Over 111,000 filled the stadium just to see the home team lose. The Buckeyes came out on top, and Urban Meyer is ready to call it “one of the most impressive wins” for Ryan Day at Ohio State.
He’s not wrong either, and it was a great win for Ohio State. It was quite the praise from the Ohio State coaching legend.
The Buckeyes looked absolutely dominant on the defensive side of the ball, allowing just six points as the Penn State lone touchdown was an interception return for six in the first quarter.
Ohio State didn’t allow more than 50 rushing yards to any single rusher and held the Nittany Lions to just 150 passing yards. It was an impressive effort for arguably the best defense in the nation.
Will Howard didn’t have his best performance, but he did end with 182 yards and two touchdowns, rebounding well after a disappointing first drive. Quinshon Judkins also deserves a mention as the star running back went for 95 rushing yards on just 14 carries.
Adam Schefter reported that defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich will be the interim head coach.
With the move, only Sirianni and the Lions’ Dan Campbell remain as coaching hires from four years ago.
Robert Saleh’s firing marks the first time in owner Woody Johnson’s 25-year tenure that he has fired a coach during the season. pic.twitter.com/ze4Uop4nEd
According to ESPN Research, Saleh is now the third head coach fired after losing a game in London. The Raiders fired coach Dennis Allen in 2014 the day after they lost 38-14 to the Miami Dolphins at Wembley Stadium, while the Dolphins fired coach Joe Philbin in 2015 the day after they lost 27-14 to the Jets at Wembley. Saleh’s firing comes two days after the Jets lost 23-17 to the Minnesota Vikings at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Saleh was 20-36 in parts of three seasons as the Jets head coach, including 2-3 in 2024.
Sirianni is 36-19 as Eagles head coach. The team has made three straight playoff appearances, including a Super Bowl loss to the Chiefs in 2022.
Campbell has amassed an even 27-27-1 record in Detroit despite starting 4-19-1 through his first 24 games. He’s delivered the team’s first division title in 30 years and two playoff wins—double the number the franchise had had in the previous 60 years.
Many Notre Dame fans likely still haven’t forgiven Urban Meyer for choosing to coach Florida over the program he once worked for. While the Irish ended up with [autotag]Charlie Weis[/autotag], Meyer won two of his eventual three national championships with the Gators. On the surface, Meyer made the right call.
But as Meyer pointed out in the latest episode of “The Triple Option”, he didn’t simply choose the Gators because he liked their program better. It goes back to the Irish having a national footprint as opposed to other programs with more regional footprints.
Since the Irish have a national following, they need to recruit everywhere around the country, and that often means recruiters spending time away from their families. That wasn’t the case with the Gators, who primarily focused on the state of Florida and sometimes Georgia, which meant recruiters could be home on the same day they left to visit prospective players:
This probably won’t change some people’s perspectives of Meyer, but at least he’s setting the record straight. He chose to spend more time with his family, and who can fault a man for that?
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Graham Mertz and DJ Lagway are expected to get significant playing time vs. Texas A&M, so let’s dive into the Gators’ history with the dual quarterback strategy.
The world of college football is always changing and evolving with new strategies and game plans to help teams have success, but there hasn’t been many that have been as intriguing or debated as the use of the dual quarterback system.
For the Florida Gators football team, this dual quarterback approach to the game is nothing new as they will be using that strategy on Saturday when they play the Texas A&M Aggies.
Because of that, let’s dive into Florida’s history with the dual quarterback system. Again, it’s not a new concept for the Gators.
The Mid-1980s
The concept of using several quarterbacks goes back to the mid-1980s. The Gators head coach at the time was Galen Hall who was the offensive coordinator for Florida in 1984 before becoming the interim head coach on Sept. 17 of that same year.
Hall was named the interim head coach because the previous coach, Charley Pell, was fired after an NCAA investigation alleged that he and his coaching staff had committed over 100 violations pertaining to the NCAA rules during the previous couple of seasons.
Allsport /Allsport
Because of this, the Florida football program had a two-year bowl ban, scholarships were lost and there were restrictions on recruiting.
Anyway, Hall took over as head coach and began experimenting with different signal-callers. Despite it not being the team’s primary tactic, these early trials were key to shaping the team’s offensive approach.
The Spurrier Era
Florida’s offensive strategy during the 1990s completely evolved under head coach Steve Spurrier.
Spurrier occasionally used a dual quarterback system to exploit different weaknesses in the defense.
Scott Halleran/Getty Images
In 1994, Spurrier used both quarterbacks Terry Dean and Danny Wuerffel. Wuerffel eventually became Florida’s starting quarterback and won the Heisman Trophy in 1996, but Dean’s presence allowed Spurrier to keep the opponents guessing by mixing up the offense. It created a sense of unpredictability with the Gators offensive attack.
Chris Leak and Tim Tebow
Florida’s head coach from 2005-2010 was Urban Meyer who implemented the spread offense.
Meyer didn’t necessarily use the dual quarterback approach as the team’s offensive strategy, but there were instances where multiple quarterbacks played a significant amount of snaps.
During the 2006 season, Chris Leak was Florida’s starting quarterback and Tim Tebow was the backup. Leak was a more proficient passer but didn’t have the skillset to run the ball like Tebow and Meyer knew that. So, Meyer used Tebow several different ways, mainly in goal-line packages and short-yardage situations.
Jason Parkhurst-USA TODAY Sports
By using Tebow’s strength and power, Meyer was able to create mismatches with the defense while also enabling unpredictable play calls. This strategy played a key role in helping the Gators win a national championship that year.
Feleipe Franks and Emory Jones
Skipping ahead to 2018, the dual quarterback system returned to the Gators offense under head coach Dan Mullen.
Mullen utilized both quarterbacks Feleipe Franks and Emory Jones to create an offensive attack that was effective and efficient.
Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images
Franks was the primary starter for Florida because of his arm and ability to throw the deep ball while Jones was a mobile and dynamic alternative.
The strategy that Mullen implemented was to rotate the quarterbacks depending on the situation of the game. Jones was used for designed runs and unpredictability while Franks was used to execute the primary passing game.
Looking back on the strategy
The dual quarterback approach has proved to be an effective strategy given what it’s done in the history of Florida Gators football. Although the dual quarterback system hasn’t been a constant feature of their strategy, its use in crucial seasons shows the Gators’ readiness to innovate and adapt.
As the Gators roll out in the Swamp against Texas A&M on Saturday afternoon, they’ll be implementing the same strategy that has been engraved in the program’s history over the years.
Both Mertz and Lagway will be seeing significant playing time, but it’s up to Napier to find out which quarterback can help his team win when it matters most.
Coming up for the Gators
Florida will play at home in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium against Texas A&M on Saturday, Sept. 14. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on ABC.
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This has to make Buckeye Nation feel a certain way. #GoBucks
Some things never change, and one of those is the level of trolling in the Ohio State vs. Michigan rivalry.
Former OSU head coach Urban Meyer will forever be undefeated against Michigan, going 7-0 during his time in Columbus, and he’ll always be beloved in Columbus and hated in Ann Arbor because of it.
Never one to let a chance to rub his success at the expense of the Wolverines in their faces, Meyer did so again over the weekend. The Fox Big Noon Kickoff crew was in town for the matchup between Michigan and Texas, and Meyer went into a sports management class to teach a lesson, but did so in the lion’s den.
Meyer didn’t just show up in enemy territory, he did so with a ‘Beat Michigan’ t-shirt on. Watch, as Meyer strolls on campus and walks into the classroom to jeers and boos from Michigan students as he gets hands on with some teaching.
There’s no truth to the rumor that Meyer taught the students how to beat your arch rival year, after year, after year, after year, after year, after year, after year.
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[autotag]Urban Meyer[/autotag] once was Notre Dame’s receivers coach and might be the best assistant coach it ever had who never took over the program.
Now free from the pressures of coaching altogether, he can just talk about football on The Triple Option. It has to be so liberating knowing he doesn’t have people scrutinizing him every second of every day anymore.
While chatting with co-host Rob Stone of Fox Sports, the Irish inevitably came up. Meyer mentioned the program’s recent trend of bringing in transfers as starting quarterback and how teams doing that hasn’t led to many national championships lately:
[autotag]Riley Leonard[/autotag] is following [autotag]Sam Hartman[/autotag] and [autotag]Jack Coan[/autotag] from earlier in this decade. While the Irish aren’t expected to win a national title this season anyway, it does make one wonder how confident they are in their ability to develop homegrown quarterbacks. We’ll see if they showcase that confidence over the rest of the 2020s.
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Nebraska got high praise on a national level earlier this week.
Preseason buzz continues to build for the Nebraska football program, which looks to have its first winning season in eight years. The hype is palpable, with talent on both sides of the football field.
The program will look to clinch a bowl berth for the first time since the 2016 season. Multiple experts are particularly high on Nebraska, and that includes Collin Cowherd and Urban Meyer. Meyer gave a strong endorsement to Rhule in the Nebraska football program in an appearance on The Herd earlier this week. He cited several reasons why he would want to join the program.
“You stole my thunder. I’m a Nebraska fan. You know, if I was a player I love to go to Nebraska. It’s that history, the stadium, the fans are incredible. We coached out there, and they’ve been really down for several years. I was shocked on the sideline a couple of times when we played against them.”
It seems the pieces are in place for Nebraska to have a winning season. Multiple media personalities believe that Nebraska is finally in a place where they can succeed. Meyer continued with his praise of Rhule’s tenure as Cornhusker head coach.
“You know, you talk about a team that didn’t look like Nebraska of old. I just think he’s recruited well. You know, they got the transfer quarterback, Dylan, that is a really good player. I like their coach, their coach knows how to win. He’s won at every level. There’s a difference between winning, and winning at every level. That’s why I got a lot of respect for Matt Rhule.”
They have a favorable start to the schedule, with four of the first five games at Memorial Stadium. Now, it’s just a matter of execution, something the program has faltered in the past couple of seasons.
Lincoln Riley was at times defiant in his belief that USC will be ready for the Big Ten.
Lincoln Riley spoke with the local beat reporters after being on stage with the national media on Day 2 of Big Ten media days in Indianapolis, Indiana. Riley took exception to a question that asked if he felt USC would be competitive in the long term with the teams at the top of the Big Ten Conference.
Riley didn’t hesitate to proclaim, “We are at the top of the Big Ten Conference. We’re the top of any conference. I don’t ever look at ourselves below anybody and I never will.”
After a season that exposed USC’s dearth of depth along both lines of scrimmage, it was clear that USC’s return to glory was not a reload, but a rebuild. The schools that many point to as the top of the Big Ten this year: Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan and Oregon have completely different rosters than USC had two years ago when Riley took over for fired coach Clay Helton. Ohio State head coach Ryan Day took over a program from Urban Meyer that was loaded with bluechip players and has program has been rolling under Tressel and Meyer for the better part of two decades. Mario Cristobal had the Oregon Ducks reloading talent for four years before Dan Lanning arrived. The Ducks have been stockpiling that roster with Nike founder and super booster Phil Knight and his elite collective Division Street.
“Listen, two years ago, look at where Ohio State and Oregon were two years ago,” Riley continued. “Look at what they took over and look at what we took over. You now. I mean, it takes time. I’m not a magician. I can’t wave a magic wand and everything just be perfect right away, but just name one area that we have not made progress. This thing’s got momentum. It’s coming. Nothing’s going to stop it. That’s fine, they started at a different point. We’ll see where it ends up.”
It seems that Riley needs to remind the media and fans often that building line depth doesn’t happen overnight.
Then there is NIL. USC has also been much more conservative than schools like Ohio State and Oregon in how they interpreted NIL rules regarding inducements to high school recruits prior to things changing with the court rulings which effectively neutered the NCAA’s ability to enforce them. It doesn’t take a giant leap of faith to believe that USC is a program that should be at the top of the Big Ten with the right coaching staff in place; history has made that very clear with USC’s dominance of the Big Ten throughout the decades with the right head coach.
Riley has not only moved on from Grinch but he has brought in an elite defensive coaching staff headlined by the talented second year defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn. If this staff proves that it’s as good on Saturdays as it is on paper, the Big Tens knows what’s coming next.
Perhaps the most intriguing part was the conviction and confidence in Riley’s voice during his response. There wasn’t any hesitation. There was no doubt.
Lincoln Riley did not take defense seriously in the past … but it’s different now.
During the Conquest Call-In Show on The Voice of College Football, a caller made the claim this past Friday that college teams, USC included, need a defensive-minded head coach in order to win a national championship. It was a clear, if indirect, reference to Lincoln Riley.
Urban Meyer with Florida and Ohio State in 2014 was an offense-first head coach. Although Ed Orgeron is a defensive coach, the LSU Tigers won with an offensive identity fueled by Justin Jefferson, Ja’Marr Chase, Joe Brady, and Joe Burrow in 2019.
Lincoln Riley needs a competitive defense at USC, not a top-10 defense. His defenses under Alex Grinch were so bad that a lot of people think he and USC will never win a national championship. In reality, Riley simply didn’t make the adjustments needed to field a defense which was good enough to supplement his offense. Now, it’s different. Riley has made necessary adjustments. His defense doesn’t have to be 1995 Nebraska or the 1985 Chicago Bears.
It just has to be relatively good and competent.
Here’s our show from last Friday in which we took calls from you, the fans, at The Voice of College Football:
There have been a trio of dynamic duos playing for the Florida Gators over the past three decades.
The University of Florida’s football program has an illustrious history that spans decades, with a superlative run of success from starting when [autotag]Steve Spurrier[/autotag] took over in 1990 to the departure of [autotag]Urban Meyer[/autotag] after the 2010 campaign.
During that span, the Gators produced a prodigious amount of athletic talent — never mind that Florida is still the only team in the SEC to have a player selected in every draft since the AFL-NFL merger. But the Orange and Blue has also had a few dynamic duos in its midst as well.
Brad Crawford of 247Sports put together his 50 all-time best playmaking duos in college football history and had three UF pairs in his rankings.
Tim Tebow and Percy Harvin
“[autotag]Tim Tebow[/autotag]’s list of accolades is expansive, chief among them his Heisman Trophy win in 2007,” Crawford begins. “He was also part of two Florida teams that won a BCS National Championship and was a two-time SEC Offensive Player of the Year. He has a statue outside of Florida’s Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, and finished his career with the Gators with 9,286 passing yards and 88 touchdowns to just 16 interceptions while rushing for 1,947 yards and 57 touchdowns.”
But even Tebow could not do it by himself. Without the help of his trusty sidekick [autotag]Percy Harvin[/autotag], those two championships would never have happened.
“While Tebow, Wuerffel and Steve Spurrier all won Heismans at Florida, Harvin might be the most dyamic offensive talent in program history. Harvin was an incredibly versatile player for the Gators.
“In three seasons, Harvin rushed for 1,852 yards, caught 133 passes for 1,929 yards and scored 32 total touchdowns. He was a nightmare for opposing defenses because he could be used in any number of ways and once he got past you, there was no catching up.”
Based on this, Crawford ranks Tebow and Harvin as the second-best college football pair behind the USC Trojans‘ dynamic duo of Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush.
Florida’s other two top dynamic duos
Coming it at No. 29 is another Heisman Trophy winner, [autotag]Danny Wueffel[/autotag], along with his favorite wide receiver target, [autotag]Reidel Anthony[/autotag].
“During UF’s national championship season in 1996, Anthony was an explosive offensive player and quarterback Danny Wuerffel’s favorite,” Pat Dooley notes.
The Pouncey Twins — Mike and Maurkice — came in at No. 49, largely due to their contributions to Florida’s two national titles in the aughts.
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