The Triple Option - Alabama and Georgia Deliver, NIL Runs Wild, Week 6 Picks, and SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey

Episode Date: October 2, 2024

Another meeting of the Tide and Bulldogs means another instant classic. Urban Meyer, Mark Ingram II, and Rob Stone dive into the emotional roller coaster that was Georgia vs Alabama and what it means for both teams going forward. Colorado gets a statement win in Florida as Travis Hunter turns in another Heisman performance. (13:00) College football is transforming and one of the architects of it all is SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey, who joins the guys. He discusses the strength of the conference that just means more, the legislation of NIL, as well as the future of college football ahead of a historic meeting between the SEC and the Big Ten. (47:04) Then, the guys dive into the latest in NIL including an UNLV quarterback leaving his undefeated team. Coach Meyer takes a look at the NCAA and why they have turned into a toothless organization. Week 6 is coming up and the guys make their picks for Ohio State v Iowa, Mizzou v Texas A&M, Tennessee v Arkansas, Michigan v Washington, and Miami v Cal. Coach pays his respects to the late Pete Rose. (1:24:28) 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

Roll damn tide. Let's go. And shout out to you, Coach DeBoer, because you did that. But on to the next. We ain't even worry about that. We on to the next. Let's go, Coach. Uh-huh.

That part. I don't give a piss about nothing but the tide. Let me clear my throat. Roll damn tide. Light it. we're back welcome to another edition of the triple option presented by our great partner the wendy's try wendy's new saucy nugs today another massive guest this week on The Triple Option. The commissioner of the SEC, Greg Sankey, joins us. And before we get underway,

I want to remind you all out there, subscribe to our YouTube channel. Follow us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, wherever you get your podcasts, as well as across social media. You can find us at 3XOptionShow. Mark, what do they need to do? They need to rate, follow, follow, like, like, subscribe, 3X option show. Mark, what do they need to do? They need to rate. Follow.

Follow. Like. Like. Subscribe. Subscribe. And tell a friend. Tell a friend and ask questions in the comment section. We're going to get to some questions in the future.

The only thing I know how to do is tell a friend, Rob. That's it. You got to keep telling friends. And you do it on your telephone too. My Rolodex. Yeah, your fingers all banged up. The Rolodex. Oh your telephone too. My Rolodex. Yeah, your fingers all banged up. The Rolodex. Oh, I love a good Rolodex.

All right, new episodes every Wednesday. And again, we mentioned today, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey. Boy, a lot to cover in college football. With the commissioner, we're going to talk about how NIL is impacting the sport that we love. Rehash the classic that was Alabama, Georgia,

and look ahead to week six. We're also going to reflect on the passing of a legend, Pete Rose, moving on. But let's start with everything that is going on in Florida and the Southeast right now and all those impacted by Hurricane Helene. Just brutal destruction and devastation all across the Southeast and in places that you really didn't think would get hit. And we work with Sinclair through the course of this podcast, and Sinclair is partnering with Salvation Army for Sinclair Cares, Hurricane Helene Relief, Salvation Army. They have teams operating in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, and Florida. Their highest need right now, clean water as well as food and cleanup kits.

To donate, go to SinclairCares.com. And you'll notice Coach is in a different setup this week if you're watching on YouTube because you got kicked out of your house, Coach. Yeah, six years of my life, Rob and Mark, I've never had to deal with it, ever. To say that I didn't respect Mother Nature i it's not like that at all i just that storm was 150 miles off of our property and um it was 800 miles wide coach i mean it was no one really wide we really didn't batten down the hatches like we did on a couple others and sure enough the storm was headed towards the panhandle the big bend area and the storm surge started coming and it

didn't stop and i live on a siesta key and it was five feet underwater and we're we we had some damage we lost a car the tesla's gone the you know a lot of it broke your heart when i had to throw some i I mean, physically had some tears in my eyes. I threw away some memorabilia and, you know, kid pictures, couches and cars. Okay. Yeah. But when you see your, your daughter's, you know, I, I actually told her I saved her baseball

hat as you know, I just, I'm nuts. I'm a hoarder about my kids. And, but then Shelly and I went to Siesta Key for dinner in the village, and we saw the devastation. We made it out very unscathed compared to what I saw. And Mark, it was devastating that I started watching the news last night. The folks up in the Tennessee or the North Carolina mountains, I mean, devastated. So prayers, there's a loss of life. There's a loss of stuff much more important than cars. So prayers and obviously,

please donate out there to help these folks out. Mother Nature is a powerful force and water always wins. She's undefeated, man. She's undefeated. Yeah, water always wins, man. It's awful looking at some of these images. And we know a lot of this is happening

in a great part of football country, in our beautiful country. And it's tough to see. It's tough to swallow. So we're doing what we can here at Sinclair and the triple option to help those people that are impacted. And we know, you know, we understand the gravity of the situation. We know how serious it is. But we are kind of a fun-loving podcast, right?

So we're going to do our best to pivot. And if anybody knows about fun and who had himself quite a weekend, it was Mr. Ingram. I tell you what, Mark, it was hard to keep up with you this weekend. We were talking last week, and all of a sudden, you were kind of doing the math in your head. You're like, wait a second. I might be able to get to Tuscaloosa on Saturday for the game, right? And that was like, I thought that was your big travel project. Right. And then I forgot what you had on the back end of the weekend. So let's go in reverse order.

Tell us about your Sunday and part of your like, it was like the coach was like the Mark Ingram reunion tour, right? And Sunday, Deuce Deuce was in Baltimore, man. Yeah, Deuce Deuce, but I'm Deuce 1 in the Ravens. You know what I mean? 2-1. 2-1 for the Ravens. So we'll start after the Bama game.

So after the Bama game, drive to Atlanta. About three hours. Get there around like 5 a.m. I have a 9 a.m. flight to go to Baltimore. I was like, all right. I looked. There was a 7 a.m. flight, so I just jumped on a 7 a.m., so I didn't have to wait as long.

Got to Baltimore, ate a good breakfast, took me a nap, woke up, got to the stadium, did my Legend of the Game rounds, went to Ravens, walked with all the fans, did a little interview, did some interviews, did the pregame show with Torrey Smith and Shelby, and then went down to the field for pregame. And it was crazy. So right before the kickoff, after they announced everybody, they announced me. I came out there, had to hype up the stadium.

And obviously the bank, M&T Bank Stadium at night, all black uniforms, black helmets shining on the black. It's just so right. It's just so right. And the stadium was legendary. The energy was legendary. It was a special place for me. I only spent two years there, but it felt like I played many, many, many,

many, many years. The impact that they had on me and what they tell me, the impact that I had on that organization and those fans as well. So a lot of love. And it felt good to be back with the flock. And they got a big win, too. Hey, Mark, I'm speaking as your friend now. I know Rob and I, to see you do that stuff, it warms our heart, man.

There's only a handful of people on the planet. And it's a lot of who you are. You know, I've been around a lot of people, a lot of athletes, a lot of coaches. But the way you're a magnet, man. So congrats. I appreciate're a magnet, man. So congrats. I appreciate that, Coach, man. And when I'm around genuine people, authentic people, I'm allowed to be myself. So I'm thankful to the people who are around me, who support me, who love me, like you and Stoner, and people in the raves, and people at the Saints, and people on Big Noon, and people at Belmont.

I got a great support system of people who help me thrive. And it's because of y'all I'm able to be me. To Coach's point, Mark, it's amazing. I don't think I've told you this. Every week I get people, whether it's in my community or wherever I am, who watch the show and they're like, I really like Mark. I wasn't sure if I was going to like him. They've never met you.

I'm like, wait till you meet him. If you think you like him on television, wait till you get a big sweaty bear hug from Deuce Deuce. I was sweating my whole wardrobe out. We'll get to sweaty Saturday. He was sweating through his sport coat. It was insane. Saturday in Orlando. We're going to get to that later,

but let's go back to Baltimore was on Sunday. And they got a big win on Sunday night. I'm able to come back and be the legend of the game again. You're undefeated. Yeah, for sure. Let's go.

Let's go. So now let's rewind and go to Saturday afternoon, evening, and you found your way. And this was like playing trains and automobiles. I was kind of proud of you, how you were able to pull this trip off from Orlando to Tuscaloosa in time for kickoff. Yeah, so after the show, I was like, we talking, we're all on thread. We're like, we'll be done at noon. I'm like, wait, we'll be done at noon? I'm like, game it, man.

I'm at seven? The brain is spinning. I'm like, how can I get there? And so there was a nonstop from Tampa. So me and my boy, we drove from Orlando to Tampa, jumped on the Tampa flight, straight to Birmingham, got to Birmingham, jumped in the whip. Our boy had the SUV, straight to Tuscaloosa, parking 10 Horror West lot. You know what I mean?

Right there by Publix, right across from Brian Denny. We go in, and it starts. I'm in the locker room saying what's up to everybody. I'm on the field saying what's up to everybody? I'm on the field saying, what's up to everybody? The energy was electric. You could just feel it. You could just feel something legendary is about to happen between these two teams. You could feel it in the air.

Not bad, man. You got yourself a pretty good life, brother. You got a pretty good life. I was blessed. I was thankful. I was back in Tuscaloosa. It was my first time back in Tuscaloosa since 2019. They were having a 10-year anniversary

the last time I went there. My wife was like, almost about to, my wife's about to have a baby, right? But they send the jet because I'm the guest captain. So they fly the jet. I'm like, wife, she never been, so she wanted to go. I'm like, you're not about to have this baby, right? She's like, no, the doctor says no.

So we fly there. We fly there. We watch the game. We have a Bama Bell, a Bama baby girl. In 2019, we had a baby in Alabama because my wife, who said she wasn't going to have the baby in Alabama, had the baby in Alabama. So that was my first time back since then. And, man, it was electric, man.

Obviously, two of the top teams in the country going at it head to head in Tuscaloosa, you know. It was fun, man. It was fun. I had a great football weekend. Like it. Whether in the game or in life, the right coverage can make all the difference.

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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. We're going to talk about the greatness of Saturday and let's do it right now on any given Saturday. We're going to talk first up about that Bama-Georgia classic. I was watching the first half on the plane, and I got my little cheat sheet notes that I was writing down. I was like, Georgia, zero touchdowns allowed all season. Conceded three in the first quarter.

Touchdowns on the first four drives for Alabama. Three of them from Milrow. He completed his first 11 passes. Alabama's running backs getting to the edge and around the edge at will. Carson Beck, first multi-interception game. He had two in the first half. Just like that, bam, it's 30-9 at halftime. So I want two different perspectives on this. Cause if you watch the first half, you're saying to yourself, do I need to stick around for the second half? Obviously we know the answer was yes, but take me through Mark first, the vibes, the energy in that stadium, the way that first half went, because I don't think if you were a Bama fan, you could

have scripted much better. Well, I think all of us, if you said we're going to be up 21-0 in the first quarter, I think we all would have been like, yeah, okay. Whatever. Put that down. But when I was in the locker room, the energy, the speech Coach DeBoer had for those

players. What was the speech? Man, he was like, we a tough bunch. We a physical bunch. Let's go out there and we're going to give them hell all day. And the players are like, ooh, what was the speech? Man, he was like, we a tough bunch. We a physical bunch. Let's go out there. We gonna give them hell all day. And the players was like, ooh. So he must not talk like that too often, you know what I mean? Because they was like, they was always like, ooh.

Like, they was ready to roll. They was ready to roll. And they walked out. And the stadium was crazy electric. I'm recording going through. I'm like, I'm getting them feels again, coach. I'm getting them feels again. I ran out with the team. I'm like, ooh.

And so you can feel the energy in the stadium. And, coach, when you have a game like that, what's the one thing you want to do? You want to start fast. You want to start fast. And that's exactly what this team did. You mentioned it. Jalen Monroe going 11 for 11. 21 points in the first quarter.

Getting turnovers. The team, even when they were behind the chains, Milrow, his ability to improvise with his legs, his ability to go through his progressions, find his receivers, hit the running backs on the wheel routes. His maturation as a quarterback has been tremendous. It has been extraordinary. He's going through his progressions. You talked about that earlier in the season, coach, on Big Noon, on our show, you talked about him growing as a quarterback and having to go through his progressions and you could see it. You could see him going one, two, three, oh, check now. It helps when you have a lot of time too, by the way, great protection in that first half. Yep. Yep. So what you want to do in a matchup like that, you want to start fast and

that's exactly what they did. So on the flip side, Georgia coach got punched in the mouth, right? I mean, everything went wrong. Kirby smart takes them into the locker room. What, what is that halftime speech and management like from a coaching perspective? Yeah, I just, I've been a coach my entire life and I watch things, you know, I don't, you know, and we'll talk about this in a minute, but coaching to me is when someone makes an incredible catch, makes two people miss and that's called recruiting and that's God touching an athlete to say you're different than most. Coaching to me, there is a, during a year, during a season, during a game and during during moments, you've got to earn.

I used to do this, stare at our coaches and go like this. You know what that means? You're earning your coaching stripes right now. You're earning them right now. And that means you have to raise up and get your guys whatever you gots to do, you gots to do. And Kirby's smart to me. And people are going to listen and say, what is he talking about? That might be the coach of the year moment to bring that team back and get their minds right. Because you have a bunch of people right now just got obliterated, and they're not used to that.

Those athletes who haven't, I mean, they got smoked in a tough environment. They come back and took the lead. The young freshman, I'm sorry, Williams. Ryan Williams. Right, the Ryan Williams. Ryan Williams, the Alabama wideout. You're not, you can't stop that. That's the Percy Harvin marking.

Those are freakish, you know, that was not a coaching error. That was just a guy. I'll say it again, the coaching moment of the year. And there's going to be people roll their eyes because they lost. I get that. But to, when you earn the stripes stripes like Kirby Smart and his staff to get that team back, think about that. I've never really been in that scenario, but you're in Tuscaloosa, Alabama against an elite team and somehow you got your feet back on the ground and they went and fought

and fought and they got back to and got the lead. So coaching of the year, 2024, goes to Kirby Smart and his staff to bring that team back. Our group. In that process, what are the necessary steps that you have to take? It all depends on your team.

It all depends on, I'm getting fired up now. So if I got me Mark Ingram and some of those kind of like war daddies, I am grabbing their shirts and saying, listen, I need you, pal. We used to say when I need you to the most, you gave us your very best.

That was a saying that we had. When I needed you, I don't need you when we're up by 40 points. I could care less what you do. Go sit on the bench. When we're getting bloodied up right now, I need you to go rally because there's some guys in this locker room, Mark, you know that, that were not ready for this. Right.

They were not ready for that second half. And so you rally your alphas. And I mean, you get in their jug now. Yeah. And say, we've got, if this is going to get real bad, unless you guys decide to nut up now and get this shit going. Yeah. And that's exactly what they did.

Yeah. And coach, I agree with you 100%. And, like, that was my sentiments exactly. Like, I'm like, okay, we're up 30-7. Like, this can't be complacent. We can't be satisfied because this is a football team that has Kirby Smart leading it. Kirby Smart ain't just going to lay down.

He's a competitor. He's a grinder. And he has the players, like you say, that got some alphas on their team and they came out and they fought and they were had the lead with a little bit over two minutes left to go two and a half left georges took the lead for the first time yes wow they made it they made adjustments at halftime they executed adjustments they were they they got carson beck settled down by running the football they started running the football effectively

efficiently got him kind of settled in his rhythm the football. They started running the football effectively, efficiently. It got him kind of settled in his rhythm. The defense made adjustments. Georgia, they started rushing three, spying two on Jalen Milrow. And Alabama's offense kind of got conservative. Kind of got conservative. You got to keep the pressure on. You got to keep trying to score points.

You can't just try to survive. They got kind of conservative, and Georgia came back. Georgia came back, but at the end of the day, Ryan Williams and Jalen Milley-Millrow prevailed. Let's go back to the other day. We'll get to that in a second. I'm curious about the comeback in Tuscaloosa, Mark. At what point did the stadium and you, to a point, start saying, uh-oh, this is starting to shift back.

Was there a moment there where you said we're, we might be in a little bit of trouble now. Man, you can kind of feel it in the second half. You kind of just feel it like brewing, like, all right, it's 30 to 14. We're good, but we need to do something on this drive. Right. And we, and then we get stopped and have to punt it, and then the crowd would be in it.

And Kirby was going for it on fourth down since halfway through the second quarter. So the whole second half, they were getting third down stops, Alabama's defense was, but they were not stopping them on fourth down. I think they went five for five on fourth down. They got bailed out for about two or three penalties that got thrown, and they just kept

moving the ball. They kept moving the ball. Carson Beck got a new rhythm, started finding people, and you could just feel it. Now it's 30 to 20. Now it's 30 to 21. You're like, oh, damn. Oh, damn. We need to do something here. Then we got a field goal. We're like, okay.

It's two possessions. Okay, we good. Then, oh, damn. we muffed the kick. We muffed the kick. You know, but you could just kind of feel the momentum. You could kind of feel it. It was an eerie feeling in the stadium. The fans kind of got a little quiet. The offense wasn't moving the ball.

The defense couldn't stop them. They'd been on the field a lot. They was getting fourth down conversions. You could just kind of feel the momentum like kind of shifting towards Georgia. But we had enough in the tank where we were able to weather the storm. Shout out to those guys, man, because it could have got ugly.

It could have been a different topic of discussion had they not came through the way they did. There's a ton to discuss at the conclusion of this game. I'm going to get to that in a second. But Bama loses the lead, and they turn to a 17-year-old phenom who comes up with one of the plays of the year in college football. And this kid is special.

And I think we're really in a—speaking of special, Coach, I know you feel this way too. We are seeing elite freshman receivers, two of some of the best receivers we've ever seen at this age playing college football right now. And they're doing it right out of high school. One in Columbus. Jeremiah Smith. And one in Tuscaloosa.

Ryan Williams. Two dogs, two beastlies. I got opinion. I got opinion on that. And that is because a lot of these guys are getting really well trained. You know, some of these, it used to be you played football and then the other sports, which, by the way, I'm a fan of. But a lot of these guys, I mean, the training, the weight training, the specialty training, and I don't know Ryan Williams or his background, because that play is one of the greatest football plays you'll ever see.

Ever. And you can't, Caitlin Nabari or, I mean, Kirby, you can't say, well, they should have. No, no, no. You can't stop what that kid did. You just can't do that. I mean, that was one of those plays that you just can't stop. So I think there's a reason why you're seeing some of this, that kids are really, really well-trained

coming out of high school. They are well-trained, right? And well-coached. Well, coach, I train throughout the week, you know, down here at a local facility, like all summer long. And like, it's a Wednesday. And I'm seeing like some high school football players

in here with me at like 10 a.m. training. And I'm like, aren't you supposed to be in school? I'm like, like, why aren't you in class right now? Don't you have chemistry? He's like, Oh,

well I do online school or I do homeschool. I'm like, so you get to train all day. Like imagine, I can't imagine if I just got to train all day when I was in high school, middle school, et cetera. Like these young kids are coming out as specimens,

as aliens. You see Jeremiah Smith making two one-handed catches in the end zone. Ryan Williams doing gymnastic stuff with his body control, catching the ball, sprinting, accelerate, make two hit each other, and then accelerate for the touchdown. I mean, these dudes are aliens, man. I will say this, too, that if I'm an evaluator or in this college football place

or just as an evaluator, which is what I do now, that loss is so much more important for the development of the team and I think more valuable than beating a team. I see some of these ridiculous schedules that some teams have played. You know, I'm picked by played. I'm picked by 50. I'm picked by 50. And then you go to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and get a comeback win. To me, I'm going to keep doing this.

That's going to be our little signal on our show. That's a coaching stripe earned. Beating a team by 64 to whatever, it doesn't move on to the next. Because you have better checkers than every person on that field. Don't even. So I just keep going back to Kirby, smart of that staff. 100%. Man, shout out to Georgia, man.

Like what they're able to do to come back from 30 to 7 in the second half. Like you said, Coach, this thing could get out of hand quick. You're thinking Bama could put up 50, 60 points. At the end of the day, they only put up three until the last possession. So, much kudos to Georgia, the Bulldogs. These are two teams. These are the two best teams in the country right now, Coach.

What you think, Coach? What you think? There's a team in Columbus that would like to have a conversation with you. And Texas, and Austin, Texas. But you don't, Columbus, and I'm a Buckeye, but you don't know. We're going to start to know. They haven't I'm a Buckeye, but you don't know. We're going to start to know. They haven't been in a fight like that.

They haven't been in a fight like that. But I got to show love to Jalen Milrow, man. The growth that he has shown as a quarterback. Listen to this. Listen to this, Stoner. He became the first player in the AP poll era to reach 300 passing yards, 100 rushing yards, and run for two touchdowns against a top five opponent. He went, the man just went absolutely insane.

He went 27 for 33, 374 yards, two touchdowns, one interception, at 98.5 QBR. They only graded up to 100, Stoner. 98.5 QBR. That's pretty close to 100. They only graded up to 100. And guess what? Against Georgia. Against Georgia. And guess what?

Against Georgia. Against Georgia. And guess what? And they say an excellent number is 75. Oh, wow. Speaking of Milrow, right? He is your new Heisman favorite per bet MGM at plus 200. Let's talk about Georgia here.

They are 45 and3 since 2021. I'll give you one guess, Mark, who those three losses are to. Roll damn tight. Yeah. Those three losses to Alabama, that's your saucy nugget of the week. Try some at your nearest Wendy's. There's a couple of things I want to get into on Georgia right now. I think, Coach, you could make a compelling argument that Georgia is going to come out of this loss in maybe better shape than Alabama. Having been absolutely punched in the face in the first quarter, on the road, everything went wrong, and they were able to flip the script and take the lead in the second half,

knowing everything that they went against and everything that was going against them. And you get that loss that kind of, I think is a wake-up call, right, coach? But also it shows you, hey guys, we're not all that, but look what we just did. I actually came out of that game thinking that Georgia is in a better place than Alabama,

which is, it sounds insane, and I know how tough that schedule is for Georgia coming up, Coach, but I think Kirby Smart and company walk out of Tuscaloosa saying, that loss is going to serve us well down the road, and I think this team is going to be better for it. Yes. Yeah, I've been in those situations, maybe not exactly like that, and the world's coming to an end in Athens, Georgia right now. I mean, you can't see that far ahead.

I can promise you, Kirby Smart's right here. He's got those, do you remember those horses wear those blinders? Yeah. You know, you're staring right now at that film and the anxiety

and your heart physically hurts when you see a player or two that could have flipped that game. And then as a coach, here's what happens. You go back and you watch that. And this is why I'm on big noon and I'm doing this because it just beat me to death. And I'm watching that play saying, did we practice it? I never blamed a player. I never said I would blame coaches all the time. I would say I blame myself. Did we practice that in practice? Did we do it? And if we didn't do it, then why not? And I would, you know, that just wears you out. So yes, I agree with everything you just said. I can promise you Kirby starts not feeling it that way. Or his staff. His staff right now, because they're good. That's what, that's a great coaching staff. They're saying, what could we have done differently to give these players one more chance to win that game? For them to come back from 23 down in a hostile environment where everything was going against them. It just says about the character and the resilience of

that football team. You're in Tuscaloosa. It's not an easy environment. It's 102,000 out there yelling, screaming. You got a great, talented team on the other side who just ambushed you in the first half. And you come out and you just do what you need to do. You just chip away, chip away, chip away, chip away. You find yourself winning the game with over two minutes left to go in the game. So I think they can walk out of that Tuscaloosa with their heads high. And it's going to be dangerous. They're going to be dangerous right now.

Let's talk about Georgia real quick. They got that opening win over Clemson, right? A very commanding win. And I think everybody was like, well, apparently Clemson's not all that. But by the way, Clemson is showing up now. I think that win looks better and better for Georgia because now you're thinking, hey, SEC championship game is at risk, right? For Georgia to get in there, particularly when you look at what's still to come on their schedule. They got the homecoming game with Auburn, Mississippi State home, Texas in Austin, Florida in Jacksonville, Ole Miss in Oxford, big one at home with Tennessee. Wow.

Jeez. I mean, we think I feel good about Georgia. I really do. They're an absolute playoff team to me right now. If they win those games, they're either one or two in a country. Yes, 100%. No problem. The question then is how many losses can they sustain and get themselves in there? Because now that margin for error is so much thinner. I think two losses, they're fine. But when you get to three losses, now you're talking about,

wow, are we letting in a three loss team into the top 12 playoffs? And that's where things, I think, get, to your point, Coach, blinders on and things get a little tight. There's some schedules out there, Mark, and that's where I can't wait to talk to the commissioner of the SEC, Greg Sankey, about this.

There's some teams that won't play a ranked team. Yes. Or a top 10 team. Yes. And won't be punished for it. And they'll be 11-1 and Georgia will be 9-3. Hypothetically, Georgia 9-3 will loss it to Tennessee. And play five top 10 teams.

Yes. Yes. That 9-3 outweighs the 11-1 that didn't have a, you know what I mean? Hypothetically. I guess why I'm so passionate about that is back in 06, we had the number one most difficult schedule in the country. And think about what happened.

The number one most difficult schedule in the country. We lost one game at Auburn. And they tried to keep us out of the BCS. It was back in the BCS era and all the people are saying, well, they don't belong. They don't belong. And I'm like, wait, what in the hell are you talking about? Not belong. Look at that schedule. So I'm, I'm going to, I'm going to swing hard, man. But coach, to your point, man, it's, it's tough to see the three in the loss column, right? I'm not worried about three in the loss column. I'm not worried about Georgia.

Not for me. I'm not worried about Georgia. I'm just saying, I think their team is going to be a problem moving forward from what they just experienced in Tuscaloosa. Carson Beck is not going to have that type of first half again. He has moved on from that. Let's talk about

Alabama. Let's end with the team that won the game. Oh, by the way, this was Coach DeBoer's first big SEC, big Alabama moment, right? So, Coach, what does getting that first big win on that level, on that stage, do for you as a young head coach with that particular program going forward. Oh, I love this thought. So, and the South is different now.

And if you're not from the South, Mark, you're not, I'm not. I mean, obviously we became part of the South, but it's a little bit like the North. You hate to say that, or the West or the East. If you're not from there, it takes you a minute now for people to accept you. And when I went down to Florida, it was who, from Utah, it takes you a minute now for people to accept you. And when I went down to Florida, it was from Utah. Utah, where's that? Who is this guy? I can imagine Alabama, all of a sudden

Nick Saban leaves, and all of a sudden, this guy coached where? Fresno. Where's Fresno State? Sioux Falls. Yeah, where's Pullman? Where's Washington? Is Washington Washington, DC? Yeah. Yeah. Right. Where, where, yeah. Who's this guy? They know who he is now.

That, that's how important that when, and more importantly, the recruiting piece, every recruit now knows not who is this guy. It's killing more of the guy beat Georgia. So, you know, I can compare it to what was it? Oh, six. Oh, five. We were really struggling and was it, 06, 05. We were really struggling. And our program was going like this.

We just lost to South Carolina. We lost three games, LSU, Alabama, and South Carolina. And, I mean, I thought they were going to throw us off the side of the stadium. And we beat Bobby Bowden's top five Florida State team, beat them handily. I want to say 38-7 or something like that. And in the locker room, Mark, after the game, I remember saying, let them all in.

Let all the, and all of a sudden, 50 recruits come pouring in our locker room and everybody's committing. I remember shaking hands, Percy, and we're just taking, and all our coaches say, no, take him, not him, him. And I didn't care. I think I took 100 commitments that day.

Sign here. Sign here. The program and our coaching staff did this. It flipped. And that's exactly what happened in Tuscaloosa. There was about 100 recruits there, Mark, right? And big-time recruits. I'm meeting four, five, six, seven, eight of them.

I'm like, hey, I know you're coming to Belmont now. I thought you were saying these were like four, five, six, seven, eight star guys. I'm like, we going that high now? No, no. I'm like, hey, I know you're coming to Belmont. Hey, I know you're coming to Belmont. I'm seeing DBs that are 6'4". I'm like, you play DB?

No, but let's go back to when Saban retires, right? Alabama's program is unstable, right? It's rocky. You don't know what's going to happen. Hired DeBoer. He retains the roster. They just go to work. And then now, week what?

What is this? Week five? What was this? So they had three wins. They had the bye week. Now they come and have a validating, certifying win against the Georgia Bulldogs at home and Coach DeBoer validates himself

as the man to run in this program. They have a solid foundation. They are stable. The recruits are there. The players are bought in. He has the support of the fans, support of everyone at Crips and Tide Nation. Alabama is here to stay. Alabama is still on top of the college football world everyone at crimson tide nation alabama is here to stay alabama is still on top of the college football world and they hate to see it but we love to say

it roll damn tight let's go and shout out to you coach deborah because you did that but on to the next we ain't even worry about that we on to the next let's go coach uh-huh part. I don't give a piss about nothing but the tie. Oh my God. I love you so much. All right. You mentioned a cool term, validating win. And guess what? We had another validating win this week. And it came in Orlando. And it, yeah, skull buffs.

What Coach Prime and his buffs were able to do in Orlando, I think maybe the most impressive win of the Dion era in Boulder. Let's get to that in just a second. But can we talk about the scene in Orlando at UCF? what that campus did for us at Big Noon Kickoff. Biggest crowd we've had. DJ Khaled was there. DJ Khaled. One of the big coaches. I can't wait till Coach puts out one of those K-Tel mix albums. Do you remember the old K-Tel stuff? It was like a greatest hits album that would come out during the holidays.

I want Urban Meyer's K-Tel's greatest hits, and it's going to be nothing but dudes that have performed live on Big Noon Kickoff. MG, MGK, right? And all the other guys. Shotgun Kelly. I'm trying to, I'm trying to add all these, I'm trying to add all these artists and music to my iPod. So many great ones, but.

Do people still have iPods? Heck no. I found one because I just moved. I do have one over there. But seriously, can we give full props? We'll talk about the heat and the humidity in a second, but what UCF did and how they showed up, that gives me great hope for that program,

that university going forward. UCF showed up and they showed out. And that campus is beautiful. The support they have from all their students was tremendous. I'm sitting here like two and a half hours from Central Florida. I'm like, I wouldn't mind if my kids go here. You know what I mean? It was a great, beautiful campus,

great, beautiful atmosphere for Big Noon, and I was very, very impressed with UCF. That program is going to continue, too. Yeah, I was at Florida in 05, and they were just starting to invest in South Florida and Central Florida. And you stumble over good players in the state of Florida. I mean, when you walk in, you know, you got some academic stuff and some other stuff. You can't take them all, and obviously just sheer numbers.

And I was like, man, those two programs, if they get the right backing of the support administration, which Central Florida, don't give George O'Leary now. He pushed a lot of people. He built a stadium when everybody said he should do that. Yeah, there's a statue for him there for a reason. And there should be. And I just, will there ever be a time that they overtake some of the three power schools? You have Miami, Florida State, and you have the Gators. And right now, they're the second best team in that state.

And will there ever be a time where they'll go, I asked their athletic director, who was great, by the way, and will there ever be a time that they can go toe-to-toe with the Gators, Florida State, or Miami and beat them in recruiting? When that happens, the tide has changed in this state. The same goes for USF, right? If they get that on field or on campus stadium and

the conversation about them changes a little bit. Let's just talk about the weather real quick in Orlando. All right. So for those who saw the show, we were sweating and it was insanely warm and hot. And then you magnify things when you put the TV lights on when you're on the set. We're going to get to Mark sweating in just a moment. But I like to pride myself in not being much of a sweater. I don't have a whole lot here to get rid of. I'm pretty lean and mean. And when I spring a leak, we're in trouble.

Because it's not going to stop. So our producer, Scott Riddell, he and I were joking after the show. He's like, Rob, you came on set to test your communications with LA and Bruce Feldman, right? And I'm looking at you, Rob. I'm like, oh, wow. He's kind of sweating. The face is a little sweating. We got the shirt on, the tie on, the sport coat.

He goes, and then you put your hand up to block the brightness of the lights. And this is just rehearsal. And I put my hand up here so my eyes are not burned constantly. And he goes, your hand and forearm were just dripping sweat. He's like, that's when I knew we were in trouble. And then I look at Mark coming in with the headgear on and walking in a mini horse. Nugget. Nugget with a K. And I'm like, oh, we are in a mini horse, Nugget, with a K. And I'm like, oh, we are in a world of sweat right now.

I was drenched. I'm like, I got to the seat. You had angel wings. You had the angel wings on the back of your blazer. I didn't know I was sweating like that. It was like, you need to put your jacket on, you're sweating. I'm like, I don't need to put my jacket on because I'm going to sweat through it. I saw the TV copy. I was like, oh, I was sweating. I don't need to put my jacket on because I'm going to sweat through it. Yes. I saw the TV copy. I was like, oh, I was sweating.

I've never seen that. I've never seen that before. You turned around, your back was sopping wet. I should have wore a darker color. Poor decisions. Poor decisions. We'll sort that out. Let's get to the game, right?

Colorado blew out UCF in these conditions, right? You know, Colorado's got that home field advantage with the altitude. And we thought, we thought that the heat and the humidity would slow down Colorado. We thought that the running game for UCF would just be too much for the buffs to handle. Uh-uh. They were two touchdown underdogs per bet MGM, and they won it in convincing fashion, 48 to 12. Joel Platt said that might've been Colorado's best win, I think he said in two decades on our conference call the other day. I was like, whoa. But Coach Prime got himself a win which speaks volumes, Coach, speaks volumes to what he

is creating there in Boulder. You know, I went last year, Mark, to see him practice because I know we had him some games. And I just thought, do my job. This is uncharted waters. I've known Coach Brian for a long time. We've been friends. And he invited me in. I went to meetings. I went to practice. And I texted you guys and called you guys. I said, guys, this is not a 1 in 10 program. They have good players, a couple of great players, and there's some substance behind what shows up in press conferences and all that. And I see him tear into the players. I see the coaches coaching hard, which I think is a sign of a good program.

It's not a huggy-feely feeling at all there, Mark. They coach. And you're starting to see the rewards of the substance behind this stuff. I'm not a big fan of the watches. I'm not. It's almost uncomfortable for me seeing some of the stuff. And if I didn't go to watch the practice and see prime coach and see the coaching staff coach and the players respond, I would have sold my stock on that a long time ago. As you notice, I never sold my stock. Even last year when they kind of fell apart. So there is substance behind it.

I don't know how good they continue to, you know, what's the number on wins. But I'm telling you, there's substance behind that program. There's a ton of substance. And he's creating young men. He's pushing these young men to be the best versions of themselves, both on the field and off the field. And yes, they are a little flashy. They got a little swagger.

They got a little bit of that. But that's Deion's son. That's Coach Prime's son. That's Shadur. And you know it's the Shadur way. But shout out to Shadur, man. Just look at the game he had. He balled out, man.

What is it? 28-35, 290, and three touchdowns. Then you talk about Travis Hunter. 123 snaps. Strike the pose. Strike the pose, Mark. Heisman. Again.

Do I need to go grab my... Do I need to go grab that thing again? Give him that September Heisman. Grab that thing again. No, we in October now. We in October now. We in October now. What that man had?

What he had? Now he catches 89 yards, had an interception. Again. And struck the pose. And struck the pose. And struck the pose. Then the defense, man. How about to the defense?

They caused four turnovers, opportunistic, slowing that rushing offense down to average 375 yards a game, slowed them down, controlled them. Man, shout out to Colorado, man. A big dub, Shadur Sanders, Coach Prime. I need my prime glasses. I don't know where they at. But, yeah, Travis Hunter.

Him and Jalen Milrow, one and two for the Heisman right now. You got Cam Ward up in there. Boy, Ashton Gentry toting that rock. Man, he's... You know what I mean? So, I think we in for a great Heisman race this year. We got some real good ballers up for it. How about Colorado?

Even Ryan Williams. Yes. Colorado sitting at the top of the Big 12 with BYU and Arizona. Those three programs at 2-0 in conference play. And Coach, Prime's got a week off to kind of sit and enjoy and heal and rest his Heisman contender. And then they get back on the field, sitting there at 2-0 on top of the Big 12 and charging, Coach,

charging towards that bowl game. Yeah, and I hope he takes the Lou Holtz advice. And he would always tell me, you coach your team hard after a big win. You never don't, because your team's fragile when you lose. When you win, that's when you kind of turn the screws on them. And I'm sure they are. That would be my advice to prime is, because BYU now,

that's a real team. No joke. They better enjoy the win, but I used to give them 48 hours. That's it, pal. I don't want to even hear about that win again. 24 hours. There was a cool clip last week

of Coach Prime talking to his team leading into the UCF game and how upset he was and frustrated. He said, start practice over, right? Start it all over. Everybody go back, go back to the opening stage, the opening script of this practice. So Dion, he's got the glitz. He's got the smile.

He's got the sexiness. But there is real, real substance going on with Colorado right now. Let's go, boss. Let's go, boss. Let's go,. Let's go boss. Let's go boss. Lady. Miller light, the light beer brewed for people who love the taste of beer and the perfect

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All right, since 2015, this gentleman has been the commissioner of the SEC, Commissioner Greg Sankey, who was almost, almost my athletic director at Colgate University, I just found out a few minutes ago. Commissioner, thanks for joining us. Love to have you on here this week. Good to be with you. And I made a good decision back in 2004, and Colgate seems to be fine without me. They're doing okay, but so is the SEC, my friend. No, we've had a good start. Well, Greg, great to see you again. You've been a friend since 2005, and we've had many, many deep conversations. I want to hit you right out of the jump with this because in 2006, I was the coach at Florida,

and we almost got edged out of the national championship game. I remember a lot of commentators and fans wanted Ohio State and Wolverines to have a rematch. And back then, I thought, you know, I remember the meetings. I said, just this conference has got to start getting respect because I've been around both, and the level of talent high to low in that conference is second to none. And so here you have four of the five top teams in the country in the SEC. You just saw Alabama and Georgia put on a show.

You know, do you feel strength of schedule has always been supposedly part of it in BCS and the CFP? I never really felt it is. You see Georgia lose to Alabama. That's not a loss in my mind. That's a minor setback. I mean, I think it's partly, I know it's a loss, but the way they play, do you think there's enough weight in the fact that you have four of the top five? The reality is some of those teams are going to lose because they play each other is there enough weight for that strength of schedule that the sec plays there that's a really important question particularly in the 16 team sec so in the modern era we've had this now what 17 18 year run of success in the modern era, we've had this now, what, 17, 18-year run of success in the postseason

with teams being in the CFP. Last year, in fact, during our media days, I observed, I thought Georgia was one of the top four teams. So they lose to Alabama in our championship game. The nature of that game, and you both, Urban, Mark, you've both been there, is very different than anything else you experience. You look at this year and you look at schedules. So Georgia plays on the road at Alabama, on the road at Texas, on the road at Ole Miss. At 9-3, they could be a top 4 or 5 team. And the question is, how will people examine those numbers versus another team

that could be 11 and 1 10 and 2 and i've raised that issue i do think we've benefited from strength of schedule you look at georgia this year who plays 10 of its 12 games against teams from the power conferences you know they open with a big win over Clemson. They'll finish against Georgia Tech and in between play games against our league. And you certainly hope that, for example, earns a level of respect with the committee. But we have that over and over and over in our league. It's not simply Georgia.

It's the schedules. When we put the new format together with single division, I would look at somebody's schedule and say, wow, that's a really tough schedule. I look at somebody else's schedule and say, that's a really, really difficult schedule by comparison. So I think so is the direct answer. We've asked the question. I think we've earned respect over time and a lot of football still to be played to answer the question of how the strength of schedule will be viewed and eventually the selection committee has to put its foot on the base if you will on what that really means.

Hey we appreciate you being with us commish but you talk about the strength of schedule we talk about the growth of the conference Texas and Oklahoma are new to the conference this year how do you see them fitting in? How do you think they have fit in so far? And where do you see this conference being in five years? We've worked hard because it's been a three-year transition process. I think the longest change from announcement to entry of a new member ever that I've experienced. And that's because of contracts and media agreements.

But that's allowed us to prepare. So the transition has been close to seamless. I'll go back to during those three years, we wanted to be respectful. There wasn't a lot of flag waving. You didn't see our logos in Norman or in Austin. We certainly were talked about. And then when we came to June 30th, July 1st, we had a couple of big celebrations and now they want to beat our teams that are conference members and our teams want to beat them. That's the natural order of things. I think, for example, you saw in Austin, they played Mississippi State, ends up being a tough game just because of talent and focus on conference games. Oklahoma lost that first game, but just a tough game to Tennessee at home. And across the

board, I think just really, really good fits. As I look out five years, I'm not focused on numbers. I think the quality of our 16 members stands unique by comparison. In other words words above in a unique way uh competitively across the board we have 22 championships 11 of those sports so 11 of the sports we sponsor have the defending national champion um in our league this year so last year our 16 teams won half the national championships and that's we didn't win football last year which which was disappointing. So I think there's great strength, great attention. We've had great viewership so far. We have a new relationship from a media standpoint that's working well. And I'm really excited about our future.

And we can stay at 16. I am highly attentive to what happens around me, though, and we'll be prepared if further adjustment is needed. Just one quick follow-up on that um you you you spoke with coach urban about the strength of schedules and you have two new members and oklahoma schedule is much different than texas schedule you look at those what goes into choosing those schedules and how does oklahoma get introduced that way and texas get introduced a different way sure we we spent spent years. So during those three years, we weren't just sitting back waiting for membership entry. And we ran through a set

of analytics and you have to pick a date. So we actually looked post-expansion of our 14 teams after the single division format was decided. So keep in mind that the East-West format created huge imbalances in strength of schedule. In fact, if you were to have a perfectly balanced schedule for each team, their opponents would essentially be 500 with win-loss record. They would have won as much as they lost. Well, if you've got a team like Georgia that's 1-1-1, it's impossible for them to play each other. If you have a team at the bottom that's had a lot of losses, it's impossible for them to play each other. So that creates some variances. What we used to have is a range from about 44% winning percentage in a schedule up to about the low mid 60s. So an 18 percentage point variance and the divisional format between

the easiest schedule and the hardest schedule. Over that post expansion timeframe, using the single division format, what we did is narrow that discrepancy down to about six percentage points. In other words, we go six to eight percentage points. We go from about 47% winning percentage to about 54% winning percentage. So the bandwidth is narrow. You're never going to have perfect symmetry and schedule. And then what you have on a year-to-year basis is somebody may have gone 10-2 last year that over a 10-year period was underperforming by comparison. So you take Missouri from about 2014 to 2023,

but in 2023, they go 11 and two overall. That makes the schedule look more difficult. Now, what you have to do is play this year's team, not the last decade's scheduling analysis. And through our work, the schedules are much more balanced than our divisional format, but you're going to have those analyses, particularly in a transfer portal era, where rosters can change rapidly and it's much more unpredictable. Commissioner, you consider yourself a football fan, correct? Yeah. Okay. There was some hesitation in that.

I'm going to tell you it's work. Yeah, it's work I mean it's work all right so ask urban like are you a football fan sure but man when you're in it it's work okay so I I remember I I remember at times Greg I hated football yeah well I I've looked at my my wife a couple times around events and said I hate sports So it's a wild swing from time to time. Right. So I'm curious how you handled the amazing game in Tuscaloosa, right? As a football fan with the ebbs and the flows, the moments to stand up and scream and yell and sigh and exhale, but also having that commissioner hat on at the same time.

How did you take in this amazing game? That was Georgia at Alabama. He wanted the tide to roll. I mean, he's right in Birmingham. He's right in Birmingham. It's just natural. I rolled in from Oxford. So I'd been at the Kentucky Ole Miss game to start the day. And I'll just tell you my favorite part of the week when I'm able to, is to attend the early kickoff game, stand in the end zone by myself for about 10 minutes and just appreciate the game. So the debt,

the deep answer Rob to your question is I actually love that few minutes to watch. And then when you're in the end zone, like I don't know why teams are on the sideline because the best views from the end zone, you can see the line play in a whole different way. You can see receivers breaking or being covered and you can see where the quarterback's looking.

I just think like the high coaches end zone view is the best way to see a game in my opinion. That said, I had on a green sport coat. So let's be clear about that. And for a conference game, you kind of go numb. And there's a couple of pictures that people sent me where touchdowns were scored right in front of me. And it's an expressionless moment. My hands might be in my pockets or my arms crossed, but you appreciate the competition. And people would ask me what I thought about that game. So this is the Georgia-Alabama game from this past weekend. And there are times I wasn't convinced to believe what I was seeing play out,

like the early run of Alabama to build up that lead and then the comeback of Georgia. But that's the drama that's inherent in college football that I think is so unique and the emotion in the stadium that pours out the emotion on the sidelines. There's a lot of football played at different levels, but I don't think there's anything that compares to that type of experience. Hey, Kamish, we've one of my close friends. We've had some deep, deep conversations about how to make the game stay great and I appreciate that. And I found out, I guess it's public now,

that the Big Ten and SEC ADs and you and Commissioner Petitti are going to meet. This is mesmerizing to me because I grew up in Ohio, a Big Ten guy, but I'm also an SEC guy, is that you just see a future that potentially two power conferences. I'm not sure what you can speak to about that, but I think the world is going through potentially North versus South, Big Ten versus SEC.

Once again, I know you got to be careful what you say, but just your thoughts on that. I'm happy to speak to that. So when you go back to the introduction, I started in this role in 2015. And even though I knew all the commissioners at that time, I'm the new guy in the chair, and it is different to be in the chair. You can be as close to it as you want. And I've told staff in our office, the most cherished words are, I think that, right? So Irvin, you've worked with coordinators and assistant coaches. Coach, I think that. And like whatever comes after that is great, but then somebody has to make the decision you have

to make the decision on fourth down you have to make the decision to to start a particular quarterback and you're at the end of the hall making that decision so in 2015 i'm new i knew jim delaney i knew john swafford bob bowlsby larry scott and then when you go through covid we'd had a change in the Big Ten. And then post COVID, everybody else changed. So all of a sudden, I'm the longest tenured among those commissioners. Then we've had the Pac-12, as we knew it, evaporate, if you will. And so just looking around, Tony is someone who I knew from his work with CBS, but just at kind of a low level. And then with Major League Baseball, we were in some meetings together when I was the SEC commissioner.

And he reached out to me pretty early on. And part of my observation relative to our meetings, and it's an outgrowth of an advisory group we formed in the spring is if we can set a direction that we can agree on others have the opportunity to participate and follow so that's the fundamental urban and it's it's not as if we're just going to unilaterally change the world in an athletics directors meeting but we do need to talk about issues around legal settlement to the extent we're permitted to legally. We have to be careful about the boundaries. There was a report, like nobody called me, there was a report the day before we record this podcast about we're going to have a scheduling agreement.

Well, we've played basketball challenges with people. Should we be talking about those things? I think certainly. Will that change things? Tony and I've talked about how playing rules are made. We've talked about how decisions are made in the NCAA. And I think one of my learning lessons over the last decade is we have enormous challenges in front of college sports. We have enormous opportunities and enormous support. We're not going to meet the challenges in front of us in big rooms filled with people, which is kind of the NCAA way, because there's so much disparity among the programs. And this ability to move from the way we've always done things to the way we're going to need to do things is accelerating more rapidly.

And so that causes us to narrow the conversation a bit. What we want to do is bring people into that conversation eventually. But it starts with, can the two conferences come together around some common thoughts? I think this is really compelling. I didn't mean to interrupt my partners here, but I've always felt, I wouldn't mind you hitting that a little harder, is that the differences between the top 20 and the and and it's not i i coached a bowling green it was it was incredible but it's a whole different set of problems solutions conversations really that you have to have at that level and there's the other level that i would pull my hair out, Greg, at those meetings, the AFCA coaches, and I'm like, wait a minute, who's on this committee?

They have no idea, and I would stand up, and everybody thought I was a bad guy because I was speaking, because I lived it. Wait a minute, we don't, so please speak to that. And once again, we're not being disrespectful for anybody. It's reality. I'll take one of these issues that that's been over time is i was commissioner of the southland conference 25 years ago one double a football fcs now really great

football i mean some guys jeremiah trotter who played linebacker at philadelphia played steven f austin um you know joe dumars played at macneese state played in the nba for the pistons and great experiences but a different world. And I show up here and there's all these accusations about, hey, coaches are bumping people in the hallways. I mean, Irvin, you and I live this. And you look at it and say, well, really, who cares? You can't walk in as the head coach at any of our universities and not have people talk to you. I remember somebody complained about Lou Holtz walking through a high school hallway. It's like my first month. And I have to talk to you. I remember somebody complained about Lou Holtz walking through high school hallways like my first month. And like, I have to deal with that. That doesn't happen

every place. And that's like a microcosm to me of the lack of understanding that exists nationally, where I actually think we should be having those types of conversations in high schools between our coaches and kids in ninth grade, give them an aspirational goal, come play for our program. And then you get down to the expectations, the pressure, and the support, right? And I didn't put those in any order. There's great support for our programs. But with that great support, there were a different level of external expectations. And Urban, you as a coach at Bowling Green had an internal drive, right, to succeed. But different external expectations.

Yeah, you know, we want you to do well. But hey, if you don't win them all, doggone it, we're happy to have you. You go to Utah and you set a new standard there, right? But that internal fire, you know, that flame burned brightly. And then you go to Florida, you still have that internal expectation. I think this is across the board for our coaches. But then you have all of these external expectations. You have great support. And that's a whole different way of living, way of thinking, way of dealing with things. And I respect greatly. In fact, I've gone to coaches to say,

hey, thanks for being part of the SEC because you came here from someplace else and you had a decision whether you wanted to jump into this and challenge yourself that way. And I have great respect for those folks who do that in whatever sport it is. The reality, though, is when you show up in a room and are trying to debate when we should recruit, how we should recruit, it's a whole different reality.

Some in Division I sponsor sports just so they can build their enrollment profile. That's not our reality. Sure, it's an enrollment process, but there's a lot more happening here, and those differences have to be recognized. And that's where I think the decision making process nationally has to change and if it doesn't change that's when the threats of kind of just divergence are real that we're gonna have to we're gonna have to figure something out under the big tent and if we can't and if we're gonna have to explore it then we're gonna have a very different reality in the future we're in a new day and age of college football. You know, topic is NIL, players getting paid.

We've seen over the last few weeks that some of these players are starting to redshirt themselves to transfer to another program, possibly make more money. Is there anything that the NCAA could do, or is it on the individual conferences, or even the U.S. Congress to be able to stop this and put some regulations on it? What's your take on that? Well, we're dealing with a set of realities. So anything that's changed over the last five years is the state level activity to tell us how to run college sports. And that's combined with federal lawsuits, federal litigation and outcomes that have forced change, forced change. And Mark, some of that change is what you're talking about.

I'll just go back to something that the NCAA did a few years ago, which was everybody was in love with this four game redshirt rule. Let everybody play four games. We can figure it out. Well, now you're seeing there are now we've now created a deadline. Right. Hey, you know what? Either it's another leverage point in addition to the transfer portal. And should that remain? So the NCAA has certain authority that's changed and it's been reduced.

Conferences can have certain authority on how they do things. Like we changed our rule and don't have a spring transfer portal for intra-conference transfers. I think that's made our environment a bit healthier. We have to deal with litigation. So there's a settlement that would allow potentially if it's approved by the court, which we don't control, some oversight of name, image, and likeness activity and some institutional opportunities to provide economic support to student athletes. We still have, though, varying state laws. We have state attorney generals who have filed some lawsuits that limit transfer regulation, that have limited NIL oversight. And that puts you into this congressional conversation. Congress is a place where you can set a national standard. So we can have final fours, college world series, and college football playoffs. Without a national standard, I think that's going to become more difficult. And our student athletes are saying, hey,

I just want to know that when I'm across the line of scrimmage from somebody, they're held to the same set of standards I'm held to. I think that's a fair ask. Our young people are asking for what is essentially consumer protection because some of these stories that we've seen over the last few weeks indicate that promises were made that weren't fulfilled. There's no protection for a young person in this system. They have no idea the credibility of the so-called agent representing them. Those are not healthy environments. And this is not some 60-year-old conference commissioner with gray hair, you know, and that gray hair being on fire saying,

we can't do it this way. Everybody get off my lawn. We have to change. That change is happening. We have to have a system that defines the right competitive environment? What's the structure that provides some protection for the participants in a new way and allows us to have national competition? Because, hey, it's pretty cool when Texas goes up to Ann Arbor and plays a football game. I've never been there. I went to the game. That should continue to happen. We want that to happen. But we need that national standard to help that happen. We want that to happen. But we need that national standard to help that happen. You keep mentioning the word change, change in college football, change off the field in college football. Do you forecast a time in the near future, say five years, 10 years, where college

football has a commissioner right now, like the NFL does, that is looking upon all of college football and making the decisions that are best for the game. It's interesting because it used to be called a czar and I'd point out like the czar thing didn't work really well. Correct. That's why I went with commissioner. It's a little softer. Rob, that's the Colgate education. That's that Colgate education. Drug czars didn't really solve the drug problem. We're into the commissioner label. I'll go back to COVID. So it's a simple observation. Somebody should be in charge, right? Okay. Go back to COVID. That wouldn't have worked very well. And we had to make some decisions based on the information we had that I think had been justified as being appropriate to provide

opportunities, keep people connected to their team, rather than this notion of just canceling things and losing a year in life and you never get the year back. And I identify that to say that means that people are going to have to give authority someplace other than their local group, which they've agreed to be a part of voluntarily. I think that's a big conversation. I think there's probably more of that conversation happening now because of the disdain for what's happened in some compartments. But just having a commissioner wouldn't solve the transfer portal and the legalities around that. It wouldn't solve the name, image, and likeness

issues. It wouldn't resolve lawsuits. And so we have to deal with what's in front of us. We're going to have to deal with that in the system we have, and it's going to have to adapt. Would that lend itself to some kind of central coordination? I think that's a lot more difficult proposition than people understand. And that's why I go back to the COVID example to say, you know, that didn't work so well. And you could put in these independent entities, some central authority and have your own level of walk away, if you will, from decision. So it'll be talked about. I've studied it a little bit. And I come back to, I don't want to dumb down the Southeastern Conference to be part of some super league notion with 70 teams that some people speculate would happen.

They want to be us and that's on them to figure it out, not on me to bring myself back to earth. I'm coming to you though. I'm coming to you, Commissioner Sankey, with the offer that I want you to be the commissioner of college football, all right, that I somehow have accrued this power to make that decision. Is that something that you would accept? I love my job here. So I'm going to be commissioner of the Southeastern Conference. And I avoid hypotheticals like that, because I know the work that's needed to achieve that type of outcome. And I think generally, and I mean this respectfully to the question, Rob, there's a naivete about what that means. And that's why I try to go back to a tangible example of what it would have meant during a period of time.

Like I once said, yeah, we could make our own decision in May of 20 about playing that fall and like the world flipped out um but we had the independence to make our decision so people have to think long and hard about what it actually means before they sign on and that would include me i'm curious go ahead coach yeah i just got a question uh regarding our favorite topic enforcement enforcement, NCAA, and what's happened in the last 15 years with the litigation. And I almost defend the NCAA now because I went through so much watching it and meeting with you. And you'd see stuff like you said, and I think probably half of it was nonsense when people told me.

But I saw a number that the NCAAs paid on litigation. Every decision they made for the last 15 years was litigated, and really they lost, the majority of them. The amount of resources that have gone to attorneys and just that. And as a result, you're getting memos and you're getting really something without guardrails right now. I watch, I listen, I have many colleagues still in this game. You are operating right now with very little guardrails. And I'm not saying it's bad. I mean, you watch TV, it might be the best college football has ever been.

But I worry about life without guardrails. Same. has ever been but i worry about life without guardrails uh same um and it is often difficult for people to conjure up sympathy for the ncaa it's like you know i'm from the federal government i'm here to help i'm from the ncaa i'm here to help are kind of the same things that that people judge but you do need a set of national standards. I think what's happened collectively is this push and pull from a system that worked, it was perceived as really well for decades. The money escalated, the external pressures increased, and collectively, we didn't react. And so we should all point fingers at ourselves to a certain extent. And that's now causing us to make decades worth of change in a matter of months.

And we just have to be honest about that reality. And I would just observe more deeply that we shouldn't be concerned about the impact of lack of guardrails. And we talk about the game. We talk about the environment around college sports. I'm actually concerned about individuals. I remember my maturity level at 19 and 20 and 21 years old. And maybe it was better than average, but it still wasn't great. I don't know how you go from the six-figure NIL deal as part of a team where in that sport, you have this small chance of playing professionally. And the majority of people won't, even in my league, won't have that professional opportunity.

Then they go to that entry-level job and their boss says, I need you here at this time. They've learned that playing football, right? They've learned about accountability. They've learned that playing football, right? They've learned about accountability. They've learned about teammates, but all of a sudden they're making $45,000 a year for a full time job and being asked not to just work like eight to five because those jobs don't exist. If you have that fire we talked about when you were coaching, right? Part of it started when you were a GA and nobody cared that you were making $800 a month. So how do you go from this experience at the college level where everything's provided, you have concierge medical care,

concierge medical or mental wellness care, you have nutritionists around you, you have NIL deals to an entry-level job where you're lost. And we're not going to understand the impact of that reality for a number of years. We should be concerned about that. Because I think what will happen on the backside of this is going to be this next wave of criticism. Wow, look at what you did. This sense of perhaps entitlement's a word that's used. I do think education happens in our programs. You guys have lived it.

People go from adolescence to adulthood in college sports. We have to make sure that continues to happen. And then we set them up for success, not build these expectations up about what life is when you enter society outside of the basketball arena or the football stadium. And those expectations can't be met. That's a hard reality. Yeah. can't be mapped. That's a hard reality. Commissioner, give me two, three things that you would like to see changed in college football to make it better for the players, for the institutions, for the coaches, for the fans. I want young people to line up across the

line of scrimmage and understand that the people on the other side are held to the same set of standards that they are. Let's start there. I think that's fair for everybody. And I think our young people are asking for that. That's not some naive conference commissioner. That's one. Second, the young people involved deserve protection around their economic interests. So as it's opened up, it's sped up their realities and the oversight is not kept up. And I think we have some opportunities to achieve that depending on directions of settlement outcomes. And I think the third is we need to recognize we're still developing young people. And that emphasis and accountability needs to be there and needs to be allowed to be there.

The development of resilience, the development of grit, the development of an educated mind, the development of growth, the ability to even come back if you didn't achieve that during your four or five years on campus, that needs to be focused. So I would identify those three as early priorities. And they tie into national standards to having the right kind of oversight and accountability to defining a competitive framework that can work for college athletics. We were just yelling at Mark the other day about finishing up his degree, right? You promised that to mom and it's not as easy as it sounds, right, Mark?

It's not as easy as it sounds, but I got some people in my corner. You got some peeps? Like commissioners saying that, want that for me, it's important some people in my corner, like Commissioner saying that want that for me, who is important to them back on campus, back at the university. So I'm working to get that done, and I am going to get that done. But it's thanks to exactly what Commissioner's saying, just to remember that you're developing young people. And if they don't get it in the first four to three, four or five years, then they could come back and get it. And in Alabama, they have a great staff,

great support from the academic side. And I got people who care about me and want to see me do well. And it's important to them. So I am going to get that done, Stoner. It's going to be an awesome graduation party. Commissioner, you're invited to it. Yeah, I will take that.

I'm going to tell you a story. Wilbur Hackett. Mark, you would have run by him. He was an umpire in my league. Urban, he officiated your games. He was one of the guys that broke the color barrier at the University of Kentucky back in the late 60s. Wilbur got his degree just a few years ago in his 60s. That's okay.

My mom finished her college degree. She had kids in her 20s, finished her college degree in her late 40s. That's what we do. But there's an attachment and one time i was in tuscaloosa and it happens over and over i saw paul skeens at the all-star game i said hey where are you going to live he said baton rouge because that became special to me i saw one of your teammates once mark in the hallway when i was speaking to a class the university of alabama and he was playing in the nfl and it was a monday and he was an off day

and like why are you here he He said, this is home. Those are the things that are done right. Those are relationships that are made. And sometimes it takes a while for people to figure it out, right? That's okay. But we talk intentionally about, Mark, what you're describing. Work to bring people back, invite them back. That's our responsibility.

So when I graduate, you're gonna come uh celebrate with me you send me an invitation i don't know if i can can hang with you in the celebration part but why not we'll get around surfing with i don't know how late it's gonna go but i'll be there for the it'll have an early start in a late conclusion i'll be there for the gray haired part of it hey that's fair enough. Hey, hey, starter, you know,

you know what we do. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Commissioner, we've been bombarding you with questions here for like the last 35 minutes. So we like to conclude with offering you the opportunity to throw a question at

us. Urban. I was in, uh, that's always goes there yeah i'll start there i was in that stadium in phoenix and i walked in with john mccain senator mccain introduced myself and he predicted you were going to win and he described why the defensive line speed but what was it like after your career to stand up with that crystal football in that moment i wish you would have tapped your head or gave me some signal that said we were going to win because you know who actually thought we were going to win went to the house right away i know that was not a good start charlie strong you know the

assistant head coach and dear friend of mine said, we're going to, you know, because we started watching who they played and who we played. And again, went to what we talked about earlier. We're playing, you know, we're playing Auburn, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, you know, bam, bam, bam, right in a row. So our guys are weathered. So to answer your question, after that game, I summoned my father and my Earl Bruce,

my mentor, the coach that followed Woody Hayes, and we sat in the bowels of the stadium in Phoenix. And I looked at him and I said, this is unbelievable.

I get to coach for fun now. We did it. No more stress. That might have been the most incorrect statement ever to come out of someone's mouth. Because Mack Brown and I talked about it no more stress. That might've been the most incorrect statement ever to come out of someone's mouth because Mack Brown and I talked about it. Commish everything you do is national

championship or bust everything in this. Yeah. So it was incredible. Well, commissioner, since 2016, it just means more is the, is the motto that you and your conference have lived by. And we appreciate everything that you do for college football. You are one of, if not the strongest voice in college football out there. And for you to join us on the triple option, we really, really appreciate it. And continued success. Hope you guys get a lot out of that meeting coming up with the Big Ten. No, I appreciate that. We've got great colleagues all across the country look forward to that meeting and thanks for the opportunity to have a conversation and hopefully i'll see you guys

on the road at um one of these match-ups we have in the future we appreciate you we appreciate you commissioner but um well you missed you had a big whiff in your career you could have been the colgate athletic director but maybe at some point you can still go back. You can still, I was, that was the year after they went to the one double a national championship game. So I was thinking about working at a football power. Oh yeah. Yes. Uh, they lost to, uh, Delaware. Uh, Joe Biden was at that game. I interviewed him for that. Yeah. That was not a, that was not a nail biter. We got run We got run. I know we're at the end. I'll also say one of the great selfless things I've seen is a guy named Don Vaughn, who was the hockey coach. Yes.

Who had a great team and stepped in the interim AD role that year when Mark Murphy had left. And I think those are the moments that are unappreciated in college sports. And it happens at our level where people are selfless in how they contribute. Well, we saw Bob Stoops do that with Oklahoma a couple of years ago, right? As well, as well. Who knew there would be so much Colgate talk on this interview with the SEC commissioner? I wasn't expecting it. You can survive a winter in central New York, which Urban has done. You can do great things in life. And Bob Iger, Rob Manfred. I mean, there's a lot of people that have lived that life.

Roger Goodell is a Western New York guy, but you survive a winter in Central New York. You can do great things in life. Yes. Thanks, Commissioner. Agree. Commissioner, thanks so much. Peace. All right. Welcome back to The Triple Option brought to you by our great partner at Wendy's. And let's talk about the madness that took place in Las Vegas, not on the strip, but over at UNLV. Their quarterback, Matthew Sluka, a disagreement with an NIL promise. He said he was going to receive $100,000 to transfer from that football powerhouse in Worcester, Massachusetts. Holy Cross did not receive all of it. The school collective was going to pay about $3K a month for the next four months, but that's $88,000 less than what was verbally promised to him.

The NCAA had a statement about how all of this went. The NCAA fully supports college athletes profiting from their NIL, but unfortunately, there is little oversight or accountability in the NIL space, and far too often, promises made to student athletes are broken. So UNLV goes without their starting quarterback. They were unbeaten, and guess what? They're still unbeaten. 4-0 for the first time since they became a D1 football program. They pounded Fresno State 59-14. The new QB, give it up for Mickey Keene, threw for 316, had a touchdown. UNLV this week for the first time ever is in the AP rankings, coming in at number 25. So congratulations to that staff and to those players able to overcome

all the off-field chaos and noise and get a win over a respectable Fresno State program, get themselves into the top 25. But coach, this type of stuff is thorny. It's very he said, she said. And the NCAA feels very much handcuffed, coach, to do anything about this. Yeah. You're in a world of... And the commissioner and I, we talked about a life without guardrails. And the people, when you start making promises, and I think Brady Quinn said it on Big Noon, and I don't know all the intricacies of the agent world, but some of these people aren't really registered agents. So there's people making decisions that I used to call them the third uncles, whoever those people are, people making promises.

That's real money. If that's all true, once again, if that's all true, that's real money. However, this is a person, this is a player, this is a young, was he 21 probably or 20 years old, making life-changing decisions. What happens? He leaves UNLV. UNLV wins with their backup quarterback, throws 300-plus yards against Fresno State. Now

they're ranked for the first time in maybe history. I don't know that. They're 4-0 for the first time. So I mean, this pains me a little bit because I've given my life to college football. I love players. I love everything about this, but it makes me, it breaks my heart that this is really happening and it's not going to stop. Rob, I have a story that I know a coach that called me, his voice is shaking. His best player was going to step out on the team last week and he didn't do it. You know why? The players went to him and he ended up playing. But this, until they get this thing under control, Mark, can you really leave your team right in the middle of a run? I don't get that. Apparently you can.

Yeah, it's hard to swallow. But coach, the legal ease out there, the numbers that are being spent by the NCAA to defend themselves is astronomical. Yeah, let me go there. And then I want mark's opinion on the player element of that but so the ncaa when i first started coaching was they were by far they were in charge it was the ncaa everybody was horrified yeah of the ncaa i was everybody's everybody uh des brian i believe he was at Oklahoma State. He lied to the NCAA. They he never could play again.

I mean, coaches, you had to sign stuff and player. I mean, you could not. We you you had a rule book like that and you memorized it. We had to take a test every year. You memorize the book. You know what? The NCAA has become a toothless organization because I'm going to throw a couple numbers at you here, Mark.

A decade ago, they averaged $10 million a year in legal fees. Now, it's $234 million over the last four years. Per year? In 2023, $61 million in legal fees. And they're spending legal fees, but they're losing.

They're losing the litigation. That's why, as of right now, on October 1, there are basically no rules in the sport of college football in recruiting, tampering, and what you can give players. No rules.

$234 million over the last four years just in legal fees, and they're taking L's? And they lost, yeah. Come on. Those aren't winning. Those aren't winning legal fees. They've lost. Those are losing legal fees and they're taking L's. And they lost. Yeah. Come on. Those aren't winning. Those aren't winning legal fees. They've lost. Those are losing legal fees. But listen here,

like this is, it's just crazy right now. What's going on? But like, you can't expect to tell a player to transfer from his school and not live up to the compensation that you promised you were going to give him. But at the same time, that's what's wrong with this thing.

There's no contracts. It's just a handshake. It's on a promise. Like, this is just crazy right now. But at the same time, like, you can't expect a player to go play and you're not giving him what you said you were going to give him. But at the same time, as a player, I don't know how you're 3-0, 4-0, leading your conference, leading your division,

and shoot, you just quit on your guys? It's the day and age that we're in, man. It's just the Wild, Wild West out here. It's tough to say. Mark, you just said something interesting. You can't say you're going to do it and not do it. UNLV is saying that didn't happen. There's no con.

Here's the thing. There's no contract. There's no, who said it? Some agent or some uncle or some, who said, that's the, he said issue going on right now. Yeah. Yeah. But as the player, I know like, okay, if you told me 300,000, I would spend 300,000. If you told me a hundred thousand, I'm expecting a hundred thousand. If you give. But as the player, I know, like, okay, if you told me $300,000, I would spend $300,000.

If you told me $100,000, I would spend $100,000. If you give me what I ask for, I'm good. But, like, you can't just lie to me. But at the same time, I developed a relationship with these players. And, like, we winning. We're doing good. Like, I can't just walk out on you. But it's just wild, man.

It's a wild day and age. I'm built a little different, man. I'm old school, man. I was raised by OG. You know my pops coach. And he wasn't going for none of that, man. It's a wild day and age. I'm built a little different, man. I'm old school, man. I was raised by OG. You know my pops coach. And he wasn't going for none of that, man. And these players are leaving now at this juncture in the season because they can salvage another year.

They can raise your... And they can say to themselves, yeah, that, hey, my price point is going to rise. I'm going to be more valuable going forward next year. If I can save this season, somebody else is going to want me, is going to want to pay me more. And these are the type of decisions that they are being made. And who knows, you're right, coach, who's guiding these people? Who knows if these are really the right decisions? But I know if I was a head coach, if I was in charge of a collective, and I know somebody bailed on a team earlier, I'd be a little hesitant to bring that player in.

Coach, I still want to know. Maybe that's just me. Coach, I still want to know. You said you want to see the numbers on players who enter the portal. How successful has that been for them? How has the decision gone for them? There needs to be a study on that. It's a mixed bag, for sure.

It's mysteriously not published. I don't get that. Because yeah, they're going to tell the story of Dylan Gabriel who transferred and he's having a heck of a year. Cam Ward. Which is great. But what about, there's 3,000 people wanted to portal. There's not that many athletes. And a lot of them get left without scholarships.

Yes. there's not that many athletes and a lot of them get left without scholarships yes certainly end up in places that are not as good as they just left and just because the way i was raised academically network and all that that's more important than the 25 grand you're going to get because i got news nil for the 95 of college athletes it's done when they're done playing college football. They're done. So they got to go work for 45, 50 years. Yeah. Ain't nothing worth me risking my relationship with my university.

I love my university. I mean, you know what I mean? Look the way they treat you. Yes. Look the way they treat you. The networks, the relationships, all of that. Like, it's something that goes with that. Staying at a program, building those relationships,

building those networks, getting involved with the alumni. And I'm blessed that I went to Bama because we got a great network. And a great net worth. Net worth as well. All right, let's talk pick six brought to you by BetMGM. Place your money line, prop, parlay, and same game parlay. Bet's over at BetMGM. Just your money line. Prop, Parlay, and same game, Parlay. Bet's over at BetMGM. Just download that

app today. As always, please gamble responsibly. All right. Six games against the spread. Mark always, he's got his deuce-deuce dog of the week. It's a subdued. Maybe it's a deuce-deuce dog of the week. Hasn't been fed yet. The blood sugar's a little low.

Remember, all of these lines are current as of Tuesday. They can change. We're excited to find out where Mark's underdog Deuce Deuce Dog of the Week is. Let's start in Columbus, Coach, with you. Iowa, 3-1 at the Buckeyes. Buckeyes favored by 19.5. Coach, your team's sitting at number three again and next Saturday they have that big game that big trip to Oregon but they have to take care of business at home

with a good Iowa team first I still think arguably the best roster in college football but you know Alabama Georgia you got to keep them above them and same with Texas just because they they you know they've been in a street fight. Ohio State has not. Iowa's tough. Iowa's rugged. They got us one time. We went up to Iowa City at night, and it was a tough loss, but they're so one-sided right now. They have one of the best running backs, Caleb Johnson. Mark, I don't know if you watched him yet. He's a freaking master running back at Iowa. A master.

But they're going against the number one defense in the country. And I just think with lack of balance, they still can't throw the ball. Can you stop the run? Yes, you can stop the run. Anybody can stop the run. You put physically more people up there, then that's what's going to happen. They're going to stop Iowa's run game. And Ohio State, I'm going to take Ohio State. The point spread is now down to,

what is it, 19-5. I'm taking Ohio State to cover. The cover. That Oregon distraction out there, it's not going to impact them? Yeah, sure it will a little bit, but no, I think it's a veteran team. Maybe the most veteran team

of the big boys in the country right now. That's how many veterans they have back. They're built for it, Coach. They are built for it. Just one ranked game this week, guys. Number nine, Missouri at number 25, Texas A&M. Mizzou 4-0, A&M

4-1, and the Aggies at home favored by 2.5. They've won four straight games after that season opening loss, but those last two wins, E, right? Bowling Green, Arkansas, less than impressive fashion, E. Mizzou, as we mentioned, unbeaten, coming off a bye week, but they've looked vulnerable as well over the course of their last two games. They've needed second-half comebacks, Ebacks to beat BC by six and Vanderbilt.

Double OT. You need double OT to beat Vanderbilt. Sorry, Vandy, but that's the reality of who you are. On big noon last Saturday, we had planned for, we never executed, but we had planned to talk about the most overrated teams out there. Let's just say Missouri attracted a lot of attention among our experts in talking about that.

I agree with them. I like the Aggies to win and to cover. Ole Miss off their first loss of the season, now down to 4-1. They are at South Carolina. Ole Miss favored by nine. Five unbeaten ranked teams fell last week, including Ole Miss. They did that to Kentucky. The Rebels down six spots to number 12.

And they're in a tough place, Coach. Mark, you know how tough it is to win down there in South Carolina. Am I hearing some barking? All right, all right, all right. There it is. What's the line? Nine, nine and a half? Nine and a half.

Nine and a half. Nine. I'm sorry, down to nine. Down to nine. That means people are betting Gamecocks? Mmm. All right, all right. There it is.

The Ole Miss is coming off their only loss of the season at Kentucky. Tough loss. And they got to go on the road to a tough place to play ball, a tough place to get you a victory in South Carolina. South Carolina, the Gamecocks, they're getting their quarterback back. Lenore Sellers, they're coming off the bye week. He had an ankle injury in the first half and that heartbreaking loss to LSU. And in their defense, they got two edge rushers who are all world,

who are all SEC. Listen, this team, this defense, these edge rushers, they the real deal. They the holy field. They the real deal holy field. And I just think, man, I'm going to take South Carolina with the points. I am. And that's going to be my dog of the week. And I got Ole Miss in the fighting.

Lane Kiffin's bouncing back this week. I got him bouncing back off a tough loss. Jackson Dart. I got him bouncing back. I think they're going to win this game. But I do think it's going to be a close game. South Carolina is never an easy game. Might come down to the end,

but I'm definitely taking the Gamecocks with the points. And that's your... Okay, let's stay in the SEC. Coach's favorite team in orange, Tennessee. 4-0, a 13.5-point favorite on the road at 3-2 Arkansas. Yeah, I'm still a Tennessee bandwagon guy. I think they're a top-four team in the country. It'd be hard to rank those four, though, maybe top five.

But Nico I, I've talked about him over and over again. He's certainly a Heisman candidate. He won't win it with the other performances. But I'm going to talk about the Tennessee defense. Number one total defense in America. And that's the thing that's overshadowed because everyone's talking about that offense. So it's one of the two or three most balanced teams in America

as far as offense defense. I'm going to pick Tennessee to cover the spread. 13.5, 13.5 point favorite. I'm taking Tennessee. Rematch of last season's national championship game won by the team up north, Michigan 34-13 over Washington. This time it's in Seattle. Wolverines up two spots to number 10.

They're at four and one and they have their first road game of the year. Here we are, October and Michigan finally goes on the road. Last week, the defending national champs defended the little brown jug. They won at home over Minnesota. But the passing game, certainly still a concern. Alex Orji last week, 10 of 18, 86 yards, touchdown, and an interception. So the last two weeks, as a starter, he's won, right?

That's all that matters. He's 2-0. They've thrown it 30 times for a total of 118 yards. Sharon Moore, the head coach, saying it's a work in progress. Thank you for the understatement of the college football season. As for Washington, 3-2, but both of those losses by less than a touchdown. They're number 10 in total defense, number 21 in total offense. Better rankings, I think, than you would assume for a three and two team. They are really good at home, guys. 17 straight home wins. It's a purple out in Seattle. Saucy nugs. In Seattle. I think Michigan's program record

27 consecutive Big Ten win streak comes to an end. Huskies. Watch this one. Huskies win it by three, courtesy of a walk-off field goal. I'm calling it right now.

In Seattle. Hey, how about Friday night down in the hotel? of a walk-off field goal. I'm calling it right now in Seattle. Oh, my goodness, though, man. Hey, how about Friday night down in the hotel lobby? Hotel bar? Oh, I'm sorry. I was going to call it the lobby, but yeah, the hotel bar. We were watching a thrilling, frantic... Yeah, the saxophone guy was playing in Orlando.

The frantic finish in the ACC as Miami able to hold off Virginia Tech, remain unbeaten. Now they go cross country, Mark, to meet surprise side three and one Cal. Yeah, man. They got to go to the West Coast. You know what I mean? But it's fine. They'll gain some time.

I don't think it's going to be that big of a deal for them. Cam Ward. Favored by 10. Favored by 10 is Miami. Cam Ward, this offense, they've been electric all year long. He's throwing for 356 yards a game. Oh, let me clear my throat. Let me clear my throat.

Yeah, 356 yards passing per game, 18 touchdowns, four interceptions. He's in the Heisman conversation for a reason. Their defense has a nasty front four they're averaging eight tackles for loss per game going against a Cal offensive line who isn't as good as they were last year but they do have two good runners they have three good runners actually in their backfield so I think they will be able to put up some points feel like they'll be able to be successful running the football at the end of, man, I think the hurricane is going to be too much for the Golden Bears. And I got them covering. I got them covering, man. Cam Ward and the Hurricanes, they the real deal.

And Cal's in the ACC. This is a conference game now. Ain't that crazy? Yeah, crazy. Right? But yeah, I got the Hurricanes covering this one. Sorry, Golden Bears. Go Bears. That's all right. That's all right. Let's talk about the passing of a sporting icon, a sporting legend, Pete Rose. I know, Coach, you're an Ohio guy. You're a big baseball fan. My dad grew up in Columbus. He was a huge fan of the Reds. When you talk about the Cincinnati Reds, so many great legends have come through that

program, but there's one that stands above the rest, Pete Rose. Yeah, I think he's the greatest player of all time. He impacted my life. I actually, not many people know this because I didn't make it very far, but I played pro baseball. Tell them, Coach. I patterned my game after Pete Rose. You know, head first slides as a little kid playing Little League baseball. Charlie Hustle. Charlie's favorite player. I met him. We became very good friends. I have stuff over my house

that he signed. And, uh, my son, you know, grew up, you know, as a huge fan is. So I know there is some stuff going on. He's not in a hall of fame. I hope they put him in the hall of fame. A matter of fact, they have to put him in the Hall of Fame. He's the greatest baseball player of all time. And I know there's great ones, but I'm somewhat biased, but I think there's a lot of people that stand up and say, from A to Z, he's a winner, he's a hustler, he's a team first nut job on the field that just gave everything he had. Mark, you didn't probably know him,

and I don't know how much you ever watched him play. I didn't know him, but I know he's a legend. That's a bad boy now. He played the game the way... Do you know how Kobe Bryant... That's why I'm such a Kobe guy. He was the Kobe Bryant of baseball in my mind. He's the most competitive maniac that I've witnessed.

Legends deserve their flowers. And if he's legendary, like I know that you say, he deserves to be in baseball heaven. So the numbers around him are just staggering. 17-time All-Star, three-time World Series champ,

three-time National League batting titles. He won two-time Gold Glove. The biggest one, though, coach, nobody with more hits in the history of baseball than him. 4,200. He has to go in. They have to put the man in. It's so sad that he's not there right now. It's so sad that he could not have that moment in Cooperstown and enjoy it. And that if it does happen, it's going to be after his passing. I think baseball really did him wrong.

Four or five years, I would go out. He lived in Vegas and he would do autograph signs at Manilay Bay. He did one just the other day. Did the other one the other day with Ken Griffey Jr., Concepcion. Ken Griffey Jr.? A handful of times he went out there and sat with him. And a genuine guy. Yeah.

So, Coach, I know I told you guys I was down with my parents in Florida for a couple guy. Yeah. So coach, I know I told you guys, I was down with my parents in Florida for a couple of days and my mom's got like the stack of all the... We saw mama's clippings. That's what they do. The newspaper clippings and the old pictures from wherever. And I went through them coach and I found it amazing. This one picture, I'm going to raise it up right now. Let's see how well I do. I found this picture. Look at him. Black and white, old school photo. And there's Charlie Hustle signing an autograph and a picture taken by my parents. That must have been like a spring training. And one of those kids up front was probably me, but yeah. Charlie Hustle, a legend. Mama Stoner? In black and white.

Mama Stone keeping some old school pictures, man. I love Mama Stone. An absolute great, an absolute great has left us. And he worked with us at Fox Sports as well. And yeah, we miss Pete Rose and everything he did. But we thank you for joining us for another edition of The Triple Option. Remember, please subscribe to our YouTube channel. Follow us on us on apple podcast spotify wherever you get your podcasts as well as across social

media at 3x option show new episodes every wednesday and as always we love our sponsors we love you wendy's we love you bet mgm we love you zip recruiter we thank you for everything you've done to make us an elite podcast charlie hustleustle. We learn. Charlie Hustle, thank you. Hey, I got my little bird dog on. You guys got bird dog? I don't, but I'll have it on next time. I'll have it on next time. I got my new hat.

There it is. The merch. There it is. Where's the merch going to be available to the people? Thank you, Triple Option. Thank you. Thanks, everybody. Behind the scenes.

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