Andy & Ari On3 - Ohio State's Will Howard vs. Notre Dame's Riley Leonard | Which transfer QB LIFTS the trophy?

Episode Date: January 20, 2025

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. Axia Time is the offical timepiece for both the College Football Playoff and the Heisman trophy and probably the best kept secret in college football.   Their timepieces are heirloom quality and among the coolest designs in the college space. Axia Time has created a series of limited-edition timepieces for all 12 teams in the college football playoff.  each design is limited to only 100 pieces. Check out your team’s cfp designs at axiatime.com, but you better act fast because they will sell out. Use code ARI&ANDY for 10 percent off a CFP timepiece. 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(0:00-0:37) Wendy's Saucy Nuggs Pre-Roll(0:38-15:55) Intro: LIVE from Atlanta(15:56-17:48) AxiaTime.com(17:49-24:21) What would a win mean for Ryan Day?(24:22-27:54) PrizePicks (27:55-32:58) Jim Nagy joins(32:59-43:33) Jalen Milroe at the Senior Bowl(43:34-53:16) Closing out with Jim Nagy(53:17-58:20) Closing out; see you TONIGHT The big day is finally here! Ohio State faces Notre Dame in Atlanta for the national title tonight, and Andy and Ari are on the scene. What did Ari learn this weekend from Ryan Day about his journey to this point? What can Notre Dame do to overcome a talent deficit?   Later, Reese’s Senior Bowl executive director Jim Nagy helps break down the quarterback matchup between Ohio State’s Will Howard and Notre Dame’s Riley Leonard, both of whom will play in the Senior Bowl next week. Jim also explains what former Alabama QB Jalen Milroe needs to do to convince NFL teams he’s worth a higher draft pick. Watch us on YouTube instead! https://youtube.com/live/IE_ee-eQHpg Hosts: Andy Staples, Ari WassermanProducer: River Bailey

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Welcome to Andy and Ariane 3. I can't all in memory. It took a whole season but I memorized it. And this is actually really impressive because I was like, where's his iPad? I was thinking that. Yeah. And I actually kind of had it in my head too of like when you get to a certain point, I'm like, okay, here we go. Get ready to lock in here. But hey, look at this. Oh, we're here. The trophy baby. So levitating behind us. You know, I think we we do get to a point where you talk about a game or a playoff or A set of teams so much where it just like oh like what is left to say like we're going to talk about it a lot Today but like I am just so ready for this freaking game dude

I am like I just want to watch it and just get to the end and the thing is we I feel like I just want to watch it and just get to the end and the thing is we I feel like especially with this game And I think Georgia TCU is like this, but I don't think this is like Georgia TCU But everybody seems to have a very defined idea of what the game is gonna go like yeah They're head that that Ohio State is just too talented and the Notre Dame won't be able to hang and I personally hope that's not What happens now? I want to see a good game I don't care who wins, but I'd like to see a good game. And I think about, we've had some situations

like this in the past involving Ohio State, the Ohio State Florida game, where everybody thought Ohio State would crush them and Florida ends up crushing Ohio State, probably even more so than the Miami Fiesta Bowl, where everyone assumed that Miami would roll and Ohio State wins the national title. It's possible that everything we think gets blown up and that's why we watch sports. That's what we love about it. Andy, if you go into that room right here, which

is the media hospitality suite, you ask 25 people what they think is going to happen and what Notre Dame's path to win. You'll get 25 of the same answer. Exactly. And like that, the thing is that is just like, okay, maybe that's just because that's what reality is, or maybe it's because sports writers are just stupid and we don't know what's going to happen. Well, that's also true. I just like to me, like that is an uncomfortable thing, right? Cause like, I don't know.

Notre Dame is a really, really good football team. Okay. Yeah. Ohio state though, all the players they have on their team, like I think that the thought process and mine that I hold and we agree and everyone else agrees that Ohio State's probably better, but I think it does a disservice to the team that Notre Dame hasn't what they've done this year. But here's the here's the thing. We've done so much in the past in games that were lopsided, even if you go back to like TCU Georgia a few years ago, doing mental gymnastics of how is TCU going to...

Oh, remember, remember we were, we were with Dan Rubenstein and the Solid Verbal guys. We're taking the taco tour around LA with Michael Jr. and Mina Kimes. And they're asking us about the game. And somebody says they thought TCU would win. And you and I just laughed at them. Yeah. And I think didn't, didn't a bunch of the game day crew kind of incept themselves into thinking that TCU had a chance in that game. We, uh, people got mad at me because I was like, I'm not that interested in this game because it's just going to be a blowout and I don't care.

Yeah. And like people were just like really upset. And then like at the same time we worked with the athletic at the time and like half of the staff picked TCU to win. So I do think that a lot of times people want to give in to the Disney moment or want to give in to the fun thing. And here's the thing, usually when crazy stuff happens, it's when people are all like, oh, it's going to be Ohio. Yes. That's when it happens.

But this is not that though. This is not TCU Georgia. Not at all. The talent level at Notre Dame is so much closer to Ohio State than the talent level at TCU was to Georgia. But it's still a pretty decent gap. Now we're going to break down the quarterback matchup later because I find this really interesting where you got these two first-year transfer quarterbacks that spent their whole career somewhere else that could bring it home for their school. So we'll have Will Howard, Riley Leonard, we're going to have Jim Nagy from the senior bowl on. He's the executive director of the senior bowl. He's got both of those guys coming to play in his game. So he's going

to break it down. Like a scout breaks it down and explain to us who has the edge in this matchup. But have you changed your mind on that on our picks? Our picks are up on the screen. No, I still feel like Notre Dame can muck it up because I Notre Dame is better than people realize. Notre Dame has not the level of talent that Ohio State has. I'm not going to pretend they do, but the top in top like Notre Dame's offensive line, especially if Charles Jagsauce starting left tackle, which certainly sounds like he's going to. Notre Dame's offensive line is excellent. Excellent. So and he was supposed to be the guy all year.

If anybody has a chance to handle this Ohio State defensive line, and as you've seen in this playoff, it is very difficult because they are very good. But if anybody has a chance to do it, it's this group. Like they're good enough potentially to handle that, which will give Riley Leonard some time. Will allow him to do some things. Now I don't think Notre Dame's receivers are great, but you saw the Penn State game like Jayden Greathouse got open.

He's good. Yeah. He made a move and all of a sudden you've got an explosive play. Like they can pull that off every once in a while. The problem is they don't have the play to play explosive possibility that Ohio State has. Ohio State can explode for a 75 yard screen pass touchdown, for example, at any moment.

And Notre Dame's not an at any moment kind of team. Notre Dame's gotta grind you down. Yeah, I mean like Ohio State I believe went six or seven or even eight possessions against Texas in a row without scoring. Yeah. So like, it's not like they're just, you know, a team that just scores every single time they touch the ball. And, you know, at times and that when they've struggled in the past, they have

struggled against teams that are more quote unquote tough and play this brand of football and you look at like the Nebraska game, the Michigan game this year, those are games where things are different circumstances have changed. The line isn't messed up and it isn't a rivalry game. But like at the same time too, like Notre Dame has played two competitive games with this team in the last few years when Ohio State had a lot of really good players.

So like, I think that like, it's dangerous when everybody thinks the same thing is gonna happen. It is, it is. And that's why I brought up that Ohio State Miami game. Because that was definitely and everybody thinks the same thing is going to happen. That Ohio State Florida game was another how everybody thinks the same thing is going to happen. Were you a kid when that game happened? How old were you in that game? Were you in the business yet?

Yeah, I was in the business. I was covering high schools for the Tampa Tribune. It's time. Okay. So take me to it because when I was 14 when that game happened, yeah, because like I always saw this. I actually covered Tennessee the year before as a beat writer. So that Tennessee team would have played the O1 Miami team in the Rose Bowl had it not lost in the SEC Championship game. So I had I had watched that O1 Miami team very carefully and then O2 team is just as good if not better than the 01 team. So the thought was there is no one on earth that can compete with this team. Now as we look back, if I show you the roster of the 2002 Ohio State team, you would look at it and go, well, of course this team won the national title.

2002 not do what we do now, which is how many draft picks do they have? What are the senior bowl people? They all had that many draft picks. They both did. That's what I'm saying. Why did everybody think that Ohio State had no chance in the game? Because Miami had just steamrolled everybody the season before and everybody that season. Yeah. I feel like if that game happened tomorrow, you and I would have like, Dagon. If you looked at the two rosters, you'd be like, this is a dead heat.

They have like 27 players drafted off. Both of those teams were absolutely loaded. So it may be the best collection of talent on the field. The national title game is much bigger, right? Than that. Yes. Yes. But even though that this one isn't that crazy, right?

Right. So like I think that like that like comparing it to O2 is a little bit weird. But then at the same time, too, it's like Florida and oh, six, that's another one that you brought up. Florida and oh, six also had an insane amount of talent. I don't know how we didn't see that coming. I don't know. I become more seasoned. It's interesting, though, if you look at Florida, oh, six is talent, like they had some, some

really good college players among the older guys. Yeah, that were not necessarily good pros. The real elite talent was the younger guys. And that's what kind of put them over the top. But it was a different era. Like that was before the Stars Matter era had really gotten going. And this is, I'm glad you brought that up, because this is kind of the last night of the Stars Matter era. Ohio State is the last team that looks like the 2014 Ohio State team or any of those Nick Saban Alabama teams that won the National Tyler 2019 LSU where you're like, Holy crap, look at all these draft picks. Look at these guys who could be playing in the NFL right now. I

don't think you're going to see one team be able to stockpile like this team has been able to stockpile in the in the next era of college football. When you cover a game do you like go into the game with like ideas in your head like if it goes this way I'm gonna do this or if it goes this way it's gonna do that or do you like? I would rather just watch the game you know you can't help it but think oh if this happened this would be a good way to do the show or this would be a good column right off of it but I it's funny back when I was at SI I would occasionally dip in and

help out with college basketball. And our college basketball writer had something and he got sick or something. And so I had to go to Lexington to cover a Florida, Kentucky basketball game that was like a big top five matchup at the time. And the editor calls me like on a Wednesday, the games on Saturday is like, I just want to go over some potential, you know, story angles for the for the game. And I'm like, Well, I'm gonna watch the game. And then I'm going to talk to the people who played in the game. And then I'm gonna write about the game. He's like, Okay, that sounds like a good idea. Okay,

well, now I'm gonna embarrass myself. But I play the game of like, here's what I think going into it if it goes this way, because I like to formulate my thoughts and have baseline points. And like, I'm just going to with you right now. Okay, go for it. Which is, I don't know if I've said this on the show or not, I've done so many radio interviews and stuff, I don't know what I said here and what I've said there. I gotta make myself more harder to attain.

I need to save. I don't think so. I need to save me for you. I think you need to advertise the show as much as possible. That's what I'm trying to do. We want lots of people to know about this show. There's Stewie Mandel. Stewie Mandel, Mr. Mandel. People in this building call him Stewie.

So you wrote a column last week and I wrote a column. Let's back this up. After the Rose Bowl, I wrote a column about how Oregon shouldn't feel terrible about what happened this year and that they just ran into the wrong team at the wrong time and that they'll get to that point. Which is going to happen in this area. That was part one. And then part two, you wrote this past week, which was Ohio State might be the last remaining super team. Yes. So for me, it's like when you look back in time, at the last three big postseason games that Notre Dame has played, get back to the 2012 National Championship game, to the two playoff appearances that it's had. Those were very good teams that ran into teams that were just super teams.

Yeah. And this this Notre Dame team is better than those. This Notre Dame much better than those. So this Notre Dame team has the unfortunate luck, right to also be running into a team that isn't supposed to exist. This time next year, there probably isn't a team like this. And I think that like Notre Dame, if they lose tonight by a two score game, people are going to go back to reverting to like, ah, Notre Dame stinks. And they suck. They're always overrated. Well, I really like to tell you that if that happens, this Notre Dame team,

what is assembled right now, though having the unfortunate luck of having to play one of the last remaining super teams is more than good enough as it continues to ascend under Marcus Freeman to continue to play in these games and potentially win a championship. Regardless of what happens tonight, I am more confident in Notre Dame's ability to win postseason big games and do capture national championship today than ever before. Yeah. So and I just don't want people to get confused of like Notre Dame. And you know what? Maybe they'll do it. Maybe they'll win the game tonight.

I'm not trying to like bury them already, but like Notre Dame and I saw somebody in the chat when I saw about Notre Dame's offensive line and how good they are said, oh, Notre Dame's not offensive line is not as good as Texas or Oregon. Stop with the BS. No, oh, Notre Dame's offensive line is not as good as Texas or Oregon, stop with the BS. No, it's actually better than those. And four of the last five Notre Dame left tackles dating back to Zack Martin in 2010 have been first round draft picks.

The one who wasn't was Liam Eichenberg and he was a second round draft pick and he starts in the NFL. That, they're a factory. They're gonna have the best offensive line in the country next year. Cause all of those guys can come back plus square B Lambert's been sitting there just growing plus Anthony nap who started 14 games at left tackle and is out because he got a sprained ankle tonight.

Just don't do it. Like it's just like, I think wish Notre Dame, they're going to be really good next year is what I'm saying. Yeah. Like they're going to be back, but just don't go into the Notre Dame's overrated. I think what they've done already this postseason has already proven that their coach and their program can exist in this era. Yeah, they're just like Ohio State winning it this year would be a homage. Is that the right way to say it? I don't

know how to spell that word or whether it's a big Columbus based t shirt company. That's homage. Say it's the same. It's the same word. You can say homage, homage. Well, homage to that era, but I think that that era might be dying tonight. I think so. So if it is dying tonight. And for those who don't understand, the reason this particular team has been able to do this, it's not like, because I don't think Ohio State has anything certainly special about being Ohio State that allows them to do this again. Why this particular group is like this is because this group of seniors that really loves each other, that wants to play together, that decided to come back together, they all signed pre-NIL.

They all signed before the transfer rules changed. And by the time NIL and the new transfer rules were really in effect, and really... They were old school on a new school roster and they were already starting at Ohio State. Yeah, so they weren't leaving, but the problem now is going to be. You're not going to be able to have those guys waiting their turn because somebody like Michigan State or somebody like USC or somebody like Arkansas is going to come in and say we'll pay you more to play now and

you'll go to the NFL from here, because the NFL finds you in a big league. Yeah. And that's the thing. It's like Ohio State is the perfect combination between veteran five-star. Like Jack Sawyer and JTT are five-star players. Yes. Like Denzel Burke's a top 100 player.

They've got guys on their team that could be in the league. We've said it 100 times. But those guys came into the program before they had the temperament or the understanding that they could leave at any given moment Yeah, so like the fact that they and then on top of that they also Killed it in the portal with NIL stuff. Yeah, Judkins and Caleb down It's like they did both things and I just don't think that anybody's gonna be able to do both things anymore

So it's not like Ohio State is levitating above the rest of them But like the fact that they lost to Michigan last year, the fact that they lost or didn't accomplish their goals. It's probably probably the culmination of how they're able to just like you beating Michigan in that fiestable created last year's Michigan team. Yes, it's the yeah, and it's funny and weird. But Ohio State also failed to beat Michigan after that happened. Yes, and they're still in this position. So you know it is a well, it's not a normal situation. Let me tell you about something regardless of winter. If you are a fan of the team that wins tonight, pay special attention. So I'm wearing my Axia Odysseus two watch.

You've heard me talk about Axia time, best watches in the game, the official timepiece of the college football playoff and the Heisman Trophy. So they're doing commemorative watches for all of the playoff teams this year. So if you've got a team that's in the playoff, by all means check them out because it's

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Axiatime.com and if you want 10% off that timepiece, the code is Ari Ampersand Andy. Ari Ampersand Andy for 10% off. Axiatime.com. I'm telling you right now, beautiful watches. You will love them. Even if, even if you're not celebrating your team and you just want a beautiful watch that everybody's going to say, we were walking around Atlanta yesterday and somebody goes, Hey, where'd you get that watch? So it yeah. So it's, I'm telling you, everywhere I go, people ask, so Axiatime.com. The confetti thing's a nice touch. It's a beautiful touch.

I mean, think about that. That was right there. That confetti may have dropped on Will Howard or Riley Leonard's shoulder, depending on who it is rising the trophy. Yeah, that's, I mean, it is really cool. And people who can collect the confetti. Yeah, I don't know who scooping the confetti

Do we have to do that as as people who help out actually time I have to check my email Yeah, do you have a shovel? I well, I think I just stuff some of my Just put a little bit in the face. So I mean, I'm not a very good with my hands. I'll leave the craftsmanship We're gonna ship to Switzerland It's his whole thing Alright. Alright, let's talk before thing. All right, all right. Let's talk before we get to Jim Nagy and break down this quarterback matchup. Let's talk one more time about Ryan Day, who I find to be the most fascinating

person in this game. You asked him a great question at media day. So what was the question you asked him? So I was watching an interview with Nina Day, his wife on WBNS 10 TV Columbus. And they asked her about, um, just what happened the morning after they lost to Michigan. Yeah. And she said, and I don't know if this actually happened or if this is just

what you say after success and Sue's that he woke up the following morning said had a different look in his eye and said I've got no choice but to fight my way out of this and that was an interesting thing because we spent the last three weeks or the three weeks two weeks between that loss and the Tennessee game wondering whether he was gonna quit which is the exact opposite of what that says and now they've they've gone on this run and it gets you thinking about the concept of equity. So I asked him what that was like just for some color in the story. And then I asked him some other questions, which I think we have here to play for them. But like the concept of equity is so important here because though he's done all these other

great things like draft picks and talent accumulation and being a good dude and all important here, because though he's done all these other great things like draft picks and talent accumulation and being a good dude and all the things that like you want as your coach, the only thing that fans truly care about is accomplishing goals and lifting banners. And he hasn't done that yet. Very much anyway. They have advanced to a championship game before in the old four team era, but that was during COVID and losing four games in a row to Michigan. You know the story. They haven't won the big 10. If he wins the

national championship on Monday, that puts an end to everything because you can say, well, he can't beat Michigan. Well, he won the national title. That's equity. He can go beat Michigan later, but he's won the national title. If you get that, it automatically turns him into a lauded figure in Ohio State history instead of a punching bag. And that's four quarters of football different. Right. Because he would have exactly the same number of national titles at Ohio State as Urban Meyer and Jim Trestle.

And I think that, and it got me thinking about the previous two eras, both of which I was around for as a beat writer. And I remember, you remember what it was like at the last four or five years of the Trestle era, like people couldn't stand as offense. They couldn't beat the sec. There were, it got bad, you know, and it always gets bad at Ohio state. Uh, eventually urban Meyer, um, you know, had back to back years in which they lost to Iowa and Purdue.

Um, you know, they didn't like his loyalty to certain assistance that caused certain position groups to be under recruited and underperforming. And then of course, the scandal at the end of it, that ultimately, you know, put a dark cloud over the departure from the program. The thing that they did early on in their careers, Andy, was they won national championships in the, in the first few years. And when you do that, that's what gives you,

it's the same thing that Dabo has right now, right? Like there's a lot of coaches who have equity. They've done it. Yeah, now Dabo took longer. Like if Ryan Day wins tonight, he will have done it faster than Dabo did it. So to me, like Ryan Day winning this game, I think takes a ton of pressure off.

And actually this was a secondary opinion that I didn't even write about. I also think if Ohio State wins today that he beats Michigan more often because then he doesn't go into that game so tight. I've already got that. I don't need anything else. You can't take this away from me. Then they just coach this football and the next thing you know that that burden is off their back. Let's hear Ryan Day answering Ari's question. I think our guys have learned a lot about that. And again, I've said this before, I think there's some great stories to be told about, you know, what went on behind behind closed doors and, you know, some

of the things that were said and, you know, the personal challenges that we had for each other and, you know, collectively the story. But the only way that gets told is if a banner gets put up in a Woody, that's it. And that's the that's the sobering reality of this game that nobody cares about what you go through and you got to win that final one to finish the mission and so that's it for our guys and you know as much as some of these these wins have been great wins for us you know to me you know it's about winning this final game and so all that being said I think our guys have learned a lot about life over the last

month I think it's been a tight group. We've seen the good, the bad, and the ugly. And it's a special group of guys that care a lot about each other and that are going to go on to be very, very successful moving forward because they're strong, they're loyal, and they're very mature. You're going to see, you know, 10, 20, 30 years down the road, these guys make an unbelievable impact, not only on their families, but in the community and in the game of football. That is Ryan Day.

And he's right. I want to see if they win. I want those stories to be told. Yeah. I can't wait to hear what they are because I, it will take all the pressure off. Like that players only and well players and Ryan day meeting. I'd love to hear more specifics about that.

And I think we're going to get more specifics about that. If they win, we'll never hear it. If they don't. Apparently it was kind of like, uh, what's that show? Uh, when you're like an alcoholic and then people surprise you. you with like, Oh, it was like an intervention. Yeah. Yeah. But it was like a intervention where there were a bunch of people who were the target of it. And everybody was yelling, throw it, throw it to four. Yeah, throw it to four, throw it to four. I don't know. Maybe that was what what the

thing was. But yeah, and that's the thing too. It's like, obviously, Ohio State has gone from a place where the team kind of just folded and been defined by the Michigan game to a pretty remarkable place. And the thing that also is interesting is that they had the hardest path to get here too. Yeah. You know, to beat Tennessee and Oregon and Texas back to back to back is not something

that I envision they'd be able to do after watching that Michigan game with you there. It's hard to envision anybody doing that when you watch those other teams play this season. So I it's been an impressive run and I can't wait to see it. And the thing about this game that that fascinates me. And we really hadn't talked about it as much as I thought we would, is that these two quarterbacks are not homegrown guys. Neither of them were massive five star recruits because we've all keep saying it, you need that elite first round quarterback. Well, I don't think either of these guys are that, but both of them are capable of leading their team to a national title. So you've got Will Howard, you've got Riley Leonard. Let's, first of all, let's talk Will Howard

because our friends at PrizePix, they're gonna make Will Howard your favorite player tonight unless you're a Notre Dame fan because Will Howard is the almost free square. So you're playing prize picks. You download the app, best daily fantasy game in America. Use the code staples when you sign up. Play $5.00. Get $50 instantly. Will Howard, if he throws for a yard, you win your Will Howard square. There's a free square. You hit that

square. So when you're playing free square, you hit that square. So when you're playing prize picks, you pick as few as two squares, the more you pick, the higher the potential payout. So if you wanna pick that Will Howard 0.5 passing yards square, then by all means, go for it. He throws for a yard, you're good to go. Now Riley Leonard, his number is 177 and a half

passing yards, which, you know, when they were playing Penn State, I said he didn't need to do that. He ended up throwing for 223. Thanks that Jayden great house touchdown. I don't know that he's going to be able to do that against Ohio State. If he can, then we're in a pretty interesting game here. Yeah. I mean, like the thing with these numbers, a lot of times he was like,

do you think that they're going to get chunk plays? Remember, I learned for 90 yards against Georgia and they won. Yeah. So I don't necessarily believe that he has to get to that number for them to win. Like if we think the path is muck it up, run the ball, stop it on and turn it into a slosh vest, then I don't think he does. The more critical Riley Leonard prize picks number to me is 38 and a half rushing yards. If he goes more than that, they have a chance. Which I think is all but a certainty in this game. Unless he gets sacked a bunch.

Yeah, unless he gets sacked a bunch. Oops, I was going through the numbers here. I got to go up and look at the Mechaeg Buka square because I think it's somewhere in the 50s and I think that's just a free square. I think it's 53 and a half. That's a free square. Yeah, I looked at it this morning, but...

He's going to have more than 53 and a half receiving yards in this game. Like it's a half. That's a free square. Yeah, I looked at this morning, but he's gonna have More than 53 and a half receiving yards in this game. Like it's a guarantee So if you want to you have two squares now, I just gave it to you Mecca there are no guarantees in life. Are he's not actually guaranteeing anything. Do not sue us So but you know that to me is the easiest one if they If Notre Dame tries extra hard to take away Jeremiah Smith, Emeka Bucca getting moved around and torturing defenses, that's what they do usually when Smith gets taken away. So I see where Ari is coming from. There are no guarantees.

Yeah, that was tongue in cheek. You get it. That's the reason why I yell Freeman. I'm just trying to make sure we have a show tomorrow. Yeah, okay. You know, I'm just trying to make sure we have a show tomorrow. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. You know, I'm just like walking liability in just life. But I what I'm trying to say in strongly way is that that is to me a very like an automatic play.

Yeah. So we'll see how that goes. But you know, the the game is all about styles, right? Styles makes fights. That's what you like to say all the time. And we'll see what the style this game game is. But, um, if Notre Dame is going to exist in this game, I think that, you know, you're gonna have to hit less than on a few of these Ohio State squares and more than on a few of these

Notre Dame's exactly download that prize picks app. Use the code staples play $5 and get $50 instantly when you sign up using that code staples. All right, let's talk more about this quarterback matchup with a guy who knows a lot more about football than me or Ari or me and Ari combined. That is Jim Nagy, the executive director of the Risa Senior Bowl, and he has both of the quarterbacks coming to Mobile next week for his game.

So he's watched them both very, very closely. We'll talk about those guys with Jim, talk about some of the other guys like Jalen Milrow coming to the game, Cam Scataboo coming to that game, and what happens next for all of these guys. But first, Riley Leonard versus Will Howard. Here's Jim Nagy. Honored to be joined now by Jim Nagy, the executive director of the Risa Senior

Bowl. And Jim has a very unique perspective on this national championship game because he's going to welcome both starting quarterbacks from this game to Mobile in a few weeks. Riley Leonard and Will Howard headed to the Senior Bowl and Jim Ari and I argued quite a bit about this quarterback matchup the other day. I'm curious from your perspective, you know, how have you seen these guys grow this year? Cause they're both with new teams this year. How have you seen them grow this year?

Well, I think in Riley's case, he didn't have much of an off season. You guys know that he had the ankle injury at Duke. It was really like an aggravating rehab process. He's from down here. Get that out of the way first. I remember people that haven't been watching these games. Fair hope, baby. He's from down here. Get that out of the way first. People that haven't been watching these games.

Fairhope, Alabama. So he missed a lot of the offseason. So there was a lot of chemistry with receivers, new guys that he missed out on. I think the staff there was trying to feel him out and see what Riley was good at early in the season. So it's been kind of a build for him. And again, when he started the year, I think most teams had Riley in that early day three,

fourth, fifth round area, because you love the intangibles, the makeup's off the charts. This is like one of the best guys that's going to be in this draft. It's come out in a long time from an intangible standpoint. And he's big and he's athletic, so there's plenty of positives where you'd wanna draft this guy in that area. But then you saw what Notre Dame became, especially in the month of November, is when teams started to hit me up. Guys would text me or call me and like, man, it's Riley Leonard. They're starting to get it.

They're scoring like 50 points a game, that one little stretch there. They're really starting to score. And then through the playoff, I mean, yeah, it hasn't always been pretty offensively for Notre Dame, but when he needs to make a throw, he makes a throw. Even going all the way back to the Texas A&M game, that wasn't always pretty, but you know, there was a couple of third down,

critical third downs where he made throws. So I think he's shown some like clutch ability and he's certainly shown his toughness. Um himself into the day to m do just getting feedback then, you know, Will Howe are critical for the quarte for these college football

are critical for all the especially quarterback an really play, you know,est and best games here, you know, going to the Rose Bowl and this last bowl game that the last game against Texas. So I think he's helped himself to I think Will Howard, you know, a year ago because we I called Will Howard to add him to last year's senior bowl when it when the writing was on the wall, we weren't going to get Jane Daniels. Will was the next guy up and he was actually hopping on a plane to Columbus later that day.

So really, really bad timing for us. But now it's it's worked out well for Ohio State. They've had will hopper this year and he's played well. I think last year, Will would have been a fourth or fifth rounder somewhere in that mix too. And I haven't gotten a lot of feedback since these playoffs has started from teams. Everyone's just it's a really busy time of year for everyone in football. But I wouldn't be surprised with how he's played on these big stages that, someone sees some starting starter, potential starting ability and will,

which could get him into the day two conversation. So we're excited to get both those guys down here. They're both like A plus character guys, and it should be a fun week with them here. Which team has the quarterback advantage in the national title game? Oof, that's a good one. Uh self-serving question. I would say Notre Dame is a lot more reliant. They need Riley to play.

They need Riley to play really well. Um I don't know if I'm answering your question right. I mean Ohio State's got more pieces, right? I mean, you've got Ibuka in the freshman receiver and Trevion and Judkins. I mean, there's just, Will Howard's got more to work with. So there's just more on Riley Leonard.

I don't know if that gives them the advantage. I think Ohio State has the offensive advantage because they just have a lot more fire power. Jim Jim is the ultimate scout by the way like Jeremiah Smith is the freshman receiver because Jim didn't worry about him for two more years like I didn't even know his name. I

swear to god. I forgot blank on his name. So I said the freshman receiver but that's but that's funny because you got you got there's nothing you guys can do with them until he's eligible to go in the draft. So he's he's eligible to go

in the draft. So it does. He's he's not my concern for a couple more years. So I'll learn his name at that point but I know he's really good. Um but yeah, I totally blanked on that kid's name. I think you just did the full evaluation of him though,

Jim. I think you're caught up. Yeah. First you see Rob the board in 2028. There you go. Done. Um I've heard he's the next Julio Jones. So, well, well, Jul you called him about being in the game and then he decides to because that he's another one that you mentioned the Will Howard situation where you you'd called him about being in the game and then he decides to come back and play in college. When it became clear Jalen wasn't going back to Alabama, my thought was, oh, this guy's going to go to another school and but he ends up going into the draft. Carson Beck had declared for the draft. He's going to go to Miami for Jalen. You know, what does he need to do to show teams that, you know, he's

not as turnover prone as, as he was this season or how, how can he help himself in your game? He's his process is going to be fascinating guys. Like where this goes, I think, uh, he's probably going to be, if I could insert myself into any draft room over the next three months, this is probably the discussion I would want to, I would want to be a part of it and just there'd be a fly on the wall to hear how it goes. Because you can talk yourself into and out of J-Led. It's going to be, it's going to be, again, fascinating. So he's a, he's got rare speed. We know that he was the fastest guy in the program when

Jameer Gibbs was on that team. And we all see how fast Jameer Gibbs looks like, looks on an NFL field right now. So we know he's got rare speed, you know, tremendous athlete. He's had great moments as a passer. He'd showed a lot of progress in his anticipation early in the year. And then it's inconsistent. Um there's

around that. So I think w during senior bowl week i during the week. Um you k for for I think any scout right. I mean to me, Tuas bit of a throw away day. a great day on Tuesday co here that to me that's al on the cake. But you can't expect that. You know,

they're working with new players and I get that. But you want to see that build Wednesday a little better, Thursday a little better, you know, put something together in the game. So I just think, you know, from an accuracy standpoint, I think most teams are going to come down here and just be really keyed in on the accuracy and some of the anticipation. We got into this with you when you were on the show a few months ago, but I'm just curious, like there are, especially with like Jalen Milrow, situations where it's like, should this guy go pro or should this guy go get an NIL check somewhere? Like where does Jalen Milrow fall in that conversation? How is

your job changed as it pertains to you know evaluating these guys and whether they should go or come? Well it that's a great question it's changed in the sense that I'm fielding a lot more questions from head coaches and schools about you know where because they know that I talked to NFL teams all the time you know I've got a you know we include them as part of our our roster construction process and this year we did that those calls with 14 teams so they're just using me as a sounding board more sometimes they're getting me on the phone with players and that's a little that's a little uncomfortable

quite frankly I like to give them my opinion and let them you know do it do what they want but I mean again just using the Carson Beck example if those numbers are real numbers a lot of these guys financially would make sense for them to go back to school right. And again I think the other part of it too is what a lot of fans can understand is some of these guys are just done with college. They just you know they're ready to move on. They've done the college thing for three or four years and they just want to, they want to take their shot regardless of where they're going to be drafted. We've got some juniors in the game this year that schools reached out or agents reached out and asked where they would get drafted and you know, a fourth bit round, which to most people doesn't sound like a high

enough draft slot to leave early, but the kids made the decision to come out because they just they're kind of done with school. So it is a legit it's it's a it's a it's it's really it's a hard decision for these guys right now because the money is it's substantial. I mean, this isn't we're talking we're not talking about a couple hundred thousand dollars here. So these especially for these quarterbacks, it's made it difficult. Well, and that's, that's what I was thinking about with Milro, cause you know, the other quarterbacks in your game,

like Dylan Gabriel, he used every bit of his eligibility. Tyler Shuck, same thing. Cause he needed to have a healthy season, but Milro, I do wonder if there's sort of this boomerang effect where you actually might get drafted higher because other quarterbacks keep going back to school. You know, it's funny. We've started the last couple of years in the spring, and we're building the board out.

And the quarterback position looks really deep, right? Like, we've got 20 names up there, and we end up liking, you know, 10 of them. And then because of this, it just gets really thinned out. The thing gets really thinned out, guys get hurt, all sorts of things, the transfer portal, NIL. So yeah, it has made it, it has made it more difficult at that position. And I think where Jalen Milrow is concerned is, again, there's just such a wide, there's such a spread on where things are. And I'll say this when it comes to Jalen Milrow, I just tie it back to whatever that was four years ago when Jalen Hertz was in the game.

I mean, the consensus on Jalen Hertz that year when we did our league calls, his fourth, fifth round coming into Mobile, he had a really good week here. He threw it, he threw it better at the combine than he threw it here. He kind of got better through the process and we all saw, you know, the Eagles took him late in the second, which was a really big jump for a guy like that. But right now going into the process, Jalen Milrow, he has higher grades than Jalen Hurts. And so if you're playing that game,

that's interesting. That's interesting. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, there's there's plenty of day to love for Jalen Milro right now. And when you say day two, you're that that's the second round. So I mean, it's second and third round. Yeah, it's well, that's I think it again. So if you just tie it to if you just go back in a recent memory, I was working for the Seahawks when when Lamar Jackson came out. And I know Bill Polian takes a lot of crap from that. And I think that's the second round. So I think that's the second round. Yeah, I think that's the second round. Yeah, I think that's the second round. Yeah, I think that's the second round. Yeah, I think that's the second round. Yeah, I think that's the second round. Yeah, I think that's the second round. Yeah, I think that's the second round. Yeah, I think that's the second round. Yeah, I think that's the second round. Yeah, I think that's the second round. Yeah, I think that's the second round. Yeah, I think that's the second round. Yeah, I think that's the second round. Yeah, I think that's the second round. Yeah, I think that's the second round. Yeah, I think that's the second round. Yeah, I think that's the second round. Yeah, I think that's the second round. Yeah, I think that's the second round. Yeah, I think that's the second round. Yeah, I think that's the second round. Yeah, I think that's the second round. Yeah, I think that's the second round. Yeah, I think that's the second round. Yeah, I think that's the second round. Yeah, I think that's the second round. Yeah, I think that's the second round. Yeah, I think that's the second round. Yeah, I think that's the second round. Yeah, I think that's the second a recent memory, I was working for the Seahawks when Lamar Jackson came out. And I know Bill Polian takes a lot of crap for his comments about Lamar playing receiver, but we had those conversations in our draft room in Seattle about Lamar maybe being a wide receiver. So, I mean, nobody's talking about Jalen Milro playing another position right now, to my knowledge. That hasn't come up in any conversations I've had with guys in the league.

So again, if you're just playing that game and seeing that Lamar Jackson's turned into an MVP, that's why those conversations in the draft rooms are going to be so fascinating because this guy, I mean, if you just use the Jalen Hurts example and the Lamar Jackson example, I mean, those are like, I got asked about Jalen Hurts if we were going to play him at running back when he came to the senior bowl in the press conference. So nobody's there right now with Jalen Millrow. So it's just, again, that's where I think his head is at. And his people's head is probably at the top. Jim, is that if people like Lamar and Jalenlen Hertz have made it where those conversations don't happen anymore?

I hope so. I hope. I think that's probably what it is. That's probably why I haven't heard that. Because people have learned their lesson. I mean, you can say what you want. And I've always pulled it back. The Jaylen Hertz thing to me, it's a great example for evaluators. Like, don't ever put a ceiling on a guy that is a really high-end competitor in a really high-end worker. Everyone knows Jalen Hurts. This guy is a maniacal worker. He would get done with games and go to the weight room and squat 600 pounds. So when you have those things, when you have those intangible qualities, don't say that they're only, they're only gonna be a backup. Like those workers, those competitors, like they will outplay what you think they're gonna be.

And so yeah, I think the league is learned their lesson from a lot of those examples. Yeah, well, the thing that I think is interesting too about, I mean, I don't know, like Jaylen Hurts, in my opinion, from just a outside view of it, I'm not as close as you are, Jim, but like had one of the most unbelievable progressions as a passer I've ever seen from anyone. And like so whenever you start

comparing somebody to Hertz, it's like well he went from being benched in a playoff game because he couldn't throw proficiently enough to being and then I watch him on Sundays and I'm like holy crap. I mean that's one of the best throws I've ever seen. Like how much can a player improve accuracy? And like, was that a pretty atypical transformation or is that something that you think somebody like Jaylen Millrow could do? No, I think it's atypical.

Again, you don't want to just use extreme examples of players like that too. But when you bring up the accuracy, we can also talk about we can throw Josh Allen into that conversation, right? I mean, I remember, again, I was working in the league at this point. I wasn't with the senior bowl. But I remember Josh Allen firing balls into the stands at Lab People Stadium, during Senior Bowl week. And again, it comes down to, I think accuracy is tied from the ground up,

starts with the beat. And if you're a really good athlete like Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts, Lamar Jackson, obviously throw Jalen Milrow into that conversation. If it starts with your footwork and it starts with your base, these guys are really twitched up athletes and you should be able to get better. That's three examples right now. Those three guys Lamar, Jalen, and Josh are three of the top, what, five, six, seven quarterbacks in the NFL right now. And so again, if you're fighting for Jalen Milrow in a draft room, I would start citing all those examples is that we've got this athlete. There's plenty of examples that have come before him recently, where guys have really honed in on the accuracy part. And so why shouldn't we think Jalen can get there? Because so that really, that's,. I that those conversations are going to be had. Aren't you kind of shocked though? Andy?

Cuz like Jalen Hurts had a really really good final year and I feel like Jalen Milro's coming into the draft kind of on a down on the downturn. Jalen Hurts was a better thrower. That's what I'm saying. Then I'm sorry. Jalen Milro was a better thrower at Alabama than Jalen Hertz was at Alabama. Now, the Jalen Hertz at Oklahoma was a little bit different story. But another guy I wanted to ask you about the last time we saw Cam Scadaboo was in that Peach Bowl, just almost dragging Arizona State to win against Texas. You got him in your game. How excited are you to see him where the talent around him is going to be pretty comparable to him? Like does that is that going to make him even better?

Yeah, I mean, obviously we're excited to see him and he did. If you picked in, obviously he wasn't there for the Heisman. He wasn't picked as a finalist. If you picked an MVP, just an MVP award for college football this year, it's probably Cam Scataboo. And I don't think you would get any argument from the people at Arizona State. MVP award for college foot probably can scat about. A would get any argument fr Arizona State. Um Kenny D

guys. I mean he yeah, I m play for out of the quarter not to diminish any of any that football team. Um Bu State, I mean, this is th just thinking of game pla State, you say, o down scat, we're gonna w

uh, and that's how it was could do it. I mean, tha guys split this guy out, vertical routes to him in that last playoff game, h down the field. Um, he's kind of a slow warm up for a lot of people. Like how good is this guy really?

And I think, thankfully, by the time we got to bowl season, I think everyone, okay, let's give this guy his just do. Like this guy's just a badass football player. He's really versatile. He can be can beat you in the run game, the pass game. He gives you an identity. I think that's what NFL teams are going to love about him. He gives you an identity. I think that's what NFL teams are going to love about him. He gives you an identity. Like if you

want, if you want to be a downhill run team, a physical run team that can just wear people down, and a lot of head coaches want to be that right now, this guy has proven he can do that. He can carry the load, and they're going to love his mentality. You know, just kind of the chip on the shoulder, small school stuff like that's really attractive to NFL teams. So yeah, we're excited to get Cam here. Yeah, it's funny you mentioned what you just did, Jim, about like how the running back position in general, I think like the last five years you've seen, and even in the recruiting services, right, like they have nagged running backs because they don't view them as essential

or the position scarcity and all that. And then it turned into a throwing league first. And now there might be a regression back to running the ball first. What is the premium for the running back position and where do you think Cam falls into that category? Well, I do feel like there's been a little bit of a shift this year when you see what Derek Henry's done

and Josh Jacobs didn't Green Bay. And, and again, just in my history, I, you know, I was with Corey Dillon in New England, and he gave us an identity. I was with Marshawn in Seattle, and he gave us our identity. Like those guys, if you have a back like that, man, that can, that can change a football team. And, and so I do think coming out of this year, I think you're gonna see teams value it more. It's a really deep class. This is the deepest running back class we've seen in a long time. Now some juniors stayed in, singleton stayed in.

There's been some guys that have surprised us a little bit, but it's gonna be a really deep group. And again, you take the talent out of the equation. If they can give you, like if that guy can be a tone setter and that's valuable, man. Like you almost overdraft a guy for that. Like if you feel like a guy can give you your identity and you can build off that offensively, like there's a ton of value there. So this year's class is going to be interesting. Where does the run happen? I don't think it happens in the first.

I think Ashton Gentile will go in one. I don't know if any of these other guys will get up into the first round. But does it happen in the second round or has it happened in the third round? But when it happens, I think you're going to see a bunch of these guys come off the board because I think teams are going to start valuing it more.

You got to get people out of cover too now, right? The only way to do it is to hammer them. So I do think there'll be a little bit of a renaissance. it more. You gotta get people out of cover too now, right? The only way to do it is to hammer them. So I do think there'll be a little bit of a renaissance. So I know Tess Johnson is local, the organ receiver who transferred from Troy, but did he say I'm only coming if I can bring the whole team with me? You have a lot of ducks coming to Mobile. We got, yeah, we got a lot of ducks, man. And yeah, that's a, that's a cool one too, one too because I think most people I think it was I don't know if it was Marty Smith it might have been Marty someone did a great piece on on Tez in the relationship with Bo Nix and his family um late in the season I wanted on one of the game day episodes

it was really cool but but yeah they're loaded I mean there's a reason why they they made it as far as they did and I think we you guys on your show have debated the seating and how we're gonna do the CFP moving forward. I really wish we didn't get that Ohio State Oregon matchup when we got it. And I certainly thought, nobody thinks Oregon put their best foot forward in the Rose Bowl. I thought we'd see a little better game there.

But I mean, Dan Lanning built an incredible roster. He went out and got guys like you know, Derek Harmon and Jamari Jamari Caldwell in the in the portal, Tess Johnson in the portal. I mean, they've they've really I don't think Dan gets enough credit for the work they've done in the portal and his staff has done in that area. So yeah, I mean, we got Josh Connerly, the first round, it could be a first round left tackle, Johnny Cornelius, the book end, we got Ferguson, the tight end. I mean, it's, you know, boss at linebackers. So you have Burch at defensive end.

So I think we've got seven or eight ducks in the game this year. So that might be the most of any team in this year's senior bowl. And it's an interesting kind of tribute to Lanning because, you know, Connerly was his first big get in recruiting when he got the job. Cornelius, he got through the portal. Jordan Burch. He got through the portal. Tez. He got through the portal.

You know, last and last year that obviously they had some really good players too. You had Spencer Powers, Johnson, the center in the game, but I believe he was like a Mario Cristobal signing like this is almost all Dan Lanning guys. like a Mario Cristobal signing. Like this is almost all Dan Lanning guys.

Guys, look where they're drawing from. Look where they're getting some of these guys from. Derek Harmon from Michigan State, Tess Johnson from Troy, Jamari Caldwell from Houston. Like you're getting these kids from parts of the country. The West Coast, Eugene, Oregon is a beautiful place. I love Eugene. I used to love scouting there. That's a long way from home for a lot of these guys. So, when they go on their visits, I mean, they must they must really make these guys feel at home and I understand that people are gonna say Phil Knight's money and all that. That certainly plays a role. But just I would say the culture that Dan's built up

there that you're bringing these guys in and they're making it work. You can't say enough about it, man. He's done an unbelievable job. I know that a lot of this is about, excuse me, projecting forward, but I have to ask Andy, forgive me. What's your evaluation or how much have you looked into Drew Aller and what's your take on him? At one point, it felt like he could be a first rounder and

then he had a tough game in the semi final. You know, Penn State got two really good running backs to return next year. They're gonna have a very good team and I'm just curious like what your evaluation of him is and what his ceiling could be both if you were to enter this year or in the future. Yeah, I was just texting with their their running backs coach yesterday. They got K trying to Helen back. So I'm like, man, you guys, you guys killed it in recruiting and you have it on your own roster. But yeah, Drew is a guy, I think a lot of reactionary stuff happens in the media.

I'm not pointing a finger or anything. I think, I mean, the playoff game the other night against Notre Dame, it obviously wasn't his best performance. But I mean, I don't think the NFL was, I don't think that would have hurt him all that much. Like he was trending in a really good direction to the point where I don't think just talking to Drew's people, some people around Drew, I don't think he was thinking about the NFL as he went through the college season. And then, you know, then he got hot late, played well in some big games, got into the playoff, you know, won the game, won a game or two. And, And so that I do think he started to seriously consider it. But again, he's a young guy. What I didn't realize is just doing some work on him because we were going down the road about him coming to Mobile. I think he's still 20 years old.

I don't even think he's turned 21 yet. So I was talking with an NFL team and you're talking about Bo Nix coming out last year as a 24 or 25 year old and Jaden Daniels is a 24 or 25 year old. Think about this guy in four or five years from now. You know, like that's I think that's where NFL teams get really excited about them. So, you know, they're going to run it back there. They got everyone coming back to run it back at Penn State. And I think, you know, another year of starts, another 13, 14, 15 starts at the college level will benefit Drew Moon forward.

But had he come out this year, I think he would have been in the mix for that first round had he come out. Another star studded lineup from you, Jim, I cannot wait to see you mobile in a couple weeks and I'm pumped. We are too. We're excited about this group. I think the biggest difference from last year is we didn't get a ton of buy-in from the junior class. The NFL kind of dropped that early in November last year.

So we didn't do quite as well as I would have hoped a year ago. But we did this year with the junior class, especially on the O line and D line. I think only five or six, I think only five junior receivers even came out. We see a lot of these junior running backs are staying in. So, but the positions where they came out, we were able to get some really good names. I think there's nine or 10 defensive linemen

in this year's game that could go in the first round, not that they all will, but certainly have the talent and the potential to go in the first round. So those O line, D line and one on ones are going to be there always kind of must see TV and, and probably more so this year. My favorite part, my favorite part of the practices, Jim, thank you so much. All right guys. Thanks for having me on again. Appreciate you.

Is Jim Nagy executive director of the Reese's senior bowl. We're going to be seeing Jim in Mobile next week. Ari and I will be there and we'll be talking to some of those players. It's gonna be fun. Well, I mean, we'll be able to get the download from Will Howard and Riley Leonard about what happened tonight a week later

and with a little time passed. Yeah, there's a lot of talent at that place. So, and I do, I don't know where you stand, but I do like the run up to the draft and talking about that. Oh, absolutely. And we're gonna do a lot of that on the show because listen, we realized there are the purists who are like, oh, college football is the best. I never watched the NFL. But we also realized there's a lot more people who love football and just watch it in any way they can get it. So we're going to definitely talk about these guys as they go toward the draft. And there are a lot of college football purists who don't watch the NFL. They they're in my, they're in my mentions all the time. I don't even watch the NFL. That's a lie though. I don't believe you. Yeah.

Like I, I like, I prefer college football. That's why I dedicated my life to covering it. But I, but I love watching. Yeah. Those are the playoff games. Yes. You were amazing. Yeah. It was great. So feel bad for Mark Andrews. That was, I do. That's so I love watching. Yeah, those are the playoff games. Yes, you were amazing. Yeah, it was great. So, feel bad for Mark Andrews. That was I do. That's that was rough but yeah. So, Andy, we've got uh just a few

hours left here before this game. You gave a score prediction of Ohio State 2117. I went 3817 Ohio State in the week plus since we've given that prediction. Is there anything that has changed in your mind? If you second guessed it? No, and in fact, because almost everybody's going with yours, I feel more confident in mine. Mine's bizarre.

Yours isn't that bizarre. I feel like everybody I talked to says that Ohio State's gonna win running away. I know, but I think that the score probably should look like 27-10, 27-13. I think I might have gone a little too high. I don't know. So I think if it's what you say, if it because it can get out of hand, you can see some scores at the you know, later in the game. Like I don't think it's that far-fetched that it could be that. Yeah, I just don't know like so if the path to Notre Dame winning is the path which is the path Notre Dame winning is it needs to be a score similar to what I said, right?

We're going to know that that's the type of game we have by the middle of the second quarter, I think. Yeah. And if it's not that game, then things get carried away because Notre Dame isn't probably going to be built to a race of 1417. I also think so. The middle eight thing is really interesting because, you know, Notre Dame Georgia was one of the ultimate middle eight games. Yeah. And then Ohio State Texas was a big middle eight game. It was. Yeah. And it's an important, you know who who receives how they how they play the game up to that point with the scores all those things. But if Ohio State's winning the game comfortably early, then Notre Dame probably has not built to come back. Yeah. Notre Dame's

built to hang in. And if they are in a position where they have to start coming feeling like they have to start coming, feeling like they have to scratch back, that's when the game could probably get away from them. You know, it's funny I say that. They did come back last week. They came back against Penn State. They were being dominated by Penn State.

Yeah, but I don't know that 10-0. But that's a 10-point game, yeah. 10-0 isn't coming back. 10-0. Right. Because if they're down by 10 in the late third quarter, they're still in the game. Listen, if Ohio State puts them in a hole the way Ohio State put Oregon in a hole,

nobody's coming back from that. Yeah, yeah. And I don't know. Listen, if Ohio State puts him in a hole the way Ohio State put Oregon in a hole, nobody's coming back from that. Yeah. Yeah. And I don't know, like if Ohio State comes out and scores on their first two possessions, like if Ohio State did what they did to Texas, which they score on the first possession, get the ball back and then throw into the end zone with Jeremiah Smith having a chance to catch it. Oh, that happens very differently. Yeah. Unfolds very differently. They have a tendency to do that too. So, but you know, they've got a lot of really good players and they play hard and you

know, who knows, maybe they'll be able to suck Ohio State into that type of game, but I still feel pretty confident that Ohio State's going to cover the eight and a half. Let's, let's uh, whether that's 24, 10 or 38, 17. And we can revisit this tonight if Ohio State wins, but I'm curious to ask you this now. Let's go back to when we were on the side of the road in College Station, Texas. We just had some delicious Texas Roadhouse. I was full.

And watched Michigan stun Ohio State. If I had, while all those people were honking at you and scaring you, walked up to you and said, Ari, that Ohio State team that just lost to Michigan is going to go through the toughest gauntlet anybody's ever gone through in the college football playoff and win the national title. What would you have said to me? That they're going to? That means they figured it out, but I don't think that's gonna happen. Well, we're gonna find out. I think they figured it out. But now they got to win one more. Notre Dame, ultimate opportunity here. I don't think this will be the last time we'll see either of these teams at this point in the next 10 years. But you never know.

It's like Dan Campbell from the Lions said after the NFC Championship game last year, guys, we might not be back here. And guess what? They're not back there. They didn't win this this weekend. So like you have to take advantage when it's your time And only one of these teams gets to take advantage tonight big game That trophy up for grabs

We'll talk to you tonight