The Triple Option - Is SEC Dominance Over, Notre Dame's Historic Run, Cardale Jones joins & CFP Semifinal Picks

Episode Date: January 4, 2025

Does it still mean more for the SEC? Coach Urban Meyer and Rob Stone dive into the letdown the SEC has been in the College Football Playoff and other bowl games after a push from coaches and fans to have more teams from their conference included in the 12-team field. They then talk about the dominating performance and the 4th down call that propelled Notre Dame and head coach Marcus Freeman to the semifinals. (3:00) 2014 National Champion and former Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones reunited with his old head coach to talk all things Buckeyes, College Football Playoff, and championship moments. (31:42) Coach and Rob then took a look at the semifinal matchups between Notre Dame-Penn State and Ohio State-Oregon. Coach Meyer broke down what has changed with the Buckeye offense from the game against that team up north to their blistering playoff pace. The guys also debated if Jeremiah Smith's dominance as a freshman would make the NFL reconsider the three year rule. (51:36) 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). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

And the water broke man the water broke. By the way, speaking of water breaking, congratulations to Gigi and her husband another you're you're a grandfather again, speaking of water breaking, how about you having what what grandbaby is that now is that number 123566 and we had to have a family meeting because we have 302 and we said, time out, or, you know, it's kind of a hard meeting to have with your children because you don't want to go there. A lot of humans, buddy. A lot of humans. The music hits a little different when Mark Ingram isn't here. Coach, you need to pick up the pace for Mark being on duty, on assignment in Japan. Let Mark handle that. Yeah, from a long distance away. We welcome you to the first edition of the triple option here in the new year 2025. As

always, we are presented by our great partner Wendy's try Wendy's new saucy nugs today. He is urban Meyer I'm Rob Stone with you Mark Ingram is is running around in the land of the sun will get his thoughts in the coming weeks. So much to talk about this week in college football. We'll see if the SEC has lost some of its luster. Is it fair for Jeremiah Smith and some of these unbelievably talented freshmen

to still be playing college football for another couple of years? What person has done the most for his career this playoff so far? That one might surprise you and a gutsy game of let's call it chicken in the Notre Dame win. As always, we remind you please keep watching, keep listening, rate us, subscribe at Apple Podcast, Spotify, wherever you get your podcasts as well as across social media at 3x option show. New show come your way as we keep adjusting to the college football playoff our next episode Wednesday, January 15, where we'll talk about the semi finals and the final of course today we're going to delve into what transpired

in the quarterfinals before we do that. All of us at the triple option want to offer our sincere condolences to those that were affected and impacted by that terrible act of terrorism in New Orleans just ahead of the Sugar Bowl, just an ugly scene and felt sick that it was even surrounded by college football. Of course, it delayed the Sugar Bowl by a delay, which meant the winner of that game had one less day to prepare for the national semifinals. All right, Coach, are we ready to go here? Let's start with the SEC. Okay. You know how many teams are left in the Final Four from the

SEC? Yeah, and it's really the new SEC. It's really... Bingo. Can you really count them as the SEC yet? They're just one year in. So of course you can, but man, I was watching those games and I was at the Ohio State Tennessee game. I watched very closely like we all did Georgia. It really wasn't close, the Georgia game. You know, Notre Dame, if you take out the previous 15 years of domination by the SEC, Notre Dame had better athletes. They were a much better football team. Ohio State, Tennessee, Ohio State had much better athletes than University of Tennessee.

Illinois, South Carolina, Illinois had better athletes than South Carolina. What in the hell is going on? I mean, something there's, but then, you know, we'll get to the recruiting rankings and transfer portal rankings. And I'm anxious to see the NFL draft this year, because normally speaking, Rob, NFL draft, I would always tell our staff, that's the other than championships. Championships are number one. NFL draft is the indicator of how you're doing recruiting.

And you can change the helmets on these teams and say, those are all SEC teams like it used to be but the question is the SEC dominance over it is it's over now Another year next year's correct here, but for two years. It's over Yeah, and the Wolverines the Wolverines it wasn't even close Taking care of Alabama down in Tampa, Texas A&M lost to USA again. These are taking care of Alabama down in Tampa, Texas A&M lost to USC. Again, these are bowl games, not playoff games. But remember, Coach, the buildup to that final college football playoff field announcement, it was all the talk,

like is Ole Miss or Alabama, or maybe even a South Carolina, can they sneak their way in there? Then there was this, you know, the hand-wringing and the disgust out there that some of these other programs are stealing spots from the mighty SEC. And let's be honest, the SEC, to me coach, dominated college football through the course of the regular season. It felt like every week on Big Noon kickoff, we were talking about a major playoff format type altering game courtesy of the SEC.

And they were constantly sitting there with numerous programs inside the top 10 but here in the playoffs they had fizzled and its first year program in the SEC Texas that's carrying the water right now for the SEC. It's interesting coach if you go back years and I know you coached obviously in the SEC down there in Gainesville there was always this in the SEC down there in Gainesville, there was always this, we'll call it a perception, all right, that the SEC somehow found a way to take care of their players and somehow get recruits to come to campus and sign on.

I remember hearing weird stories about when they would pass the bucket around at the churches on Sunday, there would be a lot of coaches and recruiters sitting in certain players churches and filling up that little bin with some cash to go to the family that was taking in the money that week. All those kind of weird, crazy stories from the South. But I know you lived it and there was that perception right that the SEC somehow some way Found a way to make sure those players were

properly taken care of and Pushed to SEC schools now though with NIL It almost feels like it's kind of perhaps leveled the playing field in that department you know, I talked to Brady Quinn last night about that and you're wondering if that's the great equalizer now and I talked to Brady Quinn last night about that and you're wondering if that's the great equalizer now and to sit there and throw accusations at the SEC that's not unless there's some substance behind it. You know, I coached there for what was it? Six or seven years and the stories were out there, but to say there's substance

that's, you know, I don't want to be part of that media crew that starts, you know, without any background or whatever. But the reality is, let's go back to the visual eye test to what happened. And the comment is the SEC run over it is, and you could simply watch it on. Now, once again, I know that's going to be a big topic now. Uh, next year is a different year, but for 2020, what was it, 2023 and 2024? Non-factors. You got Texas right now, but are we really calling Texas a blue blood of the SEC first year? They're a blue blood of college football, but not a blue blood in that conference,

correct? Yeah, right. So yeah, it's, I missed on some things. I was part of the SEC bandwagon as well. You know, I coached in that conference, and top to bottom, it wasn't even close when I got to the Big Ten in 2012. Even Shelly, she watched our game, she said, what is this? This doesn't even look, the speed on the field

doesn't even look the same, and it wasn't. You can say what you want. In 2012, the Big Ten was not a good conference relative to the SEC, not even close. I think what's happened is there's been some additions. Obviously Oregon, you have Washington, UCL and USC, but also people have really committed in the Big Ten. The upper-ashall on Big Ten conference schools have really jumped in the Big Ten. The upper echelon Big Ten conference schools have really jumped on as far as recruiting. You saw the Wolverines last year, one of the most dominant programs in the last decade.

The Buckeyes right now, the best roster. I don't think it's close in college football. You got Penn State that's really put together a hell of a team. And then you got the Illinois beating South Carolina. Think about that. So that's it. There's a lot of- Illinois, And then you got the Illinois beating South Carolina. You know, think about that. You know, so that's it. Illinois, we're talking Illinois.

Yeah. And then, and then the Michigan state, Wisconsin's that are in Iowa's that are traditionally right there, you know, right at the, the next rung. They weren't there. So imagine if Wisconsin and Michigan state and Iowa get back to what they were. Um, you know, there's a good, there's a good argument now. So imagine if Wisconsin and Michigan State and Iowa get back to what they were. You know, there's a good argument now. And I know people got after the ESPN commentators, you know, pretty, it was pretty bad.

People were sending me as far as, you know, cause they were complaining that a South Carolina Ole Miss should have been in over those other teams. And then not, not, not so fast. Guess what is going to happen though, when the preseason rankings come out for next season, right? I'm telling you, we spoiler alert, it's going to be filled with SEC teams.

Yeah, and deservedly so. But in real time, it's right now. It's other conference, the Big Ten is passed them for 2023 and 2024. And what's amazing though is the Big 10 was frankly not getting a whole lot of love this season. I know Oregon was in that number one spot for a long time, but that was like the quietest number one team we've had in a long time. Because again, they're all the way out west. There's that East Coast bias against programs out by the Pacific.

And I thought the Big Ten was just top heavy as it has been for years, right? It's been the big three coach, right? Of Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan. And after that, it was a bit of a drop off. Beelima though, bringing up Illinois has certainly helped the product. Iowa actually found some offense this year,

but it's that middle pack of the Big Ten. You know, the Michigan States, like you talked about the Nebraska's, I think that's a program on the rise, are going to have to elevate and push things a little bit. USC wasn't the USC of the past. Wisconsin. Wisconsin. Wisconsin's going to be a fascinating watch next season. I'm really curious if they kind of say, you know what, let's get back to Wisconsin football.

Let's get the guys up front. Let's win the ball. Let's hit the SEC one more time, Rob. So let's go back and when I coached there, on the western side of the SEC was Alabama, Auburn, LSU. Yet, at Texas A&M, those are legitimate national championship contender. They have a budget for it, they recruit for it.

Ole Miss would flirt around with having a hell of a team, and so would Arkansas when I was there. And Ole Miss has got budget now. Big budget. Right. And then to go on the other side, it was always Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee, always. And South Carolina was screwing around when they had Coach Spurrier and Coach Holtz there. They would have some great teams. That's a heck of a hard place to go play. So I would always say in the SEC, you have eight, maybe nine teams that are budgeted and have expectations to play for the crystal ball. In the Big Ten it used to be at two and three.

It'd be Ohio State, like you said, the Wolverines and Penn State. So does that change? You know, we'll see what the future holds in 2023 and 2024. It has changed. Greg Sankey is going to have some words at those SEC meeting days down there in Destin, Florida this year. I think he's going to light a fire. Light it.

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Better Man, now playing in select theaters. I got a little emotional watching the Notre Dame. I coached the Notre Dame and I pulled this up here, Rob. Take a look at this. So, I don't know if you can see this or not. I'll read it for you, but it's my weather on your app. Yeah. And it says, feels like, uh, five degrees in South Bend.

There's flurries blowing wind. Uh, those got those wind signals. There's probably something called lake effect coming. I recruited there and it is, it's a great school. It's a hard, hard job. Marcus Freeman, we'll talk about that in a minute. I have to talk about that minute because I really admire the guy.

Notre Dame, only a certain player will go there. Academics are a premium. You know, you are there, it's not the online and it's, I mean, you're going there. I don't know their whole NIL. They must be doing very well with that because they have a really good team. But I watched those players speak.

I've been there. I know that culture. And I'd got a little choked up watching Notre Dame just put it all over an SEC team that a few years ago, you never even thought that would happen. And I was at the Notre Dame versus Alabama national championship game. And it was, you know, uh, big boys against non-big boys. I mean, Alabama just took them all over the field. So that was a great moment for the subway alums of Notre Dame, for the coaching

staff, most importantly, the players. But man, enjoy that. Cause I'm telling you right, look at that. It's 20, it's seven degrees right now in South Bend and they're trying to recruit players, you know, recruiting season is December, January still. And I remember, man, it's only a certain player you can get up there. And they tell you, you got to live in a dorm. You got to live in the dorm.

It used to be four years and the dorm, some dorms doesn't have air conditioning. I don't know that now. Uh, and it's just a rugged environment. Academically, you got to be on your toes, man. You got to be real interested in academia to go to. Well, if you're the Notre Dame coaching staff, yeah, you're obviously looking at the rankings list and what talent this guy brings in the stars, but you're also finding that transcript right away, right? Like, this dude even in the conversation? Right away I need that transcript.

I'm glad you brought that up. That's real. And now once again, I haven't been there in a minute, but the first thing you do is the transcript and it's, you can't go through it. You push it to your people and they say no. And you're like, oh no, we're gonna be playing against this guy.

I would get so pissed off. But it's part of the way it is. And then after you're there for a minute and you understand and you meet all these incredible alumni and former player of Notre Dame, you're like, I get it. I get it, only a certain player can go to Notre Dame. And academic is part of the conversation. I've heard this from colleagues now,

that is really not, you know, people that transfer three schools, is academics academics really are you even talking about that or simply I can get you seven thousand dollars more than the other guy You know, so it's it's uh What a time man. I mean, this is really interesting stuff Notre Dame hit the transfer portal They had a lot of impactful players that helped them get to the national semifinals courtesy of that transfer portal But again, even if you're in the portal, you still have to be a Notre Dame guy, right?

You still have to check a ton of boxes. Yeah, they're getting dudes from Wake Forest and Duke, right, elite academic institutions to be their quarterbacks, to drive them forward. I'm sure that drives some of the alumni. I think it's one of the greatest stories, and it's one of the best stories right now. After watching that game last last night because they were under the radar and you know, you lose the northern Illinois Then you went 12 straight and I'm watching her coach who like I told you and Al Gold in the defense quarter

Who's a hell of a football coach man? You're seeing the resurrection of some Coaching careers and then you see a guy that a guy how about this now? He you lose the Marshall You lose to Marshall, you lose to Northern Illinois. You don't want to go there, but I am because I'm going to respect the guy so much. You have twice 11, 10 players on the field against Ohio State. You're going, they lost and that impacted the most places you're gone. So kudos to the athletic director.

They extended one of the great young coaches in college football right now, Marcus Freeman. He brought him back. He did what he did. And so he had his, I'm going to hit this right now. It's all right, Rob. But we have a, he had his, I texted him last night and I said, you had your moment. And his moment was the fourth down. And that was arguably one of the greatest coaching calls I've ever in. Gutsy.

That was one of those coaching calls you made. Shelly gave me such a hard time. Cause when I was younger, I'd do that kind of stuff. As you got older, you get more tight. And, uh, he went to the transition. They ran 11 guys off on offense, 11 guys on the, uh, no, I'm sorry. The punt team came out and they were backed up. They were inside.

I believe they were inside their 20 and they were ready to punt it as they should have. And this could win or lose the game. That's how this is the moment. And this is nothing other than the head coach. Cause the special teams coach, I'm sure said, we got it. We want to do it. But the head coach is the buck stops here.

He had to make that call. Think of all the things that can go wrong. Someone may that's a discipline and, and, you know, those players that Notre Dame are different cats, man. So they run the 11 guys off. 11 guys run on, on offense. You see Georgia getting discombobulated, but they did got to 11 defensive players on. It was set, I can promise you Notre Dame was not going to run a play.

They're going to hard count them. And they hard counted them. And then they snapped the ball. So that's the trust that Marcus Freeman has in that. This is all in the center now. If that guy, and it's much more difficult than it sounds, the defensive lineman cross the neutral zone, which you're allowed to do, because you're allowed to get back unless contact is made and the center snap the ball. If the center snaps the ball and

the player gets back, it's turnover, George's ball right there. So one of the great, like I said, I contacted Marcus last night and I said that was one of the great, like I said, I contacted Marcus last night and I said, that was one of the greatest coaching moments I witnessed. What was his response? Oh, he's great. He's, you know, obviously he's onto the next, you know, he's thank you very much and I appreciate it. And then, you know, onto Penn State.

So did you have that in your playbook at some point, that whole moving out the punt team and bringing in the offense? No, we had the freeze calls and all that, but I've never, you know, once again, I didn't know that was you're allowed to do that. I know Kirby Smart made a comment after the game. I'm anxious to see what the ruling is on that, that you're allowed to run 11 on, 11 off. So no, I never went there. But once again, given a person credit, first of all, you can practice that all you want, to have the balls to call that at that moment.

Because you missed that, Rob. Yep. Oh, you're in the coaches. You might be out of the profession. Well, you're out of the profession, and you've got to walk in front of that team after a loss and say, I did that. We ran a fake punt against against Wolverines in 2016 because we

weren't moving the ball. It did not work and they scored. I had a hard time breathing the next two quarters because I thought I was gonna have to look my team and I says I lost that game. Not you guys. I did. Wow. I gave Georgia credit in the moment as that was going on because the visual of it was so disturbing and altering. I was watching it with some friends and my wife and you just see this mass of humanity moving while they're backed up and you're like, all right, if you're Georgia, it's just

get the dudes out on the field and hold your waters as Chris Spielman used to tell me, right? Hold your water because you know what they're doing, right? If you're Georgie, you have to say all they're trying to do is draw us offside. That's all they're trying to do with the shadows and the gimmicks and the drama and the theater. That's all it was. And just sit there and line up and don't budge. Hold your water. And the water broke, man.

The water broke. By the way, speaking of water breaking, congratulations to Gigi and her husband. You're a grandfather again, speaking of water breaking. How about you having, what grandbaby is that now? Is that number one, two, five, six? Six, six, six, six. And we had to have a family meeting because we have 302 and we said.

Time out. Time out, or it's kind of a hard meeting to have with your children because you don't want to go there, but. Oh my goodness. I mean, they're or, you know, it's kind of a hard meeting to have with your children because you don't want to go there. But I mean, they're like gremlins, man. I mean, it's a lot of you won't define it. It's so God is great and everyone's healthy. A couple of quick notes here to wrap up

this Georgia Notre Dame conversation. Georgia has had issues stopping running quarterbacks all season long. Jalen Milrow 16 carries 117 yards two touchdowns. He could even go to the Ole Miss game. Jackson Dart ran it for 50 yards with eight carries. The big one though Georgia Tech Q2 quarterback Haynes King 24 carries 110 yards and three touchdowns. Riley Leonard. You know who had the most carries and the most rushing yards between both teams in that quarterfinal game? Riley Leonard.

14 carries. How about his effort in the fourth quarter on that last drive? 80 yards total. Where he launched himself. He landed on his head. Ultimate respect, man. You see his passing stats, I believe he only threw

for 80 yards in that game. So it wasn't that. I think it was 90 yards. He ran it for 80. So efficient, right? The Duke transfer getting it done. The big moment too, you know, obviously there was that gutsy call coach that you hit in the fourth quarter.

Notre Dame getting 17 points in a 54 second span to close the first half and start the second half. And it was all triggered by a decision by Georgia to not run out the clock in the first half. They could have gotten out there in good shape. And again, they're with their backup quarterback in his first career start.

And I'm looking at the clock and I feel like it said like in the 34s. And I said to myself, it's taking me, taking me get out. And I know we can second guess all you want, but Kirby Smart is having a conversation right now and people are asking that question. You know, why go for it when you're backed up

and you got the backup QB and it's still a close game. Just get out of there into the locker room is what I'm thinking. But you got the backup QB and it's still a close game. Just get out of there into the locker room is what I'm thinking. But you on the sideline coach, what was your thought when you saw that Georgia was going to try to play for it and try to drive and try to do something to close out those last couple of seconds in the first half? I was a little bit surprised because to do that, the one person that really matters is the guy that taken the snap. And I don't know the quarterback gunner like obviously Kirby does, you know, no one really does that was his, you know, his chance to, to do it. But the to put your team in

that kind of situation, and then it fails. That's one of those ones again on today, I know Kirby pretty well, I can tell you what I'd be doing right now. I would have never slept. I would have sat and watched that over and over again. I would have had a pad of paper by me. I don't want to broke three pencils that I, why did, you know, you can blame the left tackle, you can blame this, you can blame that. Uh, however, if you grab a knee, that game might've outcome might've been different.

You know, so. need that game might've outcome might've been different, you know, so that those are, those are tough ones. You know, the, the program culture, you want to be aggressive and you want your players that have the feeling of being aggressive. So I would often do things and tell them I'm going to do this. And if it doesn't work, it's just understand why I'm doing it. Because I believe in you guys and we're going to go after their ass here. So that's a tough scenario. And then the

kickoff return my gosh. Yeah. Look at the athletes on the field. That's the thing that I'm mesmerized by right now. That was not the case, Rob. I mean, it was, if somebody's returning a kickoff or touchdown, it's Georgia. Right? Yeah. Or if someone breaks, they're going to run you down.

Yeah. Yes. Yes. Watch the NFL draft. Go, go through Notre Dame and go through Georgia the last 10 years. Go through the SEC and go through the pack, the big 10 and the other conferences. It's almost double what comes out of that conference. And you're watching that game. And you're watching that game and it's,

I mean, it's, I keep saying that is it, it's over for now. I'm sure they'll be back. Cause you know, once again, we're gonna talk about the- Oh, Georgia will be back. They're not going anywhere. Sure, sure they are. But how about this for Georgia too, coach? They led the nation and dropped passes.

Like we're so used to seeing these elite wide receivers running up and down in Athens. And in this season there They got dudes who are wide open There was that one pass in the third quarter to Bell that he that he dropped that totally would have Changed the numbers. Yeah, that's not what you expect from Georgia. And again coach This is the conversation you and I and you know, the big noon staff the triple option staff has been having all season What George are we gonna see is it gonna be the a team?

Is it gonna be the B team? What Texas are we going to see? Is it going to be the A team? Is it going to be the B team? What Texas are we going to see? The A team or the B team? And maybe, maybe guess what? All along, they were just B teams. Maybe that's just what they were. And again, it's a quarter final team. 2006 to 2022, the Florida Gators started a run

where 13 national titles. Obviously the last two, unless Texas wins it. But once again, are we really considering Texas one of the, I mean, I think it'll take time to really, but they are obviously they are SEC. And then you go down and that we have the stat right below it. This 20, because once again, it's all about recruiting transfer portal rankings in 2024, five of the top 10 were SEC teams, which usually it's even higher than that. 2024 high school rankings, there it is, seven out of

the top 10, how about that, were SEC. And then multiple NFL draft picks or in multiple mock drafts, the SEC will count for 12 of the 15 players, 12 to 15 players taking in the first round, which is half. So once again, they're all there. I can't wait to watch it. I know we're going to actually do a triple option from the draft this year. So I can't wait to see if it's really starting to turn. Because if that turns, that's when shock waves get shot across the country and say, what in the civil war, we got the North versus the South, the

North is coming back. The whole narrative will change. Last thought, and you just barely touched on it for this Notre Dame game. I think one of the biggest winners of this playoff so far as a human being, Notre Dame defensive coordinator, Al Groh. And you remember Al as a head coach at Temple. I'm sorry, Al Golden. I'm thinking he used to coach at Virginia with Al Groh. So Al Golden, former head coach at Temple, former head coach at Miami. I think we were always kind of visually the conversation about Al Golden was here he is. He's old school, right? He's wearing the Oxford that's buttoned up.

He's got the tie, right? And he doesn't have the tie anymore as the defensive coordinator at Notre Dame. He has done so much to kind of resurrect his name. And think of some of these numbers here. Against Indiana in that first round, the Hoosiers had to punt it six times. They only scored 17 points, they had 63 rushing yards. Against Georgia, they forced the Bulldogs to punt four times,

only allowed 10 points. So through two playoff games, Notre Dame's defense has allowed 27 points and 125 total rushing yards. They allowed 63 rushing yards to Indiana, they allowed 62 rushing yards against Georgia and Al Golden, the defensive coordinator, you know, who went into the NFL and it didn't go great for him comes back to the college game and signs February of 02. And he is a major part

coach of why Notre Dame is off to the semi-finals. Yeah, Coach Gold and myself, we kind of grew up in the profession together. I've always known him. We've always got along very well and the respect I've had for that guy is often, in this world of trying to find a head coach, there's a guy with experience,

there's a guy that's probably matured, grew. He's in one of the great programs in the country right now. Yeah, no one's ever questioned his football acumen. I think he had a couple tough scenarios. We did well at Temple and then Miami was not an easy place to do well. And Miami is a tough place. I mean, they're, they've had struggles now for two decades. So Al Golden, yeah, much respect and the numbers are there and I can speak on behalf of who he is a great coach and so well respected All right. We're gonna talk Ohio State coach in a moment How about these numbers so far through the college football playoffs the Buckeyes have put up 83 points their point differential plus 45 total yards almost a thousand they're at

973 their yard differential plus 441 you know what all those were thousand. They're at 973. Their yard differential plus 441. You know what all those were? Those were your saucy nugs of the week. Try some at your nearest Wendy's. Coming up next, we're going to continue our conversation around Ohio State. We're joined by Buckeye National Championship winning quarterback, Cardell Jones. We welcome you back to the Triple Option presented by

Wendy's Rob Stone, Urban Meyer and Coach 12 Gauge in the house right now joining us the great Cardell Jones the winning quarterback of the 2014 Ohio State National Championship team thanks for joining us man Happy New Year. You're still on a buzz from that trip to Pasadena aren't you my friend as you guys see first and foremost Happy New Year Rob because my always a pleasure to see you guys and I'm still on cloud nine They're watching an unbelievable performance on both sides of the ball for the Buckeyes So I'm feeling pretty good about our chances Cardell. So good to see you my man and One of the great I keep telling people people that they ought to build a statue.

I know we got Archie. What you did, the transformation I saw of you as a player, you've always had the talent but the focus and the leadership and the way that team rallied around you. I'm biased but that was arguably the best three game run in the history, certainly in Ohio state. They might top it after the, this, if they go on this three or four game run, they could top it, but what you did against taking over the helm in the second half or the fourth quarter against Wolverines, then you had Wisconsin, Alabama. And then the way you played against Oregon was phenomenal. So the new 12 team playoff, you know, are you a fan? Are you not a fan? Are you, and then there's two quite, I want you to answer this.

Is the SEC run over? You know what? Has the Big Ten passed them? You know what? That's hard. I think when you think about the quality of teams, you think about the number of teams stacking up versus Big Ten versus the SEC.

I think the SEC still have us notched just a little bit. But I'm taking the top four teams versus the top four teams at SEC any day of the SEC. I think the SEC still have us notched just a little bit, but I'm taking the top four teams versus the top four teams in the SEC any day of the week. But I think the SEC as a conference is a little bit deeper when you say maybe top six to seven teams than the Big Ten. But the top dogs are clearly in the Big Ten. And I think we saw it last two days ago in the Rose Bowl with Ohio State and Oregon putting on an unbelievable showdown and then being in the top four Well, we got two teams at the Big Ten and I guess Notre Dame is like our our stepbrothers in the Big Ten So I count them as a Big Ten team as well

But the 12 team playoff is you know, I'm a fan of it. I think the seeding is the issue I love the 12 teams that extend our season It gives more teams an opportunity to be in that playoffs and really have a chance to bring home that trophy. But the seeding, I think, is a little flawed. And you look at teams like Oregon, who got Oregon in, and even Boise as well, who got some tough seedings and a tough route

to get to the ultimate goal. But I love having 12 teams in. If you had a dude like Jeremiah Smith to throw it to what would your conversations to the offensive coordinator Chip Kelly and your head coach be at this point? Hey, where do he? Where will he be over there somewhere? OK, I throw it over there. That it will be that simple. It would be that simple. I don't. I use put it in a guy like that. You put in his area you you

don't. You don't have to be as unfortunately you have to be as fortunately You don't have to be as, unfortunately you don't have to be as, fortunately you don't have to be as accurate. Even sometimes where you see the quarterback may be a little bit late a half a step because he had to move in the pocket. He just give that guy a chance and he usually make him plays. I go back to the second quarter of the game versus Oregon in the Rose Bowl where Will made some things happen and the defensive back, it was a high-low read. The defensive back thought he baited Will

into throwing the low, I mean, the high corner. And Jeremiah Smith went up over both of them. And the defensive back was in such great position. He just knew he made a great play. Didn't even see if Jeremiah Smith caught the ball or not, but he'd get up doing this. Like, yeah, I stopped him, I stopped him. And he looked up Jeremiah Smith doing this like first down.

That's the type of comfortability that will in this office and Chip Kelly Ryan, they has in this young, unbelievable player, having a player like that. Cardell, we, we had Mike Thomas by the end of his career became that kind of a player, he became that guy that if, if you singled up Mike, we gave, you know, I remember distinctly that we would have a run play called. However, if you've got single coverage, go up top with them. And we did, we threw one downfield against the Wolverines. I can't remember what year that was. But I can imagine, I've not talked to Coach Day or Coach Kelly about this, but I imagine that's just building the offense. And, and you've been a part of offenses. If you are defending a player like that, that not only opens up, I mean, that obviously you get single coverage, but the entire defense knows where number four is that's going to open up other things.

And I'm starting to see other things open up with the Ohio state offense because Jeremiah Smith has always been great. He's taken it to a next level. Yeah. Talk to talk to the viewers a little bit about as a quarterback, when you have a player like that, it opens up other things, not just obviously Jeremiah Smith. Yeah. It opened up so many different things.

And I totally agree with you. That comparison of Mike Thomas, when he got into that late year, two, year, three of his career and so forth, where he became a guy that a guy that just put it in his area and Jeremiah Smith is clearly that guy right now and I look at last year with Marvin Harrison jr. When he had games where people thought like he was shut down or he was quiet No, he forces you and Jeremiah Smith is already doing that at a very young age and part of his career He forces you to have so much attention on him where it's looked like he had no impact on his game plan, but it's opened up so much stuff in the running game or

other guys getting an opportunity to get open because that's the unique part about Ohio State. You know, they got potentially two, three, maybe even four first round receivers in that room right now. So when you start to focus more in detail on Jeremiah Smith, we saw Mecca Buka run down the middle of the field a few times and get loose. And we saw some plays by Cardinal take in the passing game as well. And then you focus so much on this guy, you forget about the two great running backs who's going to also put a lot of pressure on your defense. So when you have a guy like that,

it's really not so much about game planning for him because you know he's going to get his touches and you see everything they do with him from the reverses to the bringing them into behind a line of scrimmage and throwing them ball out the backfield. He just a player is hard to defend for. Let's talk about the lunatic fringe in Columbus and nationwide that Ohio State Buckeye fanbase that frankly a lot of programs wish they had. Right. And after the Rose Bowl game, Carrell, you sent out a note, the apologies from the fake

Buckeye fans need to be just as loud as the hate that they sent out. Describe to me what it's like living in Columbus, being the quarterback, and what exactly is going on with that lunatic fringe, these passionate fans, right now with the Ohio State. Yeah, you know, I would call them more passionate, and I think Ohio State has put themselves in a position traditionally,

and Coach Meyer can attest for this, that the expectation is like none other around, you know, college football and you know, I will argue being a head coach at Ohio State and then the quarterback is part of the second and third most powerful positions in the whole state behind the governor when it comes to just notoriety and then the fact that you can have on other people with your performance. Who's the governor of Ohio right now? Governor Dwight. Oh, all right. All right.

But you got that you got that answer fast. But if I was they pull this thing off in the next, you know, two and a half, three weeks, it may be Governor Day. So. But when you look at that, I mean, I think it's all just based off the tradition rich history we have here of not just winning, of togetherness and then the expectations is extremely high here. And I think Ryan and his whole team is kind of, you know, got the back end of that because they replace and like we say all the time, you don't want to be guy replacing the guy.

So when you're replacing a guy who won a national championship and seven and O versus team up north and all those things, you know, people expect you to pick up that sword and keep fighting. People expect you to have no drop off in performance or anything like that. You look at the quarterback transition. And I remember when the Buckeye fans was calling for CJ Strauss job after his first game versus Minnesota and this guy go on to be a top two pick and same for Justin the same for Dwayne and things like that. So we've been spoiled with great coaches and great players where we want to see a 59-0 game every game and we know that's not the reality of college sports because you know, you have a lot of great teams around college football

And we all fighting for the same thing. Look at you bringing up a 59-0 score line I don't know maybe a big 10 championship game versus Wisconsin in a certain season with a certain quarterback at the helm So I got you Cardell so I talked to the viewer about because only if very a small handful of people that have ever Walked the planet can explain to what it feels like when you walk into one of those grand stages. You know, I remember the first time I walked into a national championship environment was in 06 in the Fiesta Bowl. And I remember I normally don't even really pay attention to kind of I caught myself not

hyperventilating, but I kind of lost my breath. And I walked in, I was like, holy, this is where we're here. It takes your you know, it did. And I remember here I am with Cardale Jones. First of all, the first one is the big 10 championship. And that is a great stage. But you know what really took my breath away is the Louisiana Superdome down there of them.

Me and you walked in that and we're playing the mighty Alabama Crimson Tide and you're my quarterback. And I remember it just kind of, it was one of those moments that you have to really concentrate and people might say you're my quarterback. And I remember it just kind of was one of those moments that you have to really concentrate and people might say you're nuts. When I say this, I had to concentrate on breathing on, on to keep in my mind focused because I grew up as a football fan. I'm like, wait a minute, we're really here. Talk to your about a starting quarterback walking into the grand stage.

It's unbelievable. And it's hard to explain any other feeling, um, other than the feelings if you're about a starting quarterback walking into the grand stage. It's unbelievable. And it's hard to explain any other feeling other than the feelings you're trying to explain yourself. The stadiums are amazing. The fan bases are passionate. Everything you have worked for is right in front of you. I mean, it's not a lot of times where we can say, OK, now

finally, if I just complete this last task, I can grab the goal. I can literally just grab it. Usually we set goals so far away, it's hard to stay focused. And we talked about this a lot, being a part of the Buckeyes for four years. And I said a lot, we were so clear on the goal, but it's hard to stay clear on that goal when it's January 14th and we don't play for another nine and a half months and we're saying hey guys We got to get ready for next January 10. You're like, okay. Yeah, that's the goal

But is I'm really gonna how close I'm gonna get to this goal right now February 13th on freaking st Valentine's Day massacre workout, you know, am I really getting into that go? So walking into those stadiums and that environment, you're like, holy crap, like it's right here is right across this line. It's like in 60 minutes, I'm either going to achieve that goal. I'm going to come up a little short and all of those emotions come into play. All of that feeling of like, man, look at all these things I've done to this point. And I don't think for me personally, winning the national championship was my greatest accomplishment as an individual player, because when we got

on that stage, when we got in that moment, it was the journey. That's what I reflected on. I reflected on all the ups and downs. I reflected on all the lessons. It was like, you know, and I don't want to sound so extreme here and intense, but, you know, people say it like my life sound so extreme here and intense, but you know, people say like my life flashed before my eyes, my journey just flashed. Like it was almost at a point where I was like, you'll be a fool to let this thing

slip away from everything you guys have put into this point to get to here. Now you're here. Finish the job. Wow. What similarities? What differences do you see from your team that won the last national title for Ohio State in this program that's sitting two wins away from doing it again? Similarities, I think just the togetherness, I think just the selflessness is the biggest thing I see with this team. You know usually you know Jeremiah Smith we've been talking about this guy You know all show and pretty much for the second half of this season so far and they have so many other great players Who could easily be start? Caliber guys on other teams, but they play their roles I mean carnel tape Brennan and is a mecca book of comeback for his his final year like these guys could have thousand his final year. Like these guys could have thousand, 1200, 1300 yards at other universities,

but they here and they stay to ultimately achieve the goal. And I've been saying on record before the season even started, this is to me, the most talented team on paper Ohio State has ever had. And they're going to go down as one of the most talented teams in college football period. And you know, clearly they got to put it all together to start to earn some of those accolades. And we're seeing when they do, I mean, no one I don't think can really compete with these guys on a high level. So I think when it comes to the selflessness and just that grit and that toughness, that's the things I see from our 2014 team with this team.

You know, unfortunately for my 2014 team, I know these guys are dead, but I think this team is a lot more talented, you know, and hopefully they get it done here next few weeks. One last question for me, Cardell, and that is this, that Jeremiah Smith, if the draft was tomorrow, I think most people would say he's the number one overall pick, arguably the greatest player. You know, I always compare Percy Harvey because he was the greatest player I've ever been around. Should he be able to leave or you got NIL now you got transfer portal.

And I'm going to give you my quick two cents and let you run on it. Cause I'm really the problem if they open that door that's Pandora's box. And there's a lot of players that will get suckered into leaving early and give up on an education, career and development. Should Jeremiah Smith be able to leave now? Uh, you know what, because of everything you just mentioned with the education and development side of things, um, I would say no, um, just because this is still, you know, you, you, you going from plan with, um, from playing with kids for the most part,

what, 12 months ago in high school and say he's gonna be ready in 16 months to play with grown men who feed in their family with this stuff. We haven't seen a Jeremiah Smith in college. And this is no knock on helmet because I think he's gonna be extremely, I already said it, he's gonna go down that as one of the best players and receive your Ohio State history. But I I just one of the best players and receives her house. They hit me by thing. When we talk about best players and receivers in the whole NCAA, his name mentioned, but it's some Jeremiah Smith's in it at the next level.

You don't see it as much. And that's on dominant level because they're going against a Jeremiah Smith on the other side of the ball from them. So, um, but even with Jeremiah Smith, when he's going against other first round talented guys, he's going to have an opportunity to go against the Thorpe winner, you know, here in about eight days, he's still performing at a high level. But I think just the, he can continue, we can always continue to get better. I think it's still so many things that he can learn. I mean, when you talk about a mature level though, he's off the charts. When you talk about the playing level,

he's off the charts. But you don't want to say, hey, I think off one small sample side of one year where we've seen from him that he should be able to play with the top players and the best players in the world. That's one thing people don't really understand. And I feel recruit all around the world, right? Not just in this country. So we're finding the best of the best. I still think the three year rule is kind of great for a lot of guys, but if he was my kid, I'm letting her right now, I don't know if he's playing his third year in college. I don't think he needed, you know, I think he pulled some type of Jamar chase where, you know,

I know it was COVID year and LSU was going through some things his third year before he was draft eligible, but we see it worked out for him. And other guys who didn't play their third year, just getting to that three years out of high school so they can be draft eligible, but we see it worked out for him and other guys who didn't play their third year, just getting to that three years out of high school so they can be draft eligible. Hey, coach, your former QB he's got, he's got the gift of gab then he's not bad at this little idea. I got an idea. He's not bad chatting into this microphone thing, man. We might

have a future in this my friend. But you know, part of this part of this business over here, it's a you know, it's listening listening, it's talking, but it's also asking, asking some questions. So every once in a while we like to let our guests fire off a question at us. So you can ask me a question if you want, but I pretty confident it's going to be the guy in the other corner over there. So you get a question to fire at myself or coach Meyer right now. Oh, perfect. And I appreciate the opportunity guys has always been great catching up with you guys. And yeah, I think I'm gonna take coach Meyer and put him in a hot seat a little bit here.

Let's go. I think when you look at the coaching staff that you had at Ohio State, you look at the coaching staff here at Ohio State now under Ryan Day and all the all the back and forth and all the chirping that they've been under a lot of scrutiny over the last two years when it came to recruiting and developing guys, what do you see the biggest difference between the staff you had versus the staff that coach day has assembled? Ooh, that's a tough one.

I'm trying to go back here. And I, I see an elite defensive coaching when they made the change, you know, I see a defensive coaching staff that is excellent. Even when the offensive time has struggled, their defense has been really good. I'm trying to, that's a good question. I'm trying to compare him. So we had Tom Herman and we had Luke Fickel and Chris Ash on defense. I thought Tom Herman, you know, that was excellent. Uh, especially, you know, we go through, uh, Braxton and JT Barrett and you. I think it's very similar. I think there's alignment. I have not been around the Woody as much, uh, just because I'm traveling so much. But the one thing that has always intrigued me about the great coaching

staffs is not just coaching talent. It's the alignment from A to Z. And Right now I'm seeing that at Ohio State. You got the one big blemish and that's the one against the Wolf Reigns where I was there. I think you were probably there too and I just did not compute what happened. I didn't see the energy on the sideline. I didn't see, I saw the offense line get pushed around and then I see what's going on now. So whatever adjustments they made, I see very similar to answer your question between the 2014 and 2024 coaching staff and the number one thing I see is alignment. Yeah, agree. Totally agree.

And I love the way that Ryan and his staff makes those adjustments. You can tell the staff is really good at self scouting with something that you was big on. And that's a lot of similarities that came up from me and just how they operate and just how he put that ownership on those unit leaders to really get their guys to go. You know, I hear that term when I'm around him a little bit, get your guys to go, get your guys to go.

And it just put me back in that mindset of being, you know, in a helmet at the shoe of, or, you know, over at the Woody when I getting ready for practice. So I love talking to man. You should have your own podcast. Cardell. We'll see you, man. We shall see. I don't know if I'll be good as you guys, but we shall see. You're going to be just fine, my friend. We're not worried about you. We, every time we come to Columbus with big noon kickoff, you're like one of the first people we call get them on over there, man. Bring 12 gauge on over here. Let's enjoy the conversation. Amen. Happy New Year. Glad you enjoyed your trip to Pasadena

I'm sure you're booking that flight to to Big D right now as the Buckeyes move on to the national Playoffs semi-final showdown against Texas. He's Cardale Jones. Thanks for joining us brother. Nice to talk to you again as always Pretty sure. Thanks for joining us, brother. Nice to talk to you again as always. Appreciate it. Thanks for having me guys. Welcome back to the Triple Option presented by Wendy's Rob Stone, Urban Meyer with you. Mark Ingram on special assignment in the Far East running around Japan right now doing Lord knows what we miss you, Mark. Be safe. Have fun. Time now though for pick six brought to you by bet MGM place your money line prop parlay and same game parlay bets at bet MGM, download the app today. Please gamble responsibly.

These lines, as always, subject to change. We're gonna start with the first semi-final game, Notre Dame, a favorite coach by one and a half points over Penn State in the Orange Bowl. Remember though, Penn State with two more days of rest over Notre Dame because of the delay of the sugar bowl and the fact that Penn State played on New Year's Eve. So Penn State with essentially 48 hours more of rest and recuperation time compared to what Notre Dame is, but it's the Irish coach in Miami

favored by a point and a half. Two blue bloods. Love to see that again. Yeah, I'm looking at the, you know, can you imagine this is what's happened? And if I'm the coach at either one of these places, I might head down to Miami a little early, Notre Dame. It feels like five degrees. You can go indoors, but the game is going to be played outside. So I bet there's some conversations right now with Penn State and Notre Dame. Go down a couple, three days early and get, get out and get outside.

Cause there is a difference. You want your team to practice in those game-like conditions. Um, you know, the pick six, my gosh, or to pick this game, I'm staring at this thing and I'm not sure I'm prepared to do that yet. Uh, I know I want to buy a little time here because if Notre Dame plays like they played, they went. I think it's going to be, I think once again, Vegas is all over this. I'd put zero. I'd put it even. Notre Dame versus Penn State. We've saw Penn State so many times this year. That is a great football team. I still don't see the skill on the outside that normally Penn State has, but I see the, arguably one of the best tight ends that I've seen play in the

big 10 conference, Tyler Warren, and then, uh, that defense, you know, I do. You know, he's got to play. I can't imagine. I'm gonna throw a name at you, Bo Pribula. What's going through his heart right now. He stepped away from the program and we all. He's gutted. He's sick.

I mean, cause Penn State's got a chance to go play for a national title. That changes who you are. That changes your makeup. That changes for the rest of your life. Your children, your grandchildren will talk about your father would have played for a national title. And I'm sick that that had to happen. I know we got to move on, but that will change.

And you can look around this house and any people, friends, you know, you got your family pictures, anyone else you got pictures of that when you and a team go find a way to compete and play for a championship and find a way to win that thing. So two excellent coaches, you know, James Franklin still has been beat up about his against the top opponents. They beat SMU and Boise State. If he loses that one, that will continue because in people's minds that they had

the easiest path to the championship, uh, with Marcus Freeman, that's not a question of what he did against Georgia. So I got this as a pick them. And I see right now if Notre Dame plays the way they did that they'll be Penn State So Penn State they took care of SMU at home by 28 points 17 better than Boise State as you mentioned the easier path of all the other Four semi-finalist teams and and there's there will still be that conversation that James Franklin hasn't won a big one Even though they are there in the semi-finals because of that path. But if you get by Notre Dame, I think we can start pushing down

those conversations right now. Right. And you can see right below that says the last time they won a championship either these, these historic, fantastic programs with incredible history. Uh, the eighties, 86 for Penn State and 88 for Notre Dame. And here we are again in the, one of them will be playing for it. Big question. Abdul Carter, the big 10 defensive player of the year, will he be available for Penn State? Difference maker.

Yeah, left early. That's a difference maker. Left early in the quarterfinal win, didn't return in the second half. He did go to social media because that's what people do these days and sent out a cool little Darth Vader tweet that basically kind of alluded to the fact that he's he's coming back. I think we would expect to see him. Drew Aller has been really impressive through the course of the playoffs. You go back to the last game against Boise State, all three of his touchdown passes went for at least 10 yards.

So he's starting to open up that game a little bit more. Maybe he's getting more comfortable with the white outs that have been maligned for much of the season outside of Tyler Warren, a guy we have great respect for and is one of the best tight ends that's out there. 13.8 yards per pass attempt from Drew Aller here so far through the playoffs. Again, the competition has been SMU Boise State. That Notre Al Golden has brought to them. But again, the offense still hasn't been great. You know, Jeremiah Love really didn't do anything for Notre Dame in that quarterfinal win. It was all the legs of Leonard. I tell you what, I like Penn State in this one, Coach. I like Penn State to win it by three, maybe a little bit of a walk-off field goal in that

type of situation. Go back to Notre Dame, and you made a great point in it. And that's why you should be the analyst and I shouldn't do this. That's that was excellent where you said that the Notre Dame offense did not really win that game. You thought about that 54 second I believe you called it window where there was a turnover, a short field, they found a way to score. Yeah, and then a kickoff return.

And then they extended the drive on the shifting of personnel. So I'm gonna ride with Notre Dame again at an extremely close game, but I'm with you. I see Penn State. I think this should be a zero, zero, zero points bet. Evenly matched. And again, so one and a half point. Absolutely.

Notre Dame though favored by one and a half points. You know that Notre Dame fan base is gonna travel. You've been looking at that weather app all show. They're like, well, wait, what's in Miami? Let's get our tails down to Miami. You watch Penn State now, this is gonna be, I mean, the same with their crowd. I mean, my gosh.

Oh, for sure. This is gonna be, I'll be there too. I can't wait to see this thing. You know what's interesting though, coach? I know you live in Florida and I used to work in the Tampa market and Florida is a huge distraction. I remember when NHL teams would come down to whether it was the Miami or the Tampa Bay area

and those players, you know what they did? And again, these are professional players and they're not babysat to the degree that college football players are, but they're out playing golf, man. They're out doing the Florida thing. They're out being distracted by going to the beach and the pool and walking around. And sometimes Florida can distract you, right, with all the options that are out there. And it's a bit of a home field advantage, whether it's football or

baseball or basketball or hockey. It'll be interesting to see which one of those programs from the north from the cold can manage can manage the Distractions of the great state of Florida. All right, so you I'm going Penn State. I'm going Penn State. They're gonna win it That's Thursday semi-final number one semi-final Number two just the fourth ever meeting between Texas and Ohio State Texas with a 2-1 between Texas and Ohio State, Texas with a 2-1 advantage. Remember there was that home and away schedule back in 05 and 06 where both programs won on the road. Texas will clearly, at least regionally,

be the home team, Austin, 200 miles away from Arlington and Texas playing in their first Cotton Bowl in 22 years. But it's the Buckeyes who are sitting there and they may be the road team, but the Buckeyes are favored coach by six and a half. Feels maybe a little big. It's teasing you with that touchdown, isn't it? So the Buckeyes coach in the Cotton Bowl

favored by six and a half. Yeah, if team A, you know, we talked about George, if team A shows up, this will be a wrap. Ohio State will lift the gold trophy. If they're best players, the best roster in the country plays like the best roster in the country, they'll be national champs in a few weeks. And we're witnessing it.

I witnessed it in person the last two weeks. And it's not, you know, they took Tennessee and it was, I stood right there and it wasn't even, Rob, when I say it wasn't even close, it's not, you know, they took Tennessee and it was, I stood right there and it wasn't even Rob. When I say it wasn't even close, it was not close. 25 point win, 42-17. It was worse than that in person. And then the game against Oregon, it was much worse in person.

You know, I was just once again, standing there watching it and, you know, Oregon number one team in the country after the Wolverine game, I actually said Oregon to win the national title because, uh, my understanding is Ohio state simplified things with the offensive line. They, that's the one area that has struggled. Uh, every player in Ohio state will be playing in the national foot, every player, uh, you know, the offense line, maybe, you know, when I, there might be a player too that won't play, but I'm sure it'll be at a roster, uh, you know, the offense line, maybe, you know, when I, there might be a player too, that won't play, but I'm sure it'll be at a roster. Uh, but every skilled player on Ohio state will be, I think playing

substantially in the national football league. That's how good they are. Texas's strength is that defensive line, the best defensive line in college football, going against an Ohio state offense line last time Ohio State played a defensive personnel like that was the Wolverines, they're two inside guys and that's the reason I think this will be a close game is I think the defensive line of the Texas Longhorns will keep this thing close. Because I think the skill, if they, Chip Kelly isn't been in rhythm the last two weeks, all that conservative non-creativity

and not getting your best players the ball, the criticism, but that by the way was justifiable against Wolverines, is not there anymore. The last two weeks, unbelievable. Yeah, that Wolverine game, a bit of a blueprint for Texas. I'm sure Sark and his staff are gonna go back to that game and say, all right, what did Michigan do? But the one thing that Ohio State's done,

if you really study what they have done, they've taken the ball out of between the tackles and they're playing a perimeter game. They're throwing it all over the lot. And they're also playing the game C-Gap wider. A, B-Gapper, the inside plays. And for some reason, that was a big part of the game plan in the Wolverines in mismatches. So, you know, watch for Ohio State, they can

see gap wider is what they've done in the run game and obviously the throw game. And they have started strong and they've started aggressively take a look at the first quarter numbers from their two playoff games up 21 nothing at the end of the first quarter against Tennessee up 14 nothing and it probably felt bigger than that against Oregon. So with 35 to zero advantage in the first quarter of the two playoff games for Ohio State. A couple interesting wrinkles to this one coach besides obviously you know the proximity to Austin but these two teams

besides obviously, you know, the proximity to Austin, but these two teams are going to start the regular season next year, Saturday, August 30th in Columbus. So the loser of this team, it's going to have back to back games against the opposition in the semifinal. And let's not forget where Quinn Uers started his college football career. Remember, one of the top prospects back in 2022, committed to Texas, and then flipped a couple months later to Ohio State. But at Ohio State, he was essentially third string took just two snaps all season long as a freshman, he had that mullet kind of flowing out of his hair and, you know, a Texas guy that never maybe really seemed to fit there in

Columbus and then he transfers to Texas. He's been a starter there for three years. But you know, when it's when it's Ohio State, Michigan week, or actually remember this when remember when Texas was at Michigan, this year coach, I think that was week two of the regular season. Quinn-Uers knew how not to refer to Michigan. It wasn't Michigan, it was that team up north and that stayed with Quinn-Uers. That cracked me up.

I really appreciated. I gotta add one thing too, since we're talking about this game, is Jeremiah Smith. Next level dude. I made a comment, can you throw the ball a guy to, I never have. I had a guy like Percy Harvin, I probably should have thrown to him more. What if you just threw the ball to that cat 25 times in a game?

I mean, he's to witness what he's done the last two weeks. Now I will go back and get against the Wolverines. You can blame the quarterback, you can blame the offense line. The receivers did not play great. It'll have to State that day. Now, maybe it was the defensive system there, the way they rolled up and they played the coverage. They dared. What the Wolverines did is they played a lot of too high and doubled the receivers and dared the Buckeyes to run the ball. And then they dominated them up front. So we'll see if that's the same type of game plan that Texas uses.

My guess is they're gonna pay a little bit more attention to Jeremiah Smith than Oregon did. You lead number four by yourself. I'm sure that's part of the offense. If he's by himself, I don't care if it runs called, take that shot. I was looking at some of the numbers for Smith through the quarterfinals. When the score line was 24-0,

Smith, at that point, five grabs, 161 yards, and two touchdowns over the course of the game, seven for 187 in those two touchdowns. This is a 19-year-old cat coach that still has two more years left of college football eligibility. And just think, if we were in any other profession in the sporting world, he's one and done if he even shows up, if he even has to go to college. I mean, he's a dude that could have gone right to the NFL from high school. Yeah, I got very strong feelings about this. Number one is I've seen, I want to say Jalen Smith was a player at Notre Dame get hurt in the bowl game and his career was altered.

We played him in the Fiesta Bowl. And so I do understand as much as it's hard to even get your mind around a player that would not play in a bowl game, a player that would, you know, with Cam Ward we saw him walk away at halftime of a game. And as much as that does not compute, I did see what I saw from that linebacker at Notre Dame when he got hurt in the festival in 2000, what was it, 2015. So, Jeremiah Smith is certainly of number one pick, but if we open the doors,

there's a lot of bad guys out there that I don't want to just say agents, but there's people that will start, You'll see a flood of people possibly, even though the NIL now are keeping guys. I just like the rule. Maurice Claret, a friend of mine, and obviously he's back involved at Ohio State, he's the one that challenged. Remember when he challenged that after the 2002 national title? He said, I want to go to the NFL and they fought it in the courts and he lost. So does Jeremiah Smith, if he wants a chance to go to the NFL, deserve it. But I just worry if you change that rule, a lot of people will get hurt. There'll be people going to the NFL that

should not be going to the NFL. Before they're ready. Before they're ready. Listen, there's not a lot of Jeremiah Smiths out there. So bet MGM wants to know coach. Ohio State favored by six and a half. You see them covering, you see them winning. I think the way they're playing right now, the confidence level, I see them covering that spread. I think it'll be a good game for the three quarters and I think they'll win by a score in the fourth quarter. Yep. I agree with you. I think Buckeyes by seven or 10. Make sure to follow, subscribe, rate us on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, wherever you get your podcasts, as well as across social media, you can find us at 3X Option Show. Please submit those questions. We'll answer them during the show. Our next episode, reminder, come your way Wednesday, January 15th after

the college football playoffs, semi-finals. We think Mark Ingram will be back on American soil at that point. As always, thanks to our great sponsors Wendy's and Bet MGM. Enjoy the semifinals. I love that college football is still going on. Thanks for watching and listening to The Triple Option presented by Wendy's. I can feel it