
College Football Playoff Rankings, Indiana Head Coach Curt Cignetti, SEC Logjam, and a Big Ten Showdown
The Triple Option- 151 views
- 20 Nov 2024
Indiana and Ohio State prepare for a historic showdown in Columbus. Google it, it's a big deal.
Coach Urban Meyer, Mark Ingram II, and Rob Stone break down the latest rankings and playoff bracket with the Big Ten controlling the top and a plethora of 2-loss SEC teams jockeying to be invited to the College Football Playoff. Is it better to miss your conference championship game or make it and take an L? The guys debate. (1:31)
Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti stops by after he signed an eight-year extension but before his 10-0 Hoosiers go to Columbus to take on the second-ranked Buckeyes. (19:32)
Coach Meyer breaks down the keys to victory for the Hoosiers this weekend. The guys then made their Week 13 picks, including Indiana v Ohio State, Ole Miss v Florida, Penn State v Minnesota, BYU v Arizona State, Colorado v Kansas, Army v Notre Dame. (42:10)
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You talked about the messaging that you created on Monday. What's that messaging going to be Saturday morning in Columbus?
Oh, we don't do PG 13.
We can bleep some things out right here if you want to give us a little taste.
Here we go. Yeah. I love it.
We are back. Welcome to another edition of The Triple Option, presented by Wendy. So glad you're back here with us. Rob Stone, a couple of college football legends with us. Mark Ingram, Urban Meyer. Whether you're joining us right now for the live stream or watching a little bit later, we urge you, we encourage you to rate, subscribe at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, wherever you get your podcast, as well as across social media. You can find us at 3X Option Show. Again, new episodes coming away every Wednesday. Now we react instantaneously to the third installment of this season's College Football Playoff Rankings, which just came out. Quick reminder, 12 teams make the playoff. The five highest conference champions get those automatic bids. The remaining seven spots go to the next seven highest ranked teams. Four highest ranked conference champions get a first round buy, and there's been a change in that. Five, six, seven, eight seeds host the first round games on campus. The big news last week, of course, guys, was BIO at number 6, Tennessee at number 7 losing this weekend. How did it impact things? Well, it did impact the top five, guys. They remained the same, Oregon, Ohio State, Texas, Penn State, Indiana.
The Irish continue their ascent. Second straight week, they've risen two spots, guys, from 10:00 to 8:00 to 6:00. Alabama. Welcome back, Mark Ingram. Yes, sir. You guys are back at number 3, Tennessee, down four spots. They are the first team out. Boise State up one spot, and Boise State now given a buy. They had been the 12 seed facing Ohio State for the last two weeks. But according to the bracket, they are now the four seats, so they get a buy, as does Oregon, Miami, and Texas. That's enough of me, Urban. Start with you right now. What caught your eye?
Yeah, it caught my eye. There's four teams that you just so know, Stock Up, Stock Down with Indiana Miami, and Notre Dame. So let's do that again. So I have Indiana, five, Notre Dame at six, and Miami at eight. Mark, what would happen if those three teams lined up against Georgia and Oldman? In Tennessee, that's the question they have. You played in the SEC. I've coached in the SEC. Indiana is a team that we have incredible respect for. We covered them quite a bit. We got them this weekend. Notre Dame, I have not seen in person and live, but they lost in Illinois, and their teams are supposed to beat. They play Army this week. In the Miami, I'm just not sold, Mark. I'm sold on the quarterback.
Yes.
You take that quarterback out of there, and they're 500. This guy's a beast. But I don't know. You asked me what caught my eye. Indiana, Miami, and Notre Dame. And I see some teams behind them that I think if they played, it would be different.
Hey, man. It's life in the SEC. We talked about it, man, how that conference was just going to cannibalize itself, and it has. But that's just the world that that conference lives in right now. Everyone wants to hate on us. Oh, the SEC, they get this. They cry about this. They cry about that. But it's the true story. I mean, you got five, six, two lost teams in the SEC right now, and it's ugly.
And by the way, Texas A&M working down there at number 15.
Right. And they control their own destiny.
They close things out with Texas for sure. And that's going to throw a wrinkle in there. We all know the Ohio State, Indiana result is going to shake things up. Ohio State beats Indiana. There's no way they're jumping Oregon, right? I mean, you just can't do that.
No, no, head to head.
It's got to go. It's got to be head to head. And then that would put those two programs on, of course, that collision course in Indy for the Big Ten Championship game.
There's Penn State, Mark. Don't overlook their signatives. Don't Overlook through Signetti.
No, no, no. And Indiana, should they win? Hey, listen, we got Coach Signetti joining us live on the triple option coming up in a little bit. I'm not here to offend. I'm here to defend. I'm a big fan of the Hoosiers and what they're doing right now. But I'm curious, Mark, your crimson tide, they've been bouncing around, right? Yeah. Here they are up three spots this week from number 10. What do you make of your tide?
I mean, they should have been bouncing around. After that loss, too, they had a couple up and down weeks. They had the loss to Vanderbilt. It was a close call to South Carolina. They had the loss to Tennessee. Had the buy week, came back with a dominant win over LSU. Took their soul from them because we saw them go get smacked again by by Florida. But they're looking really good right now. And if this Alabama team that you see played against Georgia in the first half, if you see that Alabama team that played against LSU, that is one of the most dangerous teams in the nation. They have a shot against any team with Jalen Millrow at the quarterback position, because when he plays with his electric playmaking ability with his legs, but also with the downfield, explosive playmaking with his arm, this Alabama football team is a dangerous team. I love that they're sitting right there where they're at. Because just keep sleeping on my squad, man. Just keep sleeping on them.
Yes. Cribs and Tide, the second-highest ranked SEC team. Ole Miss sitting there at nine. And then it's Georgia Coach up two spots. And the Bulldogs have been doing some bouncing as well. Remember when the initial college football playoff rankings came out, they were all the way at number three. They had a buy, and then they plummeted to 12 out of the bracket last week, and now back in as a 10 seed in Alabama, currently taking on the Irish itself bend in the first rattle.
I might have to buy a ticket to that one. Me, too. I want to hit one somewhere right here, and I think this would be a case study for every collegiate administrator and support. Smu, I brought them up last year or last week. I don't know much about SMU. Never coached against them, never been there. I, I don't want to say took shots at them, but I'm like, Why are you talking about SMU? Then I I watch a film. I know some people who have kids go there, and I did some research, Mark. They have made an incredible investment in their athletic program in football. They're now in a big conference. The supporters, the have ended up and said, Let's go play ball. As a result, the players and coaching staff have delivered. Is that one of the greatest stories? I love that story. That Texas money. But it's not by accident. They committed incredible. What I heard, and I heard it and I read it, so it's not documented, millions of dollars have been invested in that organization and said, Let's go play ball. That takes us money. As a result, they've delivered.
That takes us money. So it's cool to see that.
Oil and gas, baby. Oil and gas down in that neck of the woods. Colorado, guys, they continue their slow and steady rise. Two weeks ago, they were at 20. Last week, 17, up one spot to 16. And again, the Buffs control their destiny in the Big 12 and the college football playoff rankings. Bio, remember, they were sitting there at number 6 last week. They plummeted eight spots to number 14 following that home loss to Kansas. That really sullies the reputation of the Big 12, at least in this week's eyes of the college football playoff committee, because the Big 12 is no longer getting that buy as one of the four highest ranked conference champions. Right.
And guess who Kansas sees this week?
Correct.
Colorado. Colorado continues to win. They'll continue their steady rise. They control their own destiny to get to the Big 12 Championship. They get to the Big 12 Championship and win that game, they get an automatic burf into the CFP. So them Buffs have a big one, a tricky one this week against Kansas.
You see the rankings right there. Tennessee at number 11. That's down four spots, but they are the first team out when you take a look at the bracket. Our good friend Lane Kiffin had an interesting comment the other day talking about the value or the perceived value, maybe it's not so valuable, playing in a conference championship game. Here's Lane Kiffin, the Ole Miss head coach.
It's changed. The conference championship could have a big impact both ways for people. I've talked to other coaches, so I'll just give you the feeling from some other coaches that they don't want to be in it. The risk to get a buy, sorry, the reward to get a buy versus the risk to get knocked out completely, that's a really big risk just to get a buy. I think it's ended up being a very unique situation of all postseason sports, the way that that system is set up there and how you could go to that and get knocked out. If you don't go, you're in. I'm not a big gambler, but that's the one in Vegas, poker table thing. That's all in. You're going all in in the best conference in football. You got to play somebody great, too. Very different than a lot of these other conferences.
It's fascinating, and I understand it. I think our general perception is, particularly if you're in the SEC and the Big Ten, if you get to the Championship game, you are not going to be punished rankings-wise. It's easy to say that now, but we have to see what the results are. To me, though, you guys know it better, having that buy, to me, seems just massive.
Just having-I'm going to throw something out at you. This might stir a little Internet conversation. Does Greg Senke and Badidi from the Big Ten get together and say, This ain't right. I'm asking.
It's impossible.
They already got together. I'm going to say, Okay, we're playing in a conference. There's teams on this that have not played a ranked team. Every SC You see, Tim, I would imagine, played at least three.
There's five two lost teams in that conference right now.
I'm looking at South Carolina, some of their wins. And then I'm seeing some teams in front of them saying, Okay, if they played, what would happen here? And then the fan, and I get it, and I was in Utah, and, Well, they don't. So don't give me these what ifs, but they don't. But I can tell you about the SEC after living in there for six years. The SEC cares about the SEC. And the Big Ten has grown that as well, that they care about the Big Ten. Do they get together and say, Wait a minute, do we go do our own thing? And once again, I don't have inside information. I hope not. I hear what you're saying.
They met already this year, so something They met earlier this year. The commissioners met. I don't know what happened. We don't know what came about from that meeting, but clearly there's something brewing. But just to say what Lane said, I would much rather just play in the first round as opposed to going to the Championship and have the opposed risk of getting knocked out all entirely.
But that is rolling the dice. It is rolling the dice. I think that's his point. Are we still going to get in if we're not in the conference Championship? Obviously, there are some programs there that have to get in to have any consideration win it. You know what it is, Mark? It's like March Madness, but the conference tournament is leading it. All right, so listen, I'm a big North Carolina basketball fan. There are times where I'll look and I'll go, You know what? I would rather maybe just take that loss in the... You would rather lose in the semis or the quarterfinals than you would in the final, right? Just get home, stop pounding on the hardwood. But it's different because the tournament is so expansive and you have I have a really good idea whether you're going to get in or not for basketball purposes. But I think there's real value to it, particularly this time of the year, Coach, when the wear and tear just continues to grow.
Oh, there's value. All these players on the coaching staff. I'll be honest. I'm shutting you out because I can't even think like that. There really is. What do you hope you don't go to a Championship game?
Right. Go play to win.
And what do you like, you go and then eat dinner afterwards? You get up in the morning and say, as you're driving to work, say, Boy, I hope you don't win the SEC Championship. I mean, that doesn't compute.
It wasn't win the SEC Championship. It was like, just get to the game. They're saying, let's avoid that Championship game and give ourselves-Well, even worse.
You're saying like, O'Miss, so Alabama goes and plays whoever, Texas or whatever the game ends up being.
Alabama is playing Notre Dame right now.
No, I'm talking about the SEC Championship. I mean, that's two sledgehambers now. Yes.
That's two correct. Say you dropped that game. Now you're a three-loss team, and you Take the risk of getting out. Then Ole Miss, Georgia, who didn't even play in the SEC Championship, get in. That's devastating.
I don't think they're going to get punished for losing in the Championship game, particularly in the Big Ten or the SEC. You hope not. Correct.
There's no way, Rob. There's no way a three Three-loss team will go ahead of a two-loss team in the SEC.
With a loss in the Championship.
But the third loss is in the Championship game.
You're going to get punished for it.
Against number three or whoever.
And then that Tennessee, who's that first team out, do they get in?
Yeah. Do they back in? They back in because somebody has earned a right to get to the Championship game and loses. Nasty. It is nasty. And look at the Big 12 right now, right? Bio stock plummets. They lose a bid. Big 12, I think their hopes of having two teams in, completely gone right now. There's four in the SEC, four from the Big 10, ACC, one, independent, one, Mountain West, one, Big 12, one. That's it. The independent thing, though, is really curious. Notre Dame, we're going to talk about it with our pick six by Bet MGM coming up. Notre Dame and Army this week, neutral site game at Yankee Stadium. Then Notre Dame comes to the West Coast to take on USA and Liner and- Don't play anybody.brady Quinn. We're already talking about that one last week.
There used to be a day where everybody said, Oh, Notre Dame is playing UFC. There's other things to watch now. I hate to say that, too.
Well, you're only watching for Notre Dame, either to love them or to hate them right now Because USA is just trying to figure themselves out right now.
But they beat USA, and they say, okay, they beat USA.
Usa is a 500 team right now.
Yeah, that means nothing outside of the fact they didn't lose, right? That's all it is, is avoiding a loss. Because that loss could kick them out.
And very well. Well, that's the negative. The positives are there's so much intrigued. There's so many teams with still hope and opportunity to go compete. So we gave you the negative, but there's a lot of fun.
Yeah. Here's some Bet MGM Championship odds real quick, all Guess who's number one, according to Bet MGM?
Oregon. Ohio State.
The O-H. O-h plus 320, followed by Oregon plus 450, Texas and Georgia, both at plus 500. Bama plus 750. Ole Miss plus 1100, and then Penn State, Notre Dame plus 1800. Stop right there.
I'm going to throw some bread on Bama real quick.
Bet MGM is doing it by rosters. That's what they just did. You just gave us the best rosters in college football. You didn't look at the records. As you read them off, Rob, that's the best rosters.
I hear what you're saying. So Ohio State has the best roster, followed by Oregon, Texas, Georgia, Bama, Ole Miss, Penn State, Notre Dame, and then Indiana.
Almost verbatim. I might change one or two in there. We've seen most of them, but those are the best rosters in the game.
That's interesting. That's really interesting.
Hey, man, this thing about to get strange. This is just... We're eating a couple of weeks out still. We still got two more regular Four seasons, and then the Championship weekend. We got three more weekends, and this thing is going to go upside down, Stone. This thing is going to be on a handstand in a few weeks, though.
Hey, and I'm here for it, man. We're all here for it. That's what we love doing here at the Triple Option. So there it This is the third ever installment of the college football playoff rankings and what the bracket looks like. And we know so much on the next bracket is going to hinge on what happens in Columbus this Saturday, live on Fox. Buckeyes hosting unbeaten Indiana. Coming up next on the Triple Option, I. U. Head Coach, Kurt Signetti joins us. Welcome back to the Triple Option presented by Wendy's. Rob Stone, Mark Ingram, Urban Meyer, now joined by the head coach at Indiana University. First time the program has ever gone 10 and Kurt Signetti. Welcome, and I hope you're enjoying that eight-year, $72 million contract extension that you signed over the weekend. We got plenty of places we can parcel some of that money, but it usually starts with recruiting.
Money, money, money, money.
Mark, you know how important it is to recruit? You know how Coach Signetti can recruit humans like you?
Yeah, man.
Count was find three stars like Mark that are really good players.
Yeah. Speaking of that, no, no, no, no. That's true. Speaking of that, before you was the head coach with a multiple conference titles at IUP in James Madison and now leading Indiana into the top five into a huge showdown this weekend. You first had to convince a young three-star running back out of Flint, Michigan.
How did you come to Alabama?
How did you... What do you remember about that process, man? We haven't really talked about this, man. How did it start? Why did they send you up to come see how to deal with your boy?
Because they had to send the A-cell.
Yes, sir.
I remember a couple snowy days A few different trips, a track meet, pizza in the living room, ping-pong in my basement, right?
Yeah.
But there were long-standing ties to Mark Engram. It was a natural fit. That would have been Coach Saban and Bobby Williams.
Coach, while we're talking about recruiting, I'm curious, what is your sales pitch right now to when kids come up to Bloomington and maybe how it's changed from when you first took over to where you are right now at this juncture in the season? What is come play football at Indiana sales pitch like?
Yeah. Well, the sales pitch in December was a vision, right? Things the staff had accomplished, how the programs run, championships in the past, quarterback success, receiver, defensive success, et cetera. Now, most of the high school class, really, right now is verbally committed. There's not a ton going on. This thing is getting ready to pick up big time here in a couple weeks with the December portal. So winning opens a lot of doors, and kids see the results, and they feel the momentum and the energy. We run a great program. We have good people here, players and coaches, high-character people, and they feel it when they come.
What were some of the elements of that extension that were important to you? I know the sexiness is the years and the big number that just goes to you, but I know there are so many other elements that went into that contract discussion that you wanted for Indiana football to be better going forward. What were some of those?
We have great leadership here, President Pam Whitten, athletic director Scott Dolson. They were very proactive and really hit all the things on the checklist up front before I ever had to even bring them up, talking about stadium expansion, renovation, and staff, assisting coaches and support staff, additional support. Obviously, There were some personal things there for me. But we played the what-if game, my wife and I, about three or four weeks ago, and my agent and I. Everything always led back to Indiana. I'm appreciative that the administration was proactive like they were. We're still in season. For me, it was a no-brainer.
Take me through the what-if game.
What if this one opens? What if that one? What if that one calls? That one calls. The bottom line is this. This is my thing here. I own this. Up to this point, we've had a great amount of success in a 11, 12 month period, and my name's on it. I like it here, and I like people. I like who I work for. I love the President, the athletic director, the people in Bloomington. The fan support has been outstanding. It's hard to even put in words what's going on here. It's like a movement. Where the stadium is sold out, and there's thousands outside the stadium, like it Alabama used to be, right, Martin?
Yeah. The energy is lit up there. I was happy when we went up to Bloomington. I was surprised, but the energy around the program is great. Obviously, you've done a tremendous job in creating the atmosphere.
I appreciate I appreciate that. I think these people were starving for success, and they're way over the top right now. It's been great to see.
Coach, I'm a legacy. My father played, and I played. Your father was a Hall of Fame coach. Your brother's a coach. You're a tremendous coach on your way to be in a Hall of Fame coach. How integral was growing up, learning from your father, learning from your brother? How was that growing up? How did that get you to where you're at now?
No, my brother learned from me. I'm the oldest. My dad was a great role model, a great leader, too. He led by example. He had tremendous work ethic. He had a real presence about him. His messages were really always on point, helped a lot of people in life, overcame cancer. My senior year of high school, I'm the oldest of four, and was given his last rights twice, his third year at West Virginia. Lived 43 more years. I never coached for my dad. I really was on a team one year. When my dad was a coach, I was a red-shirt freshman. But there's no question, the influence that he's had on me, just high character guy. Of course, some of the comments I make publicly, people probably don't think that about me, but I can't imagine having a better dad in the whole world who have watched and grown up around.
Coach, can I go back to some of those comments? Obviously, there's the Google me comment at your opening press conference.
I like the most recent one we had on Big New last week.
I like the most recent quote. Yeah, I got it right now. We're the emerging superpower in college football. Why would I leave? You say some of the things, and listen, in the media, these are gold sound bites, right? I'm grinning ear to ear. These are magical, but are they somewhat or softly planned, or are they just coming to you, or maybe a mix of all the above? Because I see the rise smile that sneaks out sometimes, too, when you're saying these things.
A little bit of both. I mean, sometimes it's spontaneous, and sometimes maybe I got a few talking points because I can anticipate what questions might be forthcoming. No, that's entertainment.
Do you have any plan for us? You got any stored away on your notebook that you want to try to zing here on the triple option?
I don't have any today. Okay.
All right.
Maybe I can feed you a couple.
Coach sick. Thanks for joining us. Let's go back to 2023, where you led James Madison to a level on the record. You got as high as 18th in the AP rankings. I can only imagine. I got calls from headhunters back in those days. First of all, who was calling you and why was Indiana the choice?
Well, I had a long term contract at GMU, and I really liked it there a lot. It was close to where I grew up. I like the people. I liked the place. There were people reaching out, obviously. But the Indiana thing, I'd been here a couple of times before. '87, when I was at Rice, 2000 at NC State, really liked the place, the campus, the feel, the Big Ten TV contract a couple of years ago. That really got my attention when that went down. That really got my attention. I felt the commitment from the President and the AD. They made a change on a Sunday. I was on the phone with them Sunday evening, was offered a job Wednesday night. It was a very quick process. But it resonated with me how strongly they felt about changing the brand of Indiana making the commitment resource-wise that you have to make today to be successful. My feeling was in this day and age, the way college football is, any P4 program in the country with the right commitment can be successful because the things that determine success today are a lot different than they were 10 years ago.
Why was that Big Ten TV contract such a big thing for you?
Money, baby.
Money, money, money. Because that money comes in and it improves resources.
It improves things for the players, for your staff. Got to have a little money now and then, right? Understood.
Got to have that paper Hey, Coach, you take over at Indiana, and you bring in a quarterback from Ohio University, Curtis Rourke. And all he has done is impressed, thrown for 2,410 yards, 21 TDs, only four interceptions. What made him a perfect fit for the offense you're trying to run?
Yeah. Well, we've had really good quarterback success the last five years. Our previous four guys were all player of the year in the league, one-year guys. The last two were one-year G5 transfers just like Curtis. One was a drop-back, one was a dual, and two were in between. So we got here, we had 10 offensive starters and transfer portal. Quarterback went in the portal. We needed a quarterback. So you're scouring the candidates. When I googled him, right away, what jumps out, you player of the Year in a Mac in '22, really good numbers in terms of shutdown interception, won a lot of games, won championships. Then you put the tape on, and to me, three to five plays in. I could just tell this guy knows how to play quarterback. It remind me a little bit of Philip Rivers, who I was with at NC State. He could make the throws, and he ran well enough to third down, get out of pocket, run for first down. A real impressive level guy on the phone, and liked him a lot. Tino Sinceri did a great job recruiting him. He bit on the opportunity. He was looking to prove himself on a bigger stage.
And he's had a sensational season.
Coach Sincere is up there with you?
Oh, yeah. Tino.
Oh, okay. Keeping it in the family. But you play quarterback as Well, so when you look for a quarterback, what type of attribution or tangibles are you evaluating in a cue? Coming from a quarterback himself.
Yeah, right. I got you. I wasn't a very good one, but I can. They're all a little different, but you got to be able to throw the ball from point A to point B. You got to be able to process information quickly because you got to be proficient throwing the football. You can I set that a little bit with athletic ability, with dual threat guys. But the bottom line is you got to be able to go from one to 2-3 and stay calm, cool, and collect and be accurate. You got to be able to extend plays nowadays. The better you can extend plays, the more successful you're going to be and your team is going to be. You got to be a great team guy, which like Curtis Rourke is. He's a steady Eddie, not affected by success or failure. If he makes a bad play, he's on the next play, he's not phased at all. They come in different shapes and sizes. Some guys Excel in one area versus another, but you got to have it. When I put that tape on, I just want to see it. It's different from one guy to the next.
All right, last one for me. One of the knocks against the Hoosiers right now is your strength of schedule. The old Indiana goal was to become bowl eligible, and you would schedule as such. If you want to maintain a top 10 program, are you going to have to do a top 10 schedule and change your non-conference schedule philosophy moving forward?
Well, these schedules are set years in advance. I mean, Alabama played Mercer, Georgia played Shad Nuga. I'm abandoned in a gorgeous state, but lost. I mean, the schedule is what it is. The fact of the matter is, we've beaten seven P4 teams. Every single one of those teams had a winning record when we played them, except two were at 500. One was five and one, one was three and one. We also beat the defending national champ and runner up. For the most part, except for the Michigan game, which we didn't play very well in the second half, I mean, every game has been a decisive victory. We didn't trail until two weeks ago. We were behind at Michigan State, 10-0, first quarter, and rattle off 47 straight. I mean-Tell them, Coach.
Tell them, Coach.
Well, look, everybody has got a little vested interest in this deal. Let's just call it what it is. One network is going to favor this league and vice versa. Okay? Do your research. Google us. You know something about us besides our name and what we've done in the past and what somebody else says about our schedule.
Do you watch the college football play-offs at all? The show, do you care where you fall in the rankings?
I don't watch it because I'm normally working still. But I pay attention, obviously, to the rankings.
Are they doing you guys right in your eyes?
Well, I'm not going to pass judgment on that. I think we're fifth, if I'm not mistaken. It's all going to be played out on the field. Obviously, we have a game this week and another one next week. Most people have two or three games left, and there's conference championship games. It is what it is. I ask our team not to eliminate the noise and the clutter, control the controllables, focus on what's going to help them be the best they can be on Saturday. So I got to do the same thing.
You said you guys are focusing on what needs... You said that it's all going to play itself out on the field, and you have a huge game this weekend headed to Ohio State. What does the Hoosiers need to do to beat the Buckeyes and give yourself a direct path to the Big Ten Championship and ultimately the CFP?
Got to score one more point than them.
I know that's right.
But we just got to play our game and play it well. I mean, we have a certain way we prepare throughout the week, Monday through Friday, a certain style of play, things we preach, and we have to play our game and play it well.
Have you changed anything of that preparation knowing what's at stake this Saturday in Columbus?
No. I mean, we're process-driven, and if there was a better way to do it for this game, we'd do it that way every game. But we really haven't.
There's a lot of conversation out there, and I know we've said it as well, and I'm curious what your action is. A lot of people are saying, Hey, if Indiana only loses by X points to Ohio State, they're still going to be in the playoff rankings. When you hear those type of conversations, what goes through you internally?
Well, I'm an early morning guy, right? If we start at 7:00, I'm normally in here 4:30 or 5:00 to organize the day. One of the first things I do is I create the message of the day, right? Because one of the keys of the drill is getting everybody to think of players. I think it was Monday morning I came in, and the first thing I wrote down was, We don't prepare to play it close. Right?
Yeah.
That's not what we do.
That's right.
We're excited about the opportunity and looking forward to it.
Coach, I just want to take a second, man. You guys have two runningbacks, like what we had at Bama, man. They're two beast, and Justice Ellison and Tyson Lawn Lawn. Basically, they run physical. They open up the offense for Curtis Roark in this passing attack. What have you seen from those two guys?
Yeah, there's actually three, Calon Black III, who hadn't played quite as much the last couple games, and they're all built about like you, and they're all built the same. That's right.
Bowed over.
That's right. They're all not... 210, 510. They can take it inside, They can take it outside. They can pass, protect. They can catch a football.
Love it.
They've been really consistent guys. They're older guys. They've had a lot of career production, so they have a lot of confidence, and they've been very steady. It helps to have two, three backs you can roll. It does.
Keep them healthy throughout the whole year.
Coach, just take us to Saturday real quick. What are some things that fans of Indiana should be looking for to say, Hey, this is going to be a successful Saturday because we're achieving A, B, and C?
Well, if we're scoring points and they're not, then it's going to be a great day.
I could figure that one out, Coach.
We're balanced on offense, and we're making plays, and we're converting third downs. We're scoring touch downs on the red area, protecting the football. Defense, we're winning the line scrimmage, and we're stopping the run, swarming the ball, putting pressure on the quarterback, doing a good job of covering, creating turnovers. We're plus 10 in turnover ratio. I think they're plus 4. Our special team is the winning edge. It's going to be a great You talked about the messaging that you created on Monday.
What's that messaging going to be Saturday morning in Columbus?
We don't do PG 13.
Yeah. It's real.
We can bleep some things out right here if you want to give us a little taste.
It's real. We'll be ready. I love it.
Perfect. Coach Signetti, man. Thanks so much for joining us. It's been a treat to talk to you all season long. Here's to Indiana, continuing to be Indiana football under your leadership and us having the opportunity to talk to you a lot more, whether it's on the triple option or big noon kickoff or whatever. Congratulations, man. Great to see your success.
Appreciate it, guys.
Have a good one. Appreciate you, Coach Signetti. You the man, bro. It.
All right, welcome back to the Triple Option presented by our great partner, Wendy's. This week, we're going to take a look at Indiana's resume as they head into Columbus, and it is presented by our great friends at ZipRecruiter. Try ZipRecruiter for free. Ziprecruiter. Com/option. Ziprecruiter, the smartest way to hire. So a little tail of the tape, if you will, comparison between what the Buckeyes and the Hoosiers are this year. Of course, Indiana Beaten 10:00, Buckeyes at nine and one. Their offenses are both spectacular. But, Coach, I think it's the thing that really jumps out at us is the red zone battle. Indiana, red zone offense, number four in the nation, the Buckeyes red zone defense, one in the nation.
Yeah. How about we're a Big Ten Network talking about Indiana, Ohio State? Obviously, Big Nun will be their game of the Week and one of the games of the year. And the word National Championship in college football came out of our mouth in the same sentence with Indiana Hoosiers.
Not basketball. Not men's soccer.
We're talking football. Mark, the word National Championship came out of Jared Arnold, and I was like, My gosh, he's right. So we've hit him a bunch, but I want to hit him again. And I know Coach Signetti would join us or joined us. They are as well-coached team as I've watched this year. I picked them up early. I've told you guys about them. You guys agree with me. We saw them firsthand just beat the mess out of Nebraska, a decent Nebraska team at the time. I'm going to point out a couple of things they do well. Perimeter blocking is something I've mentioned before. It's very hard to coach. People don't take it real serious, yet that's a difference maker. It could be a difference maker in this game. Then he flipped the other side. The one thing that's really well coached about this defense is their run fits. You don't see big hits against that defense. You see guys in the proper gaps. You see exactly where they're supposed to be. And as a result, Indiana coaches are making good players play great, which is a common theme we've used all year. However, Mark, Ohio State would not be in this conversation as a top seed, a potential rematch with Oregon in the Big Ten if it wasn't for a part of their defense has been phenomenal.
They're number one in the country of red zone and goal line defense. We witnessed it firsthand. Nebraska, we were there. You made a comment, you were pissed off if you were to beat Nebraska because they had a chance to win it. They did, but they didn't score from the three-yard line. Then One of the best performances we've seen in a long time, Penn State had four shots from inside the three-yard line, and they failed to score. The good thing is, Mark, Indiana spreads them out down there. If they said, I'm going to line up in two tights, 22 personnel, I'm going to go after the Buckeyes, I would say there's zero % chance they score. However, they don't do that, Mark. They spread you out.
Yeah, Indiana is extremely well-coached, and Signetti is not going to go and do what has been unsuccessful successful, which is just line up 22 players a year from each other and try to muscle the ball in. No. And Ohio State, commend their defense, man. At the biggest moments of their season, they have stood the test, and they have stood up to the test in the red zone. You talk about that win Nebraska. They only gave up one breakdown. But at the end of the game, fourth quarter, big red zone stops. If they don't do that, we're having a different discussion right now, Coach. Then you talk about when they went on the road to Penn State. Four times Penn State got in the red zone. Not one time did they allow a shutdown. Actually, they got one interception, a turnover on downs, and two field goals. So this red zone defense for Ohio State has been the difference for them. And when it comes down to winning games of this magnitude, can you score touch downs in the red zone? That's right. Can you make a team kick field goals in the red zone? Whoever wins this red zone battle will win this game, Saturday, Indiana Hoosiers versus the Buckeyes.
So I'm looking forward to it. Coach, I'm curious. It'll be a special one.
Coach, do you practice Red Zone offense more than you would practice Red Zone defense?
No, it's an equal. It's an equal. And a lot of times, you go against each other. I can't remember. Oh, Brian Billick, the great coach of the Ravens that won a Super Bowl, he had this book out, and I'll never get this, when I was in the '90s, a very young coach in the art of a game plan, I think it was called. And the whole idea was being, you spend time where the money downs are. So it's not just how many reps it happens during a game, because the red zone doesn't happen that much relative to the other parts of the field. However, that's money. I used to call it- Third down. That's our money. Money down is a third down. And then also the money down, like Mark said, we would look at offensively, if you reach the red zone and you kick the field goal, F.
Yes. It's a win for the defense.
It's a win for the defense. It's the same thing on the defense. Once you hit the red zone, there's no C. It's A or F. F, you fail. If you're on defense, red zone, the allow them a shutdown, you lose. You fight your tail off to keep them to a field goal.
Offensively, how much more challenging, Mark, than Coach, is it to be in that red zone with that shorter field to work with?
Well, everything shrinks. So your field, the amount of space you have, the amount of space you have to operate shrinks. So it's much more They're very difficult to create those big plays. So you have to be on point. You have to be in rhythm. You have to have a good game plan, know what they do against the trips, what they do against doubles, what they do against 12 personnel, what they do against 22 personnel. You have to have a good indicator on how they are going to prepare you, how they're going to match up against you. And that way you can attack the defense. That way you can attack and know what plays to call. And we used to have play-specific plays for a red zone. Like, oh, we know they're going to be a man. Guess what? We're going We're going to put the trips out to the side. We're going to drag them across the field. Back comes straight out to the flat. Linebacker who has the back has to go over the top. Quick shot to the back, get in the end zone. So just play specifics like that. Game plan, design plays that will be able to attack the defense, both for Indiana offense and Ohio State offense will be crucial in this game.
All right, so that's your big game resume brought to you by Zip Recruiter. We're going to transition now to maybe six of the biggest games this week, and it is 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. As always, please gamble responsibly. So six games against the spread. Mark's got his deuce-deuce dog of the week. We're going to start, though, with Coach O'Neis at Florida. Gator slapped LSU around at the swamp last week. And all of a sudden, the future forecast, for Florida at least, is looking brighter, is looking stronger. They're on the cusp of bowl eligibility. Now they have a chance to ruin Ole Miss's playoff dreams. Ole Miss, favored by 10 in Gainesville.
Yeah, I don't call them the Gators anymore, the rejuvenated Gators, Mark. They're not necessarily back. But I'm going to tell you something. I'm a fan of Coach Napierre, and here's why. I don't know them. I met them once or twice. They've been obviously really struggling. But the one thing they have not done, like the team in Tallahassee, is quit. They've continued to fight. I hear comments made by their excellent quarterback, DJ Legway. I see things. I hear things. Obviously, I still know a lot of people down there. The swamp was electric. I think O-Mis is walking into a harness nest here. I think a team that when you break the rock like that, you win a big game like everybody's been waiting for them to do. The one thing about Gainesville, Florida, now, you find a way to start winning, that place is a monster. I think the best home field, when they're hot, when they're not, it's average, like a lot of places. But when that The place is cooking, and they'll be cooking for Elaine Kiffin and them. I don't know if they're good enough to beat Ole Miss, but I'm going to take Florida.
And the point, it started at nine and a half. I believe it's at 10. I'm not sure. Vegas might know something, but I call for this to be a one score game.
All right. Penn State favored by 11 and a half at Minnesota. You know what that is, guys? That is a sizable spread alert. I'm very leery about that big spread right now. Here's why. If I'm Penn State, I'm nervous about this one. The Gophers. They had one four straight. They fell, though, to Rutgers two weeks ago. They're sitting there at 6 and four. They had that late buy to get themselves healthy, to get themselves ready for a home game with big bad Penn State coming in. The Gophers D, let's be honest, it doesn't get enough praise. 12th in the nation in scoring. The quarterback, Max Brozmer, doesn't get enough credit also. Over 2,200 passing yards, 14 touch downs. This cat has not thrown an interception since September. The national vibe, and Mark, we've talked about this for a while. The vibe around Penn State, if you're talking to people who aren't in blue and white, is you're ranked how high? Who have you beaten? What are you doing up there inside the top five? I think it's a brand. It's a Big Ten brand, and it's a Penn State brand that has them up there.
So there's still some questions. Since that home loss to Ohio State, though, they have posted convincing wins over Washington and Purdue last week. Drew Aller, the quarterback, he grows, he improves. Our guy Tyler Warren continues to ball out. How fun is he to watch?
Last week-He's the man.
11 total touches, 190 total yards, 2 scores.
He needs to start getting some conversation, man, for the high as me.
For something. Give him the Mackey, right?
At least give him the- You're the guy that can, Mark.
Yeah, I can give him some love. That's right. We love Tyler Warren. He a baller, man.
Here's one stat I want to end on. Minnesota, two and one when facing a top five Penn State team. Wow.
Is that a saucy nug?
It's not. I got other saucy stuff from around there. Paul Bunyan's ax. It goes to Minneapolis and stays there for the year. Gophers. What? Give it a win. What? What? I called it.
You called the win?
I called the win for Minneapolis. Yes. Sorry. Sorry about that, Penn State. It's going to be a tough road trip to Minneapolis. Let's go to the Big 12. Colorado, favored by three at Kansas. Jayhawks. They've been carrying that sickle. They're like the grim reaper of the Big 12 lately. Savage wins over Iowa State, and of course, what they did in Provo against BIO last week. Now, Colorado comes to Arrowhead Stadium, knowing that the Buffs control their own destiny in the Big 12, and perhaps a chance, Mark, to get to the college football playoffs.
You said it. They control their own destiny. They control their own destiny. But they're going on the Kansas Jayhaw spoiler tour right now. Let's see, two weeks ago, they beat Kansas beat Iowa State to knock the cyclones out of the Big 12 playoff conversation. Then last week, Kansas State beats BIO, stops their undefeated season. But Colorado, they're coming in red hot. But for Kansas, it's been the combination of Jalen Daniels and R. B. Devin Neal. They've been balling and they've been killing it. But listen, not a bus. We talk about the bus defense who have been playing strong. They look, if the bus continue to play like this, they're a problem. Their defense has seven takeaways and 11 sacks in the last two games. And if they keep those two players in check, I think they'll be okay. But I'm going to give you a matchup to watch on her. I'm going to give you a matchup.
We know about- I'm ready.
Give it to me. Coach Myer didn't said it about them wide receivers they got, right? Colorado. Travis Hunter, Lejante, Wester, Jimmy Fourn, Jimmy Will Sheffer.
Lejante.
They got a bunch of receivers that, hey, they're electric. But listen, Kansas actually has one of the best cornerback duos in all of college football, and Kobe Bryant and Melo Dodson. Those two have combined for nine interceptions this year and 17 interceptions in the last two years. There's two NFL guys right there. So that's a matchup to watch. Those two DBs against those four or five- What's your call, dude? Four or five receivers. I got the Buffs. I got the scope Buffs. All right. Going to keep it going. They ain't going to let it go down like that, man. Okay. The Jayhaw spoiler tour is stopping right now, man.
It's over an arrowhead. It's over.
So one thing about Colorado, we're there, and what an atmosphere. Travis Hunter intercepts the ball. He does a high as been pose on the field. Deion Sanders' sons brings his camera out on the field. This is during a game. Takes a video of him, and then Travis throws a ball in the stands.
I love it.
Then they had a rap concert in the locker room after the game. I went back real fast and just checked my notes, and I never saw a rap concert in our locker room after the game. I'm not sure. Saban did that, right?
Yeah. No, never. The sideline was booming. We went down there on the sideline. It was who's who out there. It looked like the BT Awards, the ESP and the VMA Awards. It was booming out there. I'm like, who is who out here? It was lit.
Oh, my goodness.
They had the going out there in the stadium, out there in Colorado. They were smoking it up, and theuffs are booming, man. I love the energy out there in BOLD.
They were smoking it up. There's a lot of contact. There was.
We was out there doing the playbook.
I caught him with that, too.
Oh, my goodness. Somebody got that gasoline all.
Everybody started getting hungry. I said, I need to find me a bag of Wendy's. I need to catch a contact.
Sure. I'm happy they brought out their food.
Coach has got the Munchies. Coach has got the Munchies.
I'm out of town. I made a little pit stop.
Let's go.
They said that this was the background from last week, but I'm going to have to go do some research because this looks like a whole new No background to me, Coach. Where is Coach at this week?
He's in Florida. I have no idea. He's in Florida. All right, let's continue our bet. Mgm pick six. Army and Notre Dame, the Irish favorite by 14. First time, guys, that this will be a ranked matchup since 1958. The Irish have won each of the last 15 encounters. A Notre Dame loss would, I don't know if it would kill, but it would really hurt maybe borderline maimed their playoff hopes. An Army win could show that they belong coach in the playoff picture.
Yeah, Jeff Bunkin is a friend of mine for many, many years. I think he's one of the great coaches in America. I always say playing a Service Academy is a nightmare, playing a 10-0 or 9-0 This is a double nightmare. This is a problem. So I'm going to say this, Mark, that it's either going to be a beating. They put a beating on Navy. Notre Dame did. Just personnel-wise, it's a beating. However, schematically, Army's built to They're number one Russia offense in America. How about this? 335 yards per game, and they're plus 11 in turnover ratio. That's a sign of a really well-coached team. Notre Dame's better. Notre Dame's, if If the real Notre Dame team turns on, I think this is a blowout. So there's no medium here is what I'm saying. This is not going to be a 15, 16, 18, 21-point game. It's either going to be a 40-point game or it's going to be a three-point game. And I'm sitting to still fight myself on this. The point spread went from 16.5 down to 14. May someone know something. I'm going to say Army keeps this thing close. I'm not saying they win, but I'm saying they're going to shorten the game.
I really love Army. I love the fact that the triple option will be headed to Army-Navy in a few weeks. There's a little bit of sentimental value because my father was Army, and I like to see a nice close game.
All right. Call a close game to the Big 12 B-Y-U at Arizona State. B-y-u, favored by three and a half. There are four contenders left to win the Big 12, and two of them meeting there in Tempe.
Both control their destiny. Stone, guess who we going to see in that game? Skatter Bull.
I had it in my rundown a little bit later. I know. All right, so let's pretend you didn't bring that up. No late drama for B-Y-U last week. Kansas shocked them in Provo. All those close calls, all those survival moments, finally, I think, Got caught up to them. I'm really curious what the psyche of the Cougars is going to be this week with that unbeaten season is gone. Big 12 title hopes now get really, really challenged. If you're Kalani Sataki, you got to make sure that one loss doesn't turn into two losses. Sun Devils got an upset win at Kansas State. Here they are, guys, at eight and two, five and two in conference play. Our favorite Sun Devil is who, Mark?
Cam. Oh, Cam Skatebu. Guess who? Cam. There we go. Cam Skatebu.
All right, so we've been giving Cam Skatebu love, rightfully so. But how about the play of their wideout, Jordan Tyson, the former Buffalo, transferred over there. He was Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week this week, 176 yards against Kansas State. Sun Devils at home. I know Arizona State is well-versed in tailgating and partying and having fun. That is going to be a big-time scene in Tempe. Yes, it is. That scene, that crowd, is going to make They're going to win. They are going to win. I'm all about the upsets this week, apparently. Arizona State is going to win. How about that one? All right, let's get to the big one. The game that everybody really, really cares about right now in college football, you can only see it on Fox. Big noon kickoff leading into the noon kickoff for Indiana and Ohio State. Buckeyes are favored by 12.5. They own a 29-game winning streak over I. U. The last time in Indiana, Mark, beat the Buckeyes. This guy right here was dancing shirtless at Colgate University to Sweet Child of Mine, back in 1988, baby. I love that song. And that is your Saucy Nuts.
Sure. Why not? Give him a Wendy Saucy done for that. We got plenty.
Man, let's just go into this game, man. We going to be there, the big new, going to be there. Coach Herb, your O-H going to be there. Herb, herb, herb. No, but listen, let's just lay it out on the ground a while right If Indiana wins, who is going to clinch a Big Ten Championship and validate themselves as a college football payoff. It would basically seal it. It would seal the deal. And Ohio State and Ryan Day's big game struggles would continue, and this guy would be falling in Columbus. But if Ohio State wins- Are you calling it? I'm not.
He's teasing us right now. Just let me.
I'm just going, Hey, I'm just setting up the ground law. You know what I mean? And if Ohio State wins, Ohio State would be in the driver's seat to get back to the Big Ten Championship. Championship with a showdown rematch with Oregon. And they would be considered a national championship front runner. And Indiana would have zero good wins. Would that kick them out of the playoff picture? We don't know. But the big thing is, will Ohio State's offensive line hold up? They're going against Indiana team that leads the Big Ten with 31 sacks and 73 tackles for loss this season. And Ohio State, they're still finding their way with their own line. So can Ohio State's line keep- You're not believing their own line because they They did look pretty good against Penn State. They did. But still, they did look good versus Penn State. But this is a different beast. You're going against a real deal Holyfield, Kirst Signetis. You know what I mean?
How fun was it to talk to Kirst Cignette this week, too, man? He's awesome.
Coosick's the best, man. Coosick's the best, man. You talk about how they looked against Penn State. But look, this Indiana offense, I feel, is going to be much more effective than a Penn State offense was. They have the number one offense in the Big Ten, Curtis Rourke, 23 total touchdowns, four interceptions. They have a pair of runningbacks that we talked about with Coosick Netty, Justice Ellison, and Tyson Lawton, who have combined for 18 touchdowns this year. They have a defense that is lying in the second few as ours for play, but they've done it all against a week's schedule. So what is the line, Stone, 13 and a half?
Twelve and a half.
Twelve and a half is too much. Too much. Twelve and a half is too much. And that means I'm going to go with the Buckeyes to win just because I think playmakers make the plays in the big games. And I think Ohio State has the superior playmakers. But the Fighting Signetis will come in there ready to play. Offensively, defensively, special teams, they're going to have an edge about them. They're going to play with physicality. They're going to play with toughness and execution. And this is going to be a dog of the week. A dog of the week. I don't got them winning, but I do have them covering that twelve and a half point spread. Matter of fact, Bet MGM, I'm going to log in and plug that in as my play of the week. I'm going to put that as my play of the week, Bet MGM. I'm taking them points.
I'm laying the points with the hoosias. What a scene it should be. So happy that Indiana is relevant in football in Ohio State with a big test as they try to lock up a Big Ten Championship game birth against Oregon. Yeah, the Ducks have already locked up the Big Ten Championship game appearance. We remind you, follow, subscribe, rate us on YouTube, Apple podcast, Spotify, wherever you get your podcast, as well as across social media. You can find us at 3XOptionShow. Don't forget to submit questions. We will have them answered during the show. Typically, new episodes coming away every Wednesday, as always. Thanks to our sponsors, Wendy's, Bet MGM and ZipRecruiter. We will see you next week.
All right.
All right.