Urban Meyer must have forgotten games are played on the field and not on paper. Because during the latest edition of the podcast, “The Triple Option” he went out of his way to throw unnecessary shade at Notre Dame.
During one of the segments, he noted that the national championship game features two teams of unequal roster talent — which he’s not wrong. But that’s also a pointless argument to make. Because this isn’t the first time two unbalanced teams have played each other. Doesn’t mean it’s an automatic loss.
Every team Ohio State has played this year has featured unbalanced talent. The Buckeyes have the most expensive roster in college football. Yet, they lost twice this season. So that really doesn’t mean much in the grand scheme of things.
I’m sure Ohio State would rather games be played outside of the field, they might be undefeated and Ryan Day would have more than one win over Michigan. But it’s not. So Meyer stating the discrepancies between the rosters is a moot point.
Urban Meyer’s unnecessary shade at Notre Dame is what makes their playoff run incredible
While Meyer decided to point out the obviousness between Ohio State and Notre Dame’s roster, it also highlights how crazy of a run Notre Dame went on. They managed to knock off Penn State and Georgia after beating Indiana.
He did mention the Fighting Irish have a "refuse to lose" mentality. That is true, but again, to evaluate the teams based on their roster talent is a flawed process. Because like you said, Meyer, rarely does the better team lose to the lesser team. But it's possible.
There’s been a lot of talk about the Big Ten and SEC monopolizing the College Football Playoff. But Notre Dame’s run proved why more representation is crucial to an exciting CFP. Both Ohio State and Notre Dame had the hardest run to get to the title game.
And Notre Dame did it with a roster that didn’t compare to any of their opponents — Indiana’s roster was probably the closest comparison to them, which proves roster construction is only part of the story.
It’s more about the coaches than anything. Day has found a way to get his team to find more fight after losing to Michigan. And Marcus Freeman helped his team realize they can compete with anybody.
Calling out a team because their roster isn’t as strong as their opponent is pointless, especially in today’s age of recruiting. The top schools aren’t always going to have the best rosters. And even then that doesn’t always matter.
Yes, Urban Meyer, Ohio State’s roster is better than Notre Dame’s. But that doesn’t matter. The Fighting Irish have been underdogs throughout the entire playoff. So I’m sure that’s going to impact how they play on Monday night.