Urban Meyer on Ohio State-Notre Dame matchup: 'This is not a talent-equated game'

Urban Meyer doesn’t see the national championship as an even matchup based on the talent level of the two teams.

Meyer assessed the title game between Ohio State and Notre Dame on ‘The Triple Option’. That includes him having watched the film on the two teams in best trying to evaluate it.

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“Yeah, I’ve always used the term ‘talent-equated’ because that’s pretty clear. That means they gots what you got and sometimes a little better and that’s the way you game plan,” Meyer said. “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.”

So, do the Fighting Irish have enough in comparison to the Buckeyes in the final of the College Football Playoff? Apparently not says Meyer. Their defense does to an extent but, even then, they are still some key players short due to injuries. Then, once you get to the two offenses, they just don’t compare from there for him.

“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.”

However, that doesn’t mean that the Fighting Irish have no chance come Monday in Atlanta. They’ve proven their worth this season and in this playoff with Meyer noting that they’ve already won at least one game in the postseason where you could have said they were at a talent deficit.

“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,” said Meyer.

“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,” Meyer said.

Notre Dame will have their opportunity in this one with their first title appearance in a dozen years as they play for their first championship in over three and a half decades. However, Ohio State is the favorite, let alone a near double-digit one, for a reason and talent has a lot to do with that to Meyer.

“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.”