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So, these college football page on 98.9 W-X-E-O. So, we doubled the cast in a quick moment
here, have a way.
I can't speak for you on this, but I can definitely say, I've given my impact of IQ on you.
This has shut up.
I agree.
I agree 100% right there.
But we're going to finally get some real knowledge onto this show after 60 minutes of
the batting around here.
It only took us 22 weeks to know.
I know.
All right.
Who's going to join us now?
You can make, since your name's on the show, we're going to let you do the big introduction.
Well, you know, we've got none other than Paul McLeague, the man himself, a future hall
of fame football culture.
Well, you were going to give him a scholarship in the last segment.
Oh, yeah.
You use it as an example here for our transfer portal.
So I was saying then, we might take it away if he goes into the portal too.
So, and then, of course, a guy that I rely heavily on, especially when it comes to recruitment
and Notre Dame, my son, Mike Sullivan is joining us.
So how are you doing, Mike?
Not bad.
Fantastic.
All right.
So, where do we want to go with this?
Do we want to talk about NIL portal with the guys, or where do you want to go with this?
Let's kind of devise, you know, kind of take a harder look at NIL, the NCAA transfer
portal, and then the opt-out.
And, you know, what we said, guys, in the previous segment was that it's now being changed
to a 10-day time frame, and they're turning December into a dead month.
No contact, no opting out, or check, you can opt out.
But no portal, transfer, it would not be available until the second of January, and so they're
trying to limit it to 10 days after the bulls are completed.
So you guys have any thoughts on that?
Well, today there was a vote, and the coaches voted unanimously to move it out of bull season.
They do not want the transfer portal to be present during the playoffs, because it's
affecting team depth.
So we'll see what the NCAA does, but it's very clear what the coaches want, and you do
not want it in January.
Yes.
And so they're talking, it's got to go through two more layers.
There's like a college review, and then there's the main, the ones who make the final decision.
So they're saying there's probably going to be some resistance to it.
Is the reason, because of school, I suppose, too, because they want to be in second semester,
right?
So it depends on when schools start their second semester.
How naive you are talking about classes.
Wow.
I'm joking.
I'm joking.
I'm joking.
No, that's a wonderful question.
Shackingly, Mick makes a good point, because what he's talking about.
You got a lot to learn about modern college football, though, that I do.
He's talking about, if you're going to do that, you want to enroll second semester, even
though Chad's kind of right, it's somewhat of a fake, a fake enrollment, but nonetheless
enrollment.
I'm not going to see that.
That's so loud.
Yeah.
We're not there yet.
We're not there yet.
But I can tell you this.
The vast majority of his players, the on-senders, didn't go to any classes.
They were all online.
So they were an on-campus.
At all, most of the stuff they were taking was online.
And so it is a different world with this portal, and then the NIL.
And Chad, you said it earlier, it's professionalizing it.
So they want to enroll in school, but there's nothing to do with classes.
They want to enroll so they can participate in spring practice.
So as long as they're there for spring practice, they're okay, you're saying?
Well, they have to enroll in the second semester, or they are not allowed to participate
in spring practice with the team.
So he, Michael's essentially saying what you said, Mick, that the reason they're concerned
about that January 2nd to the 12th is they want to get enrolled.
So they can partake in whatever activities.
So yeah.
So they really can't move it back too much farther than January 2nd, or whatever you said
a 10-day period.
Yes.
And they're going to get pushed back on that, they think, for exactly what you and Mike
are talking about.
And one other point that I think you're going to talk about here, guys, is, and I think
for you two sitting across from me, who have been coaches talking about now, this is
a new monkey wrench in terms of team dynamics.
So much of what you are trying to accomplish within your teams has to do with trying to
have everybody pulling in the same direction nowadays, some of these guys are being pulled
in different directions.
And that's a factor with this money coming in, isn't it?
Yeah, it definitely is.
And Mike, you know, there's a second portal in April.
And that was, I believe, Mike, after spring practice, correct?
Yeah, it certainly would be.
I mean, the most spring practice is starting March.
And so from what Chad was saying, you know, make you could have your team ready to go,
go through the whole spring, know who you're starting quarterbacks going to be, and suddenly
six guys are in the portal.
So that's why they want that limited to that time, you know, in early January.
And they have to do it early January so they can get people into the second semester.
So they're able to be involved in spring.
But they really want that April one gone.
They don't want people going into the portal because unless you're a graduate student,
you would no longer be able to enter the portal after that January deadline.
Well, isn't, I mean, because what could possibly be happening with that, which is crazy,
I think, in my mind is, all right, say I'm at Wisconsin and I transferred in Minnesota
because I want to play more.
And I get to the spring ball.
I don't make the cut and I'll transfer again.
Is that, can you do that?
Is there any rules?
You couldn't, you couldn't leave, or you couldn't go into the transfer portal until that
next opening, which would be the second of January.
So you'd have to wait a whole year.
You would have to wait.
Yeah, unless you're a graduate student, then you can enter it anytime you want.
Yeah.
So there's that.
Now, some of the, some of the things that are being talked about are establishing a, a
commissioner's office.
There's somebody that would actually be outside the NCA, who would kind of oversee it.
And they're thinking, these pro commissioners do such a wonderful job.
And you know, they're thinking the power for which, Chad and I, we've been talking about
a group of five tournament forever.
Now they're talking about this commissioner would deal with the power for.
And they said 68 teams, because there are 67 right now in the big 10, the SEC, the ACC,
and the big 12.
So they have already kicked out Washington, state and Oregon, state, and I'm thinking,
well, wait a minute now, those teams were part of the power five.
And now they're talking about 68 teams, which would be the 67 in those four conferences
and Notre Dame.
You know, Chad and I were talking earlier, Mick, Mike, that people don't know where this
is going.
They go kind of from one thing to another.
Is Notre Dame part of those?
Notre Dame would be part of those four, okay, because they come down, okay.
Yep.
They are.
So anyway.
Wow.
I mean, it seems like a wow, wow, west.
Well, it is.
And then, you know, there's, there's actually a lawsuit going on now.
It's house versus the NCAA.
And this kid was a swimmer at Arizona State, and he basically brought suit against the
NCAA for saying that, you know, his rights had been violated.
And he won, they won, the NCAA lost.
And so then what happened was the NCAA said that, okay, we're going to pay 2.2 billion.
That's what the B, 2.2 billion to everybody who was participating from 2016 to 2024.
So anybody that, you know, or let me, let me rephrase, prior to the start of this current
season.
And so that then has, you know, led to confusion in that the NCAA said, okay, we're good
with this, but you cannot be independent.
In other words, NIL is going to wait.
NIL won't exist anymore.
What will exist if they do this will be a contract that you would sign.
And there's no more NIL.
There's no more name in between likeness.
You're just under contract with the university.
There's no letters of intent anymore.
It's this, this contract that the athlete had signed with the school.
And so they were, everybody was good with that until somebody said, well, what
of Coca-Cola offers me $500,000 for my, the NCAA said, no, no, you can't do that.
Well then the judge didn't like that.
And so the judge said this, this final decision is now delayed until you get some resolution
to that.
So that's the latest thing that I have seen on this yet.
Well, yesterday night, the Board of Education released a memo that said that they consider
NIL financial assistance, which has Title IX implications too.
So I mean, there's definitely a whole bunch to flush out of this because that is going
to throw a wrench and thing.
That's a great point, Mike.
If anybody thinks that the gals are going to sit around quietly while the guys get all
the money, they better think again.
And these are public institutions.
And there is supposed to be equal access for genders.
And so we've been waiting for that to show itself.
So now if that comes up, that's a whole other can of warms.
For sure, they're going to be schools, I think, that are going to look at the implications
of that.
And they're going to decide that they're out.
That the financial feasibility of it isn't for them.
And they're going to stop, I think, participating in major college football.
You know, Mike, and I think that's why they limited it to those 68 schools.
You know, Notre Dame, and there was four power conferences.
And they must have looked at Oregon State Washington State and decided that, no, they're not
going to be able to afford it.
Yep.
I think we should talk about the game on Monday.
I just, I'm starting to think that my head's going to explore with all this information.
It's not good information.
Yeah.
I think there's a game on Monday night that we should be talking about, why don't we
take a time out and come back up on how I think that, do you have this kind of stuff
on the site?
By the way, I'm just curious.
Do you have information about this?
Not as of yet.
Okay.
Maybe during the off season, I think people should be able to, because I mean, man, this is
calm.
I mean, this is like getting ready for the SATs.
I mean, not that any of these football players are going to be taking any tests anymore.
No, but it is.
I mean, this has been information to have.
I know, but it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a change in.
Oh, it's a, and one, one last thing I will say about it for about a hundred years now,
the college football has been kind of the, the minor league of the NFL.
And one of the things that's being talked here as to who pays these guys, the NFL's name
is prominent.
These college people that are negotiating this stuff and are in it are saying the, you know,
the NFL is going to be charged for this.
So that'll be it.
Yeah, that goes.
Good luck on that.
Well, this is just all crazy.
It is.
It might as well have my league football Mike, any final thoughts on this, this real, interesting
future that we're going to see before we take a break?
I think the final two teams we're going to talk about are unaffected by this stuff.
I think you're right.
All right, we're going to take a quick time out and come right back and actually talk
about the game and I see why solely why you've said during the season that you focus on
the games.
Yeah.
But if you can call it this, it's like quick sand, it was hard to get out of it, isn't
it?
Well, it is, you know, it's like Sherlock Holmes trying to figure something out, but
you've always said, yep, you, you like focusing on the action and, and I, I already know
who you're going to pick because you're wearing the, the jersey right now.
So we're going to come back and talk about the game and show here, look what's going
on.
I should have said that because this is radio, but we'll come right back and actually talk
about Monday's big national championship game.
The Irish and the Buckeyes coming up next.
You're on Southeast college football page on 98.9 WXO.
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And welcome back, it's Southeast college football page on 98.9 wxcope, a full group here
around table here to wrap things up the final edition of the show until we start off again
in the summer time, late summer time.
But assault, let's get to the action because one thing I have to admit, and hard to believe
that I do admit when I'm off target once in a while.
And I was one of the biggest detractors from the Sully Game Simulator because I would give
a role of the eye when I'd hear about the game simulator.
But during this playoff run and during the bowl season, the simulator is done pretty
well, hasn't it?
So, Chad, I'm going to start calling you a doting Thomas because remember we said it'll
get better because you're right when you say it would make some predictions early that
we really know.
But as teams play more like opponents, conference level picks up, it starts to get a better
sense.
In the bowls, they outperformed Vegas, now keep in mind, not point spread.
But when Vegas has somebody giving points, obviously they picked them the win.
The simulator outperformed who Vegas said was favored by identifying winners.
And so in that regard, you're right, Chad, and it's a big man that admits that when
he's way off.
I tell you, I am a big man.
I tell that.
You know, write this down, first time ever.
All right, gentlemen, let's look at these matchups.
You have, obviously with the simulator, you talk about the offense versus defense passing,
rushing, scoring, turnovers, third down conversion, red zone and red zone scores and red zone
TDs.
And what are the areas?
And I guess, you know, Saul, and you can talk about, you know, with the guys here in
terms of the importance of these numbers, where are the most important numbers, do you think,
in these matchups?
Well, you know, the first thing, Micah, you on the site, can you see the simulator read
out?
I can be.
OK, you should probably take a peek at it.
Then you'll know exactly what we're working off of.
Just to clarify, what the site does, because these numbers are not real.
You will not find them anywhere but on the simulator.
What it does is it takes Ohio State's offense, adds it to Notre Dame's defense.
Gets it total, divides by two and gets a mean.
So the site said, based on what Notre Dame gives up and what Ohio State averages, the
Ohio State will have 365 yards in this game.
And using the same formula in reverse Notre Dame's O to Ohio State's D, it says Notre Dame
will have 328 yards.
And so therefore, Ohio State gets that point.
And you can earn up to eight points.
So in the simulator, it says that in the eight categories assessed, Ohio State will
outperform Notre Dame in five.
And Notre Dame will outperform them in rushing total, in turnovers, which is a big element
here, because Notre Dame is absolutely going to need to win that battle.
And it says that Notre Dame will be better on third down than Ohio State.
Notre Dame will convert 37% of the time to Ohio State's 35.
And these are the actual numbers, but then they're different because they're compared to
one another.
All right.
Mike, what do you think in terms of the number?
What areas?
And I know that you and Saul here, you know, wearing the iris screen, what are the areas
that Notre Dame has to be best at on Monday night?
I think that Notre Dame is going to have to stop the run.
And they're going to have to be able to run the ball.
And those are two tall tasks against that team.
But if they don't do that, they cannot win.
And Mick, what about you?
What are the biggest areas that you're going to be looking at to watching this game?
I would, Ohio State, they got pretty good receivers.
And against that past game, I think they're going to have to, Notre Dame's going to slow
them down and with that also.
And every game comes down to the key thing I would think, Saul, you would agree with me
on this.
Probably one of the key things on the site is the turnovers because the turnovers can
change the dimension of a game in the heartbeat.
So, you know, it's going to be the turnover battle.
And I just don't see Ohio State's playing at high level right now.
That's just my, I think your simulator is spot on.
Well, you know, what a stock up.
That would not be Mick talking to me.
I can tell you this, enlisting to a lot of people talk about a macro Roy and, you know,
a few others when they're saying that Notre Dame needs to invite Ohio State to run the
ball, you know, which is a little bit different than what you were saying, Mick.
But the reason being is they, they're going to play a lot of men and play in man to man
against Jeremiah Smith or, you know, Ibuka, Ibuka.
Those kids is going to be very, very difficult.
And so they're going to have to show seven men, you know, six in the box and try to convince
Ohio State that they need to run the ball.
That's what Michigan, and that's what Texas did, you know, so you're saying force them
to run or force them to pass.
Create the, create the invitation for them to run the ball, be especially on first and
second town because they're worried with the man to man if, you know, if Ibuka or somebody
else could, could break free in those early downs, which is what happened, you know, against
Oregon and against Tennessee.
So they're saying create the illusion that you can run.
And then after the snap flow to try to deal with what you're inviting them to do, yeah.
So there's that.
But I'm with you, Mick.
Noted him cannot win this game if they do not win the turnover better.
There is so much star power on this Ohio State team no matter where you look.
They've got the best tandem of backs, you know, Henderson has run and we haven't talked
about this yet.
He's run for nine hundred and fifty yards where, where Ibuka, no, not Ibuka, judges, judges,
has run for nine hundred and forty six.
So there's a difference of four yards.
They got more guys, you know, I mean, they can, they can get more depth, which I think
that they're healthier and you look at their defense Ohio State's defense.
Those guys and the days of this happening probably ever again is probably zero, but they
have a lot of guys that play four or five years in that program on that starting defense,
which I think is probably going to go out the door as we go on.
And I think that's meshed them together again.
I'm partial here.
I should, Notre Dame, Ohio State, whatever the case might be, but they're both well-coached
and I think Notre Dame might be even better coached and I think that might be why they
have a better chance.
But it's in Notre Dame do since they haven't beat Ohio State in 89 years.
Well, I'll tell you what, we're going to have to go back to 89 years while they beat
them in 1936.
So how many years of deadbeat?
You know my comedy years?
89 years.
You had 64, right?
And then what?
24?
My math is good.
1935 or something?
Yeah.
Well, they also won in 1936.
In fact, you guys will like this.
Notre Dame was trailing Ohio State with about a minute to go in 1935 game.
It was at Ohio State.
81,000 people are there.
At the time they're both unbeaten, Notre Dame's quarterback, who had scored two touchdowns,
gets knocked out of the game.
So they have to bring in...
They have to cuss his back then?
What's that?
They have to cuss his back then?
Yeah, they have to cuss his protocols, Mick, which you're about to get one.
But anyway, what happens is the second string quarterback comes in and makes a spectacular
throw.
And Notre Dame wins the game.
And what was his name?
Yes.
His name is William Shakespeare.
I get you, not the guy who threw the winning touchdown was playing for the Irish, and he
was a famous English author, so we're still trying to, you know, we're not sure if we
can even count that if an English guy threw a pass the winning game for the Irish...
Let's take a time out here because you kind of touched on the star power.
And again, when you talk about the best teams money can buy, these teams have put a little
into it.
So there's some pretty big stars.
We'll talk about the quarterbacks because we haven't already talked about the comparison
of the quarterbacks quite yet.
Both of them are brought in this season from other programs, and both of them have done
the job to get these teams there.
And you talked a little bit about the running backs and everything else.
Let's take a quick time out and they come back and kind of delve into the big names and
who's going to have to really step up in order for these teams to win on Monday night.
So star power and impact players coming up next.
As we continue here on Southeast College football page on 98.9 WXC on.
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It's all these college football page on 98.9 WXCO online at WXCO.fm, mobile devices
and Alexa by searching WXCO and on the Civic Media app final edition of the season running
into Monday night's national championship game in Atlanta between Ohio State and Notre
Dame and Seoul.
Again, these are incredibly talented teams and they got guys that are going to be worth
the price of the mission, some big stars in this one.
I thought what we do in this round is we'll talk about quarterbacks, the running backs,
and then we'll talk about which one each of us thinks which team then has the edge
with that guy playing that position.
So if we start with the quarterbacks, we got Will Howard who completes 72% of his passes.
He's completed 268 of 369.
He has nine picks, he's passed for 3400 yards, 32 touchdowns, so he's got a ratio of slightly
better than 3 to 1 and he's averaging about 249 a game and then you flip it to Riley
who's obviously better known as a runner, has surprisingly thrown more passes.
That surprised me when I looked at the stat.
He's 372, he's completing about 66% of his passes.
We want that floor at 60, so it's pretty significantly above the floor.
Eight picks, 2600 passing yards, 19 TDs, so he's got a little better than 2 to 1 ratio
and he is passing for about 173 yards per game.
So Michael, who do you like here at Quarterback?
Do you think the Irish have the edge with Leonard and we haven't factored in his legs,
so you need to do that in your analysis, so what do you think?
It is hard not to be more confident in Will Howard and his body of work, though I will
say I think nerd aim has passed the ball better in the playoffs than in some ways did in
the regular season, particularly down the field, so I think it's closer than I would have
thought it was a few weeks ago, but I would still probably give the edge to Ohio State.
Just by virtue of Will Howard being a more polished, thrower of the football.
Paul, what do you think?
I think I agree with what he's saying and I'll be honest, the thing that I would be concerned
about is because he's more dependent on his legs is to make sure Roddy finishes the
game and who knows if he finishes, if he gets hit somewhere along the line, that he gets
hurt and you have to do it, they have to do it obviously the last game that he doesn't
just make it through, but it's a lot closer than it would be, but I would give the edge to
Ohio State.
What about you, Saul?
Who do you give the edge to?
I'm going to take issue with these two guys, I like Leonard because he's been, as Michael
pointed out correctly, he's been throwing the ball better and he is a superior runner,
and you know the reality is Ohio State is going to make it very difficult for those receivers
to get separation, Notre Dame has got to establish the run.
In fact, I am saying a hundred years ago to Four Horsemen were running around 100 years
ago, they were playing it.
And now Notre Dame has a new, a Nias Williams in Jeremiah Love and Sardanian Price and
then Riley Leonard, so there's a new Four Horseman in town and I think Notre Dame is going
to have to run anyway and make Ohio State defend that and then if Riley can extend
not escape, meaning if he can climb the pocket and then widen out and then throw it
by him because you can bet styles that linebacker who's a lunatic that Ohio State has is going
to come flying.
So they're going to have to depend on Riley's legs and I think he gives them an edge.
Running backs, Traveon Henderson for Ohio State, 950 yards, 10 touchdowns, more than 7 yards
per rush Jeremiah Love for Notre Dame, more than 1100 yards, 1122, also more than 7 yards
per carry, 17 touchdowns including that Highlight Film 98 yarder against IU, Mike, what do
you think of the running backs, top running backs for these two teams?
It really depends on the health of Jeremiah Love because I think if he's healthy, he's
certainly the best back in the game, you know, but he's been deemed up since the SE game.
No, Notre Dame has a little more time to recover between the Penn State and the Penn days, I
think.
So if he's healthy and Notre Dame is saying he is, so if you believe that, I think Notre
Dame has a slight edge, though Ohio State backs are very, very good.
I would probably rank the backs.
One Jeremiah Love, two Traveon Henderson, three Judkins and four Duderian Price.
So I will say Anias Williams has been surprisingly very effective for Notre Dame late and he wasn't
much of a factor in the regular season, but against Penn State, I think he had like five
catches for 70 yards, he had a big 20 yard run.
So yeah, Notre Dame probably has a small edge there, though I mean, I think backs are
nothing to rate home about that, they are very good as well.
Paul, what about you?
I'm going to, I think Love is definitely the better back, but Henderson, these are kinds
of games that I think that the Ohio State always has some guy that's kind of been lurking
and they're not overdoing them because they got so many other guys so that he's fresh.
And I think Henderson has a better game, but Love is the better back.
So yeah, you know, I think when you look at, you know, beyond what we're having here in
front of us, number one, I'm very suspicious of what Notre Dame is saying, you know, what
else are they going to say, no, he's, he's gimpy, they're not going to say that, they're
going to say he's ready to go.
I agree with what, Mick, what you and Mike said, I think that kid is, is potentially a big
time, just short of generational back.
He's got great speed.
He won the 100 in high school in Missouri, he can fly and he is powerful.
You saw that two yard run against Penn State where he got hit four or five times, I just
kept going.
And I shouldn't say but and yet I do like Ohio State with their depth.
I think they have an edge here on the Irish do the effect that I still think was a little
bank wide receivers and I think maybe a little bit more of a gap here.
Ohio State led by Jeremiah Smith in his 1224 yard 70 catches 14 touchdowns 17 and a half
yards per catch.
And then you got Notre Dame, Jade and great house 36 grabs, 446 13 yards per catch, only
two touchdowns.
Based on those numbers, you got to say that the game changer is Smith, but what do you guys think?
Let's start this time of soul.
We'll go the reverse direction here.
Solid.
Honestly, if you look at the individual players and you look at the star power, you could almost,
you are almost led to the fact that Notre Dame has no chance in this game because they have so
much star power.
They have arguably the two best running backs in the country, the tandem, better than Penn State,
who's great, better than Notre Dame, who's great.
They're just better.
Then you look at their White House with the Buka and with Smith, they have the, in my opinion,
the best two White receivers in the game.
Their tight end of late has been playing better.
So this is an area make that we're going to need you to scheme this up because if it's a Notre Dame
playing straight man, it's a problem and that's why I'm saying Notre Dame has got to invite them
to run the ball and then pre snap flow.
I'm going to go, I'm going to agree with you, 100 percent.
I think that those skill positions in Notre Dame are good players too to be honest with you.
On the outside, it's just that they haven't had the opportunity as much as the Ohio State.
Those guys, when they're making some of those catches in those games, those guys are the
jet. I mean, we're talking like big time, the jet, those old days, Ohio State, they're
making plays and catching everything that's going their way here in the playoffs.
It's just a new group of receivers.
So with that being said, I'm going to say Smith will have the edge.
And Mike?
I think that is very clear Ohio State has the edge.
Jeremiah Smith is as advertised and
he was the number one overall player in his class and somehow is outperformed.
And we haven't really seen a receiver as a true freshman that polished since
what Julio Jones. And it's very rare to see a kid that good, that immediately.
He's perhaps going to be the best player on the field in the national championship as a true
freshman. And then you throw in the experience Ohio State has with it.
Buka and this isn't real close.
And Nurtin does have good players on the edge.
Taze on the good player.
I think Great House had a breakout game for Nurtin against Penn State, but they're good.
Ohio State is great.
Why don't we take our last time out here because we're coming up on where we're close to it.
And then we'll talk about the defense and special teams and impact players coming up
in our final segment. So let's take the break right now. Come back and then
have our final segment and get some picks and everything else before we wrap things up.
So we'll take a quick time out and come right back.
It's all these college football page on 98.9 WXCO.
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It's all these college football pages on 98.9 WXCR.
Final segment of this season as we are breaking down the
matchup between Ohio State and Notre Dame in the National Championship
game in Atlanta on Monday night.
Talk about the offense, let's quickly talk about the kicking because you never know it could
come down to a kicker and you know, judging by the numbers both Fielding and Geter OSU and
ND, neither one are what you consider top of the line college football kickers.
Soul is that what you say?
Yeah, you know, one guy, Jayden Fielding, he's 11 of 15 and has not made a 50 plus
yard kick this year and Mitch Geter, Michael, can talk more about this.
He was hurt and he is 13 to 20, but he's been more effective lately.
He, his long is 49 yards, so neither one of these guys have kicked a 50 yarder.
Mike, would you like to add to that?
I think that Geter is capable of making 50 yarders because he has before.
I believe that South Carolina, he made a 53 yarder, but he certainly hasn't had
his best season at Notre Dame because he hasn't been healthy.
I think he is healthy now.
So I think Notre Dame is in Field Goal range from around 55.
There you have it.
I think I'm going to go.
I honestly though, the kids of Winner, the Notre Dame, I really do.
I know you can say the percentages here or whatever the case might be, but I'm going
with the Notre Dame kicker that he might, if this game comes down to a close game,
I think they're in good hands that he will make it.
That's just my gut.
Well, he made, he made several against Penn State, yeah, correct.
And as much as we talked about the offense, it's the defenses that I got these teams here.
I mean, when you give up 10 points against Georgia and you give up 14 points against Texas,
it's the defenses that have been just stellar and starting up front.
Of course, I mean, it's more than just one player, but you got
Jack Sawyer leading the way up front for OSU, Donovan Hinish for Notre Dame.
Mike, up front for these two defenses.
What's your take on those players and maybe generally?
My opinion on that is that Ohio State has three high NFL drafts picked guys
on the front of their defensive line, and I have to think that they have the edge given
how injured Notre Dame is along their defensive line.
Notre Dame has played remarkably well considering that.
And they are very good, but when you start looking at a lot of the advanced metrics
for Notre Dame, you'll see their second, second, second, second,
and you're impressed.
And then you look at Ohio State and they're the team that's in front of them in all.
And I think a lot of that has to do with Ohio State being able to just
rush four and have their linebackers help and coverage play in space.
One of the same things Notre Dame does, I think Ohio State just has a more talented defensive line.
They're men in my book. I mean, that they're Ohio State.
Those are older guys, like you said, they're drafted.
Just again, not that Notre Dame and they've done great jobs.
I think they lost their two book ends there, of course, the year.
So they've had injuries and things like that.
And Notre Dame still has been doing a good job with getting pressure and stopping at run
on a consistent basis. But Ohio State, those guys are in a different league, that's at my opinion.
Yeah, I think you're right, Mick.
And I'm with Mike.
And the fact that we have henish as the leading defensive lineman for Notre Dame reflects
the fact that Riley Mills, they're 300 pounds inside, you know, kind of nose guard.
And Howard Cross, clearly they're two best defensive lineman.
Cross spent a lot of time hurt and Mills is out after the Indiana game.
So to Mike's point, you know, had those guys, and what you were talking about Patela and some
of the guys they lost earlier, then you're, it's a different story, Mick, because I,
well, you give Ohio State an edge, it would be a very slight edge.
Now it's significant. So yeah, I don't think there's much debate that Ohio State's
D line is better.
Let's take the linebackers and DBs and put them together, because we are running out of time
very quickly. You want to make sure to get through everything.
For the linebacker, of course, Ohio State, as Cody Simon, 97 tackles, 11 and a half tackles for
loss. Jack Kaiser, of course, for Notre Dame, with his 85 tackles. And what he's been able
to accomplish. And then in the secondary, you've got Caleb Downs for OSU, 72 tackles,
also six and a half tackles for loss and Xavier Watts for Notre Dame, 75 tackles as well.
So as you take the mid and back ends of the defense, is what jumps out?
Well, these two guys, I think Downs and Watts are the best safeties in the country.
And they're not going to be on the field at the same time, but they are, in my opinion,
the two best at that position. Cody Simon, the linebacker for Ohio State,
maybe the best player nobody's talking about on Ohio State's defense. This kid is a tackling
machine. He had 16 tackles in their second playoff game. I mean, the kid flies to the ball.
So when you look at front, when you look at that back seven, as good as Notre Dame is, and they
are very good, I would give Ohio State the slightest of edges with styles is another great linebacker.
So the reality is this is strength on strength.
I agree. Now that's, if you look at Notre Dame overall, it's besides obviously the running backs.
This is the back seven is their strength. With that being said, they have to do it to make this
a game. They're going to have to make the plays that could get some turnovers on that side in
the back seven. If it's a pick, whatever the case may be, force fumble, it's going to have to
be those guys that's going to cause those turnovers to make difference. But Ohio State,
those guys in the back seven, those guys are their studs. And so for Notre Dame, if you have a close
game, a real close game and to win the game, they have to play lights out. And Mike.
I think that the most important player in this game is Notre Dame's true freshman cornerback,
Leonard Moore. If you look at the game, Notre Dame and Ohio State played last year,
the reason it was close is a guy that unfortunately is injured for the year. Benjamin Morris and
really gave Marvin Harris and problems, who is Ohio State's feature player. Leonard Moore can do
the same thing in this game. That really changes the equation. I actually think at linebacker,
Notre Dame is probably more talented than Ohio State, surprising that may seem. And I would
give a slight edge to Notre Dame, good as Ohio State is. All right. So that's all the position
players. We got about five minutes to go here. So again, there's still probably lots to cover,
but generally talking about a number of these players that we've discussed here in terms of
the star power. But when you look at the matchup, when you look, put it all together,
when you take the coaches, when you put the situation, what are the things, the players,
whatever you may want to put into it as have this discussion now to figure out who's going to
ultimately take that national championship. Where do you begin? What are the things that the
eyes are going to be on on Monday night? Well, I'll start off by saying Notre Dame has to win
the turnover battle. If they lose the turnover battle, if they're giving Ohio State short fields
or are faltering when they're in the red zone with the turnover, I don't think they have a real
good shot to beat the box. So to start, I'm saying, if Notre Dame can win the turnover battle,
they are good enough to be right there at the end. And if it's close at the end,
I would favor Notre Dame for what they've done.
I would agree, and again, maybe it's because we've both coached Saul, that it's a turnover battle.
That's going to make to keep that game close or not. My gut tells me that they want this to be
one of the better games ever. You know what I mean? They're going to want this game to be good
when I say they, I'm talking about the college football playoffs. And I don't think Notre Dame's,
they're still too talented to let them get blown away. But I don't see Ohio State, I'm like 14,
is what I'm getting. Mike, I think that this game is going to go one or two weeks. I think you're
going to see Ohio State win this game like 31 to 13, or you're going to see the game get close.
This doesn't make a lot of sense given the weapons they have, but Ohio State's actually been
bad on third down. So if Notre Dame can find a way to win those first and second downs,
and it gets close, I think Ohio State is probably in trouble. So if it's close, I think Notre Dame's
going to win. If it is a situation where Ohio State can move the ball early and stay on
schedule on their downs, I think they're going to win by 17. Yeah, I agree, Mike. I think on
yearly downs, it's critical. Notre Dame has to get them into third and nine and then try to create
some pressures, some way they can get pressure on Howard. And I think then they got a shot.
The other thing Chad is penalties. Ohio State has been somewhat sloppy. They had nine penalties
against Texas. You know, I know people talk about Texas and Notre Dame's defenses both being
very, very good, but they are also very different. Texas plays a lot of zone. Notre Dame is almost
exclusively man. And so what Michael's point about more is absolutely true. And as good as Jeremiah
Smith is, I don't know about you, Mick, but I don't think he's any better than Harrison.
Marvin Harris in a year ago was awful good. I mean, really, one of the best players in college
football a year ago. And Notre Dame, it wasn't just Moritz. And it was primarily him and Moritz
brother, but he got, he got it done. Yeah. So I think early downs and penalties are also effective.
One minute to go. No explanation. Who wins? Mick, like Ohio State. So Notre Dame. Mike.
Notre Dame. So this is the last 45 seconds. I got to leave it to you because this is your show.
This is your website. What do you want to say to wrap up another season? Well, first of all,
I want to thank our sponsors. You know, none of this happens without them. They've been great to work
with. We've had a lot of them on this year. They were great. Every one of them came on here and
did a great job. And you know, so first a big shout out to them. Second Chad, I appreciate work
with you. You always being a great attitude, knowledgeable guy here, and kind of a universal
sports guy. You know, you're like a Renaissance guy. And Mick, I just have to overcome you when
you come on. So I appreciate what you do, Mick. And then, you know, with Joe, who came out a few
times, did a nice job. Mike, thank you. Paul, thank you. Saul, thank you. And everybody,
go to saw these college football page.com through the off season and enjoy the game on Monday.