As FootballScoop’s new weekly “They Said What?!” feature continues to find its stride, this week’s edition finds Ohio State coach Ryan Day calling down the thunder on iconic coach Lou Holtz, Oregon coach Dan Lanning promising no quarter for Deion Sanders’s Colorado Buffaloes, South Carolina’s Shane Beamer trying not to jinx Spencer Rattler’s electric performance and much more.
Onward …
Credit Ohio State. It found a way to win. It weathered Notre Dame ’s physical, punishing second-half comeback-attempt, Kyle McCord flashed resolve beyond his years and the Buckeyes’ biggest stars made the evening’s biggest plays.
So, when Ohio State had escaped, 17-14, against underdog Notre Dame courtesy Chip Trayanum’s lunge inches above the ground and inches across the goal line for the game-winning touchdown, Ryan Day fired up the verbal attack on Lou Holtz, who had angered Day during Holtz’s Friday appearance on ESPN’s Pat McAfee Show.
"I'd like to know where Lou Holtz is right now," Day said to NBC on-field in the game’s chaotic aftermath. "What he said about our team, I cannot believe.
“This is a tough team right here. We're proud to be from Ohio. It's always been ‘Ohio Against the World,’ and it'll continue to be ‘Ohio Against the World.’ But I'll tell you what: I love those kids. We've got a tough team."
The Buckeyes lost time of possession by 10 minutes, were limited to just 126 total rushing yards and finished with more penalties than Notre Dame.
But, Ohio State did find a way to win – with Trayanum getting just inches into the end zone on a play that went to replay review and on the second of two-straight snaps in which Notre Dame managed to have just 10 men on the field.
SPENCER RATTLER’S ‘NO-HITTER’
After South Carolina, which has shuffled its offensive line and also missed some key skill players, outlasted Mississippi State Saturday night, SEC Network ace sideline reporter Cole Cubelic caught up post-game with Gamecocks’ head coach Shane Beamer to ask about the performance of USC quarterback Spencer Rattler.
All Rattler had done was finish 18-for-20 through the air for 288 yards and three touchdowns. Rattler opened the game on a tear, completing his first 13 passes of the opening half.
“He’s playing out of his mind right now,” Beamer told Cubelic. “I saw he was 13-for-13 at halftime, and it’s kind of like when a pitcher has a no-hitter going, I didn’t want say anything to him.
“He’s a big-time player. And being able to run for some first downs, he’s a better athlete than people give him credit for.”
LANNING LAYS DOWN THE LAW
Colorado had created one of college football’s most-compelling early-season storylines. Led by mercurial, bombastic head coach Deion Sanders, aka Coach Prime, the Buffaloes had stunned all but themselves en route to an 3-0 start that included wins at TCU and against Nebraska.
They had their first Pac-12 test last Saturday at top-10 Oregon and … it did not go well. The Ducks quacked all over Colorado in their 42-6 win that wasn’t remotely that close.
Oregon coach Dan Lanning set the tone in pre-game and continued the theme at halftime.
“"We’re rooted in substance; not flash," said Lanning, in all-access video shared on the broadcast. "Today, we talk with our pads. We talk with our helmet! Every moment! The Cinderella story is over, men. Right?
“They’re fighting for clicks, we’re fighting for wins. There’s a difference. There’s a difference. This game ain’t gonna be played in Hollywood; it’s going to be played on grass. It’s going to be played on the grass. Let’s go!"
His team up 35-0 at the break, Lanning reiterated that message in his on-field interview.
"Not done yet; we're not satisfied," Lanning emphasized. "I hope all those people that have been watching every week are watching this week."
CONFIDENT COACH PRIME SAYS OTHERS CANNOT HANDLE COLORADO’S BELIEF
To be sure, Deion Sanders did not mince words in the aftermath of his team’s loss. He credited Oregon for handing the Buffaloes an “old-fashioned butt-kicking” and vowed his crew would make “no excuses.”
But Coach Prime also took issue with the notion that his team might’ve needed to be humbled, and Deion Sanders clearly had gotten wind of Lanning’s comments about Colorado fighting for clicks by the time Coach Prime conducted his post-game interview.
“I don't say stuff just to say it for a click,” Deion Sanders emphasized, “contrary to what somebody said.
“Our confidence offends their insecurity. It is what it is. I signed up for it."
Nonetheless, the team’s confidence – if not that of Coach Prime – is likely to be severely tested in the coming weeks. Colorado hosts undefeated, top-10 USC Saturday night at Folsom Field and then the following week visits Arizona State, which despite adverse circumstances of a bowl ban is coming off a game against those USC Trojans in which the Sun Devils had a chance to take the lead in the fourth quarter before losing, 42-28.
INDIANA COACH TOM ALLEN TALKS “BELOW-STANDARD” HOOSIERS OFFENSE
Since the onset of the 2021 season, Indiana has notched just two wins against Power 5 opponents after coming off consecutive seasons under Tom Allen that were his most successful and some of the program’s best success since the 1960s.
The Hoosiers continue to struggle, sitting just 2-2 on the season and again without a win against a P-5 foe. This past weekend, they needed four overtimes to beat an Akron team that was collecting a seven-figure payday to visit lovely Bloomington, Indiana, and had lost by 32 points a week prior at unranked Kentucky.
Still, Indiana needed four overtimes to procure an 29-27 win on a day in which the Hoosiers’ offense scored a touchdown five minutes into the second quarter and then not again for the next 40 minutes of regulation.
“Not good enough. Not even close,” Allen said of the IU offense. “Below the standard. Below what's acceptable, for sure. Need to go back and watch the film to be able to evaluate the execution piece. And, obviously, can see the things I mentioned as far as the drops and not doing a good job.
“And, obviously, just evaluate what we're calling.”
QUESTIONABLE LAUNDRY
Pitt is uncharacteristically struggling in the early-season under veteran coach Pat Narduzzi, who has stabilized the Panthers’ program and just two years ago won an ACC championship.
The Panthers now are just 1-3 and have suffered back-to-back double-digit losses at rival West Virginia last weekend and at home by 17 points last Saturday to undefeated North Carolina.
Pitt was flagged 11 times for 83 yards, and Narduzzi stopped oh-so-short of putting the refs on blast.
“We had a taunting penalty after a big hit by Donovan McMillon, but from my observation there were some calls that were made that I didn't really care for,” Narduzzi said postgame. “So, I see it going both ways, but Pitt got called today, so I guess it's on us.”