the graphics that they've been posting. Very funny. That one that River showed me when we were in Nashville last week was hilarious of the uniform reveal that Tennessee had

and it was just Michigan's uniform. Like they have been very creative and very fun. They're very confident. They should be. Put up or shut up time now. I guess they've been waiting for this for a long time. Ohio State. Is coming off a just gutting loss. This is Ohio State's chance to get up off the mat. This is Tennessee's chance to prove they belong. This is the most fun

matchup of this college football playoff so far. We've been saying all year that Tennessee has it if they have the pieces if they put it together to make a run, right? Yep. We're gonna find out. We're gonna find out what happens. We're gonna be there. Ari. I cannot wait for this weekend. We're gonna be in South Bend on Friday night. We're going to be there. Ari. I cannot wait for this weekend. We're going to be in South Bend on Friday night. We're going to be in Columbus on Saturday night. These games are going to be awesome, but they are not the only games going on this week.

We have transfer portal news. We have coaching news. We have other bowl games. We got other bowl. Like the Frisco Bowl is Tuesday. Wait, are we? Let's do some bonus picks tomorrow. On some of these other bowl games that are this week and

also let's talk transfer portal. We had some discussions that we had to cut short today because we had to get to the picks. Will have probably some James Franklin comments on Bo Perviola so we can get back into that. Can't delve a little more into what happened there. This is going to be a very, very interesting week. We'll talk to you tomorrow.