The Ohio State Buckeyes and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish are set to face off in a national championship showdown on Monday night, but three-time national champion head coach Urban Meyer does not seem to think these teams are equally talented.
During the latest episode of his “The Triple Option” podcast with Rob Stone and Mark Ingram, Urban Meyer – who coached Ohio State from 2012 to 2018 – opened up a little bit about games between “talent-equated” teams and how that changes the way you coach.
“Yeah, I’ve always used the term ‘talent-equated’ because that’s pretty clear. That means they got what you got and sometimes a little better and that’s the way you game plan,” Meyer said via On3. “I’d always meet with the staff after I did a thorough evaluation because, man, that changes the whole world of how you plan a game. If that team across the sideline has better dudes than you got then, once again, that changes it. And I look at roster-roster.”
Unfortunately for Notre Dame, Meyer does not think this is a game between “talent-equated” teams.
During the podcast, he called out Notre Dame a bit as he made it clear that he thinks Ohio State has decisively more talent heading into this game, particularly when it comes to the offense.
“Remember, Notre Dame lost either three or four really good players on – their defense is phenomenal. Al Golden, the defensive coordinator, is a phenomenal coach. They got great players on defense. But, remember, they’ve lost four players on defense,” said Meyer. “Offensively? I just – this is not a talent-equated game on paper. It’s not. And, on film, I would say it’s not.”
But that doesn’t mean Meyer isn’t giving Notre Dame a chance. Meyer pointed to their win over Georgia, who he believes probably had more talent on the roster, as an example of how Notre Dame can win a game with less talent.
“I would say that the Fighting Irish – those gold helmets, the way they play? Sometimes talent, you know – rarely does the less-talented team beat a more-talented team. But this is one of those teams that’s got a refuse-to-lose mentality,” Meyer said.
“When they beat Georgia? Remember, now, how they beat Georgia. They scored – they got a short-field, a six, eight-yard field. Next thing you know, they get a kickoff return for a touchdown and then the game flipped like that. It was not they lined up toe-to-toe and swung and hit and hit and hit because Georgia, on film, probably, and on paper, probably, had the better roster.”
It’s not impossible, but Meyer certainly gives the advantage to the Buckeyes.
“I say that with respect, that things happen…Things happen,” said Meyer. “But, when I saw that point spread? Vegas, you know, is not wrong very often. But I would say this is a non-equated talent game and I know that watching it and looking at – I watched the film before I said that and I also did the study of the personnel.”
We’ll have to see who comes out on top.
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