The Triple Option - Oregon Head Coach Dan Lanning, Florida State Upset, Early Heisman Candidates, and Week 1 Predictions

Episode Date: August 28, 2024

Urban Meyer, Mark Ingram II, and Rob Stone break down Georgia Tech’s upset over Florida State, including the Checkmate Moment that secured the win for the Yellow Jackets. (6:22)   Then, Head Coach of the #3 Oregon Ducks Dan Lanning joins the guys. With 15 transfers this year, including QB Dillon Gabriel, Lanning discussed his approach for finding which players are ready to win. Plus, the backing of Nike Founder Phil Knight, the Ducks move to the Big Ten, and their biggest game of the year; get ready Buckeyes. (14:06)   The guys preview their Heisman frontrunners, as Mark offers his experience as a Heisman Trophy winner. (34:00) And a preview of top matchups this week from USC to Miami, Clemson to Texas A&M, and more. (49:34)   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.   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:    NHTSA Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over. Paid for by NHTSA.   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

Mark, what was the term? He's a boy maker? Coach is a boy maker? Boy maker. Three boys. I don't know. Did you rub it? Did you schlep? I don't know. Oh, what? Hold on. I don't even know what that means. Hey, I should have talked to you first because I got four girls, one boy. At least I got my one. Tape your ankles. Tape your ankles, Mark. Tape the ankles. Oh, yeah. The music means we are back for another week.

Welcome to the second ever edition of The Triple Option. Mark Ingram is dancing to the music in South Florida. It is presented, as always, by our great friends at Wendy's. Try Wendy's new saucy nugs today. Keep dancing, Mark. Before we get underway, I want to remind you to subscribe to our YouTube channel. Follow us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts, as well as across social media at 3XOptionShow. New episodes dropping every Wednesday, and we welcome in our head coach, Urban Meyer,

our Heisman winner, Mark Ingram. I'm Rob Stone. So glad you guys are back here with us. I care deeply about what you guys did between the last episode and this one, but because as Adam Sandler says in The Wedding Singer, I've got the microphone and you'll listen to everything I have to say. I get to tell you guys about my couple days in the great state coach of OH. Ohio, baby. You're supposed to say IO. You've been out of there that long.

You don't even follow it up with an IO? My goodness. Yeah, I got to go to Columbus, Ohio last week to celebrate the great Aunt Jane's birthday. And since I was in Columbus, Coach, I mean, if you're in Columbus, what do you do, right? You dial in favors, and you go check out the second-ranked Buckeyes.

And Coach, you helped me out with that. And Jerry Emick, the great sports information director at Ohio State, the host, if you will. I was able to bring my pops along. And so me and my dad, a longtime Buckeye fan, there he is, grew up on Lane in Tremont. Got to go check out the facility there, Woody Hayes. Look at Pop.

OG stoner. And by the way, Woody's got spikes on too, right? He's got old- school cleats on. Grand Bob, as we call him in our house, no cleats right there. Grand Bob's got to pick up the pace a little bit. There you are, Coach. Coach, you were all over the center and also in the locker room, which was really cool.

We got to go. Look at Coach right there, Mark. He's a younger version right there. I just strutting through the air. That hair not moving, that focus, the B focus the buckeye the weight room so impressive in there as well everything in scarlet and gray and i know i know that's at all these major campuses and these football programs right now this is inside the horseshoe and yeah you see these signs you know who came up with those signs? Yeah, our guy, our guy, Urban Meyer. And what was really cool is I was there at coach on Friday and they had practice, kind of a walkthrough,

you know, at their normal training facility. But then the whole team, including my dad and I, boarded buses and we took the bus to the horseshoe and walked into the locker room and they got to go through for the, you know, the, the transfer players, the freshmen, what game day was like. So you're going to go from here to here. When you enter the locker room, this is how we do it. This is how you sit. When we leave the locker room, it's this team is going, this team is going. And they went through the whole thing,

including, um, they did the, uh, what's the hand thing. Remind me, coach, the, uh, quick cows, the quick cows. So they practiced. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Mark, they practiced the quick cows. It was cool. Cause I could see, I saw coach day in the background and he was, he was doing the quick cows with them. Um, it's that, that Friday coach was really kind of unique because at least to me, and I don't know what it would signify to you, to me it was like, hey, guys, camp is over. Next step is we are getting ready for kickoff. Yeah, your focus has got to be on the task at hand,

and that is blocking big people, taking care of the ball, protecting the quarterback. We would always try to – all anxiety has got to be taken out as far as where do I go, what do I do, what what do i wear who am i sitting next to so i was an extremist about that because i've had many players over the years tell me that in just the psychology piece of it you're you can only handle so much and your job is to go perform on that field and so as often as we can we did it a couple times we had called them dress rehearsals and where you get taped, where you go from tape, where you go at what time, you know, what time you get called out to go on the field and all that. So yeah, I'm glad you got

to see that, but you know, four to six, A to B, that's a big saying. And I do want to hit this real quick, Mark. I'm a firm believer. What you say you're going to do, you're going to do. That's how powerful your self-talk is. And as a coach, I think you can somewhat control their self-talk. One of it's confidence. You know, if you're one of those coaches screaming at them, no mistakes or watch the draw, watch the pass, watch, you know, we would never, if I'd hear that, I'd say, stop that. It's all four to six, A to B. Four to six is the length of a play, four to six seconds. And A to B, there's always starting point A and a finish point B. And I wanted our players just constantly thinking about effort.

And effort overcomes mistakes. And so that was that four to six A to B. Coach, how does that make you feel that signs that you created, quotes that you created and you put up in that facility are still up, hanging, still standing strong to this day, to this day, they still there because of you. How does that make you feel? Well, I'm glad that Ryan kept all that. And, you know, from my understanding and, you know, I talked to coach day all the time and, you know, he's part of that infrastructure.

He's part of the culture at Ohio state. And I didn't, I hadn't been in that locker room in a minute. It was kind of cool to see that, though. You know what they call that, Coach? Respect. R-E-S-P-E-C-K. On this week's edition of the Triple Option, we are joined by Oregon head coach Dan Lanning,

who is a longtime subscriber to the Triple Option that we learned. Long time. Urban's odd way of praising football teams. You're going to hear about that. Coach Prime absolutely sounds off. And we're going to talk about Week Zero Stunner, which is where we begin with any given Saturday. Yeah, we're going to recap kind of the big moments in Saturday's activity.

And on Saturday in Dublin, Ireland, Florida State, number 10 in the nation taking on Georgia Tech. And we started off the season with an absolute stunner. Coach, Georgia Tech getting a walk-off field goal to upset the Seminoles in Ireland 24-21. And I could feel your head kind of shaking at that moment. Yeah, devastating loss for Florida State. You know, here's a team that went undefeated last year.

They wanted to come out, and, you know, they got bumped from the playoffs. And, you know, I heard about that all offseason, and they lost some good players. They have an excellent coach. And, you know, I picked Florida State in that one, but, man, Georgia Tech really did a hell of a job. And, Mark, there's checkmate moments in a game, and we used to always preach that to our players and our staff.

And you play, you play, you play, and then there's that one moment, and it's an analogy of when you do play chess, when you tip that cane over and it's over. We win the game. And the checkmate moment of this game was, you think about it, go back with 55 seconds left. Yes, sir. It was a loss of 10 yards.

That knocked them all the way back to the 38-yard line. They're on a field goal range. Yep. And think about this, Mark, because I want your opinion on this. Every practice during training camp, you practice situational games, situations, because the majority of big-time games comes down to the last two minutes of a game. The line of mark for a field goal to me was always a 25-yard line

between the 25 and 30. And if you can get on offense, you can get to that spot to hit a field goal, we would practice it over and over again. You have to get to the 25 in between the 25 and 30. 25 if you're an average kicker, 30 if you're a good kicker because you have a 48-yard field goal. And sure enough, Florida State, all they got to do is make a freaking tackle. Then Georgia Tech loses 10 yards on a screwed-up play.

They run an excellent play call. They deliver a screen pass, and Florida State does not get them down, and they get it down to a 44-yard field goal. So those moments, I'm sure that's driving the team crazy because that was a devastating loss. I mean, you talk about situational moments and situational awareness and being able to take advantage in those tough situations. Georgia Tech ultimately almost ruined themselves.

You know, it was kind of a mesh. The receiver was coming. They snapped the ball. Quarterback got up on him quick. Ten-yard loss. But now what do you got to do? You still, it's third and long. You got to get back in the field goal range.

Like you said, Coach, they made a great play. Executed it to a tee. Gave their kicker a chance, a shot, at making a long field goal to win the game. And he delivered. So I agree with you, Coach. I'm sitting there looking at the game. I'm like, oh, they just blew it, you know?

They just blew it. Now they're going into overtime, momentum with Florida State. You never know how that could shake out in overtime. But they executed situational football, got their kicker a chance, and he delivered. And Georgia Tech with the huge upset in Ireland. Yeah, you could see that player for Georgia Tech knew exactly where he had to get. His third down at 18.

And the checkmate moment is get to that 25, between the 25 and 30-yard line, and he did. And they hit that 44-yard field goal. By any means necessary, get it. For Coach Key at Georgia Tech, a former player, and he's done a heck of a job there. And Georgia Tech might be bouncing back now. It's been a minute.

Paul Johnson had them going. They've been dead and buried for a while. It's a great school. My daughter went there. That's a great place. And, you know, that'd be great to see Georgia Tech make a move. Yeah, you talk about Brent Key, the former offensive line coach there. And he had a couple of really interesting quotes after the game, Coach.

One of them, quote, were not a gimmicky brand of football, right? It's hard nose. Because for years, Georgia Tech, if you look at it, obviously on the offensive side, coach, it was kind of a gimmick. Right. And he's the line coach.

He wants to run the ball down your throat. I know Mark Ingram likes to hear that. We love to run the ball down your throat. He can tell during his interview after the game that he talked like a line coach, he acted like a line coach, and he acted like a player's coach. How do line coaches act? Yeah, run the damn ball, man.

Yeah. The best line coaches, you worry about the line coaches and start saying, hey, let's throw the ball. And you're like, wait a minute, what did you just say? Yeah. Staffer run the headsets. I would look at the line coach and say, no, no, no. Your job is to pound the football.

Yes, it is. There's no reason that Georgia Tech can't win. Beautiful campus right there. They got the right coach now. You watch what happens. Great recruiting area, obviously. It's a great recruiting area, but they also have those – I mean, Georgia Tech's a real one academically.

They have some limitations on who you're allowed to take. So watch for Georgia Tech. It looks like they got the right coach in place. And good for Georgia Tech, right? But obviously, Mark, the lead story is Florida State, number 10, the reigning ACC champs falling. They looked kind of like Florida State in the early days of Mike Norvell. The skill guys, which Florida State should always have,

didn't really seem to appear. And then DJU in his first start for Florida State should always have, didn't really seem to appear. And then DJU and his first start for Florida State looked like the guy that Clemson was, I guess, content to see leave South Carolina and go somewhere else. I mean, when you talk about losing the likes of Trey Benson, Jordan Travis, Keon Coleman, Johnny Wilson, like that's not just an easy fix. That's just not an easy replacement. And then DJU, I mean, he's not just an easy fix. That's just not an easy replacement.

And then DJ U, I mean, he's just been a guy. A guy. He's just been a guy. He's just been a guy. And so everyone was super excited about seeing him at the Knowles. And I respect him. He's a hard worker. He's been, but I mean, you got to be able to deliver.

And they didn't. They didn't. Like you said, those skill positions, they needed to make plays, needed to show up. Florida State has some work to do, man, especially losing the opening game to Georgia Tech. They have those playoff aspirations. Schedule isn't like all that. So they got to cut. I think they got Miami on there.

So that'll have, hopefully they, maybe they want Miami to run the table and be high ranked. So they got a shot to, you know, get a high quality victory towards the end of the season. But Florida State's in trouble. They got to go to work. But I believe in Mike Norvell. I was up there. I visited Mike Norvell. I had an interview with Jordan Travis.

I sat down and talked to Trey Benson last year. And I know he has the right culture. I know he has the right mindset. I know he has the right attitude. So with Mike Norvell leading that program, I know they're going to turn the page and focus on what's moving forward. But DJ, you got to be able to lead this team, make plays, make right decisions, and they're going to have to have some playmakers, some receivers, some running backs, some tight ends step up and be the playmaker that this offense needs. I don't think they can make the playoff mark

if they lose again. I think that's how tough that loss was. Now, obviously, if they run the table, but I don't know. That did not look like a team. They have to run the table. I know DJU, but I also worry about that defense, man. Yeah. A defense gave up big chunks of yardage when they couldn't give them up. Coach, they have to run the table,

and they have to hope for Miami to be highly ranked around the time they play so they can get that high-quality victory as well because the schedule isn't, like, stacked with just high-quality wins, you know? So we'll see. One last stat on Brent Key, the coach of Georgia Tech. As interim or head coach,

he's been a five-times double-digit dog underdog. They're 5-0 at those games. Yeah. 5-0. Won all five of those outright. And, Coach, look at you. That's our saucy nug of the week. Try some at the nearest Wendy's.

Coach Meyer serving up saucy nugs. Coming up next, we are joined by Oregon head coach Dan Lanning. You know, the head coach that Coach Meyer affectionately recalls a pain in the ass. Yeah. Light it. This is an ad by BetterHelp. What comes to mind when you hear the word gratitude? Maybe it's a daily practice, or maybe it feels hard to be grateful right now.

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He's also a longtime fan of the triple option, head coach Dan Lanning of Oregon listened to our first show, offered us a critique offline. We'll get more on that in a second. But coach, I know you heard it because you listened and watched last week's show, but our coach, Urban Meyer, has a very interesting way of doling out praise. Take a listen. I called Dan Lanning and his staff. I did this last year. I think they're the best pain in the ass staff in the country. And that's something that I remember when I was a younger coach. We would always do whatever the defense didn't want to see.

So I'd sit in the defensive rooms and I'd always ask them, what drives you nuts? And whatever it did, I put it in on offense. On offense, I'd ask them defensively, whether it be bare, whether it be odd four-eye, whether it be some kind of blitz. If it was a pain in the ass, I went over to the D coordinator and I said, put it in. When I watch Oregon play, that's them.

They're a pain in the ass all over the field. Special teams, offense, defense, and that's a credit to their staff. I love watching them play, and I'm a big fan of Oregon. Feel the love. Feel the love. Feel the love. Yeah, you know, I think my mom might be upset about it. As a coach, that's what you want to hear, right? You don't want to make it easy on your opponent.

And, you know, Coach Meyer and I have talked about it several times. Like, you're not trying to do the things that they're able to line up and execute against every day. You want to do the things that are really simple for your team but complicated for your opponent. So that's certainly what we try to do here. And I think when I was out there with you guys in the spring, you have such a good group of staff, a good group of coaches that, first of all, they get along. And the one thing that's always intrigued me is that

the most underutilized resource is each other. And when your offensive coaches don't talk to your defense coaches and vice versa, I never understood that. And when your offensive coaches don't talk to your defense coaches and vice versa, I never understood that. And so when I actually built a facility at Florida, I made sure the two staff rooms are right next to each other. And I was really impressed with your staff out there, coach. Yeah, that's something, you know, going back to when I was with, you know, coach Saban and coach Smart, we always watched practice film with each other in the room where a lot of teams, they'll go in the offense, they'll go watch the offense. The defense will go watch the defense.

But I want both sides of the ball hearing the issues with each coverage or the issues with each side and how can we make it harder. So, you know, we're in there talking about releases and we're like, hey, if this guy will stall release for a second, it's really going to screw up our rules. That's something that you're – those little things like that, I think, are really critical to hear from each other. You know, if I turn this over to Mark, because I was in the spring also,

it was a very unique way of going about your business where you kept – I kept saying, where's your offensive line? And you're mixing, matching. Can you kind of explain to the theory behind that in spring practice where you just kept trying different lineups, and there really wasn't a first, second, third string. It was just moving people around. And the first time I seen that, I got an understanding once you explained it to me.

Yeah, a couple of pieces to that. First, in spring ball, all I'm trying to figure out, and even early in fall, I'm trying to figure out who's above the line and who's below the line, who can play winning football and there hasn't been a year where i've been coaching where your lineup the way it starts is the way it finishes so it's not about finding just 11 guys that can play it's about finding as many guys as possible um that can play and then the last thing i want is guys worried about where where am i on the pecking order all that like i just want guys to go play great football but we change the matchups every single day to make sure, okay,

I'm going to get this defensive lineman versus this offensive lineman. All right. I chart it, you know, throughout spring. How many reps did this guy get at left tackle, left guard? You know, so I can also say, okay, who's our backup left tackle? Are we getting them enough reps at guard? If our center goes down, who's the next guy snapping it? So I think the easy thing is to say, okay, here's your 11.

Go practice with these 11 and make it work. But for me, as much as possible, you want to move those pieces around, see how many guys can play winning football. Are you giving the quarterbacks a fair chance if they're always throwing to the best wideouts? Do you get an opportunity to change which guy you're throwing to, who you're going against? So definitely believe in iron sharpens iron. We have periods where we've got to be the best versus the best, but I'm more interested in changing those lineups up until you get a little

later in fall camp to see can guys work in multiple spots and how many players you have above the line to play winning football. Yeah, Coach, you talked about iron sharpens iron and you have a lot of not just talent, just a lot of top talent coming into Oregon. I'm hearing rumors about guys flying in on private jets and all type of good stuff like that. What is it like having the backing of the juggernaut that Phil Knight and the Nike brand is? Yeah, I think if you want to be one of the best teams in college football, you better have resources to be there. And Phil has always been.

Yeah, and I think a lot of great teams do, right? The great teams have support. Right. But Phil has always been an unbelievable – Phil and Penny have always been unbelievable supporters of Oregon. I think everybody always thinks about Oregon athletics. You should see what they've done to the school. You should see what they've done to the school. You should see what they've done for cancer research.

You should see what they've done just in their communities. But, yeah, you have to have support to be an elite team right now. And I think that sometimes people get carried away and start talking about all the things they think happen when that's not really the reality. You know, we're a competitive football team, and to be a competitive football team, you better have resources right now. A quick follow-up, Coach.

How involved are you with the jersey selections and the 30 different options y'all have? I just have – I really have veto power, Mark. That's it. If you see it and you don't like it, you just overturn it. That's it. That's it. Like, if I see something that's too extreme, I'm like, guys, we ain't doing that.

But most of the time, by the time we get to Saturday, I don't really know what we're wearing. Our players, you got to give your players something that they can be in charge of. Our equipment guy here, Kenny Farr, is unbelievable. And obviously our relationship with Nike is really special. But they make these jerseys a couple of years in advance. My wife probably has more to do with it than I do.

Coach, when that cell phone, when you look at that cell phone, it says Phil Knight. Or what is Phil Knight in your cell phone as? Lord Knight? Big Phil. Phil Knight. Yeah, he's in there as Phil Knight. It actually, I don't know why, you know how it saves like the picture or whatever somebody has saved as their profile. It actually has a basketball saved on it, you know, for him, which I don't understand why basketball is possible.

Dana Altman hacked your phone. That's what it is. Joe Altman jumped in there. When you see that Phil Knight is calling you or texting you, what is your immediate reaction? Excitement. I mean, I still pinch myself every day I wake up, but I get to walk into this facility,

get to be the head coach at Oregon. I remember the very first time I ever talked to Phil, I'd get off the phone. My family and I, when we go on vacations, we do audio books sometimes. And we listen to the book Shoe Dog together. And my oldest son, Caden, goes, is that the Phil Knight from Shoe Dog? I was like, yeah, that's him. So I still get excited when I get to talk to Phil on the phone.

It's fun to be able to pick his brain. You had Bo Nix last year. Bo Nix last year. You had Dylan Gabriel this year. Obviously two transfer quarterbacks. Great players. Are you worried a little bit about getting in that routine where you're always going to get transfers

as opposed to taking that high school player? Interesting that in the last 10 years, Joe Burrow is the only transfer that ever went at all. So I'm just curious, is that a plan or is that just the way it worked out? You know, I think college football has changed. You go look at the Heisman Trophy ceremony last year, you see Michael Penix transfer, right?

You see a guy from LSU transfer. You see Bo Nix transfer. Trying to remember, I guess Marvin was the other guy up there, right? But he was there the whole time. Our goal is certainly to recruit high school and develop talent. But number one goal is to go win football games. And, you know, Dante Moore is a great example of a guy that was committed to us all the way until signing day.

Ended up going somewhere else and then came to us. So I think you want to be able to sign high school talent and develop high school talent and grow from there. But your job first is to make sure that you have a competitive roster to go compete, you know, on Saturdays. Brave new world that you're in, Coach, transitioning from the Pac-12 rest in peace to the Big Ten. How has that changed your philosophy towards recruiting, towards scheduling, towards just managing your program as a whole? Yeah, a couple of small changes. Nothing, you know, nothing huge.

I still think winning football is winning football, regardless of what conference you're in. And when you want to play, you know, where we want to play at the end of the year, it's going to take big teams up front. You have to win in the trenches. You have to have great skill outside. And you're going to have to play as a team. You're going to have to be playing disciplined football. That certainly exists in the Big Ten. That's something I'm excited about, the traditions there.

I do think it opens up our footprint from recruiting. There's some places that, you know, we weren't playing before and that we're playing games now that's going to create some opportunities in time for us to be able to go attack. So I'm certainly excited about that. You know, but outside of that, I don't think it changes a whole lot. You know, as far as when you, you in the future, you know, we play in five years in advance who are non-conference games are, you're probably looking for something a little closer to home because you're going to be traveling more in season. There's no way you don't have a big circle around October 12th

when the Ohio State comes out to Eugene. How much, Coach and I would talk through the years, and every day, Ohio State did something to prepare for that team up north. How much are you preparing right now, whether it's through fall camp and as you head into week one for that date with Ohio State. Yeah, you know, I don't know that we are just on that. In fact, I know we aren't. You know, what we are is we definitely studied in the summer.

We definitely took some time to be able to look at them as a team and what their talent is and what we think we will need when we get to that week to be able to play those guys. But the unique thing now in college football is there's a chance you can play that team multiple times too. So it's going to be interesting. I've always been process oriented. I've always been, you know, let's focus on the team that we have right now and who we have to play right now. That being said, that's certainly going to be a big game in odds. I know our fans are excited about it and our players are excited about it. Biggest game in Oregon football history in your your books or at least in most recent that's going to be a big

one man you know certainly biggest game sorry my ear earpod fell out here certainly uh my biggest game you know i think probably since since i've been here as the head coach um and certainly a huge one you know here yeah that's gonna be a But, Coach, now that you're in the Big Ten, I know you've went from the Pac-12, rest in peace, what Rob said. You went from playing schools that were all around you. Now you have an average travel schedule of 2,300 miles. 2,300 miles? 2,300 miles.

Wow. How are you managing that logistically and also the expectations of family members that wanted to see their, you know, children play closer to home? Well, if you walk into our locker room, Mark, you're not going to see a lot of guys from Oregon. So everybody was always traveling to come play here. And to be honest, I mean, we traveled to Texas Tech last year. We had some long, you know, long trips.

I don't think the game's that different. For us, East Coast trips, you know, I'm shocked to hear it being 2,300 miles. I honestly didn't know that. You know, the reality is we go to Wisconsin, we go to, I'm shocked to hear it being 2,300 miles. I honestly didn't know that. The reality is we go to Wisconsin, we go to Purdue, we go to Michigan. Those are our long road trips. For the most part, we're still going to be playing kind of relatively close schedule. We go to L.A. We went to L.A. before, right? Times are going to be traveling the Pacific Northwest, so does a lot change?

No. The one thing I did do is visit with some NFL staffs about when you're traveling multiple time zones. Okay. Do we want to travel a day earlier? Do we want to make that look a little different? But I don't think it's going to be, you know, huge. It's different in football. Now, other sports, I think it's a big deal, right? But, you know, for us, I don't think it's going to be drastically different. So you talked to those NFL teams. Are you going to fly a day earlier and anything else that you took from those conversations that you'll adjust for your program? Yeah, we'll fly earlier. You know, Purdue was a game that, um, that we were going to be

going a day earlier. Now we're playing on a Friday night. Don't think you necessarily have to go earlier, but, uh, some of those other ones will, will end up traveling earlier. Best pregame speech in 2023. You're getting ready to play Colorado. I know me and you talked about that and it always shocked me when I see those darn cameras in the locker room, but let's go ahead and run that and hear your comments on that. Rooted in

substance, not flash. Rooted in substance. Today we talk with our pads. You talk with your helmet, right? Every moment. Theerella story is over man right they're fighting for clicks we're fighting for wins there's a difference right there's a difference right this game ain't gonna be played in hollywood it's gonna be played on the grass right it's gonna be played on the grass let's go.

So good. Let's go, coach. How much of that was premeditated? How much of it was in the moment? I mean, I always feel like before I talk to our team, I want to know what I'm going to be able to say. But the message for us, like, I've got messaging for every week kind of already mapped out, general thought, and then I think you adjust it for when you get into that week, what that team's going to look like.

You know, so the things we're talking about in that locker room, a lot of it got trimmed out and it became about something it really wasn't. You know, the real message was, who are we? Who is our team? We were talking about how connected we are. We talked about the Redwoods and how the strength of the Redwoods are in their roots, right? And their roots really don't grow deep. They grow together. So that's really what that was about is us being a team that day and avoiding being individuals when we knew that there was going to be some distractions, some other pieces to that puzzle. It was a great lesson for me as a young head coach when somebody asks, hey, can we come

to your locker room? We're going to make sure we don't share stuff that you don't want being shared and you run out to the practice or run out to the game field to go coach and don't watch it first. Sometimes that's not necessarily a result. So I don't know if you'll ever see cameras in our locker room again, but it ended up not being a horrible thing, I guess. No, it was a great thing. They went out there and answered the bell,

so that's how you answer from your team. Yeah. Yeah. Coach, I did a little crowdsourcing here. So I got a question from an Oregon alum and an Oregon resident, good friend of mine, Chris Turley. Once he heard I was talking to you, he fired me off a laundry list of questions he wants answered. All right? So I cleaned them up. I cleaned them up. This is a good one, though.

This is kind of for Oregon Nation as a whole. He says, there's always talk about Autzen Stadium being expanded in seating size, especially now that it's sitting there in the Big Ten. Do you think your stadium needs to be bigger? Well, I mean, this year, our season tickets are sold out. Our opening game against Idaho is sold out. Several of our games are already sold out. I think that's going to be a trend here as long as we continue to do our job.

So if that's the case, we certainly have to find some ways to be able to get more people in the stands. And we have an unbelievable environment. And I think that the great thing about Oregon, you talk about one of the reasons you come here is because it's about innovation, and they're always on the cutting edge. If there's an opportunity to grow here, I think that we'll be taking advantage of that. I see that smile. I see what your answer is saying right there.

Hey, Mark, what was the term? He's a boymaker? Coach is a boymaker? Boymaker. Three boys. I don't know. Did you rub it? Did you schlep? I don't know. What? Hold on. I don't know what that means. Hey, I should have talked to you first because I got four girls, one boy. At least I got my one. Tape your ankles, Mark. Tape the ankles. I don't know what any of that means

and I'm going to transition off of it. So, Coach, you got three boys. Your oldest is Titan. By the way, that is a name. Youngest is Titan. Titan is 14? Caden's 14. Caden's 14. My 11-year-old is Titan. Titan is 14? Caden's 14. Caden's 14. My 11-year-old is Titan.

He's my young boss. So Titan's 11. By the way, strong name selection. I heard a rumor that Titan was practicing with you guys last week. Is that right? Yeah, he got out there on the field with us a little bit. You know, I've always wanted my boys to do exactly what they're interested in doing. And what's fun is all of them are all three different,

but I was certainly pretty pumped whenever Titan it's like, dad, I want to play football. You know, I, I got excited about it. And the other day, you know, school hasn't started yet for these guys. So he asked me if he could come to practice and I was like, hell yeah, let's go. So, you know, I told him he needs to be involved, what he can do, he can do. But when it came to the drill work, he needs to do the drill work behind and around the team.

I look over the very first period of practice. He's in the middle of a drill, running the drill. I said, no, no, no. You practice after practice. During practice, these guys practice. But he just enjoys being around the guys, and he's getting infatuated with the game. So it's fun to watch.

Shout out to Titan. I'm a first-time uncle. My sister, my baby sister, had a son and named him Titan. So shout out to Titan. I'm a first time uncle. My sister, my baby sister had a son and named him Titan. So shout out to the Titans of the world, man. They legendary. Love it. Hey coach, you listen, coach one more, one more quick question. Um, so you listened to episode number one and you listened to the interview we did with coach Saban. What did you extract or what did you learn from that conversation? I just enjoy hearing, you know, Coach Saban, Coach Meyer.

Anytime there's a coach that I've got a lot of respect for, for me, it's an opportunity for me to learn a little bit. And the way he went about his process every single day was something that I got to watch, you know, as a year as a GA with him. But just listen to his, you know, his thought process. For me, it's always exciting to pick up, whether it's how he recruited, you know, even hearing him talk about Mark's recruitment on that last episode and how involved he gets, you know,

as him as an assistant coach, you know, whether it's doing the grade checks or meeting the girlfriends, you know, that stuck out to me about how detailed that he would be. And then getting that to go full circle where he gets to coach a former player's song. That's that's pretty awesome. Hey, coach, I admire your offensive philosophy. I would have loved to play your offense. It's wide open. It's explosive. It's exciting. You know, we know you lost Bo Nix, Bucky Irvin, who I was a big fan of Troy Franklin. Is there any players that we don't know of

who's going to make a big splash who we should be aware of I always say you got to sit and watch man I need some of that insider info coach I need some of that I apologize Mark but I tell you this like every week I get this same question every press conference is that

you guys watch the game like I watch the game you got to make plays in practice to make plays in the game I've seen some plays in practice but I never know how you know the great thing is there is no script to this right so you got to go see how the guys perform we have talent um we have some guys that can create issues for the opponent uh certainly but it's got to all come to fruition on game day so there when there's a little different when somebody's out there pressing it's a little bit different when you call a play into a blitz and you don't realize how it's going to play out.

So I'm excited to see it, you know, come full circle. And then it's our job as coaches to figure out what our players do best so they can, you know, utilize those skills. Well, I'm excited to see it too, Coach. I'm high on the ducks right now. I'm high on the ducks. You feel me? I appreciate it.

Yes, sir. Coach Lanning, thanks so much for joining us on episode two. We can't wait for your post-show critiques to come in on Wednesday evening. I'll get them to you, no doubt. Thanks, Coach. Best of luck this season. Enjoy your opener. Nighty.

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Drinking and driving will change your whole world. Whether you get pulled over or get into a crash, things will never be the same. Getting a sober ride will change your world for the better. Drive sober or get pulled over. Paid for by NHTSA. So Mark, let's start with you. Before we start talking about the early season Heisman favorites, how did winning your Heisman trophy define your career? Winning my Heisman trophy defined my career just because it was like a cherry on top. Like, you know, we've had an immaculate season.

I really feel like it's a team award. I feel like if I wasn't on a tremendous team that had a lot of victories, coaches put me in position, there were just so many hands that got into me being successful and me having the opportunity to go to the Heisman presentation and represent my school. I'm just thankful for everyone who had their hands in it because all I did was just do my job. And it was just to define them. You're forever defined, though, as a Heisman trophy.

Oh, look at the smile right away. It tells you you're forever defined as a Heisman trophy winner. When people bring that up and say it to you, and it's hanging right over your shoulder, I mean, what is the internal reaction that you get? I'm thankful, man. I'm humbled. I'm honored.

And to be the first one at the storied University of Alabama, I mean, it's an amazing feeling. It's something that's in stone forever. You know, you can't take it from the boy. You know what I mean? Boy is going to be the first, not the second, the first. You know what I mean? Oh, going to be the first, not the second, the first. You know what I mean? Oh, boy.

Wee-wee-wee-woo. Go on. No, but it was just a blessing, man. I'm grateful. I'm thankful. Had a lot of hands, a lot of people who poured into me and helped me accomplish that. But I was just doing my job, Coach.

I was just toting that pig skin. Hand it to me and let me tote it. That's all I was doing. And it's a team award as well. I have always looked at that. hand it to me and let me tote it. That's all I was doing. And it's a team award as well. That's what I've always looked at that. We were lucky to have guys invited to the Heisman quite often, and we had one Heisman winner with Tim. Ironically, I had two Heisman guys that didn't play for it,

that played for us and then transferred, Cam Newton and Joe Burrow. So I coached three Heisman guys, only one played for us. But I do think this too, Mark and Rob, is that it's also the coach's responsibility. When you recruit these fine players like a Mark Ingram or a Zeke Elliott, we had JT Barrett, you know, we had these guys that every year

would have an opportunity to become a Heisman candidate. And in the back of your mind, even the front of your mind, it's your obligation to make sure you get them touches, you keep them healthy, because that's the great promotion for your school and recruiting. Plus, that's a coach's job. When that mom and dad hand you that player, say, take care of my kid, you make sure you take care of that kid. That also means you get them every award that's possible and you do right by him. It know, it's interesting, Coach. We talk about Heisman numbers and Heisman moments.

You know, through a course of a game, how much of those attributes or those stats are you or somebody actually tracking when you know you have a legitimate Heisman candidate on your roster? Yeah, I wouldn't say anything to anybody other than my guy that was next to me, Quinn or Brian Voltellini.

And it would only be in the games where you're outmatched the opponent, where you're, you know, when you're supposed to win by three or four scores and the game's starting to go a certain way. I would, and I think we talked about that. I think JT Barrett, one time we were playing, ironically, Bowling Green, a place I used to coach,

but we threw the ball in the second quarter every snap. And the reason we did that is I wanted to get JT some stats the ball in the second court every snap. And the reason we did that is I wanted to get JT some stats before I pulled him out of the game. And so I think we had six touchdowns in the first half, and then you pulled him out so he at least could leave that day with some stats to get him in the Heisman running. I'm sure Bowling Green appreciated that 7-7-10 defeat that you handed him your former school the school that gave you the start i ziggy zumba a little shout out to bowling green by the way i hope big noon kickoff can somehow find their way to the campus of bowling green oh that'd be great gosh i would love it

they have a good team this year by the way let's go let's see if they the falcons can do it talking about heisman facts we're you mentioned Cam Newton, Coach, going back to the year he won the Heisman in 2010, 12 of the last 14 winners, Mark, cover your ears, have been quarterbacks, those poor running backs, those poor wide receivers. Of those QBs, five from the SEC, three from the Big 12, two each from the Pac-12 and the ACC.

Mark, I'm going to give you a trick. Rob, one second. I want to give you something. But guess who the three non-quarterbacks guess where they went to school? It's three non-quarterbacks. Wow. Guess where they went? Of course, Alabama. Uh-huh. Roll the damn tide.

We don't give a piss about nothing but the tide, baby. So you're including yourself in those three, right? Because Derrick Henry in 15. We can exclude me. We can exclude me. No, we can't exclude you. You're our Heisman Trophy winner, my friend.

So let's talk Heisman real quick. We know Heismans are not won in August or September. It's more of a November-type trophy. But as we go into really week number one here, Mark, who are some of the Heisman favorites that are on your radar right now? I mean, as you said, this quarterback award, you have to be very special, have a very special season, even be considered for it if you're not a quarterback.

So even a quarterback, you have to have a special season as a quarterback. So let's just go from the top of the list down. Number one, Carson Beck. Returning, third year as a starter, leader of that team, and he is a player. He is a ball player. Then you go to number two, Oregon, Dylan Gabriel. If he has a great season and Oregon is doing what they're supposed to do, he'll be in the running for it.

Then you go to number three, Ohio State, Will Howard. If they have a good season and Will Howard is getting numbers, obviously they're going to run the football, two elite running backs. But if Ohio State is having a season that everyone thinks they should, he will be in contention. Then you go to Texas, Quinn Ewers. Then you go to five, Alabama, Jalen Milrow. These are all guys with a legit shot at winning this Heisman Trophy.

Then now, I got some dark horses. You could throw somebody like, maybe Travis Hunter has a huge year playing defense, intercepting the ball. Maybe he has some big plays on offense. You got to be able to do them both. Damian Martinez in Miami, running back. You know what I mean?

He's had like 2,000 scrimmage yards over the last two seasons, all Pac-12. He's down there at Miami. If Miami has a big season and he's running hard, running big, having big plays, big numbers, maybe he's a non-quarterback potential candidate. But, you know, these teams that are – everyone's expecting for them to do well. Look for those quarterbacks and somebody from those positions to be able to rise to the occasion and be in contention for the Heisman.

But that's week one. That's my thoughts on week one. Right, that's week one. Maybe one other quarterback because, you know, you didn't mention enough quarterbacks, Mark. Jackson Dart. Jackson Dart, Ole Miss. Yeah, former USC guy, Ole Miss.

Look, the lane train is going to put up passing numbers, right? We know that. Dart, we had 3,300 passing yards, 23 touchdowns, also rushed it for eight scores last season. The question for him is how good is the Ole Miss team going to be? Again, preseason top 10. If they can get themselves in the 10-11 win category and get themselves an upset somewhere over one of the big dogs in the SEC.

I think we're going to be talking about Jackson Dart. Coach, did we miss anybody? Actually, you know what's funny? Coach, I remember we talked about Will Howard and Heisman. I think it was last week or maybe it was off camera at some other point. You kind of scratched your head about that. You weren't fully believing that one.

I'm more on Mark's point. If Ohio State is number one and you're the quarterback and you put up pretty good numbers, you're definitely going to be in consideration. Yeah, but you need more than pretty good though, Mark. And that's the only concern is they have the two first rounders at tailback.

They have an incredible group of receivers. I'm just not sure. I think he's a great player and I think he's going to, you know, he's going to run one of the top offenses of the top offenses of the country but when you get to November you have to have the stats you know I've been down that road before and you know that's at times you would actually feel guilty because you didn't give the

guy enough carries it was Zeke Elliott or you had uh you know JT just didn't give him enough touchdowns because at the end of the day yes you have to be part of a great team but you have to have the stats and that's my concern about Will part of a great team, but you have to have the stats. And that's my concern about Will Howard. I just don't see him having that 40 touchdown passing season or I think he'll be a very good runner for Ohio State, but not enough statistically to put him in the Heisman. And the schedule is so soft early on too. You think that's going to have a negative impact on all Ohio State candidates?

I worry about that. I mean, you look closely at that schedule. There are five weeks until they play a game. Now, the game they play in five weeks is a real one. But they have three games where they're 50-point favorites by week. And then Michigan State, like we said, it's a shell of themselves. And you're playing 35, 40 plays a game and you have all those other talent on that field. How do you walk away from those games without, you know, and you're going to pull

them in the third, fourth quarter. How do you do that? You know, and I just, I'm worried about that. If he has Rudy Poole's the first five weeks, he's going to put up numbers. And then you go to Oregon, if you go to Oregon and you've put a great performance together and win on the road in Eugene, that right there is going to put you in consideration. I don't care what his numbers are looking like. It's about what you're doing with your team, putting him in position to win that natty. That's what's going to be to Will Howard's advantage.

And you say he could run the ball, so he's going to have some rushing yards, maybe some rushing tutties. We're going to see. We're going to see. It's week one. It's all speculation. But even last year, Will Howard was 24 touchdowns and 359 rush yards. I just don't know if that's –

obviously, I think you'll have some better numbers this year. He has a better supporting cast now. He has a better supporting cast now. He was at – where? Kansas State? Kansas State? Kansas State, yeah. And he's leaner and he's faster. And he certainly-

Don't be hating on your own people, Coach. It ain't a good look. Oh, not hating on him. I swear he won't have the stats. He's just a truth provider. All right, it is time for- Maybe. Maybe not.

That each week we're going to bring you a clip that caught our ear holes. And this week it comes from, yes, our goodion Sanders so yeah so here's the background right Colorado the university the football program informed the Denver Post that coach prime other members of the football team would no longer take questions from one of their columnists, Sean Keeler, after what was perceived as personal attacks on Deion through the course of those columns. Now, after that ban, Mark Kisla, a writer for the Denver Post and Keeler's coworker, obviously, asked Coach Prime if he feels persecuted by outside noise.

I don't know about persecuted. This is a way of life for me. You guys act like this is the first time I've been shot at. I've been lied on, cheated, talked about, mistreated. That's a little gospel song. This is not the first time for this. But as I mature, instead of shooting back or lashing out or just dismissing you, I wanna know why.

Like, let's help each other. Let's figure out the why. Because if you understand the why in people, that helps you tremendously. Because that's all I come for. I just come to find I want to know why, what promotes that. What was your reaction when you heard that, Coach? I've known D in a long time, and he says things that most people want to say. I've never seen a guy ban guys from asking questions or all that.

There's been times all of us have wanted to. But I think there's two-sided responsibility there. One is the coach probably can't. He'll catch a lot of heat for not allowing people to ask questions. But then I do believe journalists have, and I use that term sometimes, you know, journalist, that, you know, when they're personal attacks or just constant, you know, antagonist, because there are guys out there,

that's how they make a living. You know, they don't really report it, but they're, you know, it's almost shock jock where they antagonize constantly. So I get it, and I can see exactly where he's coming from, but I know he threw himself out there. He's going to get – I'm sure there's a lot of media now that are going to just start swarming him.

Ironically, some guy's trying to get clicks from Coach Prime, right? And that's part of it. I agree. I think on the surface it doesn't look good for dion um but there are certain you know and mark knows it too and there's a certain profile of uh of once again i use that term journalists that they're not covering your team you know they're not covering the the player the university, the team, they're simply, that's how they, you know, they get hired to go just be an antagonist for people.

And they're out there, but, you know. Trying to get a quote and only put like seven words in a quote to fit their story, to fit their narrative, to fit their article. But, hey, man, negative energy, negative people, do away with them, do away with them. Yeah, well, I think that's what Coach is saying, right? I'm doing away with you. You know, maybe the two of them should come together behind closed doors

and talk it out. Unfortunate that it has to come to that. You know, he did say something, though, that instead of firing back, I thought that was really actually well thought out. He said, yeah, I just want to know why. What's your problem? Why would you call, whether it be the coach or players' names? To me, like I said, there's accountability on both sides of this deal.

Yes, the head coach and the team have to be available for the media, and I think that's probably right. But then also, why? I like that. I don't know if the guy answered the media. And I think that's probably right. But then also why I, I like that. I don't know if the guy answered the question and I didn't read the guy. What's Kinsley. You said his name was or something. Was he attacking and what did he say? It was, it was things that were perceived as we mentioned as personal tax. So remember the other element to this is, you know,

coach has got kids, his, his own kids, his own DNA, his blood on that team. And you can go after your team and a team as a family. But when you're going after your family, right, if he's taking shots at your kid. That's off limits. I think the hair raises up a little bit more on the back of the neck. I did read that he was calling them names, if I remember right. Some nicknames, yeah. Yeah, Planet Prime, False Prophet, Deposition Dion.

Yep. I'm seeing it show up here. Bruce Lee of BS, the Dion Kool-Aid and Circus. I mean, dude's a hater, basically. Dude's a hater, man. He's got some good nicknames, though. I'll give him credit there. False Prophet is crazy.

And hey, what's that old saying? You know, any news is good news, right? You're out there and people are talking about Colorado. We're certainly not talking about Colorado as much as we were at this point last season. But let me tell you, if Coach Prime and the Buffs get off to a hot start, I'm going to tell you right now, big noon kickoff. Start packing your bags for a bowl. We're going to bowl.

I would love to go back. You know where we're going to eat, Coach? Pasta J's, baby. Pasta J's j's baby pasta j's getting a shout out this week though we're going to be in morgantown west virginia we're going to talk about that game coming up next with pick six brought to you by bet mgm place your money line prop parlay and same gay same game parlay bets at bet mgm download the app app today. Please gamble responsibly. So BetMGM, every week through the course of this conversation, we're going to have the deuce-deuce dog of the week. Mark, I need to remind you apparently that you have to pick the underdog

you think will outright win. I love the sound. It's so good. All right. So reminder to everybody who's out there listening and watching, these lines are current as of Tuesday. Obviously, they can change and we're always going off the BetMGM line. So Mark, we're going to start with you that quote unquote neutral site game. Although I guess it kind of is for these two programs a little bit. Number one, Georgia. Number 14, Clemson, the handle, which is the total money that has come in as of Tuesday right now, it is split right down the middle. How do you see Georgia-Clemson? I like Georgia.

Oh, I'm sorry. Georgia, 14-point favorite. And it's split down the middle? People are taking the points? Split down the middle. Yep. I'm laying the points. I'm taking Georgia to cover.

Carson Beck, Kirby Smart, D-line, O-line. I'm looking to see what's going to happen with the running back situation here. ETM might be suspended. You know what I mean? So I'm looking to see what happens with the running back situation here. But I think Carson Beck and Georgia is just on another level right now. So they're going to need some receivers to step it up. We're going to see how the secondary, they lost some people in the secondary.

We're going to see how they do. But I know Kirby Smart. He was my defensive coordinator when I was in Alabama. I know he's going to have that defense ready to roll. And I know he's going to run that ball. And I know Carson Beck going ball. So I'm going to take Georgia with the points. I got them covering.

Not your deuce-deuce dog of the week. They're not the dog of the week, even though they're the dog. They're not the dog of the points. I got them covering. Not your deuce-deuce dog of the week. They're not the dog of the week, even though they're the dog. Not the dog of the week. All right, maybe number two will be your dog of the week. It's no dog of a game, I'll tell you that. It is a sneaky, good regional rivalry game. And the three of us will be packing our bags, heading to Morgantown, West Virginia.

I'll see you all there on Thursday. First big noon kickoff on Fox of the year. Number eight, Penn State, an eight and a half point favorite coach at West Virginia. In this line, it has moved two points from the opening spread. So originally Penn State favored by 10 and a half, now down to eight and a half and 65% of the total money going towards West Virginia and the points coach wild place, Mark. I can't wait to get down there. I was there one other time and, and, uh, Rich, I would, uh, it was a coach there years ago, a good friend of mine.

And then obviously Don Nealon, this is years and years ago, but the fans are, and I talked to, uh, Neil Brown and coach at West Virginia. He said those boys and girls are not going to be sleeping. I mean, this is going to be rocking and rolling. Huge game. I've been all over this for about two weeks now. West Virginia has got one of the best unsung players in the country.

Garrett Green, the quarterback, is a beast. He's a runner-thrower. He's perfect for that offense. He's a big part of the run game in option football and cue reads. The coach actually told me that he kind of came out of nowhere last year and really finished strong, and they had a great year last year. But he'll be the guy that 80% to 90% of the time, he'll have to make a decision in the run game.

That means it's not just traditional run. So he can run pass option. They'll call it a draw play, and he's allowed to throw the ball. He does the traditional reads where he's reading the defensive end, and he can pull it. So he's a hell of a player. Here's the thing. Penn State has got two new coordinators.

Tom Allen on defense. They're not going to change much on defense. And Jerry DiNardo went to visit Penn State for training camps at their defense's elite. The difference is on offense. Colt Necky from University of Kansas is the OC now. He's a very creative guy. Matter of fact, the two games that I saw, three games that I saw,

about 10 to 15 snaps per game, different people line up at quarterback, Mark. He does a lot of wildcat. One game, I counted four different players line up at quarterback, Mark. He does a lot of wildcat. One game, I counted four different players lining up at quarterback. Obviously, you got your quarterback, then you got three other players in a wildcat-type style of offense. So very creative. I like West Virginia to cover. I think West Virginia might win the game if Garrett Green goes off

and has one of his days. But Penn State defense is tough. Number one rush defense a year ago, and West Virginia was number one rush offense in Power 5 a year ago. So strength on strength. Environment's going to have to count for something. I think West Virginia covers that spread. And Stoner and Coach, you know what that is?

That's my dog of the week. my... My dog of the week. Deuce Deuce Dog of the Week. With the squirrel hat. That's my... I'll tell you, the crowd, man, that is going to be wild. This might be one of the best we've had for Big Noon. Yeah, that crowd... All right, so the Deuce Deuce Dog of the Week.

West Virginia is going to win outright over Penn State. Coach, that crowd, what do you think? A field goal difference? Oh, no, no, no. It makes more than that. Yeah, more than that. I think whenever you bring in a new coordinator, and on defense they're not going to change much,

but they're bringing that Kansas offense. That takes a minute. That means I bet they change terminology because a guy like that doesn't leave the job that he had unless James Franklin gave him complete control. And when you change everything, it takes a minute for everybody to get on the same page. And the question mark, Drew Eller, is he the guy that can get Penn State to the promised land? Yes, such a conservative offense, right? Very limited, if you will, shots down the field, you know,

or passes in the 20-yard range. Look for more of that from the Penn State. They got to have it, Rob. They got to have it. They got to have a receiver come out there and be a number one. You got two stud running backs. Everyone's like, their production is down. Yes, their production is down because everyone knows if we stop them,

they can't do anything else. That's what happened last year. Exactly. Especially in the big games. We were there for a couple of them. The Michigan game. Against the Buckeyes and the Wolverines, and it was tough to watch. All right, again, pick six brought to you by BetMGM.

So two games down, four to go. Miami, a two-and-a-half point favorite on the road in gainesville the canes ranked number 19 florida unranked coach uh hold on real quick coach 68 of all the bets placed for miami wow the u i'll tell you you got a q the right out of the, this is a must win for both programs. Mario Cristobal has really struggled. He's lost 10 of his last 13 games versus Power 5. No, that's Florida. I'm sorry, Bill Schnapier.

He's lost 10 of the last, think about that, at Florida. Lost 10 of the last 13 games against Power 5. Mario Cristobal at Miami is 12-13 the last two seasons. The Florida Gators have the number one most difficult schedule in the country. It's brutal. I see them being underdogs in possibly eight games this year, so this is a must win. Miami's got a transfer quarterback, Cam Ward, for Washington State.

I went back and watched him. He's an excellent player. Was one of the top transfer guys available in the portal last year. They have two great receivers, and they got Reuben Bain, the top defense transfer defensive end. So, I like Miami to probably win it. I think

Florida will cover. I think it's going to come down to final possession, and it's going to be a hell of a game. You like Florida to cover. It's a two and a half point spread. I think it's going to be one point. I think it's going to come down to a field game. You like Florida to cover. It's a two and a half point spread. I think it's going to be one point. I think it's going to, I think it's going to come down to a field goal win. I think this is a must win game.

Whatever, whatever team loses their fan base is going to be in shambles. Oh, I know. A mess. Whatever team loses their fan base is going to be not a fan anymore. Poor state of Florida, right?

Tallahassee's already a mess. Now you're going to call out Miami and Gainesville. All right. Mark, let's go to you. Deuce Deuce. Number seven, Notre Dame. On the road at number 20, Texas A&M, the Aggies. Favored by three.

A&M and College Station? Uh-huh. A&M and College Station? Notre Dame banged up injuries, and College Station? Notre Dame banged up injuries, another new quarterback. Notre Dame banged up injuries, a new quarterback, three sophomore linemen, two freshman linemen, going down there to College Station against a D-line who was really like that? I'm taking A&M.

I'm taking the Maggies. Gig them. Did you feel in our colleague Brady Quinn a little hesitation when he starts talking? On the text chain? Because usually he's swinging really hard when he talks about the Irish. A little hesitation. I think he impacted Mark's pick, by the way. Hey, you got to start listening.

You got to start listening to the people, man. You got to be receptive of information. I'm receptive of information. We on the call. I'm here at BQ. Notre Dame God. Little G. Notre Dame God. We on the call. I'm here at BQ. Notre Dame, God. Little G.

Notre Dame, God. He ain't confident. I'm like, oh, well, why should I be then? Yep. Hey, you got to listen to the people. You got to listen to the people. Speaking of listening to the people, I listened to the people. I got the next game. Number 13, LSU, four and a half point favorite,

taking on number 23 23 USC. This game in Las Vegas, the Vegas kickoff classic. 56% of the total bets are going to the favorite, which is LSU. So a couple interesting wrinkles to this one. Both head coaches, Brian Kelly, and obviously, you know, what Coach Riley has done at USC, both of them in their third year, both of them breaking in new quarterbacks. Garrett Nussmeier, redshirt junior, watch out for him. He could be a breakout candidate for LSU. And then Miller Moss takes the snaps.

Kayla Williams gone. And, you know, if what we saw from him in the bowl game where Moss played, you're saying to yourself, well, we might be getting ourselves another Heisman in Southern California, but it's just one game. So I listened to the people as well. Who did I go to, guys? Who did I go to for a little USC intel?

Matt Leiter. You bet I did. You bet I did. I said, Matt, in no specific order, give me a USC concerns list, all right? And I think a lot of these we can figure out pretty easy. Yeah. I didn't need Matt for that one. But number one, he goes defense.

Some new coaches there. They were one of the worst defenses in the country a year ago. Defense is an overall concern, more specifically up front. They've added size. They've added some depth. But can they play week in and week out against that new, grueling Big Ten schedule, which is part number two? Of course, the LSU game, a bit of an early measuring stick.

Home, Penn State, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, on the road at Michigan, at Washington. So they could easily lose, according to Matt, five games. Again, this is Matt Leiner, USC Heisman legend. Number three, Miller Moss, more of an unknown. Again, we talk about that bowl game. He was fantastic. Following a Heisman winner, challenging.

This is interesting, though. Even though I do think Lincoln Riley will enjoy coaching him more, easier in a lot of ways. What does that mean, coach? I think whenever you have a player with the persona of Caleb and the expectations at times can be hard to coach. I don't know the inner workings of that relationship between Lincoln Riley and them. We all admired Caleb as a player. And I mean, my gosh, as far as a skill set, maybe the best in the last decade at that position.

But it can wear on you a little bit when you, you know, I imagine the coach just felt so much pressure to put him in situations to win. And here we are, one of the greatest players, a Heisman winner, one of the greatest players talent-wise maybe in the past 10 years, and he leaves USC without a ring on his finger. That's terrible.

I mean, you just feel awful about that. So maybe it's just a fresh start out in Southern Cal. Matt Leinart would know much more than, he's probably got his thumb all over that one. And you know what's always interesting to me? In any sport, if you've got a dog-dog, right? If you've got a deuce-deuce like Mark Ingram or somebody on your team,

the whole team just kind of leans on that human, right? Just like, all right, it's up to you, it's up to you. When that big personality, when that big player leaves, I think sometimes he takes that vacuum with him and it creates this opening pasture for more players to contribute and feel like, hey, I need sometimes he takes that vacuum with him and it creates this opening pasture for more players to contribute and feel like, hey, I need to play a bigger part in this game. So a lot of times it feels like addition by subtraction, even when you're losing a mega talent like a Caleb Williams. All right, let's go back to Matt Leinart. He's worried about the loss

at wide receiver. Of course, Zachariah Branch. I mean, a tremendous special team threat. He is the guy, but who else is going to be there to throw it to? The awful, awful offensive line, Coach. The O-line. They got to get bigger. They obviously grew in size. He recruited pretty well, but certainly a concern. And then his sixth one, Matt Leiner gave me a bonus concern about USC. Lincoln Riley and the expectations here in year three, if they struggle.

He doesn't think they're going to be calling for his job yet, but those expectations. What is it about year three, Coach, where the expectations automatically become, I think, elevated by the press and by the fan base as well? We need to see results now. Yeah, right? We need to see results now.

We gave you time. We need to see results now. You got your guys. need to see results now. We gave you time. We need to see results now. You got momentum. Keep in mind, these are college players and college coaching staffs. And the, the point, the most important thing in college is getting recruiting great players.

Once programs start to lose momentum, it's hard to get it back. And you see it all the time. We're all sending you, whether it be a Florida, whether it could be a Miami, and game one, if they lose momentum, you're going to see recruiting really start to struggle. I think USC is at that point right now where, yes,

when Lincoln Riley went over to USC, that was the story of the year. A great coach that took Oklahoma to the playoffs, has not got Southern Cal another blue blood. I mean, Southern Cal should be a top five place every year. Every year. As good a recruiting talent within a 50-mile radius of that campus as anywhere in the country. A great history.

But if you lose momentum, it's hard to get that ship back on track. So that's why year three is always so critical. Yeah, and again, Brian Kelly in year three, LSU the favorite. And I think LSU is going to cover their favorite as of Tuesday by four and a half points. So I got LSU winning and covering. Yes, sir. There's going to be no defense in that game. Both those defenses were abysmal last year.

I didn't talk about the over-under. I just said LSU is going to cover and they're going to win. By the way, we gave Matt some love. We love Matt Leiner, right? We love him. Guess what? He's got a new podcast, Throwbacks. It launches next week, and you can find it wherever you find your podcast.

Wherever you find the triple option, just go ahead and start downloading Throwbacks, Matt Leiner. And our boy Jerry. Yeah, Jerry's going to be doing that as well. I really enjoyed meeting Jerry. Good dude, man. Jerry's a good man. A.K.A. Proctor on power.

A.K.A. whatever the other show is, too. What's the other show? That Jerry does? Yeah, Turtle. Well, yeah, well, that was his role. Entourage. Entourage, yeah. Let's go.

All right, last pick here for the pick six brought to you by BetMGM. And we're going to talk about Florida State. We talked about it at the start of the show. The Seminoles returned to Tallahassee on Monday, and they returned in the ACC cellar again, that three-point loss to Georgia Tech in Dublin. I'm curious where the trust level is with DJU. Another kind of off game.

I think there's going to be some rumblings about the rest of the quarterback depth chart. Again, Florida State, though, a 17-point favorite at home to Boston College. Our good friend Bill O'Brien back in the college game. So he's the new head coach at BC. An extra week to prep. Again, the Eagles went 7-6 last year. Patrick Payton off the edge. He could be a difference maker for Boston College. At BC, an extra week to prep. Again, the Eagles went 7-6 last year. Patrick Payton off the edge.

He could be a difference maker for Boston College. They strengthened their defense through their portal. Their quarterback, Tommy Castellanos, elite feet. The arm can be a bit of a roller coaster. And again, Florida State favored by 17. 83% of all the bets are going for Boston College, including 97% of the total money. And guess what?

In this one, I'm not a leader. I'm a follower. I think Florida State's going to win, but Boston College, guys, is going to cover in Tallahassee. Silence. Silence. That means I nailed it. I got it right.

Well, Bill O'Brien took over for Jeff Halfley, and Jeff Halfley was like Chip Kelly. He left a head coaching position at a really good school to become an assistant. And you just wonder why. You wonder, you know, when that all happened, what's going on at Boston College? Because my friend Steve Adazio was a coach there a coach there. I don't want to say six bowl games in seven years, and BC should be a bowl team every year. So I just wonder what is in the cupboard there, what kind of players. I just don't know much about Boston College, but people just watch that Florida State game,

and I imagine that's why the betting has changed. A lot of concern in Tallahassee right now by Florida State. But by the way, right, solve it. You're going to get your loss out of the way week one in the schedule that they have in front of them. I will say this, though, if Mike Norvell gets a chance to get up on BC because he's got to get momentum back in the program, he's going to put the pedal to the metal. If he can get up on him. Once again, I don't know much about Boston College. I don't think anyone knows. Yeah, there's a lot of unknowns about the team in Chestnut Hill.

And again, BC at Florida State. The Noles, 17-point favorite. But I think Boston College is going to cover. So that's it, guys. Two shows down. We've got... Dos, dos. We've got a big trip to West Virginia.

Next week, though, you know what the game we're going to be talking about. Texas on the road at Michigan. Big noon kickoff is going to be there as well. And our thanks to Coach Lanning, who... Urban, by the way, we found out, is more than open to sharing some insightful criticism. Oh, yeah. He sharing it right with us. Some critiques about our show

he threw our way already. We're willing to listen, we're willing to learn. I love it, Coach Lanning. What a great week to be together. Because when you learn, you go earn. Nick Saban, week one. Dan Lanning, week two. Wait till you hear who we have on week three on the triple option.

So we wanted to remind you, please subscribe to our YouTube channel. Follow us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts, as well as across social media at 3XOptionShow. New episodes every Wednesday. I want to thank our sponsors, Wendy's, NHTSA, BetMGM, and of course, ZipRecruiter. Two down, plenty more to go. And we will see you Saturday on Fox from Morgantown, West Virginia. We cannot wait to see and hear you on Saturday.

Where the road's taking us. Country roads, baby. Country roads are where they're taking us. Download, like, subscribe, follow, all of that. You heard me. Pound the like button.