Rob Stone’s phone rang at 6 a.m. Monday.
The caller I.D. read: Urban Meyer.
They talked three more times before 1 p.m. And that was prior to their weekly conference call.
“Coach and I are in contact throughout the week bouncing ideas, and how can we fine-tune the show, and how can we continue to win,” said Stone, the host of Big Noon Kickoff on Fox. “He’s really win-oriented, and I think we all are. It’s been hard for him to find a win in this environment. It’s easy to say it on Saturdays, ‘We won.’ But what is a win on Saturdays?
“We always go back to that question: Did we win? And then, let’s get ready for our opponent next week. Where are their soft spots and where are our strengths? He has brought that to the front of our TV brains. It’s been a really fresh perspective that’s been thrust upon us.”
On Saturday, Fox is bringing its nascent pregame show to Ohio Stadium, a homecoming for Meyer, but also a showcase for the hour-long program that is perhaps the biggest breakout star of the college football season.
Big Noon Kickoff, a mixture of authenticity, astute analysis, and humor, didn’t take shape until March when Meyer, one of the offseason’s most coveted free agents, along with Justin Fields and Jalen Hurts, exited the transfer portal and signed with Fox. The network collected one of the best coaches of the past two decades and three of the most recognizable players from the same era — Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush, and Brady Quinn — offering a fresh alternative to ESPN’s College GameDay, an eclectic show that’s won eight Sports Emmys and is considered the gold standard of pregame studio productions.
What Big Noon Kickoff is attempting to be is a successful version of the USFL, or the XFL, or the UFL, or the AAF. GameDay has been an untouchable titan, standing atop the sport’s TV landscape for nearly three decades.
“We all realize to do what we’re attempting to do there’s going to be a lot of scrutiny,” Quinn said. “All of us start preparing for the next week when the previous Saturday ends. The crowd we cater to is more football-driven. Fans now are more educated than ever. They have a platform to voice their criticisms and concerns with Twitter and other social media platforms. For that reason, I think we've tried to be more current and relevant with our content.”
College GameDay, a three-hour extravaganza, is outdrawing Big Noon Kickoff 2-to-1, but Fox is growing its audience despite GameDay’s ratings increasing slightly compared to 2018. The network also has accomplished its goal of owning the noon window, putting its best games in the afternoon instead of at night while reaping the rewards. Fox routinely has the highest-rated noon game and Oklahoma-Texas is the third most-watched game of the season.
“It’s surpassed even our most optimistic expectations,” Stone said. “I think there was screaming for an alternative source of college football news. I think we've assembled a really unique blend of current, name-brand talent who’s done it on the field and the sideline. When Urban speaks, it’s a 100 percent with a level of authority, and we all just kind of stop and listen and soak in the knowledge.”
All four analysts came from a different background — Meyer arrived from Ohio State, Leinart was part of Fox’s previous pregame show, Bush worked for NFL Network, and Quinn called games for Fox. Now they’re all behind a studio set opining on the latest college football topics and games of the week.
The first thing that comes into focus is the chemistry. It’s as if they’re long-lost friends sitting around a restaurant table at a class reunion. The give-and-take and flow look natural to the viewer, making good television for anyone interested in the talking points.
“In this industry, there are forced marriages, but this just came together and we all click,” Stone said. “We’ve all got different backgrounds, but we all respect each other, what we’ve done, and what our roles are on the show. It has been remarkable. In Week 5, I remember saying, ‘This is our fifth show and it feels like we've been at this for five months, if not five years.’ There is this great camaraderie, great trust, and equity that’s been built among all of us. And it’s legit.”
There’s no hiding the star of the show: Meyer. His “Urban’s Playbook” segment is must-see TV and even the simplest anecdotes are fodder on Twitter, almost always with high approval for Meyer’s insightfulness. Stone said it’s not uncommon for the crew in the production room, the prompter person, or the people in charge of graphics to make a comment about how much they learn from Meyer.
Even Stone, who’s been around the game and smart football minds for decades, finds himself just sitting back and hanging on every word.
“He is 100 percent educating people who have a limited sports knowledge, and even people who are really deep into the sport are still walking away with this knowledge that was not there before they listened to Urban speak,” Stone said. “A lot of it is, ‘Just sit back and listen, Stone. Take it all in.’
“You never know what kind of day we’re going to have when we’re watching games together in the Avocado Room, our Green Room equivalent. We’ve got all the monitors. Michigan struggling will take us down an avenue we didn't know, and [Meyer] might bring up an old story from a Michigan-Ohio State game. Matt and Reggie will chime in about the Pac-12. In the end, I feel like I’m always that guy who is lurking and I want to make sure I hear all these great stories while taking mental notes to incorporate into our highlights or next show.”
Quinn has known Meyer the longest, having been recruited by the then-Bowling Green coach while he was an up-and-coming quarterback at Dublin Coffman, from which Meyer now lives fewer than four miles. When Meyer was a candidate for the Notre Dame job in 2004, Quinn found his phone number and turned the tables, attempting to recruit him to South Bend.
Fifteen years later, the quarterback is witnessing up close why he wanted Meyer was his coach.
“You see why he’s been so successful,” Quinn said. “You talk about work ethic, but his ability to communicate effectively is a huge pillar for any head coach to be successful. His thoughts, what he sees, and then be able to tell stories, all those things are invaluable to providing access that you just aren't getting from our competitors.”
Big Noon Kickoff’s growth to two hours is inevitable, a movement Meyer is championing. They experimented with a two hour-show at the Red River Shootout, which proved successful with more features and analysis devoted to one of the season’s defining games and the sport at-large.
The $64,000 question is: Will Meyer be around to see the changes and continue pushing the show forward? Every big-time opening will be accompanied by rumors about Meyer’s re-entry into the coaching world. In several interviews in recent months, including with The Blade, Meyer has stated he’s enjoying retirement and trying to fill the competition void by excelling on TV.
So far, it’s similar to his first season at Bowling Green — instant results few could have imagined.
“Look,” Stone said, “this guy is into it. He is 100 percent devoted to this job right now. I can’t tell you how many texts and phone calls I get from him forecasting concepts about the week. He has been one of the breakout sports television stars we’ve ever experienced. There was a lot of concern about what type of personality he would be on television. He’s been really good and really comfortable saying, ‘Hey, that’s not my comfort zone, but this is.’ He has single-handedly elevated this show into a property that a lot of people want to be associated with and want to watch.”
“If I was a Fox Sports executive, I would be making the Emmy-reel tape for him right now. He is that good.”
First Published October 24, 2019, 7:56 p.m.
