The Triple Option - Alabama (and 4 other top teams) Go Down, Ohio State Quarterback Will Howard, and Week 7 Picks

Episode Date: October 9, 2024

The College Football world is shocked with not one, but five MASSIVE upsets. Mark Ingram II, Matt Leinart, and Rob Stone guide you through a weekend full of upsets starting with Mark’s reaction to Vanderbilt’s big win over the previously top-ranked Crimson Tide. Matt then gets to talk about his alma mater USC falling to Minnesota before the guys look at the championship hopes of those two schools, Tennessee, Missouri, and Michigan.  (3:00) One team that rolled over the weekend was second-ranked Ohio State. Their quarterback, Will Howard, stopped by ahead of the their matchup against #3 Oregon to talk about his favorite freshman weapon, that team up north, and their championship aspirations. (42:03) Finally, Mark and Rob took some listener questions (throw yours in the comments to be on next week) before making their Week 7 picks of a loaded slate that includes Texas vs Oklahoma, Penn State vs USC, Colorado vs Kansas State, BYU vs Arizona, LSU vs Ole Miss, and Ohio State vs Oregon. (57:28) New episodes of The Triple Option drop every Wednesday throughout the season. Make sure you’re subscribed on YouTube and following on all podcast platforms. Also make sure you’re locked in on social @3XOptionShow on all platforms for highlight moments, bonus content, and to engage with the guys and the TO community. (https://tripleoptionshow.com) The Triple Option is presented by Wendy’s. Try Wendy's New Saucy Nuggs Today https://wendys.com/nuggs A big thank you to the rest of our sponsors: BetMGM Use bonus code OPTION or go to https://betmgm.com/OPTION and get up to a $1500 First Bet Offer on your first wager with BetMGM! First Bet Offer for new customers only. Subject to eligibility requirements. Bonus bets are non-withdrawable. In partnership with Kansas Crossing Casino and Hotel. See BetMGM.com for Terms. US promotional offers not available in New York, Nevada, Ontario, or Puerto Rico. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (Available in the US) Call 877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY) Call 1-800-327-5050 (MA) 21+ only. Please Gamble Responsibly. Call 1-800-NEXT-STEP (AZ), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA),1-800-981-0023 (PR). ZipRecruiter 4 out of 5 employees who post in ZipRecruiter get a quality candidate within the first day. Try for FREE at https://ziprecruiter.com/OPTION Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

That game's always in the back of our heads, for sure. Y'all got a countdown in the locker room? Oh, there's a countdown. It's in the weight room, right? In the weight room, right outside the cafeteria. There's one right outside this room right here. When we say Michigan, you say what? I say Team Up North, man.

Team Up North. I love it. He's only been there for six months. Hey, listen. I had to buy in. I'd get slapped upside the head if I said that M word around here. Light it. Another edition of The Triple Option presented by Wendy's.

Try Wendy's new saucy nugs today. The visuals tell me something's different this week. I'm Rob Stone. There's Mark Ingram. We went to the bullpen. We called for the lefty, Mark. Who is this guy? You know what to do, baby.

You know what to do. Who is this guy? Matt Leiter. The Dodgers need to call me for the bullpen too. Thoyers. Thoyers. What up, boys? We got my Heisman brother from another.

Hey, I appreciate being on Triple Option with you boys, man. Let's talk a little ball, baby. We will talk a little ball. Coach Meyer unable to join us this week. So much going on in the state of Florida right now. We'll get to that in a second. But Matt, welcome to see you my friend you too man uh thanks for loaning me your garage earlier in the season all right this week we are going to talk to ohio state quarterback will howard ahead of saturday's massive top three showdown in eugene against the ducks we're gonna mark we're gonna we're gonna do an alabama wellness check on you make sure the

temperature is all right make sure everything is going okay same for you mr us. Mark, we're going to do an Alabama wellness check on you. Make sure the temperature's all right. Make sure everything is going okay. Same for you, Mr. USC as well. We're going to tell you what we learned from- Yeah, I'm not laughing. Trust me. No. It was a wild week six. We'll tell you what we learned from that. We're going to look ahead to a stacked week seven. Before we get underway, I want to remind you, subscribe to our YouTube channel. Follow us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts, as well as across social media. Again, you can find us at 3XOptionShow. Mark, what do people need to do? They need to- Like, comment, follow, subscribe, tell a friend, tell your mom and them, rate. You hear me? And don't hate, but appreciate it. The tell your friend is my favorite one. Yes,

please leave comments. We're going to answer some of the comments friend is my favorite one. Yes, please leave comments. We're going to answer some of the comments this week on the show. Again, new episodes every week. Again, Rob Stone, Mark Ingram, our good friend Matt Leinart subbing in for Coach Meyer. Coach Meyer not here. Our thoughts, this is kind of bumming me out, guys,

that we need to do this almost week in and week out. But our thoughts to everybody who's now being impacted by Hurricane Milton, particularly in the Sunshine State. And again, Sinclair, partnering with Salvation Army, they have teams operating in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, and of course, the Sunshine State right now

to help all those affected. Their highest need, it is still clean water as well as food and cleanup kits to donate. Please, we encourage all of you to go to SinclairCares.com. Okay, we call it any given Saturday. And there's a reason, because I didn't sell it. Because on any given Saturday, football madness can happen in college football. And that madness, it put it in an extra shift this week.

Number one, Alabama. Number four, Tennessee. Number nine, Missouri. Number 10, Michigan. And number 11, USC. They all fell and they fell. Well, four of them fell to unranked teams as well. How about this little nugget? We're going to start, Mark, with you and Alabama, but first the saucy nug of the week. And we're adding extra nugs this week because it deserves it. Vanderbilt has never beaten a top five opponent until last Saturday. On their 61st try, they finally got their first top five win. And for the first time in 40 years, Bama lost to Vanderbilt. That is your saucy nug of the week. And I'm assuming Mark, you were in a bit of a saucy mood Saturday as everything was going down in Nashville.

It's actually quite comical, like comical, like you go on, you just go and just get smacked by Vandy. Like, bro, my man, you can't comprehend it.

Like, I'm sitting here on the plane like watching this I'm like is this even real life like what's happening we go on the road

we just can't do anything like no matter how you slice this cake it's atrocious no matter how you slice the cake it's atrocious

we'll start with the bad news the bad news is the bad news is you lost I thought we already got to the bad news well that's that's atrocious news so we're just gonna keep going so now we're getting to the bad news is... The bad news is you lost. I thought we already got to the bad news. Well, that's atrocious news. So we're just going to keep going.

So now we're getting to the bad news. So now we're getting to the bad. Bad, bad. As Coach would say, bad, bad. We're going to get positive. This is bad, bad. The loss is atrocious. Just like...

We don't lose to Vandy. You said 40 years? 40 years. The last loss was 1984. The last loss before that was 69. You know who the Alabama head coach was? Mark, do you know who the Alabama head coach was last time Bama lost to Vandy?

No. Former Tampa Bay Buccaneer head coach, which may not be much of a hint for you guys. Dungy? No, 84. Dungy? My bad. Edit that out.

Ray Perkins. Ray Per out. Ray Perkins. Ray Perkins. Ray Perkins. Rob, me and Mark were born in the 80s, man. Yes. Don't start. Don't start. But listen, man.

Like, okay, we're going to start. The loss is just atrocious. Like, it's just unacceptable. Everyone knows that. You have a huge win versus Georgia, and then you go on the road to Vandy off a huge momentum and just take an L and fall straight on your face like that. The defense is just completely just unprepared for this.

But, you know, it's a triple option. The defense just wasn't like, they weren't sound in their assignments. You got to know who has the dive back, who has the quarterback, who has the pitch man. We had people that were stagnant, sitting there kind of hesitant. And that's what you want out of option offense. I ran it with the Ravens and that's what you want. People who are standing still, kind of indecisive. That's where you take advantage of a defense like that.

Let's look at the time of possession. Like we just couldn't get off the field. Dude, 42 minutes and eight seconds. Vanderbilt had the ball. Bama only 17-52. And sometimes those can be deceptive, right? Because a lot of times you're like, ooh, quick strike offense, right? It only took X plays and X seconds or minutes.

But for Vanderbilt to control Alabama, controlled Alabama with 42 minutes of possession is pure insanity. Run it down your throat and make you like it. Run it down your throat and make you like it. Run it down your throat and make you like it. Come on now. They had nine possessions. They only punted the ball twice. Bama's defense is in crisis mode right now.

They're in crisis mode. Yes, they are. The last six quarters, 67 points, 784 yards. Opponents are converting third downs at a 54% rate. They've allowed 10, 20-yard plays. Like, you thought. Like, you thought that the second half of the Georgia thing might have just been Georgia, but no.

That's, like, truly who the defense is right now. And they need to... Go ahead. I just want to add to that real fast, Mark, because you're spot on. Over the last six quarters, we're talking the second half of the Georgia game. Remember, I mean, talk about the ebbs and flows of a college football season, the absolute chaos of what took place in Tuscaloosa

the prior weekend, and then this absolute crash, this valley. But over the last six quarters, Mark, to your point, they are allowing essentially 11 points per quarter. Prior to that stretch, they allowed 33 points. First 14 quarters of the season, they were allowing roughly two points a quarter. And now here they are allowing 11 over the last six quarters. That is a wild spike. It's crazy. It's crazy. And I remember when we watched Wisconsin, I said on big noon, I was like, Alabama has to shore up their rush defense. And it still hasn't kind of solidified yet. So that is a problem. And this is really bad.

This is really bad. And then we got people running butt naked through the defense, Matt. Dude, when was the last time Vanderbilt beat a ranked team, let alone a number one team in the country? It's Vanderbilt. This is the conversation, and I don't want to be disrespectful. I'm not disrespectful. I don't want to disrespect Vanderbilt at all because they went

and they did what they needed to do. They controlled the line of scrimmage. But Mark, disrespect them because they are Vanderbilt. You do not lose to Vanderbilt. You don't lose to Vanderbilt. I don't care if that's Alabama. I don't care if that's Mississippi State. I don't care who it is.

Again, no offense, Vanderbilt, but you are not supposed to lose to Vanderbilt. You don't lose to Vanderbilt. That's not what happens when you go to Bama. Like, when you wear that script A, like, you do not lose to Vanderbilt. There's a lot of other things that might happen, but you don't lose to Vanderbilt. That's not what happens when you go to Bama. When you wear that script, A, you do not lose to Vanderbilt. There's a lot of other things that might happen, but you don't lose to Vanderbilt. But anyways, let's keep it going. Let's keep it going. All right. Mark, the positive, right? You got a lot of positives.

See, I went to the bad. Now I'm going to go to the positive. There's positives. There is positives. The positives is you had a pick six. You had a fumble that they scored a touchdown on. That's 14 points. So you don't do those, you win the game, right? You don't do those, you win the game. But our offense is still elite. Jalen Milrow is still the man.

Still have Ryan Williams making unheard of plays up the sideline. You know what I mean? We still have to find a way to run the ball more efficiently. But the positives is you have one loss, okay? It's one loss to Vanderbilt. It's terrible. But it's a 12-team payoff. It doesn't exclude you from the playoff.

So you have no room for error. You lost your room for error. I think you still have room for error. Yeah, you do. You have another loss in you, and you're still going to be, I think, okay. I don't love it. I don't love it. I don't love it.

Nor should you. Because you got Tennessee. You got Tennessee., I think. I don't love it. I don't love it. I don't love it. Nor should you. Cause you got one in one. You got Tennessee. Yeah. You got LSU. You got the Barners, which who knows what could happen against those weirdos. What did you call them?

The Barners? Yeah. The Barners. Is that Auburn? Yes. They're Barners. I've never heard the term Barners. Well,

now, you know, tell me what it means. It just, they're Barners. I've never heard the term Barners. Well, now you know. Well, tell me what it means. It just, I don't know, actually. I think, look, Mark, I think this game, so this is, to me, it's like a total outlier game. I think, well, my junior year, and my junior year, that USC team

arguably is considered one of the better teams of all time. I mean, the 0-4 team we won. We threw up an absolute clunker on the road at Stanford. Now, the difference is we ended up winning, but that team was trash. We won. We were down 21-3 at halftime with 10,000 people in the stadium. And even I remember Pete in the pregame was like, I don't got a good feeling about this game.

It was one of those games, okay? We ended up winning. I think to your point, like their defense is not very good. We've kind of seen that all season long. But you're going to have to score 40 points to beat them. And we know what Kalen DeBoer can do at offense. And you know me. I'm a big fan of Jalen Milrow, Ryan Williams.

And I think too, you look at their schedule, like they've already, they have the confidence knowing that they can beat anybody in the country with the way they beat Georgia. And I know they almost fell apart at the end, but they still found a way to win. So you have room for error. You can lose another game and still potentially get it.

And by the way, Vanderbilt again, I know it's Vanderbilt and what they're three and two there. I'll take a Lincoln Riley quote. There are a couple plays away from maybe being five and up. And again, they're not but that team isn't as bad as everyone thinks historically as we've seen

Virginia Tech in their opener lost in overtime to Mizzou. You're right. This is a better. I think they lost to Georgia did overtime to Mizzou. You're right. This is a better team than you think. I think they lost to Georgia Southern. They did it with transfers. Maybe. Yeah. Yeah.

Georgia Southern. So, yeah, I love when you can— Hey, Matt, I love when you can do the, like, Georgia Southern beat Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt beat Alabama. Georgia Southern— You're trying to piece a puzzle together. No matter how you slice this cake,

the loss is atrocious. The loss is atrocious. It's a bad loss, man, but you move on. Yes, but you move on. No, no, hold on. I'm not moving. I'm not letting Mark move on. I'm not moving on yet.

I'm not moving on yet. The thing is, as a player, you flush this and you move on. So, yes, you saw how Malachi Moore was pissed off at the end of the game. He should have been. What was your reaction to that? What was your reaction to that, Mark? I was pissed, too. But the way Moore handled it. I don't love how he handled it. He doesn't love how he

handled it. Obviously he regrets it. He apologized about it. He has held himself accountable for it. He was a leader in the locker room afterwards, and he's been a leader in the locker room since. Does, is that a moment he wished he has back? Yes. He, he, he issued a statement over social media and apologized for it and was accountable for it. Said it was unacceptable. He issued a statement over social media and apologized for it and was accountable for it. Said it was unacceptable. He's a two-time captain at the University of Alabama. His handprints, his footprints are set in stone outside at the Walk of Champions. So is he happy about that? No. But at the same time, when you put your blood, sweat, and tears and you care about something, he came back to Alabama for a fifth year to achieve greatness.

And so did he have a little meltdown? Yes. But at the same time, I am not mad that he showed that type of emotion because that is what you need from your team. And for him to be able to— Not getting—refusing to be subbed off, you're all right with that? Refusing to be subbed off? And I'm not trying to pound on the guy, but man, he's waving off substitutions.

He's slamming players. When you're out there losing to Vanderbilt, bro, I don't really mind it, man, to be honest. You're maybe an All-American. You're a captain. This is an emotional game. Like Mark said, you come back to potentially win an Addy.

Again, everything is still in front of them. And as long as you address and you hold yourself accountable in that locker room, that's all that matters. Nothing else outside what we say or anyone says, it doesn't matter. That's all that matters. It's the people in that locker room. All that matters is what's in that locker room, and I guarantee, and Mark knows this better than us,

that guy's got the respect of everybody on that team. So that is Vanderbilt. Yes. is, but that it's Vanderbilt. Yes. Like, like again, it's like, are you kidding me? Come on. And that's from, from a player's perspective. Yeah, I get it. And that's the emotions he had.

Literally what we're saying. Like, are you kidding me? And like, Mark, I want to ask you a question, man, because we're all flying. We're probably all on the plane at that time. I'm watching this game live. And the only person in the world that I was thinking about was my dog, Deuce Deuce. And I was like, this guy has got to be just, I don't even know, man. I felt for you in that moment. And then I was kind of like,

oh man, Nashville is going to be turned up tonight. That's going to be a fun place to be. The quarterback is just going to rage. Nashville was lit. Diego Pavia just had the game of his life. The game of his life. 16 for 20. 252 TDs. By the way, tweet out NIL deals.

Like, dude, just take it, man. He just threw out his agent's phone number on X. By the way, it said, by the way. Like, not even with the hash marks. Just like a slur of numbers. I love this brand. I love this brand. I love this brand.

Hey, you know where to find me. Right. I love it. I'll be right here in Nashville. Two-star quarterback out of New Mexico. Went to the Military Academy of JC. Then went to New Mexico State. And then transfers to Vandy.

Yeah, the cat's got some swagger. Taking down the goalposts, right? And bringing it through Broadway to the rivers. And then dump it in the Cumberland River. And then the Nashville Fire Department had to go back in and fish out the goalpost. I mean, it's not like everybody's got a whole set of backup goalposts. They need those, man. This is what happens when you go and you lose and you're Alabama.

They tear down a goalpost. They take it to the river. So good job, Alabama, for allowing Vanderbilt to have the time of their life in a moment they'll never forget. But at the same time, listen, Rob, this is the last thing I'm going to say. We've been beating up on my squad. Flush it. Move on to the next week.

You have South Carolina coming into town. We saw Jalen Monroe get a sack fumble in the second half. You have arguably two of the best edge rushers in the country coming to town. Have to Jalen Monroe get a sack fumble in the second half. You have arguably two of the best edge rushers in the country coming to town. Have to get back on track. Have to get back on track. Have everything ahead of you. You have everything ahead of you. That's what Kalen DeBoer...

Kalen DeBoer, there's only one option and that's to move forward. It's embarrassing. It's embarrassing, but we still have everything that we hope for ahead of us. So, lock in, focus, and let's get on. As's embarrassing, but we still have everything that we hope for ahead of us. So lock in, focus, and let's get on. As a player, you can't wait soon enough to get to the next game, to flush that and play the next game and get that behind you. So roll damn Tide.

And that's always and forever. Roll damn Tide. I say roll Commodores, roll Commodores. Let's go. You can say that, and you have earned the right to say that. You have earned the right to say that. Listen, listen. Are you a Vandy fan?

Have you ever rooted for Vanderbilt ever before? No, he's never rooted for Vanderbilt. I've got a friend who's been there. I'm on Good Morning Football this morning, and they're talking about go Vandy. Yeah. They're jumping on. They're jumping on the bandwagon.

Mark, seriously, when you played in Alabama. Huh? When you played in Alabama, did you ever go into a Vanderbilt game thinking that there's a shot in hell that you're going to lose? I never played Vanderbilt when I was there. How did that happen? Because I was only there three years. You didn't play them any three years? The East-West scheduling. I didn't play them any three years? The East-West, East-West, you know, the East-West scheduling.

I didn't have them. I had Georgia my freshman year. I had South Carolina, no. Yeah, I had South Carolina my second year. Then my third year, we had South Carolina again and Florida. I don't know who we have. We'll take your word. We'll let you lick your wounds and move on from an embarrassing loss.

This is up there with the 1-2-3 kid beating Razor Ramon. Saudi Arabia beating Argentina in the World Cup. This is like March Madness. FPU over one seed Purdue. It's like USA beating Russia. It happens on any given Saturday. We still here. But hey, this tells you,

Stoner, if your butt doesn't come to play, you can get your butt beat. And it almost happened in Miami, too, but they found a way to win. You know what I mean? They did. This is an ad by BetterHelp. What comes to mind when you hear the word gratitude? Maybe it's a daily practice,

or maybe it feels hard to be grateful right now. Don't forget to give yourself some thanks by investing in your well-being. BetterHelp is the largest online therapy provider in the world, connecting you to qualified professionals via phone, video, or message chat. Let the gratitude flow. Visit BetterHelp.com to learn more

and save 10% on your first month. That's BetterHelp, H-E-L-P dot com. Whether in the game or in life, the right coverage can make all the difference. Securian Canada gives you that coverage. For more than 65 years, Securian Canada has been helping Canadians build secure tomorrows.

Their insurance solutions are designed to help protect you and your loved ones financially, giving you the peace of mind to focus on what truly matters. Find their products through banks, credit unions, and associations, or visit SecurianCanada.ca. Securian Canada. Insurance designed for life. You've always wanted to be part of something bigger than yourself. You live for experience and lead by example.

You want the most out of life and realize what you're looking for is already in you. This is for you. The Canadian Armed Forces. A message from the Government of Canada. You know who also did not find a way to win? USC falling at Minnesota 24-17. Gophers outscored the Trojans 14-0. Love, Matty, in the fourth quarter.

Miller-Moss, two picks in the fourth quarter certainly didn't help matters. P.J. Fleck, rowing the boat, fans storming the field, and USC goes down. And remember, USC, what were they? As high as number 11 at one point. And now, Matt, they've lost two of their first three ever games in the Big Ten Conference. By the way, they're not even in the top 25 anymore. That's how far they dropped. Listen, where do I start? I have a lot of feelings on this.

And unlike Alabama, there is no more room for error. They already have two losses. They get Penn State. They still have Washington, who looks really good. They still have Notre Dame. They still have Nebraska. They still have a path, Matthew. They still have a path to the playoffs. Yeah, well, that path is real, real small. Well, it's rugged, and it's bumpy, and there's some blind turns, but it's a path. I was thinking about this this week, and I'm trying to evaluate

this program, and Lincoln Riley's taking a lot of heat and a lot of frustration from the fan base. And justifiably so, honestly. And you go back to the first year. And we were at that game, Rob. And they lost to Utah in the Pac-12 championship. Caleb Williams had a hurt hamstring. Again, I would give anything. I would give any amount of money, bet any amount of money that if he's not hurt, they win that game.

And they're in the college football playoff. But that set the bar real, real high. And it was unrealistic. The next year, last year, they were just awful. Defensively, they were awful. Offensively, they were awful. They had a couple of good players. Caleb, obviously, is a star. And now this year, USC beats LSU at Allegiant Stadium. And that set the expectation. Once again, oh my gosh. And I was on it. We were all on it. I saw them play.

I was there. I was like, LSU, by the way, is a good team right now. Yes. And might make the playoffs. That's a big-time win. And so we're thinking, okay, the defense is better. The offensive line held their own against an SEC D-line. All of these things.

Miller-Moss looked good. Now, all of a sudden, you're kind of getting into conference play, and you got to travel a little bit, and you go back to the Michigan game. And again, they had an opportunity to win that game, and defense played better, but they still didn't make the plays that they needed to. And then you go back to this last week, and I watched the film this week. Defense has given up 200 yards on the ground game 200 yards. Okay, and they're they're

better in a lot of areas. They are. They're also given up more yards per play this year at this point than they did a year ago. Think about that and last year was historically but talk about atrocious Mark their defense was atrocious last year. So you're starting to break this down and thinking, man, how much better are we actually this year? And then offensively, and a lot of people are pointing to Miller. I think Miller Moss is playing really good football, to be honest with you. He had a bad pick. The other pick, he got hit as he was

throwing. And it's the offensive line. And we all said, okay, you go to the Big Ten. You have to be physical. A lot of these teams, even a team like Minnesota, and P.J. Flex did a really good job there. They've won eight, nine games. They're physical. They like to run the football, but that is a team you should beat.

That defensive line was getting to Miller Moss with three-man rushes all game. Both tackles were getting killed. I'm just sitting here thinking, how are we in year three, and we still don't have the offensive line and the bodies up front to compete? I don't care if you're in the Pac-12 or the Big Ten, and that is a concern I

have the rest of the season. That is the concern that I have moving forward. I think the defense will be fine, to be honest with you. Eric Gentry didn't play in that game. He is arguably the best player in that defense. Does a lot for them. I'm just telling you. The expectation after LSU was Brady and I talked about a big... I literally said the biggest threat to Ohio State was USC. That's what we all literally truly believed. Now they look like a 4-5

loss team. Wait a second. You thought the biggest threat to Ohio State in the Big Ten was USC? We talked about it on Big News. We talked about this after week one. I must have been taking a nap during that because how is it not Oregon? Well, this is – Well, because Oregon – Even back then.

When we had this segment, Oregon looked very suspect after their first two games. But they were still getting wins. Yeah, against very, very bad wins. Yeah, and they were beating Idaho. They beat Boise state yeah trust me all due respect after they beat lsu and they go on you you think that they possibly could pose a threat to the bottom the bottom line is is is where where alabama is in their program is a lot different than where usc is usc is trying to get back to relevance they're trying to get back to being a

playoff team lincoln riley got paid a lot of money to get this team back. And right now, and I tweeted this out, I just feel like USC is stuck in neutral. It's just like, at what point do you take the next step? Because it's a lot of this. How do you get out of neutral? Yeah. There's a lot of the same excuses. No, I'm asking you, how do you get out of neutral? What does USC need? I mean, I think for me, the mind-boggling part is how we haven't been able to recruit better up front. That's crazy to me. And I still think, and I believe this wholeheartedly,

USC is still USC. USC sends a letter and you're in high school, your eyes are lit up. I don't care. The brand. I know the brand is still the brand. It is still LA. It is, they got, they got NIL.

It's, it's decent. It's not Oregon. It's not Ohio state, but it's decent enough. And it's still, there's still an allure there. And the fact that you can't, like, we can't put on the field i i like i again it's just it goes back to recruiting and and again like i don't know you know i just i just worry like that's just a game you can't lose that game yeah you know you can't lose that game for a lot of reasons right and that's not even disrespect to minnesota and pj fleck because again we we've

seen them play well in the big 10 for years. But for the expectation that's at USC and for Lincoln Riley and what the expectation is for him, it's just unacceptable in my opinion. And you look at the schedule. Actually, I said this in the beginning of the year telling people, oh, how's USC going to be? I'm like, I think it's a four or five loss team.

After LSU, I was like, well, shoot, we look a lot different. And now I'm right back to, I mean, it's just. You was nervous versus Michigan. You was nervous last week. But I also called that game. You did. Like, this doesn't, but Minnesota, no. Not Minnesota.

You didn't call Minnesota. You didn't call Minnesota. You called Michigan. I don't know, guys. But at the end of the day, man, I agree with you. Like, you said they're allowing 200 yards per game on the rushing on defense. Then you talk about not being able to protect your quarterback on the offensive line. A team, if I'm building a team, I'm starting in the trenches.

Because USC has all the skill positions. They have the receivers. They have the quarterback. They should always have the skill positions, right? They have those. They have those. But for them not to have the trenches in the offensive line, the D line, they've always had that.

That's what they've been known for, tough defense, running the football. That's what Matt had when he was there. They had O-line. Maybe, you know what, Mark? Maybe Matt needs to be helping out their NIL a little bit more. Matt, you need to do something. You got to step up, man. Maybe you put feeding all those kids you keep making with Josie over there.

There's a lot more people with deeper pockets than me at USC. So the bottom line is it was last year. We saw them, the Notre Dame game. And I was like, I'm like, our offensive line. And look, we look like a junior college team to their defense line. And it just showed up on film. And it showed up in that game. And this year, we're better.

I think we're bigger. I saw it in person at LSU. But at the end of the day, we're not producing. And they're not executing. And that's a problem. And it's a problem in the Big Ten. This weekend, USC hosts one of the elite teams in the Big Ten, Penn State. That's going to be one of our picks coming up later.

Mark, I got that. And you know who I'm picking? I'm not telling you. But Matt's going to be. By the way. I'm. Mark, I got that. And you know who I'm picking? I'm not telling you, but Matt's going to be By the way, this is, by the way, a game that USC could probably win. That's just how this year goes. Way to give away my take.

All right, hold on. I just want to wrap up the upsets real quick and then get to this overarching SEC. Yeah, let's talk about some of these other teams who lost too. Yeah, man. Let's move on. Beat on our squads. How about Tennessee going on the road and losing to Arkansas, right? Tennessee got to Arkansas 25 with 17 seconds left. Couldn't score before time expired.

Fans stormed the field. And this is after the Alabama chaos. So Tennessee knew, like, don't be sleeping on anybody, right? You don't just roll into Fayetteville and think you're going to take care of the Hogs. And then also in the SEC, I don't consider this as big of an upset, but it still was an upset. Missouri. Matt, you remember watching Mark watch the Missouri highlights in the big noon green room? I'm never picking Missouri ever again in my entire life.

I don't care if you guys are the favorite or not. Missouri, you guys suck. 512 yards. Texas A&M put on Missouri. A 41-10 beatdown. One more upset. This one, I saw this one coming. I picked it.

I'd like to pat myself on the back once in a while. Washington, 10 better than Michigan. You know, Michigan passing game is a mess. They started with Alex Orji, three of seven, 15 yards. He carried the ball. They were down 14, nothing. And so what do they do? They now go to their third quarterback, sixth-year QB, Jack Tuttle,

came on, gave him a spark. But in the end, it wasn't enough. In the end, fans stormed the field again in Washington, which doesn't make sense to me. Storming the field is crazy. By the way. Let's talk about that in a second. Go ahead, Matty. I just want to say something really quick

about Washington. Yeah. I mean, Jed Fish turned around Arizona in two years. And Washington, again, this is a good program. Kaitlin Littler-Voore took them to the national championship last year.

But anytime there's turnover and change, there always feels like there's a little bit of a rebuild. They're four and two. They got Will Rogers, who's a prolific college football quarterback. We know that he's playing out of his mind. You start to look at the defense's top five in the big 10. This is a good football team. And you called it, Rob. You did. You said going over to Seattle, Washington is an incredible place to play. It's a great home environment. And Michigan, even though with their concerns, to me this kind of says a lot more about Washington

and where they're going. And this is a team this year. I'm telling you what, this won't be their first upset. They will knock off somebody else. Obviously, I think they're going to be ranked, and I think they're going to win a lot of games. But I just wanted to give Washington a little love. That was a big win for that program and Jed Fish.

You say they're going to knock somebody else off, especially when you've got to go travel to Washington. Yeah, USC at Washington a little later this season, but that's not an upset anymore. That's just a good 50-50. I just think keep an eye on Washington making a run here. That's a good call. All right, we'll keep an eye on Washington.

So we had all of these upsets. And again, the big focus was kind of the shockers in the SEC. Obviously, the Alabama loss highlighting things. Tennessee going on. I'm not letting Missouri off the hick stoner. I sat here and told I sat here and told America I sat here and told America

how I think they was going to win. I had friends text me talking about I just put the money line on Missouri. I said, I did not tell you to do that. Yes. I did not tell you to do that. But what do I know? That's what I'm going to start saying.

I'm going to pick these guys. I'm going to say, but what do I know? They were a top 10 team. It's easy to pick them. Yeah, and not only that, Matt, they're a top 10 team in the SEC. And oh, we know how people value the SEC. We can get Joel Platt on this one at any moment. But first, let's hear from Georgia head coach Kirby Smart on his thoughts about these upsets and what life

in the SEC really is. Kirby! Vandy's got a great program and does a great job. I mean, it's a lot of other people that don't respect Vandy. I respect Clark Lee. I respect his team, his quarterback, what they've done. They beat Virginia Tech. I mean, somebody told me that six of eight games were decided by one scorer or less in our league. Nothing shocks me about our league.

So, Texas A&M, Missouri, welcome to the SEC. It's hard every week. And I got a feeling that it's not going to stop. It's a consistency in performance. And when you ride the wave of emotion, you get caught on the bottom of the wave sometimes. And we're just trying to do this. We're just trying to keep getting better

and keep getting better. So there's this strong narrative out there. This narrative that everything is tougher and everything is better in the SEC. I am not an SEC hater. I appreciate SEC football. I understand it and I respect the hell out of it. But guess what? Same goes for the Big Ten, right? And if an Ohio State lost to a Purdue or a UCLA this year, people are going to go, the Big Ten is awful, right? The supposed king of the Big Ten, Ohio State, falls to one of the worst teams ever. That is a state of the Big Ten. It is just not up to par. It is not as good as the SEC. But whoa, whoa, hold on. If Alabama loses to Vanderbilt, if Tennessee

loses to Arkansas, if Missouri loses to A&M, hey man, it's just because this conference is so good top to bottom. We should expect that every Saturday. Don't give me that BS. Who said that? It's still Vanderbilt. Who said that? Right? Who said that, though? I'm saying that. I'm saying that right now. Let me chime

in before Mark. I already told you, no matter how you slice the damn cake, Alabama losing to Vanderbilt is unacceptable. Ohio State losing to anybody is unacceptable. This is not an Alabama thing. This is an SEC thing. But everyone wants to use Alabama as an example. Everyone wants to apologize for the losses and say they should be expected. But if it happens anywhere else, if Miami lost that game at Cal Saturday night,

everybody would have written off the whole ACC. Take Clemson down with you. The ACC is written off. ACC written itself off. I know, but that's my point. That one loss would have written off the entirety of the ACC. I've got to stop talking about these schools because I have kids that can get recruited. I love all the schools.

I do too. I just feel like there is this very strong narrative. And I know people in the Big Ten country hear it. And right now they're nodding their head. They're like, preach Rob Stone. The SEC won 19 straight national championships. And that's the reason why is because Bama and Georgia in particular,

and you could throw LSU in there, obviously. The big heavyweights up top. And not even going back to Florida and coaches days, just going back to the last 10, 15 years, it has been dominated by the sec. I, I Kirby smart is fantastic. And, and this no disrespect to him. And he's going to say what he should say to prop up his league, but, and this isn't even disrespect to Vanderbilt, but his story like that, you don't, you don't like every like Vanderbilt, that's not a, that is not supposed to be a difficult opponent and it just hasn't been in, in, in years. So when he's saying that again, he's trying to give love to his, I, I, two things to this. It's,

it's again, why like we've always talked about this, like the preseason ranking and the preseason poll and all of these things mean absolutely nothing. It doesn't even matter what the sec, but for whatever reason, they always get those six, seven, eight teams in the top 25, and they just hover in there because everybody kind of beats up everybody. And they only get dinged a little bit by the losses, Matt, where other people will have a dramatic fall.

I mean, my goodness, USC lost. Well, if you're 13, you lose to eight. USC was 11, lost to Minnesota, who isn't a great team. They drop 18 spots. Gone. Gone. They're not. I mean, they're in the top 30 maybe.

I will say this though. This whole conversation about all these teams, like the parody in college football this year is better than we've seen. And again, I think Ohio State and Texas are kind of sitting there like, hey, look at us. We're the two teams that haven't been dominant. But tell there like, hey, look at us. We're the two teams that haven't, that have been dominant.

But tell me what, man, like this is exciting for all of us because 12 teams and right now, last week proves that anybody can beat anybody. And I think that's what's exciting. Well, you see this NIL, it's bringing parody across college football. And Mark, that is such a cool point that both you guys hit because everybody thought it would create the haves and the have-nots, right?

That there would be this upper echelon of college football because of NIL, because of the transfer portal, and everybody's going to move into this one direction. But what we're seeing so far this season is maybe it's spreading the wealth. Maybe it's keeping players longer at your program. Let them actually, you know, mature. Well, because these players now, that third person on the depth chart is not staying

to wait for his chance to be a senior. He's leaving. He's going to play. So you're getting good players across the country now. And like the whole thing with SEC, like, it's okay. It's okay, everybody. It's okay. Just relax. It just means more. It just means more. I'm's okay. It's okay. Everybody. It's okay. Just relax.

Just means more. It just means more. I'm just, just means more. All right. Real quick. I'm going to do this rapid fire. We're going to,

we're going to finish this segment. I'm going to, I'm going to list the teams that quote unquote got upset and lost. Mark, I start with you. And then Matt, for each one of these, tell me if they go to the playoffs or not.

Alabama off the loss. Do they go to the playoffs or not. Alabama, off the loss. Do they go to the playoffs? Maybe. Me? Mark. Maybe. Oh. We got some work to do.

We got some work to do, man. I would still lean towards yes. Yes. Agreed. Yep. Tennessee, off the loss at Arkansas. Mark, do they go to the playoffs? Who do they have on their schedule?

Alabama and who else? Alabama and Georgia left. They might not make it. And they already have a loss. I'm going to say no. This is rapid fire, Mark. It's supposed to be quick responses. I don't know.

I can't crucify somebody off this week. Okay, so back-to-back I don't know. Is Matt Leiner? Yeah, I said no. I'm looking at their schedule. They still play Bama. They still play Georgia. To me, that's two losses.

All right. This is in honor of Coach Urban Meyer. Missouri, red line. No. Pull it. Done. No. Michigan.

No. Pull it. Red line. Uh-uh. USC, I'm giving your Trojans hope. Stop, Rob. I'm giving them hope. I don't know why.

They have two losses right now, right? Because Matt Weiner doesn't give USC enough hope. And I feel like,. I don't know why. They have two losses right now, right? Because Matt Leinert doesn't give USC enough hope, and I feel like as his friend and his neighbor, I need to somehow lift up the Trojans. They still play Ohio State, don't they? No. They have Penn State, they have Washington, they have Notre Dame.

They can't, but the problem is they can't lose another game. Yeah, they're not making it. Correct. They're going to lose one more. But if they went out and they're 10-2, they're going to go in. They won't be in the Big Ten championship game. It's rapid fire, I thought. It's rapid fire. It is rapid fire, Mark. Thanks for reminding

us. Once again, the theme here, on any given Saturday, things happen in college football. Coming up next, we're joined by Ohio State quarterback Will Howard. Metrolinks and Crosslinks are reminding everyone to be careful as Eglinton Crosstown LRT train testing is in progress.

Please be alert as trains can pass at any time on the tracks. Remember to follow all traffic signals. Be careful along our tracks and only make left turns where it's safe to do so. Be alert, be aware, and stay safe. Miller Lite. The light beer brewed for people who love the taste of beer and the perfect pairing for your

game time. When Miller Lite set out to brew a light beer, they had to choose great taste or 90 calories per can. They chose both because they knew the best part of beer is the beer. Your game time tastes like Miller time. Learn more at MillerLite.ca. Must be legal drinking age. Welcome back to The Triple Option.

We are joined by the quarterback at The Ohio State University, Will Howard. Thanks for joining us. You are in the quarterback room right now, right? Because all I'm seeing is a bunch of legends behind you. Has it set in with you yet what it means to be the quarterback at The Ohio State University? Yeah, man, it's pretty crazy. The lineage of greatness that's come through here. It's cool, man. It's cool to be a part of something like that and just playing on the stage that we get to play on every week and being in the shoe, through here. It's cool, man. It's cool to be a part of something like that. And just being, you know, playing on the stage that, you know, that we get to play on every week and being in the shoe, like, you know, it's, it's pretty crazy, you know, coming from a, you know, I think,

you know, where I came from was a great place, but maybe not as, as storied and tradition, tradition based as it is here. And, you know, it's, it's, it's been awesome, man. It's been a really cool experience since I've been here hey real quick before I turn it over to our quarterback of all those legends behind you who was your favorite Ohio State quarterback to watch when you were kind of growing up and matriculating through the sport that's a good question I would say the one that I watched probably the most was JT that was right within like my middle school high school years. So I was like, okay, I was like, man, this dude's a baller. Obviously, I watched Cardale. I think that's about as far back as I

went. I was a little too young. I watched Braxton too. But I was a Penn State fan growing up. So I remember rooting against the Buckeyes. Now I finally came to the bright side, got away from that other stuff. I think Will was in diapers when I was playing, that's for sure. I think so. I think so. We watch you guys every week, and we see this offense, and you see the star receivers and the running backs and the offensive line. I was thinking about when I was at USC, and I know you're young, and you see the star receivers and the running backs and the offensive line. And I was thinking about when I was at USC, and I know you're young,

but we had just – I always – like we had a Ferrari, right? And I was the driver, and I had the keys, and it was just make plays when you had to and step up. But just don't crash the car. And you are a much better player than that because you do a lot for this offense, and we've seen you run the ball a little bit more too, which I think is an underrated part of your game. But just overall, Will, the perspective that you have and the mentality that you have going into every game,

knowing the type of players that you have around you. Yeah, it takes a lot of pressure off you. As a quarterback, obviously I have to go out there and make my plays and put the ball where it needs to be. But, um, you know, when you have guys that can kind of, you know, you have mistake erasers on the outside, like, like, I mean, Jeremiah is going to, going to, he's going to wipe away some mistakes. You know, that ball I threw them at Michigan state, wasn't a great throw, but Hey, he made it right. He made it right. So like things like that, man, like guys, guys, we, you know, and I, I'd like to think that I can do that for other guys at times, you know, but it goes, goes both ways, man. And, you know,

I like my role on this team, I feel like is a facilitator, you know, just getting the ball in, in the right people's hands and, um, and making decisions. I think I've done a pretty good job of that so far, you know, I probably like one or two plays I've won back a game, you know, and, and that's, that's just growing and learning every single week. And, you know, I probably like one or two plays I want back a game, you know, and, and that's, that's just growing and learning every single week. And, you know, but I feel pretty good about where we're at as an offense. I think we've just continued to get better every single week. And I mean, with the amount of weapons that we have and the way our offensive line is

playing right now, like, um, it's, it's going to be hard to stop us for sure. You talk about, uh, mistake erasers on the outside. Like we all been watching this young alien you got to throw the ball to jeremiah smith bro like dude is ridiculous like what is it like throwing him what is his ceiling man tell us about this cat man oh he's there there's the sky is the limit for that kid man i mean the fact that he's already as good as he is as an 18 year old true freshman, man, it's, it's special. I've never seen someone come in with that amount of talent and also the work ethic that he has. He's, he's humble. You know, he, he takes coaching really well.

Um, he doesn't complain about getting the ball at all. You never really hear a peep from him. Um, and then he goes out there and makes plays that are just like i mean otherworldly you know like not from this earth dude like this guy's this guy's like no one i've ever seen but um i'm i'm sure glad he's on my team yeah hey just for something like this just a little fun thing man most people probably didn't see it but i saw you like you had some little feisty some little dog in you i see you you throw that td and you looking at the sideline like what what you're doubting me what what i was i was fired up on that but i was after the the fourth down conversion we had we ran a little rpo and i was just looking at the sideline i was looking at our signals i was like

what are they gonna do now what are they gonna do that was like that was what i was that was what i was saying i was like you bring the safety in the box or throw it behind your head so i was fired i like that i see you what'm like, who are we talking to like that? Somebody, somebody got, you know, he, he, somebody, I am my dude up. Don't forget about me, man. Don't forget about me. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. No doubt. No doubt. You remember the old days, Will, when you would be playing just like pickup football, right? And you would be like, all right, just, I want you to go here and then cut there.

And then are there times during the game where you look at the studs that you got out wide and it's more than just Jeremiah and you just like, just go deep or like, just go get open. Cause I'm going to, I'm going to throw it your way. Damn near that. That does happen sometimes. I mean, it's like, Hey, Jeremiah, he's going to be down there somewhere, you know, just, just put it up for him. And, and I feel like a lot of times, you know, and I don't even think we've really done this a lot yet, but, you know, getting into a scramble drill with those guys, like, I mean, then at that point, like you're just playing, playing ball, like backyard football, throw the ball up. You know, there was some times in camp where, you know, Mech's making some plays and JJ's making play

Carnell, like everyone, you know, just kind of freestyle a little bit. And a little bit. I think that's a good part of my game. I think I can get out of the pocket and extend plays a little bit. I don't even think we've really had to do that that much yet. I've been pretty clean in the pocket, and the O-lines, I can't say enough. They're playing at a really high level. I think they've just gotten better every single week. Mark, I've been in huddles, Rob, when I was playing with Larry Fitzgerald.

I can't tell you how many times. Matt, let me just throw it up, man. Let me go make a play. I was like, hell yeah, dude, because those chances are better. Well, Chip Kelly, he's been around a long time. He's considered one of the best offensive minds, I think, in all of football. He did it at the NFL.

He's done it at a think, in all of football. He did it at the NFL. He's done it at a high, high level in college. You come over from Kansas State. It's a new system, new voices, new coaching. How has he helped you develop as a player? He's helped a ton, him and Coach Day both. The level of coaching that I'm getting here, since I've been here in the spring, like it's just something I've never really gotten before. I mean, when your head coach and your, your offensive coordinator,

Ryan day and chip Kelly, and they're both quarterback guys. And, you know, you're getting coached from two different angles. And then you got Billy Fessler who came in, you know, he's a,

he's a really good analyst for us. Riley Larkin's also helping. Like I'm getting coached for so many different angles and, you know, coach Kelly obviously is brilliant. I think, I think, you think you know what separates him is is the run game stuff like he he's a mastermind when it comes to designing run games getting getting defenses into different looks you know presenting different different types of fits for them and kind of getting them to misfit some things i think he's brilliant when it comes to that you know i think coach day does

a lot with the past game too like they're really involved and I've just gotten developed so much better here. Like not better, but like just so much different, you know, and, and more hands-on, you know, and it's just, it's, it's the type of coaching that I needed, you know, it's a, you know, they've been hard on me. You know, they know that I'm an experienced guy. I played a lot of ball. Um, but you know know i feel like i'm starting to finally really settle into this system and understand like why we're doing what we're doing you know how to kind of manipulate that seventh defender you know if we're getting a six-man box you know that seventh fender comes in then i'm spitting it outside or i'm checking the play or whatever it may be you know we have we have answers for pretty much everything and i think coach kelly does a

really good job of um coaching me up on that and how to kind of just run this machine that is this offense, you know. You talked about some of the great coaching that you guys are receiving, you individually, but you guys go on the road to Oregon this week, a huge matchup with huge implications for not only the Big Ten, but also playoffs as well uh where's coach day's message been to you and the team this week yeah man you know we we haven't had our our tuesday team meeting yet you know we just kind of wrapped up iowa oh it is on sunday talked a little yeah no it's it's it's early in the week but um we we talked about you know this is this is a big one um and you know it's it's it's pretty um you know it's pretty well known that this was going to be a big game for a while.

We all know it. We all know it. There's really not much that needs to be said. But at the end of the day, it's a matchup game. We talk about matchup games all the time. You got to win the situations in matchup games. It's crucially important. The rushing yards, the turnover battle field position

battle you got to win all those things third down and those situations become crucial in these games and we're focusing on those you know obviously first and second down is important you want to put yourself in good situations but you know winning the third down battle taking care of the football all those things especially on the road being able to run the ball is going to be big hey matt this man is a football player man he's pretty sharp ain't he huh man no what are you talking about i was telling before i've been i've been a fan of yours wills for a long time and i said the minute you chose ohio state i was like watch out now you that and hip and your experience and your game is has been ball and you're running the ball man yeah all right let me are you you don't want to give too

much away but are we going to incorporate that a little more like you said you haven't really had to do it yeah but something tells me this game and then you get into big 10 i just think that's such an underrated part of your game i i agree you know i i haven't really been able to show it yet i haven't really needed to you know and um you know i think we wanted to save a little bit of it for conference play and you know we knew yeah you know we knew it was coming up and you know we know this is a big one so we're not gonna be holding anything back we got everything that we've worked on in the in the quarterback run space i mean everything's on the docket so um i love it we're gonna see what uh what works this week and and you know what what the ducks present to us and and good looks that

they give us but um yeah man i i'm gonna'm going to need to be out there using my legs and in games like this, it's, it's crucial. And I think, you know, you can, when you can attack them like that and you can, you know, get guys to, you know, come down on the edge and, and you pull the ball off the, off the backside. And, you know, I had a couple of runs last game that weren't designed runs, which is me kind of controlling, controlling backside guys. And, um, you know, that And that opens some things up and makes them have to kind of defend you a little differently. Will, the narrative in the nation for the last couple of months around Ohio State has been this national title or bus type mentality. Is that really what's happening in that locker room? Is that the conversation that's going on in the football locker room of the Ohio State? You know, I don't think that the, that conversation happens a lot,

but I think we all just know, you know, and I think being at a place like Ohio State, you know, I know that we say, you know, it's Natty or Bust this year, but I feel like it's really like that every year. Like it's, it's one of those places where, you know, you got to win them all and expectations. It's a standard man. And the expectations are so high. Um, and I knew that coming in, you know,

I knew that I knew that that was going to be the, the outlook on this season for, for us. And I knew that that's why, you know, Latham ransom came back. I knew that's why Jack Sawyer came back, a Mecca,

um, JT, you know, Trey, all those guys came back for this reason. And we all kind of bonded together on that. Like, hey, we're here.

We're not here to, you know, lose any football game. We're here to win them all. And, you know, we know that like, I mean, last year it was 11 and one and it's a failed season. You know, it's like the expectations here are a little bigger. And, you know, it's not something we really talk about, you know, we're taking it a week to week process, but in the back of our minds, you know, we've drilled it in our heads, like our goals, you know,

are big and, and we want to beat the team up North. We want to win a big 10 championship. We want to win a natty and, and that's it. And that's, you know, anything else, you know, it doesn't really matter. That's, that's what we got in the back of our heads. You heard the man, you heard me you heard me td uh how much preparation have you done for that team up north oh i mean that that game's always in the back of our heads for sure um but no i got a countdown in the locker room oh there's a count in the weight room right in the weight room right outside the the cafeteria

there's one right outside this room right here. When we say Michigan, you say what? I say Team Up North, man. Team Up North. I love it. He's only been there for six months. Listen, I had to buy in. I'd get slapped upside the head if I said that M word around here.

I might as well buy in. Yeah, yeah, yeah. For sure. What was the education process for you as a newbie on what the Team Up North game really means to this program? For me, it was in the weight room in the winter, you know, and just seeing that countdown clock, you know, like I came in, I remember on my visit and I was wearing like a blue, it was like a darker blue hoodie. And I remember someone said something to me and I was like, oh, like, damn, like I didn't even realize, like, I just thought it was like a nice little row back, you know, hoodie. Like, shoot, I gotta, I gotta change.

So I had to take it off and I was like, it was freezing cold. It was like January. And I was wearing a t-shirt on my visit. So it was kind of a little baptism by fire. I had to kind of learn as I went. And the mistakes I made, I guess, were highlighted. So every time you say the M word, I remember I was at dinner with Seth McLaughlin and his family and Coach Day on our visit.

And I think it might have been Seth's girlfriend or Seth's mom said, because they played last year, Alabama played the team up north in the Rose Bowl, obviously. And she was talking about it and she said the M word. And Coach Day, kind of under his breath was like team up north. And like, I was just like, from that point on, I was like, man, I can't,

I can't call him that M word anymore. I love that. I love that. That's awesome. It's crazy. Hey, Will Howard,

we know you guys have a busy week. We really, really appreciate you joining us ahead of Ohio State and Oregon. Best of luck.

And it's been, it's been a ton of fun watching this program all season long. We can't wait to see what happens on Saturday. Thanks, Will. We appreciate you, bro. Best of luck. It's been a ton of fun watching this program all season long. Can't wait to see what happens on Saturday. Thanks, Will. We appreciate you, bro. Thanks, buddy. Go ball out, my dog. I'm rooting for you. Nice meeting y'all, man.

Appreciate y'all having me on. All right. Welcome back to the Triple Option presented by the Wendy's. Just the two of us. We can make it if we try. All right. No Coach Urban Meyer again this week. We're thinking about you, Coach, thinking about everybody in Florida as well

and in the path of Hurricane Milton. But let's do, for the first time ever, we're going to call it Mark three and out. Viewer questions, actual questions from actual viewers. Again, if you follow us on social media, 3X Option Show, right there, you can fire off questions. You can send us your comments, and we're going to try to hit them every show. So here we go. Our first one from ATG1987, what is your favorite big noon kickoff stop?

This week, for the first time ever, we're headed to Utah, and we're going to see BYU. Cannot wait for that setting on Saturday. What's your favorite big noon kickoff stop? First and foremost, I just want to say thank you to everyone who has hosted us on the big noon kickoff because all the shows are immaculate. And I'm blessed to be going to these campuses and spending time with the best college football fans in the world. So I'm thankful to be all the stops. But there's two that stick out to my mind. One last year, Colorado, when we had Lil Wayne, Bronk. That was insane. But then, just where we were two weekends ago, UCF,

our biggest crowd we've had in big new history. It was hot, but the energy was electric. It was hot? I don't remember. Was it hot? Yeah, I sweated my whole back out. I sweated my whole back out. I sweated my whole back out. I learned that when it's hot, I need to wear darker colors. So you always live and you learn, but I'd have to say those two stops were two in front of my mind. Yeah. I agree. I agree. Those ones pop out for me. Usually the answer is new places. Like I get so excited when we get to a new location

and what, you know, we don't know what to expect. We don't know what's going to happen. You know, thankfully we're in the, you know, the Ann Arbor's and the Columbus's and the Happy Valley's on a regular basis. So we kind of know the jam there, but coming in, flying in hot to a new place always excites me.

So I cannot wait to get to Provo. New places is the obvious answer. Give us a real answer. I'm with you. Those two spots absolutely resonate. Absolutely resonate. I got a question from AB Brawny. Rob, this is the loaded question mark

that people love throwing me and they don't realize how much pain it puts me in when they ask me this question. Rob, what do you enjoy talking about more, soccer or college football? Remember, you can throw bowling in there. You can throw college basketball as well. I love them both. It's totally equal. The one thing I do love about Mark being on the show right now is that when there is a soccer conversation, I can actually have a conversation. You have a friend. Like you and I are soccer

friends. We can do this. The rest of the guys kind of like roll their eyes and they don't get it. They don't understand it. They be hating on my dog stoner about the soccer stuff. And I'm like- Yeah, they need to move on from that, right? I'm like, it's a beautiful game. It literally is. It's a physical game. It's an exciting game. I love both footballs. I love them. Right. there's nothing wrong with that. Listen, there's millions of people out there who love both footballs. All right, GridironGenius1421. I love these names, by the way.

GridironGenius. GridironGenius wants to know, what team did you enjoy playing against the most and why? College, it would have to be Urban Meyer's Florida Gators and why it was because the stakes that were there. I knew when we played Florida my freshman year, it was to go to a national championship. I knew when we played Florida my second year,

it was to go to a national championship. So going against the Gators, it was because they were the best team in the SEC at that point in time and the stakes that were at hand it was a national title implications not only SEC which was basically like winning a national title I know all the SEC

people are going to hate that I mean all the people that don't want SEC yeah they're not SEC people are going to hate that but like yeah it was for SEC title and it was for a national title so I'd have to say the Gators also the LSU Tigers playing in Death Valley yeah beating up on we love beating up on the Barners um but yeah Florida Gators Barners yeah the Barners the Barners um you hesitated when I asked you that question you

made it sound like there might have been an NFL answer too yeah the NFL I guess not since you don't have one that I just asked you. The Falcons. We love beating up on the Falcons. Falcons? Because I was the Saints. You know the Saints. Oh, all right.

I was thinking Baltimore days and like- But yeah, so then I could give you the Ravens answer too. The Steelers. Yeah. Hated them. You know what I mean? What a great rivalry. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Just- That's what we love about sports. Rivalries, baby. Right? Love our rivalries. Are we ready? Are we ready for pick six? Brought to you by BetMGM.

You and I are doing some heavy lifting this week on bet six. Pick six by BetMGM. Place your money line. Prop, parlay, and same game parlay bets at BetMGM. Just download the app today. As always, please gamble responsibly. Again, we're going to pick these six games against the spread. Mark has his deuce-deuce dog of the week. And we remind everybody that these lines are current as of Tuesday, so they obviously

can change. I'm going to start first. We have Arizona at number 14 BYU. Cougars at home, live on Fox, live on Big Noon Kickoff. Big Noon Kickoff! They were favored by three and a half. It's already grown to five and a half. Wow. Zona, they fell last week. They sit three and two overall. They're one and one in what is really a competitive Big 12.

The Big 12 is so good this season. It's not getting enough love because of just what the Big 10 and the SEC is, but the Big 12 is going to get a lot of love on Big Noon kickoff this week. Cougars, they're sitting there in a four-way tie for second in the conference. You know who's first place in the Big 12, by the way? Texas Tech. Texas Tech. How about the Red Raiders? All right. So, Mark, when you historically think of BYU, all right, what comes to mind? I think I know the answers. Taysom Hill. Yep.

Jamal Williams. So, like, offense, points, and passing, all those Heisman-type candidates and winners that have come through there. So, yes, they still have a good offense, but it's their D this year that has really grown to be the difference. Did some research. They are among the top 25 nationally in passing efficiency defense. That's at number five. Passes intercepted, scoring defense, and total defense. And they are going to need it against a sneaky explosive offensive team that is Arizona. Remember, the Wildcats, they've already come to the state of Utah, the Beehive State, and upset Utah earlier this season. But with BNK at BYU, enough said. BYU wins, covers, and they continue their push towards a playoff spot. Let's stay in the Big 12. Give me a... Scobuffs. Scobuffs. Scobuffs. Number 18, Kansas

State. Favored in Boulder. The buffs part of that group along with BYU, that's tied for second in the Big 12. You said it. The Big 12 is an exciting conference this year. It's wide open and this game right here will have a lot to do with the Big 12 implications. We got Kansas State at Colorado. It's going to be an exciting matchup. Kansas State has one of my favorite players in the country, Avery Johnson, their quarterback.

He's a beast. He's electric running the football. He's got that flow. Yes. He got the flow going. And they run the football. You know me. I love when teams run that football.

And they have DJ Giddens, their running back. They're the number two ranked rush offense in the Big 12. Guess what? Kyle Rogers faced the number one ranked rush offense in UCF. We were there. And how'd they do in that one? They did really well. Really well.

Maybe the most impressive win of Deion Sanders' era. Yep. They've had the most impressive win of the prime era when they played UCF two weeks ago because they both coming off a bye week. But when we talk about their most impressive win, they scored 48 points on offense. Their defense had four takeaways, five sacks. But Shadur has been sacked 17 times this year, so they have to find a way to protect him. They don't really run the ball, but they generate their run offense with some quick throws in a passing game.

I'm going with the Buffs. I'm going with the hurrah, hurrah. The deuce, deuce, dog of the week. Let's go, Buffs. Hurrah, hurrah. It's because Kansas State's defense has been kind of like their backbone. That's the backbone. They gave them 58 points in the last two games.

It was Shadur Sanders, Travis Hunter, Jimmy Horn Jr., LeJonte Wester. I'm going with the Buffs in the shootout, man. I think this defense is going to step up to the test like they did last week versus UCF. I'm going with the horror, horror. Let's go, Buffs. Hey, Colorado gets the win, Mark. They're going to be inside the top 25.

They should. And that narrative about Deion and that program is just going to escalate massively. Let's swing to the Big Ten right now. Number four, Penn State, a five and a half point favorite in Southern Cal at USC. Now remember, we talked about it earlier in the show with Matt. Trojans, once as high as number 11, lost two of their first three Big Ten games, including that loss

at Minnesota. So they're out of the top 25 right now. As for Penn State, we were there last week. They eventually, remember, eventually pulled away from struggling UCLA. They are all the way up at number four right now. So this kind of seems like two programs going in different directions, right? But speaking of directions, yeah, Penn State is going in a different direction, as in all the way out to the West Coast. We have seen already how impactful that travel has been in the Big Ten this season. Michigan going to Washington. Bingo.

Thank you for backing me up. I think we are Penn State overvalued. I think they're kind of like a Missouri overvalued, maybe not that bad. And I think that USC, Matt doesn't want to hear it, but they have a path to the playoffs. And I think they're leaning into that. It is a must winwin game at the Coliseum for the Trojans on Saturday. And they're going to do it. They're going to get the win. I'm calling another Big Ten upset. Let's pivot back to the SEC Top 20 Showdown.

Ole Miss at number nine, Mark, a three-point favorite at number 15 LSU. You're going to walk into Death Valley and you're going to be a favorite? Walk into Death Valley and be a favorite. We know Death Valley is one of the most toughest places to play in all of sports in general. But let me tell you this. It's going to be a shootout, Stoner. Last year, these teams combined for 14 touchdowns

and 1,343 yards. And an Ole Miss win by six points. But let me tell you about this year. Jackson Dart leaves the SEC in pass yards per game. And he's second in pass touchdowns. Because Garrett Nussmeyer is first in pass touchdowns. And second in yards. The Nuss Dog.

Come on. The Nuss Dog. All right. All right. No, but it's going to be an electric game. It's going to be a shootout. Both these quarterbacks, both these offenses are very prolific, but I got the difference being Ole Miss' defense.

Ole Miss' defense is a lot more stout than LSU's defense is right now at this point in time. But maybe this defense gets a big lift from the crowd. What's the line? What's the line? What's the line? Three points Ole Miss is favored by. Ole Miss, three points? Hey, I'm taking Ole Miss. I'm taking Ole Miss in Death Valley. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. All my Louisiana people are going to be mad at me, but you know, it's still who that. They still know how awesome you are. This one, I think, is going to be a at me, but you know, it's still who that is. It's still who that is. They still know how awesome you are. This one, I think, is going to be a playoff elimination game.

The loser of this one is in real, real dire straits to move on to the playoffs. All right, let's go to the beautiful Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas. Number one, Texas. Number one. Returning back to the top of the poll. They got 52 out of 61 first place votes. They take on number 18, Oklahoma. The Red River rivalry.

You can never underestimate these games. And guess what? You want a saucy nug? Tell me. Oh, a bonus saucy nug from Wendy's? You want a saucy nug? I love saucy nuggets. Steve Sarkeesian is one and two against Oklahoma.

Oh, no bueno. No bueno. Makes you think. Is that what you're telling me? I love Saucy Nug. Steve Sarkeesian is one and two against Oklahoma. No bueno. No bueno. Makes you think. Is that what you're telling me? No, it's not what I'm telling you. Okay. Oklahoma, the strength of their team has been their defensive unit.

They're averaging almost four sacks a game, giving up about just 16 points per game. So doing good. But last time they played, they gave a 338 passing yards to Auburn. And we know what Texas likes to do. Texas likes to spin the ball around the yard. Quinn Ewers had that oblique injury. I think he's going to be back. Yep.

He had that oblique injury. He's coming back. They're one of three FBS teams averaging 300-plus yards per game pass and 190 rushing yards pass per game with Ole Miss. And guess who? The fighting signetis of Indiana. They got the number one scoring defense in the SEC, number two in the FBS, number two pass defense in the FBS. I'm going with the Longhorns, man.

Hook them, baby. I'm going with the hook them in this one. I just don't think they have enough offensively. I think Oklahoma's in kind of like an identity crisis offensively. They benched their quarterback. Now they got Michael Hawkins Jr. starting, a true freshman quarterback. They're going against Texas' team who is hungry, and they on a mission. Weird things happen in that game, though.

They do. As of late. And like I told you, the saucy nug, he's 1-2 versus the Sooners. I love the bonus saucy nug. So does Wendy's. All right. The game, though, this Saturday. Number two versus number three.

First time this season, Oregon is an underdog. Ohio State's going cross-country. Mark, they're favored by three and a half points. I know those cross-country ones are tricky, man. They scare me. This one obviously has been circled not just by college football fans, but by these programs for months. I see this one as kind of a mid-season preview of the Big Ten championship game.

Both certainly impressive, but both, Mark, have question marks, right? The Buckeyes, they haven't been tested just because the opposition hasn't been there yet. What are you going to do, right? What are you going to do? You just play the teams that are on your schedule. Last week, they were only up 7-0 at the half on Iowa, able to turn it on. The thing I really like about Ohio State this year, and Will Howard mentioned it a little bit, they're more physical. They are tougher on both lines of the screen, not just offensively,

but defensively. Remember, they kind of had that soft reputation. People were trying to push that out there in Ohio State. That is not the narrative this year in Columbus. And then it's all those game changers. It's not just the game changers out wide. It's the game changers that you can hand the ball back to. Them R-Beasts. Now I'm talking your language, right? Them R-Beasts.

Early struggles, particularly on that offensive line and stopping the run. But they snuck by Ashton Gentry and Boise State at home, even though Gentry ran all over them. But I feel like they've kind of figured things out a little bit since then. Dan Lanning feels like this team is more of what he thought it would be. But red zone. The red zone gives me pause. Dylan Gabriel, remember two red zone picks last week, Friday night,

and that win over Michigan State. I love the Ducks. I think Oregon is a playoff team. But right now, right now, I trust what Ohio State is more. So I like Ohio State to go cross country to win and to cover. Well, that would, yeah. Yeah, they're going to win and cover because they're favored. You with me on that one or just kind of-

I'm with you. I'm with you. I'm with you. I'm with you. That's a tough one, man. It is. I cannot- It doesn't, this isn't a playoff elimination game either.

Correct. Right. So both teams- It's the- It's Big Ten hierarchy. There you go. Yeah. Big Ten hierarchy.

This is kind of for first place in the Big Ten. This is for a statement. Mark, how about the big triple option news? We're hitting the road for the first time ever. We are going to Washington, D.C. in December for Army, Navy, courtesy of USAA. How about that? We're road tripping, baby. Let's go!

We're road tripping on top of Big Noon kickoff. And if there's a place out there that you want to see us show up throughout the season, who knows? Maybe we might be able to cobble something together. Just fire it in the comment section. Say, hey, man, I want the triple option in... Where do I want it? You know where I want to go? I want to go to the Dakotas. I want to go to one of those kind of... Me too. I've never been. Lower programs that don't get enough love that are really doing great things I want to go to the Dakotas. I want to go to one of those kind of lower programs that don't get enough love that are really doing great things in their community. North Dakota State or something like that?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Throw me into a Minnesota, one of those D3 programs. I would love to show up there. If you have some thoughts, please throw it in the comment section. As always, subscribe to our YouTube channel. Follow us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, wherever you find your podcasts,

as well as across social media at 3XOptionShow. Again, our thoughts are going out to everybody out in Florida right now, everybody who is in the path of Hurricane Milton. Coach Meyer, we're thinking about you. We're thinking about your family. We're thinking about all of our friends in the Sunshine State, Mark. I know you're there right now. I think you're going to be okay. I'm thinking about you, but I'm thinking about Coach and all the our friends in the Sunshine State, Mark. I know you're there right now. I think you're going to be okay. I'm thinking about you, but I'm thinking about Coach and all the other people in the great Tampa Bay area as well. A little bit more so.

All my Floridians, be safe. We love you. Please be safe. Get out. Get out. Be safe. Be smart. And while you're driving away from Hurricane Milton,

you know, listen to the Triple Option. Man, throw it on. Yeah, new episodes drop every Wednesday as always. We want to thank our sponsors. Man, we love our sponsors. We love our sponsors. MGM and Zip Recruiter. And also a huge thanks to our buddy, our big noon buddy, Matt Leinart.

Step it in for Coach Meyer. And you can hear his show, Throwbacks, with Jerry Vera every single Thursday. We will see you next week on The Triple Option. Triple Option is a show for the people, and we love the people. So the people, please let us know where you want us to go, where you want us to be, and we're going to do it. We're people pleasers. Yes, we are.

We are. We love you. We love you. We love you. Hey!