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00:00As far as Penn State, you're exactly right.
00:02I mean, you look at this team, and over the last three seasons,
00:05they've lost exactly one game as an underdog, one.
00:09Or one game as a favorite, I'm sorry.
00:11One to Ole Miss in a peach bowl.
00:13And they've won one game as an underdog.
00:15And they're 1 and 5, or they've covered one game
00:18as an underdog, 0 and 6 against the spread.
00:20So it's really tough to pick Penn State in this situation.
00:25But this game still feels like a coin flip to me.
00:29Because Penn State's right there with them.
00:32They do some things that Notre Dame does well, and vice versa.
00:35Both teams like to run the football.
00:37Drew Aller has to be lights out in this game,
00:39can't turn the football over.
00:41And if those things happen, then the Nittany Lions
00:44are going to have a chance to win here
00:45and get a chance for James Franklin
00:48to play in a national championship game.
00:50So I heard someone today say that this kid, Riley Leonard,
00:54has to be able to throw the ball.
00:56Well, I haven't seen that yet.
01:00I haven't seen him throw the ball.
01:02To who?
01:03He didn't throw anything.
01:04He ran for more yards than he threw
01:07for in the game against Georgia.
01:10I thought he played a great game, smart game.
01:12And I thought he ran the ball well and effectively.
01:14And he came up big running.
01:16But I've never seen that guy throw the ball effectively.
01:20And I got to be honest, I've seen Aller throw picks.
01:24I've seen him throw plenty of picks.
01:27Well, and Scott, Riley Leonard doesn't
01:30throw the ball down the field.
01:31They didn't throw a pass of 20 yards or more against Georgia.
01:33So they're going to keep the short passing game.
01:35I don't think they're going to change that.
01:36Whether or not Abdul Carter plays or not,
01:38they'll get the ball to Jordan Faison.
01:40They're going to try to run the ball.
01:42They use Riley Leonard like an old school fullback
01:46with the 10 to 12 carries, five yards a carry.
01:48He's basically a fullback in a quarterback's body
01:50that throws it a little bit.
01:51And for Notre Dame, it's just not turning the ball over.
01:55If they don't turn the ball over and they pick up
01:57one or two turnovers against Penn State,
01:59they're going to be in business in this game.
02:01I think their defense is somehow underrated
02:04with how they force turnovers, play on that side of the ball,
02:08and continue to do the things that they're
02:10doing with Marcus Freeman and Al Golden,
02:11the defensive coordinator.
02:14You know, I remember when Al Golden was the Miami head
02:18coach, all right?
02:20And now look at him.
02:22Let me ask you this question.
02:24You saw Brian Kelly leave South Bend
02:27thinking that he had greener pastures down
02:29in the SEC in the bayou at Baton Rouge with LSU.
02:34And the bottom line is, it's been a nightmare for him,
02:38as far as I'm concerned, down there at LSU.
02:40Because believe me, if he loses two games next year,
02:42they're going to call for his head.
02:44I mean, they're going to call for his head.
02:46The fans aren't going to have it.
02:47So here comes Marcus Freeman.
02:50He gets this job.
02:52And he walks into this job in South Bend.
02:54And look what he's done with it.
02:55Not only has he won, he's playing
02:57in the national semifinal.
02:59And they just gave him a fat new extension.
03:02Who's laughing now at who made the worst decision?
03:06I think Brian Kelly leaving South Bend was the biggest
03:08mistake of his life.
03:10Well, that and look at how NIL has changed the landscape
03:13over the last two years.
03:15And I know you appreciate this like I do.
03:17I'm an Ohio kid.
03:19Michigan wins the last national championship.
03:21And this year you have three of the traditional Midwest
03:24slash Rust Belt programs.
03:26I don't know if you consider Penn State Midwest,
03:29but they're in the big 10.
03:30So they count.
03:31Penn State, Notre Dame, Ohio State,
03:33doing what they've been able to do.
03:35And because they have good NIL,
03:37because they have good talent development,
03:39they have good coaches.
03:40And I think part of it is they have good offensive
03:42and defensive lines as well.
03:44I was talking to Adam Brenneman about that yesterday.
03:46That was the point he made,
03:48that they have these good interior lines.
03:50Michigan was like that last year.
03:51And defense as well.
03:53Defense wins championships.
03:54Now the four teams in this playoff
03:57ranked in the top five in scoring defense.
03:59The only other one was Ole Miss and the Rebels.
04:03Maybe they had a case about getting in the playoff
04:05when you consider that statistic.