Andy & Ari On3 - Ohio State 2026 fall camp INTEL: Will Ryan Day bring the Buckeyes BACK to the National Championship?

Episode Date: August 6, 2026

As Ohio State's fall camp is underway in Columbus, Ryan Day and the Buckeyes are eyeing a return to the College Football Playoff National Championship. After an early exit to the hands of Miami last year, how should we view OSU heading into this year? With many prominent players like Julian Sayin, Jeremiah Smith, and Chris Henry Jr., hwo should Ryan Day's squad feel headed into the season? Watch here as Andy & Ari break it all down here from Ohio State's fall camp.   (0:000) On Today's Episode (0:48) Presenting Sponsor (2:44) Intro: Live from OSU camp (5:28) Ohio State, back to being elite? (14:46) Ryan Day joins the show (26:27) Recapping Ryan Day: Cars (30:38) USC & Notre Dame Facilities (40:06) Thanks for watching!   After the guys break down the Ohio State roster, Ryan Day joins the show to catch up and discuss where things are at headed into his 8th full season as the head coach. Also, stick around to find out what car the Buckeyes head coach drives.   Later, the fellas take a look at the latest facility updates from Notre Dame and USC. With multi-million dollar buildings and facilities, are they worth what they used to be? Andy & Ari debate.   Thanks for watching! See you tomorrow for Dear Andy & Ari!   Our show is presented by Polymarket!   New User Offer: Deposit $10, get $20 upon sign up   https://app.polymarket.us/S8ac/ON3   Trade on College Football games every week on Polymarket. Download the Polymarket App with code ON3 for a $20 bonus upon sign up.   18+ only. Restrictions and eligibility requirement apply. Not available in all jurisdictions. Trading is risky. 100% loss can occur.     Join On3 today! https://www.on3.com/join   Watch our show on YouTube! https://youtu.be/ZtYeCuUewM8   Hosts: Andy Staples, Ari Wasserman Producer: River Bailey   Interested in partnering with the show? Email [e-mail] Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On today's episode of Andy and Ari on three, Ohio State Coach Ryan Day joins the show. He's got a national championship ring. He beat Michigan last year. Things are looking up for the head Buckeye. But of course, there's only one thing that satisfies folks around here. Yeah, national championships. Andy, you know, as close as it does feel like we're getting to college football season, got practice behind us, first day of Ohio State camp.

Really awesome to be here. It still feels like summer out here. It's very hot. Just forgive us for the football season. perspiration, but we did it for you. That's right. Plus, USC opens this new football building. How important is a fancy building these days? Because everybody used to want one real bad, but in the age of an IL, do you need it?

We'll talk about it all. And today's Annie and Ari on three, presented by Polymarket. We got a new sponsor alert, Ari. We are now brought to you by Polymarket. That's right. Available in all 50 states. Download that Polymarket app. and now we're taking positions.

It's what we're always doing. We're moving markets. It feels great. Yeah, we're market movers, guys. Exactly. So this works very much like what you're used to. The difference is, well, if you've traded soybean futures or pork bellies, you're really going to know what's going on.

But basically, you're taking a position saying something to the tune of, I don't know, I think Auburn will win more than seven and a half games. And based on how many other people take the position, either with you or against you, that changes your payout. And it also changes as the season goes on. So you've got that. You've also got positions you can take on games that are going on right now, like Major League Baseball, or once college football gets kicked off,

there will be positions on games that are going on. There will be spreads. It will be very similar to what you're used to. So download the Polymarket app and use the code on three. New users get $20 when they deposit $10 on the $1.00. sign-up. So you deposit 10 bucks, you get 20 bucks from Polymarket, and you start trading. Ari, he feels like football season, man. We're here, we're in the studio, we're in Nashville together in the flesh, and there's nothing better than my two favorite things in the entire

world, Andy, college football and trading. That's right. So let's start trading with Polymarket, download that app, use the code on three. When you deposit $10, you get $20 right off the bat. Ari, let's have a show. Let's have a show. 18 plus only restrictions and eligibility requirements apply not available in all jurisdictions trading is risky 100% loss can occur welcome to and ryan a 3 presented by polymarket we are in Columbus ohio ari we watched the buck guys practice today yeah they're still good by the way uh yeah some some real aliens out there one thing i saw andy on the way out um they so the think we have to acknowledge we didn't ask ryan but i want to acknowledge on the show is ohio state's done very smart, which is they've turned this into an NFL training camp environment. They've invited

fans. They've sold tickets. And so today, there were a bunch of fans walking around in restricted areas and were able to watch what Ohio State look like. Right. But it was really funny as, you know, the players were running out of the Woody Hayes indoor facility and onto the field, you know, little kids and fans were lined up and were giving people high fives and doing the whole, you know, NFL training camp thing. And Quay Russo walked out. The Alabama's defensive line transfer, but he wears number four. So what has? happened. Jeremiah, Jeremiah.

Everybody was like, Jeremiah, Jeremiah can have a book. And he was just like, oh. So I don't know if there's anybody in college football that wishes they might have had a different number. But then Jeremiah came out afterwards. And I'll just say, you know, we bid do a lot of buildings. And we've seen a lot of, I mean, this team is always one of the best working ones physically. So, well, okay, but I got to ask you because these are two guys that you've been

excited to see in person. Yeah. Chris Henry Jr. Brock Boyd, the two freshman receivers. What do you think of them to? You know, so far so good, right? I think that Chris Henry Jr. is a physical specimen. If you saw Brock Boyd in public, who's the freshman receiver from Texas, a three-star guy who might have flown under the radar because people in Columbus here are very excited about his ability.

You might have looked at him and not really known. And I'm talking about warm-ups and stuff. Yeah, yeah. I didn't see seven-on-seven because we were recording the show. But he doesn't really look like a bad-ass guy physically. You know how there's some. Yeah, you see him on the field. And he just cooking people.

And he just cooks people. So, you know, I think that it's an interesting dynamic as a result of what Ohio State has had constantly in the receiver room. Everybody knows who Chris Henry Jr. is because he's the 6-foot-5 alien that they came into or that comes in to be the next Jeremiah Smith. But every now and then, too, you know, you see the Ohio State NFL draft production and the graphic that's been all over the Internet all week about, you know, Chris Alave, Garrett Wilson, JSN, and who's the Terry McLaurin all signing major deals in the NFL. This is a position group that they've, you know, recruited very well. But just because they're not a five-star doesn't mean they don't have a chance to do something really special. So I get a little bit nervous sometimes because I've been on this field and I've watched these practices for 15 years of my life. And sometimes you get carried away with hype on people.

And sometimes, you know, we don't get enough hype. I do think that there's always an indication if people are talking about them and taking notice of them early on in their career, there's usually a good translation into early production. All right, I'm the least popular person in this town because I just put out a, a playoff bracket that had Michigan beating Ohio State in the first round of the playoff and then advancing the semifinal. There's a real bold strategy, cotton. Everybody in Columbus thinks I'm a moron, which is fine.

They're probably right. You want to hear a quick story about that, by the way? Yeah, you're out here, and you were in there working on some stuff, and the entire Ohio State beat brought that up. So, like, it's not just Ohio State fans. People were very curious about that. And you know what? I got to be honest with you, because I'm a big buck-eye. Oh, fuck-eye.

defended you because I don't think it's that. Why are you because I agree with you. I don't think it's insane to think that the team that won nine games last year has an opportunity to get. Nothing's insane. I mean, think about the first 12 team playoff. The team that had just lost to a seven and five rival went and beat the crap out of everybody four games in a row. Yeah, I think we saw that coming either. The toughest thing about that is that in the play, and again, you don't design this before. You put your

top 12 and it happens the way it happens. But the idea that Ohio State would lose to Michigan at home in a playoff atmosphere seems to be... I mean, they lost at home to them. Literally the last time they played in this stadium, they lost them. And they were bad. And I don't think that... But yeah, I just...

The playoff is what it is. Right. And that said, if I think you're going to make the playoff, it means I think you have a chance to win the national title. Whatever happens in the playoff happens, because, again, in this era of college football, if you're one of those 12, or maybe one of the 11, I don't know about the whatever the G6 champ is, but if you're one of those teams, you have it.

The 10 seed made the title game last year and had the ball with a chance to win. Yeah, we had this conversation extensively earlier in the week, but it's not going to be chalk all the way. My bracket was too chalky, and I think that you have a higher likelihood of being correct than me. I don't know if that means that Michigan will do it, but someone's going to do it that's not on my bracket. Maybe it will be Michigan.

But it could be Ohio State again. I mean, that's the thing. They have all the tools. We don't know the names as much on defense. We know Devin Sanchez. We know Jalen McLean. But we didn't know really. you knew who Arvel Reese was

because you covered this team, but I don't know that the general college football fan knew who Arvel Reese was going into last season, and Sunny Stiles basically told us that much when we had him on the show this time last year. Yeah, and there's a young kid named Riley Petagon on this team. He came from Texas and was

a very, he's one of those very athletic, fast, big guys that doesn't quite compare to what Rvel Rees looked like because it takes time in the program that has transformed his body. But if he turns out to be one of the best defenders in college football this year, that's not kind of surprised people. I think the exciting thing about Ohio State always is, is you know

you have the physical talent to go win the national championship. The thing that's always been different here is that even though every single team that's trotted out onto the field, in theory, is good enough to win the national championship. The margins are what actually decide who does. The curious thing about Ohio State, to me, has always been the best teams that they've ever assembled are the ones that don't do it. It's the teams that get it into the right spot. Yeah. And strike the eye. That happens sometimes.

Yeah. Because you've seen that. Producer River, our Vol for Life, was born in the midst of the 1998 season. That was not the year it was supposed to happen for Tennessee. It was supposed to be 99. And then winning the 98 title and the 99 team,

very similar to the 15 Ohio State team, like, oh, we've already made it. We don't need this. Yeah. Yeah. And we will address, I think, lightning in a bottle later on in the week. Yeah. But I think that lightning in the bottle for a lot of people

feels like something for a team that's not viewed as a contender. But I got to be honest with you. I think when Ohio State won the championship two years ago, they caught lightning in a bottle. I think big-time teams that have really good players still have to strike it at the right moment against the right opponents at the right time. You know how hard it is to win a championship.

Yeah. And I think that the fun thing about this era of college football is that we saw what we saw on this field behind us today. But at the same time, you don't quite know exactly how good it's going to be or if the setting is correct this year. But last year they were supposed to be the best team in the country and they didn't do it. This is the type of year that Ohio State typically gets further. Right.

19, 15, you have 07, I remember 05, all these great teams that didn't win it. Les Miles at one point was coaching at LSU. And somebody asked him about are they laying in the weeds? And he goes, that big tiger doesn't lay in the weeds. And I think it's the same with the Buckeyes. Like nobody's going to be surprised if they're great this year. But you're right. this is the one where we say, oh, they're probably a little down.

They lost all those draft picks. Well, guess what? These are the years they end up winning it. Exactly right. And I'll say this. There's no season that I started on the beat here in 2009, 10. And then I left for National Athletic in 2020. So at a solid decade, every game of the Urban Meyer era, there wasn't a single season in that 10-year period where people weren't sitting in these chairs on this field at this time of year saying this team can win it.

Yeah. They always are in a position to be able to win it, whether they're in a position. they will do it. I mean, we're talking about who can be Arvel Reese. Arvel Reese came out last year and they did not win it. And he was a top 10 pick. So, you know, I'm very curious to see. And Andy, the one thing we also have to have mentioned, too, about this team is that their schedule is harder than it's been in the last 20 years. Yes. And they also happen to live in an environment where losing once doesn't kill you like it used to.

So maybe that'll be an opportunity. But I do think that I buy into the notion that Ohio State schedule was so weak last year that it actually hurt them when they started facing a league. Well, right. I mean, they had to play Indiana and Miami in a row. and those were the two best teams they had played. And there are only two losses. And I truly believe that Indiana gave Miami the blueprint. They beat in Texas, but that was a young Texas. That was a young Texas team that was playing discombobulated football.

Yeah. And in this case, as they go to Texas in week two, the situations may be reversed because the Texas team is the more veteran group. The Ohio State offense is a very veteran group. The defense, they'll still be probably kind of figuring where they're at. But new coordinator on offense, Arthur Smith. So now they have two former NFL head coaches as their coordinaries. Matt Patricia did a great job last year and he's back.

So Arthur Smith brings a wealth of knowledge but is not familiar with this kind of game. But oh, by the way, you get Jeremiah Smith and you get a quarterback who completes 79% of his throws. Yeah. And I wanted to, we talked to Julian. I don't know when we'll present that to you, but we did talk to him today. Yeah. And the one thing that I failed to ask him, and I've always been curious is like the accuracy that he has. he it's just obviously I think a god-given down I talked to somebody who saw him play a lot in high school this week and they basically said that he's always been that way yeah that's just him that's just a god-given thing where you just have a natural ability to be accurate other than Josh Allen nobody's gotten more accurate in the NFL like the coaches say it's not really something you can teach yeah so that seems to have it in spades but the one thing that you have to say too is that Julian Sayans's body is different yeah I think he put on 15 pounds he's a bigger guy now than he was a year ago and you know I don't know if they'll they'll ask you

him to do quite as much as they did a year ago. I don't think there's a kind of design quarterback run. But can he stand up to hits with the ball keys put on? Yeah. Yeah. And I think that he'll have obviously plenty of options to deliver the ball to. We talked to him about that. But Andy, the one Achilles heel on this team.

I'm still not, and I know that this is going to be, this guy's an idiot for saying this. I think that the biggest question mark that I have outside of maybe the offensive line is whether Bo Jackson is elite enough as a, runner to get Ohio State over the hump in bigger games. I think he's had some pretty big moments. I think he's fast. I don't know if he's the most dynamic player that they've had in that position in the last 10 years.

We'll find out because he may have a little bit of blocking this year. I think the line was also an issue last year that showed up against Indiana and definitely showed up against Miami. I felt like Sayan had far less time to operate against Miami than he did in the other games. And I think that really affected him. So this is this is going to be like the Texas game will be a great test because they They will see the level of talent that they can expect to see in the playoff. And we will see how each of those positions.

And I actually think that had Ohio State played Indiana in week two last year, they would have been better served as a result of that throughout the season. Right. And they're going to get that in the regular season this year. They're going to get that, not just the Texas game. They're going to get that throughout Big Ten play. And I think that does become helpful. Colin Simmons is pretty good, no?

He's okay. He's all right. I mean, Texas has some dudes. And being on the road, too. Like a real hostile environment. I think that those are good things. And even if they end up losing that game, I think going into a season with a competitive loss on the road in Austin actually is probably a better benchmark to start your year than I know that sounds insane. They're just blowing somebody out and not getting that experience because if they expose you on things, you have 10 more weeks to work on those things.

Now, we could have the whole playoff argument. The good thing is with Ohio State, they're in what is viewed right now as the best conference. If they're at the top of that conference, they're going to be in the playoff. Yeah, yeah, for sure. And they don't have to win it. They haven't won it. You know, it's crazy for as good as this team has been. They won the Big Ten in like five years.

2020. The last time they won it. And that's a very long time. Obviously, the conference and the time since has expanded. Tiebreakers and such. But, you know, I think that's the longest drought they've had in decades. Well, let's talk to the guy trying to fix that drought. He fixed their national title drought already.

He fixed the Michigan drought last year. Now we has to fix that in the same season. All three. Do it all. Do it all, Ryan. Here is Buckheyes coach. Ryan Day. All right, we're here with Ryan Day. This is how fresh off the practice feel you are. You're wearing your whistle. Do you have a, okay, so I was a walk on under Steve Spurrier. He had a very specific whistle pattern. Like his, if it was tweet, tweet, tweet, tweet, that meant practice is over. I'm the good cop. Your position coach is the bad cop. We can go home now. Do you have anything like that? I mean, I blow the whistle a lot, but I don't really have a pattern. I leave that up to Austin. So we have Austin on the microphone, as you could hear. Oh, yeah. Yeah. And instead of me screaming and yelling, I just kind of to tell him what to say on there.

And then I think my voice doesn't drown out as the season goes on. Yeah, I remember all the camps that I've been here at this field. And there was, I don't know if you guys still do this, Mickey Marotti just yelling into, there's a winner and there's a loser. Don't be a loser. You're in the camp and that motivated people. But Ryan, you have good teams that are going to be in the national championship mix every year. You just finished the first day.

I mean, how hard is it to take it one day at a time and not try to fall back on, well, what did it look like at this time this year? What did it look like when we won the national? title like every team is different do you do you go through those motions internally or do you just kind of try to take it year at a time a little bit of both i think the first thing is you know making sure that you stay in the moment and recognize that everything we're doing now is building towards the future uh building towards week two at texas building towards the end of the year and i think like that that has to be the number one thing that we focus on then the second part is like you said going back and

recognizing all right here are the things that we did you know last year two years ago here are the situations we covered. Here are the areas that, you know, we need to get better at in terms of being physically ready for week one, because you've got to go back and benchmark yourself against those things. Because all the other past examples are also really, really good teams. It's always a really, really good team you're looking back at. Right. Yeah, and then you do exactly that. But then you also have to look at the trends too nationally. Like, for instance, our sports science folks and Mick Marotti, we sat down and spent an enormous amount of time talking about the first seven days of camp, what that looks like. Today, you know, for when

practice really started, to when an end, it was 100, what was a, um, it was a, um, 69 minutes. And that was about right for what we're looking for. Tomorrow we'll ramp that up. We'll continue to ramp that up as we go because it's a long run. And now more than ever, we have more invested in these guys than we ever have before. So we have to make sure that we're keeping them healthy. So is that plan, I mean, down to the minute, weeks out ahead of time because of the load that you're trying to give them and the progression?

That's exactly right. And every time you add something to it, like for instance, you know, we've had workouts all summer. We have a plan on how we kind of do this. I won't get into it right now. But then when the helmets come on, that's different. Then when the shoulder pads come on, that's different. Then we go to tackling, it's different. So you have to take all those things into consideration.

We're talking about elite athletes who are chasing these small margins. You guys talk all the time. I heard that story you said on Pat McAfee yesterday about when you were an assistant urban, and if Ryan leaves, we'll just go find another great guy. We know the resources here. We know the investment that's made into the personnel and the staff and everything. Everything's top notch at Ohio State, and that's why the expectations are so high. but I've always wondered this.

What do you think now as the sport has evolved and changed? What's the hardest part about being Ohio State's coach? I mean, people say that a lot about, hey, it's a hard job, but I always say it's a great job, you know, because it is a great job. And I think for us, there's no question. Everyone always talks about the expectations of what comes with this. And the more you're around it, the more you understand it. But I think for me, it's making sure that everybody in the building understands

that same thing and that when you build your expectations, you communicate those expectations, the people who walk into the building and embrace what we do, fit that same mindset. Because the more people you have in a building, like a Matt Patricia or an Arthur Smith or Tim Walton or, you know, Larry Johnson, Mick Marotti, Mark Bantone, have been around for a long time. They know what it's like. And then it's not for everybody. And then the players feel that. And so when you do when you do that, if you're someone like a Riley Pedigion, you know that, you're expected to replace Arvel Reese. Arval Reese had to replace Cody Simon. And it kind of goes from there.

Well, their coach is James Laurenitis. And so the more guys you get that understand that part of it, it just becomes who we are. But what you can't lose focus on is it's still about people. I mean, this is still why you get into coaching. And so when I hear the stories of Woody and Urban and Tress and, you know, John Cooper and Earl Bruce about the impact they made on former players' lives and spending time with former players who come back. We had Jonathan Hankins here today. We've had, you know, former players come through. We had more he's here today.

we always have former players come through. And when you listen to the stories about the impact they had on their lives, like you can't forget about that because we all get focused on the wins and the money and the fame and the playoffs and all that other stuff. But these are still young people that were helping develop their lives. And you came from the NFL to hear when you became the coordinator, Arthur Smith doing the same thing this year, Matt Matricia did that last year. How does that adjustment work?

Well, I think the first thing is you have to want to be in college. You know, if you have to talk yourself into it, someone's always going to have one foot in, one foot out and say, I'm going back to the NFL. This is crazy. The portal's crazy. These kids are young. And I've seen it before. It doesn't work. You have to want to do this. And Matt wanted to do this. He wanted to build relationships. Arthur was the same way. I mean, when I sat down and spent some time with him, he came over to my house. We spent about five hours together at my house. And you could tell when the look in his eyes, he wanted a coach in college. He grew up driving around with his father to games. And it's really interesting to hear his story.

and just his memories of playing at North Carolina. And although he played, you know, was coached in the NFL and done a lot of great things, he wanted to get back to the college game and give back to it. So to me, that's the key on all this. The cool thing about when you bring guys into the NFL, it's really all they do. It's all the schematics part of it.

And they understand the long season. I think both of those things have helped us with, on both sides of the ball, we'll see with Arthur. Well, we hear from the outside that the game is moving toward being more like the NFL, feeling more like the NFL. But I'm curious from your point of view, having been in both places, where is it still really different? I think you're still dealing with 18-year-olds, 19-year-olds, 20-year-olds, 20- and 21-year-old, some 22-year-olds, maybe a couple 23-year-olds. So when you're talking about those years, they're still very formidable years of their lives.

They're still looking for direction. And now, even in high school, you know, quite honestly, a lot of these guys are coached really, really well. and held very accountable, but a lot of them aren't. And so they need to learn what it's like to become a man. They don't come in as a man. They come in as a young man. And we say they're in recruiting. But when they leave, they have to leave a man and ready to take on the real world.

And the truth of the real world is nobody cares. Like that's part of becoming an adult. And so that's the part that, and that's the responsibility we have as coaches when we leave that they're that way. When you're in the NFL, you know, you're expecting them to come in that way. Ryan, I think in every interview I've ever seen you in, they always talk about the pressure of the job. Right. How hard it is, how you expect to win every game. And, you know, it's almost cliche to the point where, right, I'm not sure it probably impacts you the same way it might have done before. But I've been always very curious about this is after you win a

national championship, after you beat Michigan, some of the things that you were criticized for before the past few years were so successful, how does your life change? How does your, how do you change as a coach when you get those things under your belt and you actually accomplish the things that people, you know, say this job's all about? Right. Well, I think when, when, when, when, when, when, when, I came to Ohio State, I never thought that I would be the head coach in two years. And I don't think anybody did. I never thought my first head coaching job would be at Ohio State. And so when the opportunity came, certainly when it all went down and Urban, you know,

really promoted or really, you know, helped promote me to become the head coach, was a big part of that, but also Gene Smith and his vision. And so I think a lot of people believed in the fact that I could do this. But the truth that matter is I had never done it before. And I think as, you know, the casual fan, they see an office coordinator who had never really been a head coach before. And so you don't quite get the benefit of the doubt. You've got to prove to folks not only what you're made of, but that you can get the job done.

And I think that's always something that, you know, I took very, very seriously. Not only that, but understanding how important it is here in Ohio because I didn't grow up in Ohio. So the truth is people would question those types of things. Well, now I've been here 10 years. Now my kids only know Ohio. Now we've been through the rivalry. Nobody lives it more than we do. And now you have a ring.

Right. And also proven that when it gets really, really hard, we're going to dig in even more. And I think people are proud of that. So I think in that way, you always have to prove yourself here at Ohio State, but it's also, you know, when you put your head on the pillow at night, you also know that the people of Buckeye Nation respect what we do and know that the program's in great hands. What I do know is if I were a national championship winning coach in Columbus, Ohio,

I would start walking different. I don't think you can, though. Yeah, no, I know. I don't think because somebody's always coming for you. Because you're a legend forever, no matter what. Well, you know, this place I tell the guys all the time, like you come here to be a legend. You don't come here to just win games.

You don't come here to be average. But as a coach, winning a championship just allows me and allows us an opportunity to continue to make an impact on these people's lives. And the minute you start to lose focus on that and it becomes about the coach, it doesn't work. This is about the players and this is about the coaches and this is about their families. And I will always be that way. But that being said, like, yeah, we're competitive. And yeah, everybody's coming. Like, they are coming for us every single year and we have to have that approach.

One goofy question before we let you go, because we need to do. just settled this. We got into this on the show the other day. I don't even remember how it happened, but we started listening coaches. We're trying to figure out who's a truck guy, who's a car guy, who's an SUV guy. We got stumped on you. We didn't know where to go. And I don't know if there's a dealership deal that you got to conform to. But are you, what are we luxury sedan, SUV or pickup truck? That's a good one. So we got a Bronco this summer. Oh, let's go. And I love driving that around. That was good. Are we talking a new one or are we talking a vintage one? So I'm looking at a vintage one, but right now we have the newer one, but it's a really sweet, like scarlet.

Nice. With the big old tires. So that was fun ripping around in that. Call Sunny Dykes. He's got a vintage one. He got a purple vintage Bronco from the 70s, I think, that they restored and everything. And he drives around Fort Worth. So those are sweet.

Yeah. And I'm definitely got my eye on one, but I'm going to let the season play out. So I got one of those this summer. That was pretty sweet. But my son had talked me into getting an AMG Mercedes. Oh, okay. Race car, basically. And quite honestly, this is the truth.

I bought it and I drive it, not even so much that I like it, but because it can really go really fast. Yeah. But I tell the guys, like, one of the things that we have to understand and one of the biggest issues that we have right now with young people is driving really fast. Yeah. And I tell them, I have an AMG.

I could floor that thing and rip down the highway, but I don't. And that's discipline. And so I do it almost as a reminder so that the guys know, like, I have a car that goes fast too, but I can drive fast. Have you ever let it rip, though? Have you ever gone somewhere rural or? to a track or something and really let it rip or am I getting you in trouble here? No comment.

You can't admit to that. But I do have to ask this because if you'd said that 10 years ago, you'd have a bunch of dudes with Impala's and 8-year-old Hyundai Sonatas in the parking lot going, damn, I wish I can't wait until I can get an AMG. When you say that, does somebody raise their hand? Coach, when I'm driving my Lambo. Well, that's why I did it, quite honestly, because that's the issue. Now these guys actually have, which is great.

I'm glad they have the opportunity, but it comes with great responsibility. And when you have a car like that, the temptation is to go really fast. So I have one, too, to make sure they know that I'm not allowed to drive fast. Spider-Man with great power comes great responsibility. Yeah. NIL with great wheels comes great responsibility. Ryan Day, thank you so much. Yeah, you got it, guys.

Take care. Always appreciate you. Thank you. That's perfect. Okay, Ari. I suspect that little driving lesson from Ryan Day was aimed toward Athens, Georgia a little bit? You a little underhand or? That's where the mind goes because it's been a problem there more so than everywhere else.

And that is interesting because guys have these hot cars everywhere. Every school, every big time college football school, they have them. Okay. Can we be in the trust tree right now? Trust tree, yes. So you know this about me. I don't know if a lot of people do. I have an electric car.

Right. Okay. And I didn't buy the electric car because I'm in a, environmentally friendly or whatever. I just bought it because I thought it was cool. And they're faster, like, they accelerate faster than top fuel drag racers. So every time in my life, I've test driven a car. Yeah. Don't you always have to floor it?

I think so. Do you floor it every time you just to feel the true? Absolutely. 100%. And I had no idea going into the test drive that there's an individual engine that's battery powered on every wheel. So there's no lag time. Right.

So I floored the thing and my head snapped back and it hit the, because I wasn't prepared for that. I actually think electric cars are borderline too fast for safety. But I have in my life found a rural area where I felt comfortable giving it a go. Yeah. I think everybody, you know, Ari, I may have taken you down this road when you've visited my house. I have one too. But unfortunately, the last few years, I have not even thought about it because, you know, what happened? What? Anthony Richardson, when he was Florida's quarterback, got pulled over on that stretch going like 100 miles an hour. Yeah. I mean, I'm thinking more rural than that. I mean, like, on the highway in between Phoenix and Vegas type of deal.

He gets real rural, roll fast in north central Florida. Yeah, but, you know, I get like people make mistakes is what I'm trying to say. Yes. And people do things because when you have that, but like the temptation to speed and the temptation to open up your car is higher now than it's ever been because of the types of cars people are driving. I have a friend who got a car similar to what Ryan Day drives. This is, you know, the sportier model of Mercedes with the AMG kit. So he floored it with us in the car. And I was like, is this a race car?

Is this designed for the track? Probably. It was so fast. And that's why the reason why I've never been enamored with Lamborghinis and stuff. Obviously, they're cool. Ferraris are cool. You like seeing Mount in the Wild. But it's almost like having a speedboat, but only being able to park it in an Olympic pool.

Like, you can't move it. So, like, there's no point in having it. But does Bronco count, you've got to be the judge of this. A truck or what? What is that? An SUV? I think Broncos and Jeeps sort of fall into the same, like a Jeep Wrangler kind of thing falls in the same category.

And like those are interesting because like those types of people are those types of people. It's a different, if it's a different driving desire than wanting to drive a pickup truck or wanting to drive a traditional SUV or a sedan. They have a different spirit about them. You would know this better than me, but I think that the Bronco is on the same F-150 chassis, isn't it? No. Okay. Great.

Like I said. I thought that it had a truck base. to it. Nah. No. No. But obviously same company, a lot of the same engineering design. There is a Raptor too. There is a Raptor Bronco.

That is true. But yeah, so that was interesting because with Ryan, we didn't really know. And the answer is a little bit of two things. Yeah. And I think probably that's also the answer for most coaches. But I do want you guys to know that during the offseason, Andy and I do have a tendency in the hour plus part of our podcast to start talking about Friday. Yeah.

But I didn't realize how much. the car thing resonated with people. And I think that like we should maybe start asking people. We'll have another coach on tomorrow. SMU's Rett Lashley. We'll talk about that with him as well. Yeah. It's an interesting conversation.

Because it's like I always, and I think that the type of car someone drives or finds appropriate for them and their personality tells you a lot about who they are. So I think you, some of you know what Rett Lashley is going to say because he tweeted it at us. But we went a little bit more into that with him on tomorrow's show. We might have been his last tweet before he took the Lane Kiff and social media sabbatical.

What a waste. Come back, guys. Ari, from fancy cars to fancy buildings. USC unveiled its Bloom Football Performance Building this week. And man, that thing is gorgeous. It's beautiful.

Great natural light. They got the wall that looks like the parasitle and the Coliseum. They've got the, you know, the plunge, the coal pools, the whirlpools. It looks like multiple recovery pools. Yeah, it looks like heaven. in there. Well, it is an LA, Andy. Listen.

But actually, Notre Dame also. Yes, we had the Notre Dame win this week, too, which looked awesome too. And it kind of made me feel nostalgic a little bit back to the arms race, the facility arms race that was a 10 years ago. Before we can pay players where we had to have waterfalls and the hologram projectors and that stuff. And the reason why I thought this might be something fun to talk about today is because we're also in the Woody Hayes Athletic Center as we are recording the show for you guys.

And this Ohio State building, I don't know, Andy, you tell me, I think area-wise might be one of the largest football facilities in the country. Right. Now, like, USC is on a bit of a landlocked campus. Like, they have to go up or Oregon's building goes up. In the bigger university, you know, state universities where they have a lot of room, like this area, this building had a lot of room when they built it. Like the new building at Florida, there's a lot of room. It spreads out. Yeah.

So Ohio State also, I think, is in the process of updating their office. area. I think they're inside of their facility is beautiful. But it is the same building that it's been since before I was on the beat. This has been here for a long time. They've expanded it out. There used to be other sports, I think, in this building that are no longer in the building. And it's all football now. But it got me thinking, you know, from a recruiting aspect, we talk so much about NIL, NIL, NIL, as we're here today. And people are paying for tickets to come watch these games. Those games are going into football operations. It's going into one of the buckets. Yeah, they're paying to watch the practice. By the way,

coaches in other conferences, coaches else around the Big Ten, nobody stole anything useful from Ohio State today. You can let people watch your practice when you're in shells and nobody's going to steal anything good.

I actually don't think that like the watching of the practice is the best part. Ohio State fans, and we don't know, like, not all these fans were super wealthy season ticket holders. Like some of these guys got a chance to meet Julian saying, got a chance to meet Jeremiah Smith. Got a chance to meet you.

Well, they didn't. I just want to yell me about my bracket. No, I know, but like they made a lot of money today selling cheaper tickets to come in and just be a part of the team to feel close to the players. They had a little gift shop, a game worn stuff over here, some shoes. And it's a good way to give back to your fan base, but also a good way to also raise some extra money. And that that means extra rice, crispy treats or whatever. But that money is probably going towards somebody's salary rather than necessarily renovating this building. This building has everything you need.

Like it has a very nice weight room, great indoor facility. The locker room's nice. And that's the question is, like, USC, they needed a new building because their, their facilities were outdated. I think, like, I remember producer Rivers, alma mater, Tennessee, they were sort of the kings of this because during that era, they, they ripped their building down and rebuilt it a couple of times. Like, you didn't really need to do that now. If you have an adequate fairly new, fairly recent building, you don't really need to do much more. But the Notre Dame buildings and the USC building. Notre Dame also needed an update though.

Yeah. Yeah. We're absolutely unbelievable, which now begs the question. How important do you think it is from a recruiting standpoint or even just an arms range, if it is at all? I don't think it's important. To have the best building or one of the best. I don't think it's important to have the best building. I think you need to have an adequate building. You need to have, like, your strength coach needs to be able to go in the weight room and say, I have everything I need.

If they can do that, they're good. If you have an indoor facility, you know, like, Florida, my alma mater, might have been the last. to get an indoor facility because Steve Spurrier used to go, we don't really need that like the big schools have. And it was, you know, it was a joke. And then he got to South Carolina. He's like, yeah, I kind of want an indoor facility. Yeah, yeah.

But that's the thing. Like if you have an inner facility, if you have an adequate weight room, if your locker room is comfortable, I think you're fine. I don't think you need to break the bank on a building. And so that's something that schools need to re-engineer their thinking. I think Keith Carter, the AD at Ole Miss, is really smart about this. because they talked about redoing facilities. Now, they had redone their building fairly recently.

And so they fall into the bucket of they already have what they need there. But some stadium stuff, they said, you know what, we're going to hold off on that. We're going to use that money to make sure the roster is adequately funded. And guess what? They made the playoff. Yeah. And I think that that's where the money is being allocated towards. And it should.

But at the same time, the upgrades or the updates to be at least at the very base of what everybody else has is super important. Ohio State was one of the teams that put a waterfall in because they were making so much money to have anything to do with it. So I think that they're still fairly ahead of most places, especially with the indoor facility being attached to the building. You know, you go through double doors and you're in the facility. I think this is a really great place to have a football program,

but I am very interested to see because Oregon's got a beautiful one. We know Kentucky has a great one. I don't even know we should do a ranking show because you've been to all of it. I toured the Oregon one right after they built it. And they were giving me the whole. education about we bought these planks of wood from south america uh they can they they're this heavy but they float and what no yeah they're really they're really heavy but they also float the wood okay i don't know why that is important if you're not expecting it to be submerged but

it was something they told me okay but what what they said and i thought this this was interesting because organ those guys spend a lot of time trying to explain hey uncle phil doesn't write a check for everything and we don't have unlimited funds. And they said part of it was we wanted to find something that was durable that we wouldn't want to have to replace it in six years. Yeah. And I still see Dan Lanning's news conferences and they always seem like the room is unbelievable. And obviously that room has been the same since they opened the facility 10 years ago.

Yeah. Which is by the way a long time in this day and age. But, you know, I also get to a point too. It's like, well, how much more stuff can you come up with? That's the other part. Like, and I always go back to when I was a young reporter working for the 10. Tampa Tribune and I was covering high schools, they would have me help out covering the Buccaneers. And this is when the Buccaneers had Warren Sapp and Derek Brooks and John

Gruden was the head coach. So they, like one of these years, they won a Super Bowl. Their offices were in trailers. Like their weight room was was out in the open, like out and outside half the time. So yeah, it was, it was not palatial. It didn't matter. They had the best players. Yeah. And I guess that's where the money is always going to go. But I wonder if there will be like, if there is an arms race, the arms race right now is players. Which is where it should be. But I like to sometimes fantasize about what will the arms race be in 2041? Maybe still players.

Well, I think now and forever, if you can pay the players, it will be players. Yeah. And so what's interesting is, if we're talking the arms race for players, nobody's better at that than these people, Ohio State. But USC in their conference now trying to catch up with them, they are putting that money toward the players now. I think, you know, we talked a lot about what Lincoln Riley said when he got there, what Lincoln Riley said before two seasons ago, before last year. And the vibe is different now.

He says, hey, they're giving me everything I need now. And that tells me he feels like they are adequately investing in the roster. You look at the number one recruiting class. That is proof positive, but also the fact that they retained most of that offensive line that was very good. whereas before, like, Oregon swiped one of their, Emmanuel Pregnon was one of their best offensive linemen. Oregon swiped him last year. Yeah, right.

So definitely another team in the Big Ten mix. I think we might have dropped the ball without asking Rinday who he thinks is the best conference in college football. No, God, that would have been so clean, baby. But, you know, the thing that I just keep coming back to, too, and I think you guys will hear this again when Rhett Lashley's on the show on Friday is, you know, I feel like sometimes we conflate individual programs. success to conference success in terms of the importance.

And maybe there is a small importance of that as it pertains to the way that the college football playoff committee judges teams at the end of the year. But I think everybody's kind of their individual captain here. And, you know, how well the Big Ten did in the playoff last year doesn't really have much of an impact of what you're willing to pay your roster. And I think that you, more so than ever, teams, regardless of conference affiliation, Texas Tech is proving this, can take it upon themselves to invest in the right way in the right things and do what you can to transcend your peers. So, you know, Big Ten people

are grouped together. At the end of the day, I don't really think it matters. No, I think if you're a school with a lot of money and expectations of winning a national title, your expectation is go by the best players and go win that damn national title. That's what they feel like here. That's what they feel like at USC. That's what they feel like at Alabama, at Georgia, at LSU, at Tennessee, at Michigan. College football is so complicated sometimes with the committees and the FBI and the data. You know, it's simple. Just win your games, man.

Yeah. Just go have a good team and win games. You know who you sound like? I don't know. Kurt Signetti. That's a compliment, I'll take it. We're going to talk about him tomorrow, too. We've got a good question of dear Andy, dear Ari.

Tomorrow's going to be a fun show. SMU coach, Rhett Lashley joins to talk about preseason strength of schedule, which sounds like an oxymoron. and kind of is. Talk about that with Rhett. Also, is Rhett car guy, truck guy, Bronco guy?

We'll find out. Highland Park, Texas, you guys think. And a classic, classic edition of Who Am I? Maybe the craziest one we've done yet. One of my all-time favorite players. All tomorrow on Andy and Arion 3 presented by Polymarket.

We'll talk to you then.