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Just go to indeed.com/bluewire right now and support our show by saying that you heard about Indeed on this podcast, that's indeed.com/bluewire, terms and conditions applied. Head to hire, you need Indeed. Get your smart home devices the smart way with free delivery, get holiday ready with seasonal savings happening now at the Home Depot, subject to availability.seondeepo.com/delivery for details. Tom Redinger does denbrock skiing with heavy inside outside zone, zone read, et cetera, fit better with our smaller, quicker young lineman than Baker and Spindler that are bigger but slower. Yes, it does. Yeah, it does. I mean, it gives you more movement opportunities. It becomes less about blowing them up and more about just, you know, speed and leverage and movement. Yeah, it fits it pretty well. You may have to do some things to kind of mix it up a little bit and not be as inside zone heavy but the thing about inside zone is you're going to take that D line kind of where they want to go to a degree and then your backs have to read it. So I think it fits them fine. Again, zone can be utilized in different ways. If you're got big bully guys and you want to run more inside zone and duo combinations, that works because you got those big bully guys. But from what I was told is that part of the reason Anthony Napa's starting is not because he's a better pass blocker than Tosh Baker, although I would imagine that he's not worse or that much worse, if at all. But I was told he was significantly the best run blocker at the position. And the other thing too is Sam Pendleton may be smaller than Rocco and Pat Coogan listed wise but the only reason he's starting is because he is a dominant run blocker. So size doesn't always tell you that. Zack Martin was, I mean, Zack Martin didn't become over 300 pounds so he got to a senior year another day. And he was pretty darn good run blocker. USMA 87 over under on the number of beers spilled on me in the stands at Kyle Field. Two and a half is my guess. I'm taking the over be my guess. Now I have heard from a lot of people that A&M fans are very, I've gotten several emails that said that A&M fans at the stadium are very nice. I mean, they'll be the fun trash talking like they all have, but it's not like going to LSU. They're going to be loud. They're going to cheer their team. They're biased towards their team like all fans are but was told that they treat opposing fans well. I don't know how true that is. I'm just telling you what a couple people that have reached out to me and told me is that their fans are, I was told this very directly, you'll enjoy your experience is what I was told. So that's kind of that's again, I don't know that for a fact, but that's what I was, that's what I was told. So here's an air question, S coach, do you still attend press conferences? No, I don't attend press conferences. I hire people to do that. So that way I can do shows, but Sean Steyer's attends the press conferences. He's my beat writer. So he goes to those and he writes stories from those. So no, I do not attend press conference. Anything with after the game, Sean goes and does that. And then I'll attend some like I attended a couple this summer, but that's what I hire people to do. So no, I don't go to press conferences. I'm also don't write like beat type articles. I'm an analyst, I do analysis stuff that I don't need to be at a press conference for. Prize picks is America's number one daily fantasy sports app with over 5 million active members. Prize picks is the easiest and most exciting way to play daily fantasy sports. 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If I'm Freeman, we're the number 17 in the country and we are a underdog and the point spread grows every day. They don't respect you. They don't think that you can play with SEC teams. They think that we're just a good Northern team that's going to get our butts kicked down south. They don't respect you and then go earn it and do all this other kind of stuff. I would lean into that. I would. I know some people don't believe in that stuff. I think it's not the difference in winning and losing, but it could be that kind of like that final nudge to get you to go out there and play with an attitude and it doesn't matter so much about game day. It's about you got that chip on your shoulder all week leading up to that game on Saturday. It's like, okay, turn them loose, right? Let them go. You've been holding them back all week, filling their ears with all this stuff about no respect, no respect, no respect, no respect, go earn it. And then you just let them loose on Saturday, man. So yeah, it's best to kind of do that stuff throughout the week as opposed to just popping it on them right before the game starts. But yeah, I would use that. I'm always looking for little things like that again. If you're relying on that to win, you're not going to win. But those type of things I think can certainly be used to your advantages as part of the building your team and getting your team ready to play, absolutely. I see you are in with Irish luck. Thank you for your question. Do you think this could be the best receiver room since win? 2018, you know, let's see if it's better than 2018 before we go back to 2015 with Will Fuller. And the reason I say 2018 is Notre Dame didn't have a Will Fuller or Michael Floyd golden tape player in 2018. You know, Chase Claypool became that kind of guy in 19, but he wasn't that guy in 18. They just had a lot of good players. You know, Miles Boykin was their leading receiver that year, but he wasn't a dominant, you know, first round, Michael Floyd, Will Fuller, golden tape type player. He was just a good player, 59 catches, 872 yards, 8 touchdowns. Then you had Chase Claypool, 50 catches, 639 yards, 4 touchdowns. Chris Fink that year had 49 catches for 571 yards, 2 touchdowns. And you had your tight ends. They didn't have any depth on that receiving core though. Outside of Michael Young, you didn't really have a whole lot on that receiving core. And honestly, they haven't had this kind of depth in a very long time. But I would say it'd be more like 18 right now, not style of play wise, because those guys were all tall trees. But just as far as no elite one guy, just several guys who can go out and hurt you. So let's see if they can be better in 2018 first, if they're better than 2018, then we can go and look and see if they can be better than 50. But that would be my projection there. Nicholas Grosch says, who is the better coach now, Elko or Freeman, who will or may become the better coach in the future? Or is it totally unfair question? It's not a non-fair question, Nicholas. It's just I don't know that I can give you an answer to that. I can tell you that Marcus Freeman has had more success his first two years than Mike Elko has, but he was at Notre Dame and Mike Elko was at Duke. He inherited a good program, Mike and Elko inherited a 3 and 9 program. It doesn't mean that necessarily Mike Elko is better as old Marcus Freeman beat Mike Elko. Well, he's at Notre Dame. The other guy's at Duke. I mean, he should win that game. I think this is the game that will tell us about that. But honestly, at the end of the day, I don't know that it matters who's better. What I think is I think both coaches, both programs are in very good hands. Is Marcus Freeman better than Mike Elko? He should be today. Will he be better than Mike Elko in three years? I don't know. I can't read the future. All I can say is this. This is a big game for Mike at Mike Marcus Freeman in Notre Dame. You've got to go out and win this game, and this is a big year for them. If they have the kind of year I think they should have, then we're going to look at this and be like, yeah, we were all what we hoped was going to be true, turned out to be true, which is Marcus Freeman's the guy. I think a lot of most people hoped that that was going to be the case. I think that that's going to be the case. When I feel the same way about Texas A&M, I mean, you shouldn't beat Marcus Freeman in your first game. That's a problem for Marcus Freeman in Notre Dame, and that might answer this question a little bit. What I do know is Texas A&M hired themselves a really good football coach. That's a good dude, that's a hard worker, that's a grinder, that's smart, that I think understands how Texas A&M works. He knows that program strengths. He knows that program's weaknesses because every program has them, and he'll be able to kind of turn things around a little quicker than maybe a true outsider would because he has that experience. If I'm Texas A&M, I'm thrilled that Mike Elko's your head football coach. If I'm Notre Dame, I'm thrilled that Marcus Freeman's your head football coach. Who will become better? That'll play itself out. I don't know the answer to that. I hope that it's Marcus Freeman, but let's see how that goes. Starting off 2-0 against Mike Elko is going to help, certainly going to help. You get another shot at him next year at your place, so we'll see how it plays out. Nicholas is going to get decided on the field to a degree. Mike Elko and Marcus Freeman are going to square off each other three years in a row because Notre Dame hosts A&M next year to start the season. If Marcus Freeman wins this one in the next year, then okay, I'm 3-0 and I beat you twice at your place, but if Mike Elko wins this one, and okay, what happens next year? And it's going to determine a lot of that, so it'll be determined. I just think both teams have really good football coaches. That's what I can confidently say at this point in time. Brian Van Gogh's mustache, I know you aren't the gambling type, Brian, but do you see any reason why A&M is a 2-1/2 point favorite? I just don't get it. Well I mean, there's the betting reason, right, and that would be more along the lines of if you make Notre Dame the favorite, I would imagine a lot of money is going to go towards Texas A&M. My understanding of how they try to do lines is they want to try to create as much equal movement on both sides. They want to try to create as much action on both sides, correct? You guys can correct me if I'm wrong on this because like I said, I'm not a gambler. I don't study this thing, but I've had enough conversations till you say, "Hey, look, if I do know this, if I'm a bookie and I'm trying to make as much money for myself as possible, I want there to be sort of obviously if everyone bets on one side and that side loses, then I make a lot of money." But that's not necessarily a long-term strategy. The way to really make money over a period of time, I would think, is to try to create as much action on both sides as possible. So that way, no matter who wins, you're getting paid because there may be that game where everybody bets on one side and you win and so you get that money and then there's the other side where you're going to lose some of those. If every game comes down to there's an equal betting, then you're getting paid no matter what, right? And so there's factors that go into it and all types of different things, but I think the other part of it too is we can be honest and say that the perception of A&M being like a Georgia, a Ohio State, more so than an NC State or North Carolina is that these are the games and their name hasn't played well in and so I would assume that that factors into it as well, but I think it has more to do to gambling reasons. That's the best thing I can tell you again because I'm not a gambler and people in the chat may tell me there's a different reason for it and that's fine, but I wanted to at least honor your question and try to answer it the best I can as someone who's not a gambler. Like Andrew Gilmore says, "No name just hasn't won big games in the road." Again, agree, but why is this considered a big game? They have absolutely beaten teams like Texas A&M on the road. They beat NC State on the road last year. They beat North Carolina the road the year before. That's who A&M is right now, but the perception is that A&M is more like Georgia, Ohio State, teams like that. We'll know that that's necessarily true and we'll find that out on Saturday. I think it'll be more true down the road, but I don't know if it is now. The perception is that they don't win those types of games, but I think Notre Dame has won this type of game quite a bit. We're just going to find out if I'm right or wrong about Texas A&M. That's going to be the thing. Notre Dame wins this game and looks good doing it then the next time that may be a little bit different when this kind of thing happens. A couple more super chats down here. We got one from Tyler Evans who wins the Penn State West Virginia game and why? Well I think Penn State does. It's going to be at West Virginia, so they've got Garrett Green and they've got a decent team coming back. They had some losses from their defense last year, which are going to sting a little bit, but they were a good program last year. Went nine and four last season, Penn State handled them pretty good, but again that game was at Penn State. This one will be at home, so we're going to kind of find out what kind of team they have, but I felt West Virginia had a really nice year last year, nine and four, but I also thought they had a lot of smoke and mirrors wins. They beat Texas Tech by seven, beat TCU by three, beat Baylor by three. They just had a lot of wins where I'm just like, "I'm not sure how that translates." Some of their losses were blocked. They had only had one close loss, that was too Houston at Houston. They had a couple of block wins, so I mean they're a good football team, but I just think Penn State has too much talent. I'm very curious to see how quickly Penn State can get used to Chris Cuddle, Nikki's system and how does Tom Allen do as a D coordinator? I think those are two strong hires. If I'm concerned about Penn State, it's the throwing game. What kind of weapons is Drew Allen going to have at tight end? They lost their tight end or one of their tight ends. They lost some of their top receivers to either NFL or transfer. They did get Julian Fleming from Ohio State. They've got some young guys. Are they going to be able to step up? Will the old line be able to replace Fashanu and the guys they lost? I think their defense is going to be very good again. It's all going to come down to me as the offensive line. What are they going to do? They were very disappointing last season. It's funny I had a friend of mine. He's like, "Yeah, Ohio State fans are really frustrated with their offensive line coach." There's a rumor that they should go after the guy or not rumor, but there's a feeling that they should go after the guy at Penn State. I'm like, "Why would they do that?" He goes, "Well, he does a better job developing lines." He said, "No, he doesn't." He goes, "Yeah, look, all the guys here." I said, "No, he recruits better than Justin Frye, but you can't tell me that their offensive lines have been better than what Ohio State has had. Even last year's disappointing Ohio State line for their standards was still better in Penn State's offensive line, and 2022 wasn't even close. So there's this obsession with recruiting guys, and he's recruited offensive line well, but he's got to do a better job of coaching them up and producing good offensive lines. This is a big year for Phil Troutwine, and if he can produce a good offensive line this year, and there's the talent to do so, then Penn State's going to be really good, because they've got really good running backs, and I think Drew Aller's better than most people think he is. He's not a star, but he's better than people think he is. Now he's got to see if he can do it. So I just think they have too much firepower, and I think their defense is going to give West Virginia problems. I just, that's what I think, but I'm very curious how Penn State handles that road environment in the opener. A lot like we're curious about how Notre Dame's going to handle that road environment in an opener. It's not a huge stadium, but it can be a loud one. I think there's only what like 60 some thousand there, but it can be a loud one if they're good, and I imagine it's going to be good. But I also think there's going to be a lot of Penn State fans there too. So kind of see how that plays out. So good. Thank you for Super Chat Tyler, by the way. Let's get back up here. Actually, have we ever been this deep a receiver? We got dudes for days. Well, I mean, numbers wise, it's been a long time. Now we need to see if they can play, right? Like that's going to be the big key, it's going to play. Light it. Hey Irish Breakdown listeners, it's Urban Meyer. This fall, the game changes. Join me. Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram and broadcaster Rob Stone as we bring you a new perspective on football and culture every week. We will be joined by the biggest name in sports and talk about everything inside and outside of the lines. Let us guide you through a new era of college football. Watch triple option on YouTube or listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get podcasts. The holidays are here and the Home Depot has everything you need to stay connected with smart home upgrades, whether you're keeping an eye out for the big guy, or keeping an eye on your family. The Home Depot has you covered with great tech like the Ring Indoor Camera 2 pack with advanced motion detection, two-way talk and color night vision, plus get your smart home devices the smart way with free delivery. Get holiday ready with seasonal savings happening now at the Home Depot subject to availability the Home Depot dot com slash delivery for details. Bob's with a question. Do you think phase on as the physical skillset to do well outside as he does in the slot? At certain things, yes. Yeah, at certain things. I believe that he can, he will move all around. I don't think he's just going to line up outside. Yes, he's listed there because you got to think like the best concept that Nerdame likes to run is the slot fade concept, at least that's what Mike Dembrock did at LSU. The outside guy is going to run like a little hitch, the inside guy is going to run a slot fade, and then the number three guy if they're in a three by one is going to run some kind of option route, usually is how that concept goes. Well, in that case, the slot guy needs to be a little bit of a bigger guy, and the outside guy is a, if they bail on that, you want to throw that hitch and you want him to do some after it. So in that instance, you're running slot fade, I like Jordan Faze on outside and Jaden Greathouse or even a Chris Mitchell or a boat Collins or Jane Thomas more in the slot on that particular concept. There's other things you're going to do. We're going to run a lot of deep comebacks where maybe you want a bigger guy there. They do a lot of crossers and overs and things like that. Those are plays where you like a guy like Jordan Faze on there. So it's going to be, he's going to get utilized the wear on the stuff that he does. He can run. I mean, we saw last year he ran a post route and got deep on a post route last year that took the defense off the top, opened up Jane Greathouse on a crosser for a big gain in the touchdown. Yeah, there's things that you, he can do well there and there's, there's things he doesn't do as well there. There's some things he does very well in the slot. There's some things he doesn't do great in the slot as well as other guys. So it's, it's really about finding what he's good at and then when he's in the game, making sure that you're putting him in position to do those things. Running a million comebacks to Jordan Faze on may not be the best thing to do as a field outside guy, you know, running deep out cuts, maybe, maybe not, crossers, overs, hitches, now screens, tunnel screens, slants, speed outs, things like that, stacking, you know, I'd love to see some things where they stack those two guys. Those are all things that they can, they can be good at and somebody asked in the chat, Jack asked in the chat, is Faze on better than Rico Flores at some things Rico's better, but as an overall impact player, I think Jordan Faze on is a more dangerous player than Rico Flores. So I mean, if you had to ask me who I would rather have, it would honestly be, it would be Faze on because he's a more dynamic athlete that can do more with the ball. And those are the things you're going to be using him to do, getting him in space, getting the ball, letting him do things with it. I think that's the, that's the way to go in my opinion for using Jordan Faze on running him on a bunch of go routes against A&M's taller corners. I don't know that that's necessarily the, the, the greatest way to go in that particular instance. I don't know if that's like the, Hey, you know, let, let's do this. You know, that's more what you want to be using some of those other guys for. And that's one thing I believe Mike Dembrock will be smart at and good at is, is let's put our best guys on the field, but then let's also make sure we're putting him in position to be successful. And I thought he did a great job of that at LSU. I thought he did a great job of that at, at, at Cincinnati. And I thought he did a pretty darn good job of that at Notre Dame. I mean, think about some of the big plays a mere car law had were screens and crossers where, you know, Emil wasn't a run vertically press guys down if he's not very tall. He wasn't like real, real strong, like at the point of attack, like a, like a chase clay pool or miles break in, but he was shifty, he was smart and he could do things in space. And so when they got him the ball in 2015, it was a lot of times it was in space stuff. And he's always been very good at that, at that type of thing. And so, you know, we'll, we'll find out if he's able to continue being that kind of guy. Like, you know, they're, they're corners, I'm looking at their depth chart right now. And one of their starting corners is six, three and his backup of six, three, you know, they got Tyrek Chapel listed as a starting corner and the starting nickel. He's five 11. The guy that is the or for him at the other corner spot is, you know, a six foot one guy. So they're going to have some taller receivers. So there's going to be some things you don't want him necessarily running vertically on in those instances. You want them running, you want them chasing him, you know, so you're going to want some of those bigger guys handling some of that kind of stuff when, when you're, you're playing that game. So that's, that's where I think he'll thrive. Archer four, five, two with a question Florida state has been criticized for rotating too much on both sides of the line, which positions are more suited for spreading out reps somewhat evenly in which groups need to have set guys get a bulk. I do think offensive line is a position where you do want to have something set. I'm okay with a rotation at a spot. As long as there's a rhyme to the reason we saw Harry, he stand do that in 2017 and it worked perfectly defensive line. I don't think the problem was them rotating as analysts. We like to, you know, in fans, they just grab on to things and then somebody says it and then we all grab on to it and we all kind of repeat the same nonsense. Florida state's problem wasn't that they were that they were rotating too much. It's just when they were on a field, they just weren't playing hard. They weren't playing physical. Those were all issues. And so until that gets fixed, then, you know, that I don't care who's on the field. I don't think it was a rotation problem. The problem was that they weren't playing hard. Those are things that you have to worry about and fix and correct. ICU RN with Irish luck LSU ran a slot fate, ran slot fate a lot with both Brian Thomas and Malik neighbors. They had different types of receivers as OC, who would coach D have running slot fade from this room. Great question. They're different play in Brian Thomas and Malik neighbors ran it differently. Notre Dame has guys that can do that. Do they have guys that can do that the same way that Brian Thomas and Malik neighbors had? Not really. You've got a speed guy and Chris Mitchell. I would have him do it from time to time. I think Jake Greathouse is a thicker, great ball skill, body control guy that can do it very well. I don't know that I want Jordan Faison running at a ton, because he's a little shorter. The catch radius is a little smaller, the marks for air is a little bit smaller. I tend to like a little bit more length or just crazy speed at that position when you're running a slot fate. And I don't know that Jordan Faison has any of that, but there are certain matchups where if you're getting single high and a press nickel that a guy like Jordan Faison can be good on that, because he can win at the line and then just win initially. So it just depends on the matchup. Depends on what coverage you're facing. If you're going to get some kind of two hole throw type of looks on the slot fade, then I want a little bit of a bigger catch radius guy, a Jaden Greathouse, a Jaden Thomas, maybe a Bo Collins situation. If it's cover one and you've got a win against site coverage, that's Jaden Harrison, that's Jordan Faison, that's Jordan Greathouse, maybe Chris Mitchell. So it just depends. And that's honestly what Coach Dembrock did. It wasn't so much about, okay, let's get Malik here, the ball just because or let's get Brian, the ball here just because there's always going to be some of that. A lot of it was, hey, this is the matchup we like here. And then other times they would have Chris Hilton or Kyron Lacey do it because they knew they were going to get a one on one in the slot because they were going to be so focused on neighbors and Thomas outside that they knew they were going to get a matchup that they liked in the slot. So then they would have the other guy run it and they thought their third receiver could beat that your third best cover guy. And those are things that are going to factor to it as well. So just so much of that's just going to come down the matchups. It really is. Andrew Gilmore says Brian, I would, George and Clemson week one a few years ago, it was the ugliest offensive effort. It turned out George's offense was fine. And that's a, that's a great point. That's a great point. And Clemson had a pretty good defense that year. And you know, their offense wasn't that good, but their defense ended up being pretty good. You know, they, they, they won that game 10 to three and Georgia didn't score a single offensive touchdown. It also goes to show that like sometimes you're not the same team early. It's your late. Remember, Georgia had a different starting quarterback in that game. That JT Daniels was starting quarterback in the game. Their offense got better in part because Stets and Bennett made them better as the season went on. But you know, that Georgia tech that, that Clemson defense was pretty good that year too. It wasn't a vintage defense, but it was still pretty good. And then, but by the time they made the change of quarterback, you ended up being a better football team and, and you know, Stets and Bennett didn't play that game. He went 10 of 12 against UAB for 288 yards and then JT started the South Carolina game and didn't perform well. I mean, it wasn't really until Auburn that Stets and Bennett kind of took over and got rolling and then your offense was a whole lot different the rest of the way. So at your point, you just don't know, Andrew, what a team is going to be just based off one game. Really don't. It just, you have to let a season play a little bit and that's going to be true for Notre Dame win or lose. If Notre Dame loses this game, it doesn't mean, okay, season's over with. That's going to be the reaction from people, but it doesn't mean that how they respond to it. They get better. They get worse just in, just because if Notre Dame wins by 30, it doesn't mean, you know, you should book your tickets for the national championship game in Miami either. You know, so it's like, this is, this is a step in the journey. Losing is a bad sign in a lot of ways. It's not to just dismiss of losing no big deal. It's all fine, but there are some things that you say like just because of this result doesn't mean this is automatically what's going to happen for the next 11 games. And that's true for everybody. Whether you play great in the opener or play poorly in the opener. That's what I say for Notre Dame. I don't care how poorly Notre Dame plays in this game. Just get a win at all I care about, just win. Yeah. Just win. All right. So Brandon Fry with a question says, how many different O line do you think play game one play throughout the season? Honestly, I don't know. We had some fun with this in the bold prediction show yesterday, Brandon and Vince, I believe Vince said he thought there'd be like at least three starting offensive line, different lines. I said that they'll start the same one just to kind of be fun and, and the counter with Vince said just to just have a little fun with it, I honestly don't know. I honestly don't know. My hope is that Notre Dame plays 10 offensive linemen in every game, every game. Reason for that is, is I hope that the starters are coming out in the third quarter and the backups in because you're blowing a team out. But as far as just the regular rotation, I mean, look, I hope that this is the starting line up the whole year. That's my hope. The reason I say that is, is not because I'm pro San Pendleton or, or, or anti Rocco or anti Kugan or pro nap and anti-tosh. It's just more about O line is so much about cohesion and you want the whoever the offensive line is going to be to just get as much work as possible week after week after week after week. So then when you get in November, that group's played hundreds of snaps together in games and thousands of snaps together in practice and you're going to feel like, okay, we're going to hit our stride now is how you look at it as a coach. So my hope is that we don't see a lot of changing or any changing because that the other thing too is if, if we don't see any changing, it most likely means the line's playing well. And that's a good sign. But with the lack of experience, you also have to at least anticipate there might be a need for some change at some point time in the year as well. So I honestly, Brandon, don't have a good answer for you. I can just tell you what I think is best for Notre Dame and that is that, that there is no change. The changes by week five, somebody else just came along and is just like playing so well in practice that you have to find a way to get them on the field. I see you are in with Irish luck. Does all the portal transfer contribute to how bad the D line looked? I don't think you can chalk it up to just that. I mean, look, three of your starters for your talking about floor state, I assume in this instance, but look, three of their starters were guys that were on the team last year. Patrick Payton was on the team last year. Josh Farmer was on the team last year. And for the life of me, I cannot remember the name of the, the other big inside guy. I keep one to say Washington, but I don't think that's correct. Let me pull up, but he was injured last year, but he was on the team last year too. It's, um, Daryl Jackson is a guy. He transferred in from Miami, but he transferred in last year, he was on the team last year. Your other starting end, Marvin Jones Jr. is a transfer. And then, uh, the Lolo Hei kid is from Oregon state is a new guy, but, uh, their starting lineup was guys that were on the team last year. So I don't think you can chalk that up to, to portal transfers because three of your starters are returners, not portal guys from this year. So I just think they just weren't prepared, weren't mentally prepared, weren't physically prepared and just didn't, didn't show the sort of mental toughness that you needed. Like, sometimes really good teams, we've seen this from Georgia. Like, remember, it was a two years ago and Miss Georgia came out against Missouri. They weren't locked in. They thought they're going to steamroll Missouri. They didn't play hard. Missouri, Missouri took a right to him, but late in the game, it's like, okay, we've played around with you guys enough. We're going to make a stop. We're going to come down and score this game winner. And they got it done for say, just couldn't, they couldn't find that gear. And that, that to me has got to be a concern, has to be concerned. Salty Virginia peanuts does the rapidity of Pendleton's rise to starting left guard surprise you. And now that he hasn't locked down, yeah, that, it did. And the main reason it did is because he didn't even, he wasn't even playing there the first week or two of fall camp. I mean, he was playing center. And then we went in there one day and they were playing him at left guard and Cougles is center and from what I was told is they were just kind of, you know, mixing and match and just trying to get some guys from different works. He out went, you wanted to get Coogan kind of prepared to play center because honestly, I didn't think Sam looked comfortable playing center. He wasn't playing as physical or as fast as he did in high school senior year. And I think he was struggling to learn the center position. He just, he didn't look comfortable with it yet. So they moved him to guard and I just think he's just way more comfortable there. And I was told he just, we played great and never really gave it up. So yeah, it surprises me. It really does. The halfway through fall camp, basically he won the job. That's a shocker, not that, not a shocker because Sam's not a talented player. You know, he's a guy that we highly, you know, I had Sam graded out pretty high coming out of his for after his senior year. I liked him as a junior, top 250 kid, but his senior film was even more impressive than his junior film was. And he's just a guy that I looked at and thought this guy's a really good football player. Gave him a four and a half star upside grade, you know, so that part shouldn't be a, shouldn't be an issue. And he was a guy that played tackle in high school. So you know, he's a guy that has some, some experience playing on the edge, but he's just, this is what I wrote about Sam coming out. This is just sort of the, from, from signing day, I said, you know, Harry, he stand likes recruiting high school tackles and converting them into interior players. And that's Pendleton. First team, all state player at left tackles, the senior penalty projects as an interior player on the next level. A powerful run blocker Pendleton has been talked about playing both center or guard in college, but a skill set might project best to guard as an interior player. He has the power and run blocking potential that he stand covets, but his past protection protects, projects much better inside due to his combination of short area quickness, length and power. He stand is also clearly trying to overhaul the line from a mentality standpoint in Pendleton as the kind of demeanor and mentality that thrives under he stand. That and his versatility adds to his value as a member of the South standing class. So that's kind of one things I wrote about him. And then I even said, I said later in sort of a quote, I said he was solid as a junior. I wasn't knocked off my feet. His great took a big jump as a senior, and he was outstanding. And he's a good football player. So I'm not surprised that San Pendleton is starting for Notre Dame. I'm surprised that San Pendleton is starting at Notre Dame. This early at a position, he wasn't even practicing in the spring and early in fall camp. But this also explains why Harry Eastan was super high on San Pendleton, super high. And glad he was here to recruit this class. There's no doubt about that because this class is going to have a big say on what this team ends up being. No doubt. I love this comment from Andrew Gilmore. I bet Rocco wishes Pendleton could snap better. That's very well played Andrew. Very, very, very well played. Very well played. Good stuff there. All right, let's get to some more here. Mike Huff, Brian, any concerns about our tackles on offense being on the small side? Yeah, I mean, I talked about that earlier. Mike, it's a little concerning, especially going against a couple of 290-pound defensive ends from Texas A&M. That's concerning. It is. Is it the end? I'll be all, no. But it's concerning. You better use your length. You better use your hands well. You better play with great leverage. You better come off with some ferocity because if you're trying to catch all day, you're going to get pushed around. If you're coming off just engaging, not moving your feet, catching with your hands, not being physical, you're going to get pushed around. You're going to get really pushed around. And you can't have that. Spark 5219, could you go over the new rules and changes for the season? Do you like the new rule changes? So I brought something up earlier when I saw this question. So two-minute warning, if you're going to go at the running clock, I like the two-minute warning. I would rather them use the old clock rules. That's just what I knew, but that's just kind of, you know, that's what I prefer. So you get two-minute warning in the stop clocks, the clock stops after first downs in that situation. So I like that. The helmet communication, I'm fine with that. The new horse collar tackle rule says tackles when the defender grabs the ball carrier by the collar or his shoulder pads, creating a 15-yard penalty for horse collar. You know, this is more also one that also happens within the tackle box. I guess is the new rule. It depends on how it's implemented. If it's truly, you don't want guys being pulled down from behind. That's fine. You know, from the side, I think you need to be a little bit more open to that, allowing tablets on the sideline. Again, I'm okay with that as long as there's just, you know, you're implementing it properly as a coaching staff. I'm fine with that. You know, those are really the main ones. There's another rules I have big issues with. I think once you did the running clock thing, you needed to implement the two-minute warning and the two-minute warning rules that needed to be. Should have been done at the same time, so I'm okay with that too. Will, indeed, do you feel better about this game than you do 2021 against Florida State? No, I don't because, well, it's, I'll tell you what, will, you know, as soon as I said that, I immediately kind of second-guess myself. So, this is a better team for Notre Dame than they were in 2021. Much better, in my opinion. But this is a much better opponent in 2021 than Florida State was. Florida State, going into 2021, I thought they'd be improved, but they still weren't going to be a great football team. They were still a team that was going to need work. They were, I think it was what, year two of the Mike Norvell era. They were coming off of a three- and six-year during the COVID year. You know, they were, they were going to be okay. They weren't, I mean, they were a team that a Notre Dame team coming off a playoff year with Jack Conant quarterback, should have steamrolled. And early on, they were, I mean, Notre Dame was whooping Florida State early, and then they just couldn't finish. Because Brian Kelly took his foot off the gas when they were up two touchdowns. Like, he did a lot. And that allowed Florida State to come back. So, no, I don't necessarily feel better about this game because the quality of opponent is so much better. I'm more confident in this Notre Dame football team than I am and was in that football team, but I think this opponent is significantly better than that opponent was. Mossy 03, what do you anticipate to be the offense is bread and butter week one? Inside zone, using a lot of motions, getting to ball in space, whether it be vertical stretches, some horizontal stretches, getting your receivers on the run. I think those are all going to be things, you know, trying to keep the defense on its heels. That's really the big key is using tempo and movement and play calls to get the defense on its heels. Be the aggressor. Don't let their D line dictate the tempo in the action of the game. You as an offense go on the offensive, you dictate the tempo, you dictate the action, you dictate. Hey, look, for all the talk about the weather, right? I don't care how long you've been practicing humidity on game day. If it's hot and you're 290, you're going to wear down a little bit as a defensive lineman. It's just the way that it is. So, I'm pushing the tempo. I'm going fast. I'm doing this. And I want to wear those big boys out. There's no doubt. And so, those are all things that I'm doing. I'm dictating the action to them. Absolutely dictating the action to them. Got one from Salty, Virginia, Peanuts, Salty says the king will have the king civilian. I also have one of the three green dots for the defensive unit. This is a surprise you that he will call plays as the will and Mike linebacker. So, what did they say it's going to be Drake, Kingston, and Jack Kaiser, right? I don't know enough about who they're going to get to, but this is a surprise me. No, he's the backup Mike. And when he's in the game, you're going to want your mic usually calling plays. So, I'm very curious how that plays out. Like, how are they going to know, like, do they have two helmets? And so, when Drake and Kingston are on the field, or when Drake and Jack are on the field together, Drake has it, or Jack has it. But I'm very curious, see how it's going to go. Very curious how it's going to go. I don't really have a strong opinion on that just yet. Joe PM 17, take depth chart for Notre Dame is never truly representative at all positions of playing time. Also, KVA listed a 240 and 250. Is he listed a 250? Where was he listed a 250 at? Let me pull up the Notre Dame depth chart. I didn't see here real quick. Let me pull up the Notre Dame depth chart. Let's see here. Where the heck is it? Here we go. Notre Dame PR team, depth chart, did they have them on there twice? Mike and Will. Yep, they sure enough did. So I didn't even notice that, to be honest with you, because I only put them at Mike. I didn't have them as the Will. So yeah, that's, he's going to, so what happens is, is maybe he has a 10 pound shoulder pads that he wears when he goes to Will and he doesn't have no idea. So, obviously, a little bit of a mistake there by Notre Dame. I can't criticize people because I'm always having mistakes and, Mark, it's hard to prove your own stuff. It really is. Eric Santini. Now that both depth charts, can you tell us who you think wins each battle, receiver versus DB, O-line versus D-line, and what are A&M's biggest weaknesses? Biggest weaknesses for A&M, again, are good team weaknesses in experience at quarterback although talented and experienced, perimeter talent on receiver, big kids, run okay, not great players, secondary, long kids, good players, not great players. That, you know, and then the offensive line is their overall, their biggest weakness in my opinion, but their great D-line, very active line backers, especially York, good talent running back. Yes, Wigman's an experience, but he's also talented. I just, they're a good football team all around, you know, Notre Dame on paper has the advantage of their DBs against the A&M receivers. I think Notre Dame's receivers against A&M's DBs should favor Notre Dame, but not by a ton. We'll have to see kind of, have to see how it plays out. You know, when you look at that tight end, Notre Dame's tight ends against their line backers should be an advantage for Notre Dame. When you look at Tory and York, as I mentioned, really good football player, but he's six-feet tall, that's it. Their other starting line backer, six-three, we'll see how much, you know, action he's going to get guarding Notre Dame's tight ends, but that should be an advantage for Notre Dame. Their safeties are both six-feet tall, you know, so Notre Dame's going to have to try to find some ways where they get Mitchell Evans matched up against those smaller players and see if he can win. O-line versus D-line A&M, both D-lines have the advantage in this one, in my opinion. Both D-lines should have advantage over the other team. So, uh, base and Doma, any truth to the rumor that the coaches are telling Betelho that the A&M game is a bowl game and Betelho's so locked in, he hasn't figured it out, it isn't a bowl game. Okay, you had me there at first. You really did have me there at first. That's really well-played. Oh, yes, I hoped that that is true. I hope that Notre Dame has been able to somehow convince Jordan Betelho that this is a bowl game, because Jordan Betelho is a monster in bowl games. So that was really well-played. I really did not see where you're going at that at first, because I didn't read the question at first. And so I just saw rumors go, "Here we go, what's the rumor going to be?" So that is really well-played. And I appreciate that. That's actually, I believe, the last question that I have started for this, so I think that's a great way to look at this and just to give some people some evidence of what he's talking about. Last year in the bowl game, Jordan Betelho had one and a half tackles for loss and a sack last year in that game, the year before. Jordan Betelho had, I think, two tackles for loss and two sacks in that game, and according to pro-football focus, had 10 pressures in that bowl game last year, not last year, but two years ago against South Carolina. And last year against Oregon State, Jordan Betelho had three pressures, a sack of hit and a hurry. So he played very well in bowl games. There's no doubt, Jordan Betel played very well in bowl games. I'm actually curious, did he play in the Fiesta Bowl two years ago? And if he did, did he do anything in that game? But that was very, very well played. I appreciate that. That's a good way to end this one. So I appreciate you sharing that point of view. So that was awesome. They sent it over. That was great. That was great. That's really good, man. That's a great way to end today's show. So thank you for getting that up there and ending the show with that question. Five o'clock tonight, Ivy Nation Sports Talk, I'll be back tomorrow with Trevor. We're going to dive in, more dive into specifics of this A&M team, dive into match-ups, things we like. You know, some of the questions we asked, we'll get even more specific into what's at stake for Notre Dame in this game Wednesday, midweek rundown, go over several different topics. Also, we'll do our Bicell Hold Thursday, we'll do Keys to Victory, we'll do our predictions for Notre Dame, and then of course, Bill Bender and I will do our whole predictions for the entire season. Today, right now, I'm going to do a sort of a big picture view of this game on Friday and then, of course, Saturday, we have the post-game show. So great stuff today, guys. Tons of great questions. I really appreciate you all being with me today. Very excited about the season. Lots to do, right? Got to get the show. Dive into some film. Lots to get ready for for the rest of the shows this week. Sign up for the Message Board at boards.arshrankdown.com. I'm going to have a lot of fun talking about this game there. And then, of course, after the game, we're going to have some really awesome breakdown stuff for the Message Board as well. You can find that at boards.arshrankdown.com, monthly membership, annual membership. If you join for one of the booster clubs, either the Gold, Blue, or Shamrock, you get some free IB merch that comes with that as well. It's our thank you for you helping and supporting us, and we greatly appreciate that very, very much. And you can also get all of our free content at arshbreakdown.com. So have an awesome rest of your day, everybody, and I'll see you all again very soon on the Irish Breakdown Podcast. 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