ITG 68 - Big 12 Team Previews Pt 2
ITG 68 - Big 12 Team Previews Pt 2
Transcript
00:00 [MUSIC]
00:03 You are in the gun with Skylar Callen and the signal caller Jed Drenning.
00:08 It is part two of our Big 12 season preview.
00:12 We've got seven more to go through here, really only six because we're gonna
00:16 kinda fly through the West Virginia one at the end because, well, Jed, Owen, and
00:20 Wesley Uler, they did a really good job of breaking down the offense and defense.
00:26 And a very in-depth preview for that.
00:28 So if you wanna catch those episodes, make sure to go to YouTube and
00:32 believe.com as well to find those out.
00:36 Before we get into starting here with Oklahoma, a quick word from Bet Online.
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01:06 Bet Online, where the game starts.
01:08 And Jed, where we start is the Oklahoma Sooners.
01:12 Six and seven, their first losing season, as we just researched,
01:17 their first losing season since 1998, and it sure as hell feels good.
01:22 Seems like for the longest time, they have just been at the top of the Big 12.
01:26 They've dominated the conference.
01:27 They've been in the national picture almost every single year.
01:32 First year under Brent Venables, you kind of expected it to be a little bit of
01:36 a step back.
01:37 I don't know that Sooner fans thought it would be that dramatic, but
01:39 the key thing that I noticed for them last year was one score games.
01:44 I think they had maybe five of their seven losses.
01:47 I can't remember off the top of my head.
01:48 You may have that number.
01:48 >> Yeah, they love to talk about that.
01:50 >> Yeah, one score games was their big bugaboo from last year.
01:56 If they can get that fixed, I think they've got the talent in place to get
02:01 things flipped around here pretty quickly.
02:02 >> Yeah, it's interesting.
02:05 As I said, Oklahoma loves to tell you how many close games they lost last year.
02:10 I mean, there used to be a metric in the Elias Baseball Almanac,
02:14 dating myself when I was growing up.
02:16 And one of the metrics that was a key metric was,
02:18 what was a team's record in one run baseball games?
02:20 Because if you had a poor record in one run games,
02:23 you could be on the cusp of a turnaround the next year.
02:26 So I think one of the reasons Oklahoma likes to spend so
02:29 much time telling you about all their close losses is because they're trying
02:33 to distract you from how they imploded against TCU 55 to 24.
02:37 They certainly don't wanna talk about that Texas game 49 to nothing.
02:41 Neither of those games look very Oklahoma like.
02:45 I mean, I've seen Oklahoma lose close games before.
02:47 But I haven't seen them fall apart against those types of opponents to that
02:51 extent, especially Texas.
02:53 So interesting that you have an offensive oriented coach in Lincoln Riley Weave.
02:59 Now, if he had a shortcoming during his tenure at Oklahoma, first of all,
03:02 there weren't many shortcomings with all the big 12 titles that he had.
03:06 But it was on the defensive side of the football.
03:08 They couldn't solve things to the level they wanted to defensively that always
03:11 seemed to catch up with them in the college football playoff.
03:13 So you hire a guy with a defensive pedigree in Brent Venables.
03:17 And what plays out last year, an Oklahoma offense that was explosive,
03:21 that scored with anyone, but once again struggled to stop people.
03:24 So, I mean, this Oklahoma defense was ninth in the league in total defense,
03:29 tenth in the league against the pass, ninth in the league against the run.
03:32 They really struggled in just about every key area.
03:36 They didn't tackle very well.
03:37 They weren't fundamentally sound.
03:39 Teams leaned on them in the second half.
03:41 In other words, when you look at the yards per carry they allowed in the second half,
03:45 it was 4.8 yards per rush, that was worse than the big 12.
03:48 So over the course or over the balance of a 60 minute game, teams found ways.
03:51 And the verdict was, or the jury was out on them.
03:54 It was, here's the narrative, lean on them long enough and
03:57 then eventually that damn's gonna break and it did.
04:00 You saw it with the West Virginia game.
04:01 I mean, that was kind of their season to microcosm.
04:04 West Virginia leaned on them, had success on the ground in the second half.
04:07 And won by what?
04:08 A field goal, a walk off field goal to end it.
04:10 Oklahoma was on the short end or the business end of many of those types of
04:14 games last year.
04:15 So I do think that they have a trigger man in place that can lead them back to
04:20 the promised land or back towards the promised land and Dylan Gabriel.
04:23 An incredibly established kid.
04:24 I mean, anytime you have 109 touchdowns over the course of your career,
04:28 combination of UCF and last year Oklahoma.
04:31 He's played for Jeff Levy at multiple different stops.
04:34 Jeff Levy is a creative play designer.
04:36 I think he does a good job putting a plan together.
04:39 So once again, the question is, can you help your defense starting on offense?
04:45 Oklahoma, I go back to this so many times.
04:47 How many snaps a game did the Oklahoma defense that was leaned on face?
04:52 80.2, not only was it the most in the Big 12, it was the most out of the 14 teams
04:59 that will occupy this year's Big 12, cuz the site ranked these stats this time.
05:03 So that defense was on the field for 80 snaps a game.
05:06 You don't typically see that with defensive oriented head coaches.
05:10 So I have to think first, they have to be looking to address that.
05:15 One of the ways they hope to do so, part of it was execution,
05:18 part of it was fundamentals, but part of it was a lack of talent.
05:21 They did have an exodus.
05:22 You can expect that during a coaching transition.
05:24 So they tried to address that over the course of this offseason.
05:27 Oklahoma brought in the ninth ranked transfer class,
05:31 depending on where you're looking at it.
05:32 But most importantly,
05:33 they brought in six guys who were defensive starters at the power five level,
05:37 who can contribute to this defense and turn it around pretty quickly.
05:41 So you have to think if Brent Venables can put a plan together,
05:45 he's not gonna be doing this by himself.
05:48 I mean, Ted Roof's a guy that he's very familiar with.
05:50 Ted Roof's a good football coach.
05:52 They gotta get some of the right pieces in place and
05:54 get a defensive strategy in place.
05:56 But that defensive strategy has to be linked to the offensive strategy.
05:59 They can't be asked to defend 80 slugs a game.
06:02 They can't do it.
06:03 So that's gonna have to be mitigated.
06:05 The offense will continue to grow.
06:07 They're gonna find weapons.
06:08 They always have weapons.
06:09 They even lost some last year and still found a way to score.
06:12 But I don't care if it's Jalil Farouk.
06:13 I don't care if it's, we talked about Stogner.
06:16 I mean, they're always gonna have guys that if you put them in space,
06:19 they're gonna find a way to catch the football, come down with it, make things happen.
06:23 So Marcus Major, expect some solid things out of him in the run game.
06:27 But Dylan Gabriel is a kid who can make this thing go.
06:31 We saw him do it last year.
06:32 I think he'll continue to do it this year.
06:34 In part, their struggles came.
06:36 I talked about those blowout losses.
06:38 In fairness to Oklahoma, I do have to mention, Dylan Gabriel was knocked around.
06:43 Okay, so Dylan Gabriel didn't play the better part of those two losses.
06:47 So he makes a difference for this football team.
06:51 Once again, we've said we've had this narrative with Kansas.
06:53 We have this narrative with Oklahoma.
06:55 Offensively, very functional.
06:57 They can even be leader exceptional, as you've seen in previous Oklahoma teams.
07:01 But they have to find some answers on the defensive side of the football.
07:04 If they will, we'll see.
07:05 >> Yeah, and moving to their rival, well, I don't know if you can even call them
07:10 that anymore now that they're gonna be leaving to the SEC.
07:13 This is gonna be the last year of bedlam, unfortunately.
07:16 Thanks, Conference Realignment, for that one.
07:18 But let's take a look here at Oklahoma State.
07:20 Mike Gundy always seems to find a way to usher this team to 9,
07:27 10 wins every now and then.
07:30 It seems like every time I say this is gonna be the year Oklahoma State takes
07:33 a step back, he ends up surpassing that expectation.
07:37 But I can't, Jed, for the life of me, see a path, a road,
07:41 a scenario in which this Oklahoma State team actually does that this year.
07:46 I just, the talent level is not what it has been at Oklahoma State.
07:52 You think about the explosive offenses they've had.
07:54 They've had really good quarterback play.
07:56 They've had that true number one receiver for years.
07:59 They've had a really good running back, whether it be Truba Hubbard or
08:01 Jalen Warren.
08:02 They didn't run the football that well last year either.
08:04 Where does Oklahoma State have to concentrate its efforts if it wants to
08:11 even have a chance to be in this Big 12 picture?
08:14 >> It's an interesting situation.
08:18 First of all, the portal hasn't been kind to them.
08:21 I mean, at every turn, there's been attrition, right?
08:24 So they've tried to address some of those needs of their own that were created by
08:28 the portal, by bringing kids into the portal of Alan Bowman, a quarterback.
08:31 I mean, this is a kid that I remember as a young gunslinger at Texas Tech,
08:36 when we faced him, he left that game prematurely with a partially collapsed
08:39 lung with the injury.
08:40 I mean, he could flip it around.
08:41 And he was on that streak where he had that 600 yard game as a true freshman
08:45 against Houston, one of the only two or three true freshmen in the history
08:50 of the college game to do so, 600 plus yards.
08:53 So he has potential.
08:54 Then he transfers out of Texas Tech.
08:56 He couldn't stay healthy.
08:57 He ends up in Michigan, couldn't find the field there.
09:00 So now Gundy's asking him to pull the trigger at Oklahoma State.
09:04 And it's gonna be interesting to see how things play out, see how things unfold.
09:08 He needs to make some things happen,
09:10 because I do think they'll find a way with Casey Dunn.
09:13 To have some playmakers on the perimeter, they always seem to do that.
09:16 They're one of those programs that offensively just seem to have these big
09:19 framed large body guys with ball skills who get it done.
09:22 But as you touched on, what's different, they've lacked that punch in the run game.
09:27 And we haven't even talked about the absence of Spencer Sanders,
09:30 who didn't have to leave but did, right?
09:31 So the winningest quarterback since Moby Dick was a guppy at Oklahoma State.
09:38 And so here we go, on the offensive side, they have some questions.
09:41 On the defensive side, they're trying to rebuild themselves.
09:44 I mean, one of the few things they got right,
09:46 they have a plan on third down defensively.
09:49 For the third straight year, they led the Big 12 in defensive third down efficiency.
09:53 But outside of that, they had some struggles.
09:54 I mean, this is a team,
09:55 it's hard to believe that early last year they were 5-0,
09:59 they were in the top ten in the country.
10:01 And then things fell apart against TCU and they blew that lead.
10:03 The next thing you know, they're struggling down the stretch as we saw
10:06 with West Virginia knocking them around with Jalen Anderson.
10:09 So we'll see how things play out for them.
10:11 >> Yeah, Oklahoma State, again,
10:14 I see this being a year where they may struggle to get the ball out to Bill.
10:18 I really do.
10:18 I think it's gonna be uphill battle for them.
10:21 Everything's gonna have to go right.
10:22 Alan Bowman's gonna have to play out of this world.
10:24 He hasn't even won the job yet, but we can all assume that that's gonna be
10:28 the case there as Garrett Rangel, very young kid.
10:32 They like him, but it's probably a better situation if they go with the experienced
10:36 hand there.
10:37 And as always, this episode of ITG is, of course,
10:40 brought to you by our friends at Toothman Ford.
10:42 We all know cars cost less in Grafton.
10:45 And now we're gonna move to the TCU Horned Frogs,
10:49 who were the darlings of the Big 12 Conference a year ago.
10:52 They came out of nowhere, no one expected anything in year one of the Sonny Dykes
10:56 era, taking over for Gary Patterson.
10:59 But it seemed like every button he pushed worked, and
11:02 they hit lightning in a bottle.
11:04 That's the term we've been using with them here in the last couple of weeks,
11:07 as they made their way all the way to the college football playoff.
11:10 They won a game, they're in the national championship.
11:13 But this is a team that has lost a ton of production,
11:18 a very key spots, no more Quentin Johnston, no more Kendre Miller.
11:22 You'll lose Max Duggan.
11:24 The good thing is they do have Chandler Morris,
11:26 who was actually their starting quarterback to begin the year last year.
11:30 He is back.
11:31 So they do have some pieces back from that team a year ago.
11:36 And you saw some of those guys that were maybe in reserve roles get a taste of
11:39 that.
11:40 But there's gonna be a lot of question marks about this TCU team heading into
11:44 2023.
11:45 >> Well, let's talk about what their recipe for success was last year.
11:49 I mean, obviously heading into this year, you hit on it, Skyler.
11:52 They had the least amount of returning production on the offensive side of
11:56 the football in the entire Big 12.
11:58 But not only that, you haven't even mentioned the loss of their play caller,
12:01 their coordinator, who was critical, and Garrett Riley, who's off to Clemson.
12:04 So a new offensive coordinator.
12:06 People like to think that because of Sonny Dyke's pedigree, yeah,
12:09 he's the architect of all things offensive with any team that he coaches,
12:13 including TCU.
12:13 But I'm telling you, Garrett Riley was pretty critical or
12:16 central to their success offensively.
12:17 So it's gonna have to start with Chandler Morris.
12:20 The good news is Chandler Morris actually won that job heading into last year.
12:24 He got dinged up against Colorado, and
12:26 that's what led to the legend of Max Duggan taking off.
12:29 But so what TCU did a year ago, they came off one of the worst four year
12:34 stretches that they'd had in a long time in several decades.
12:38 When Sonny Dykes came to town,
12:39 they fired the guy whose statue was standing outside the stadium.
12:43 So that's kind of the situation that he stepped into.
12:46 Well, what he did was he hit the portal.
12:47 Now he hit the portal in such a way that was efficient through solid scouting.
12:51 He wasn't outbidding the Blue Bloods to get some of these kids that he ended up
12:55 getting that were such a critical part of their success.
12:58 He got a center from SMU that played for him there.
13:01 He got a backup tight end from Texas.
13:03 He got a well linebacker from Navy.
13:05 He got a cornerback from Louisiana Monroe, who, by the way,
13:09 West Virginia was very heavy after, and Josh Newton.
13:13 And Josh Newton turns out to be an all conference player.
13:16 Every one of those guys that I just mentioned or alluded to,
13:19 they all played a big role in what TCU did last year.
13:22 So the question is, can he do the same thing?
13:25 Is he one of the few guys that's mastered the modern era of the portal?
13:28 Because you're almost gonna have to do so if you're a non-Blue Blood, right?
13:31 Well, right now, TCU, even again this offseason,
13:35 is currently ranked with the best transfer class in the entire Big 12.
13:39 And by many metrics, a top 15 national transfer class.
13:42 I always talk about this, when you look at the different rankings for
13:46 these offseason production, how did you do in the portal?
13:49 Well, different places evaluated differently.
13:52 On3.com is one of the places that attaches a value to how you did
13:56 with your transfer class once the season winds down.
13:59 Well, when you look at the four teams that were in the college football playoff
14:03 last year, Georgia finished dead last in the Power 5 last year in transfer production.
14:10 They didn't need any transfers, now they're starting to get some.
14:14 But Ohio State, another playoff team, 63rd in the Power 5.
14:19 Michigan really didn't help or hurt themselves, they were 37th.
14:22 The one playoff team that helped themselves because they necessarily had to was TCU,
14:27 who ranked 10th.
14:28 So they're pushing right in that same range right now.
14:30 That's the type of thing that's gonna have to happen.
14:33 I mean, they're gonna have to find some guys that help Chandler Moris out.
14:36 You talked about the ridiculous loss of production they have on the offensive
14:40 side of the football.
14:41 This is almost to some extent going to have to become a more defensive oriented
14:45 football team.
14:46 So the question becomes, can Joe Gillespie's unit, with a lot of returning
14:50 kids, step up, answer the bell, and play a more critical role for
14:54 the success of TCU than they did a year ago?
14:57 I mean, they're now in a position that anything short of a playoff appearance or
15:02 a Big 12 championship, because they didn't win the Big 12 last year, but
15:05 they got to the title game, but they did make the playoff.
15:08 Short of one of those two things would be considered somewhat of a step backwards,
15:11 right? So it's a good place to be.
15:13 I mean, that's where you wanna set the bar, that's where they're at.
15:16 But they got a lot of answers to find on the offensive side of the football.
15:20 And as they seek those answers, Sonny Dyke's a creative guy.
15:23 I give him credit, he's from that creative Air Raid school.
15:26 He's on the more creative branch of that Air Raid tree.
15:29 So can he find similar answers with Chandler Morris?
15:33 Again, when you talk about Chandler Morris, this kid's not a dud.
15:36 I mean, a lot of folks might forget some of the production that he had
15:40 before he got dinged up.
15:41 He was Offensive Player of the Week against Baylor in 21 with 461 yards.
15:45 So the kid can fling it around, he understands their system.
15:49 He understands Sonny Dyke's system, which he mastered last year,
15:52 even as an injured kid.
15:54 So I think there's a lot of potential with him.
15:57 Will they find the other answers?
15:58 Will they be able to run the football?
16:00 But in the meantime, they're gonna have to lean on their defense.
16:03 >> Now let's move on to the Texas Longhorns.
16:06 And if you haven't been following the recruiting world lately,
16:11 [LAUGH] well, it's kinda hard not to with Texas.
16:14 Because they landed arguably the biggest name out there in recruiting history.
16:20 And Arch Manning, probably not gonna be seen much on the field this year,
16:26 as Quinn Ewers returns as starting quarterback.
16:28 But Arch Manning gonna be the future of that program moving forward.
16:32 But Jed, I mean, this is a team that they lost Bijon Robinson,
16:36 they lost Rashaun Johnson in the backfield.
16:38 But they've got so much coming back.
16:41 I mean, they've got the best receiver, in my opinion,
16:44 in Xavier Worthy in the Big 12.
16:45 And defensively, I think you can make a case,
16:48 they're one of the best defenses in the entire league.
16:50 So this is a team that has the formula and really the nucleus to get to a Big 12
16:55 championship, it's just a matter of can they overcome the adversity when it hits.
17:00 Because it's been a program that has not handled adversity well,
17:04 regardless of who that coach is.
17:05 >> You're talking about Xavier Worthy as a weapon,
17:08 they got a couple transfers that are gonna help them, that are weapons.
17:12 Jatavia Sanders, I'm telling you, that dude, when he caught that leap route in
17:16 front of our sidelines and starts slipping up in front, he's a man.
17:21 I mean, that's a big human right there.
17:23 So he might be the best tight end in the Big 12.
17:26 So they got the best at a lot of spots in the Big 12.
17:30 Now that being said, let's first start with this.
17:32 All those weapons they had, including Bijon.
17:37 I mean, Bijon might have been the most dynamic player in all of college football
17:40 last year.
17:41 Look, if you're a fantasy football guy, which I no longer am,
17:43 grab Bijon in your league, cuz he's gonna be productive as a rookie in the NFL,
17:48 I have no doubt about it.
17:49 But okay, all that being said, Steve Sarkisian, offensive coach,
17:53 offensive pedigree, all these toys, all these bells, all these whistles.
17:57 How many plays do you think last year, this is a bit of a trivia question,
18:01 I'll put you on the spot, how many pass plays, I should say,
18:04 of 50 plus yards did Texas have last year?
18:07 >> Ooh, 50 plus, I wanna get this as a follow-up, four.
18:15 >> They were the only team in the Big 12 with zero.
18:17 >> Wow.
18:18 >> Yeah, it's not that they always find a way to make the plays that you think
18:23 they should.
18:24 And here's the thing, they don't manage, the culture's been the issue.
18:28 I mean, Charlie Strong talked about this when he left.
18:31 In Texas, if you sign a five star, that's often not enough.
18:35 Where did that five star come from?
18:37 They might have come from the wrong high school,
18:39 because there's such a rip between the factions of boosters there.
18:43 He's not even like Travis, we don't want him.
18:47 That's not the kind of five star we want.
18:48 I mean, can you imagine trying to manage that while you're also trying to be
18:52 quality football teams in the Big 12 moving into the SEC?
18:55 So I'm not gonna pity Sark, but that's what you're dealing with when you got.
19:00 Now, you're often judged, this is his third season.
19:02 This is the time that the rubber hits the road, DKR.
19:05 On the 40 acres, this is about the time that people start to really decide one way
19:10 or the other.
19:11 You might outlast your third year, but
19:13 oftentimes the decision's already made in your third year.
19:15 That might have been the case with Tom Herman, but he won that Sugar Bowl, and
19:19 the next thing you know, he's back to earth.
19:21 How many places fire a coach who wins four bowl games in four years,
19:24 including a Sugar Bowl?
19:25 It's wildly dysfunctional from a culture standpoint.
19:28 I think that's a big part of the problem.
19:30 I mean, we're not that far removed from Texas being five and seven,
19:34 suffering that horrible loss to Kansas.
19:36 They had that losing streak, unlike they'd seen in half a century,
19:40 to end the season two years ago.
19:42 So they so desperately needed that eight win season last year, but
19:46 more so than the eight win season, an eight win season with a 49 to nothing win
19:51 against Oklahoma.
19:52 That mattered just as much as the other seven wins collectively.
19:55 So here you are, you put yourself in position, you put yourself in a chance.
19:59 The talent, it's always been there.
20:01 The recruiting, it's always been there.
20:03 There's never been a deficit in either one of those categories
20:05 through all these struggles that you've seen Texas have.
20:08 Charlie Strong recruited incredibly well his entire time at Oklahoma.
20:13 Nobody's ever not recruited well at Oklahoma, Texas.
20:16 Nobody's not recruited well at Texas.
20:18 Now, you might see Texas early in the season, who knows?
20:22 I'm not gonna make any predictions, but sneak in and steal one from an Alabama
20:27 team trying to find its quarterback early in the season.
20:29 I mean, who really knows?
20:30 I mean, I'm not gonna say that's easy to do against Nick, but you might see that
20:35 happen, but you also might see that same Texas team turn around and stub its toe
20:39 in a couple efforts that they shouldn't.
20:41 I mean, this is a team that over the course of their last 43 games,
20:44 this is not a team, it's a program, that over the course of the last 43 games
20:48 and one score games, their last 43 one score games, they're 18 and 25 in one
20:54 score games, that's a culture issue.
20:56 They're 4 and 10 under Sark in one score games.
20:59 And until they show that they can win the tight games, because irrespective of how
21:04 talented you might be, there's other talent elsewhere, there's other solid
21:08 coaching elsewhere.
21:09 You're gonna find yourself in some tussles.
21:11 It's not gonna be a blowout every week, it's not gonna be a layout every week.
21:14 You're gonna have to battle to win these games down the stretch in the fourth
21:17 quarter.
21:18 And these are the types of plays that Texas has more often than not fallen short
21:22 in, that's a culture thing.
21:23 A lack of culture catches up to you in these tight games down the stretch.
21:28 If they can't solve the culture piece, they're not gonna win these close games.
21:32 And if they're not gonna win these close games,
21:34 they're not going to turn the corner that they should.
21:37 The hype that they get every preseason, look, I understand it's justified when you
21:40 look at things on paper, the game's not played on paper.
21:43 What I have on paper right now is 18 and 25 as a record in one score games,
21:48 in the last 43 one score game.
21:50 That's what's on paper.
21:52 These games need played out on the field.
21:54 And so from a cultural standpoint, they need to solve some of those issues.
21:58 Now, the pieces are in place, starting with Quinn Ewers, working your way down.
22:02 Not many teams can lose a B.
22:04 John Robinson and still be so attractive offensively.
22:08 Texas is one of those few teams that can.
22:10 But can they solve the culture piece and take the next step?
22:13 We will see, because the talent, it's not gonna be short.
22:17 There's talent at every spot on both sides of the football.
22:20 From a talent standpoint, they should win this league every year.
22:23 But they haven't done so in a long, long time.
22:26 So let's see.
22:28 >> Yeah, on paper, I mean, you could probably say less than nine wins this
22:32 disappointing season.
22:34 I mean, this is a team that's probably, in most people's eyes,
22:37 they should be in the Big 12 Championship this year.
22:41 I mean, they've got the experience, they've got the talent at just about every
22:44 key spot.
22:45 So how interesting would this be though, if Sark, like you said, that year three,
22:49 if they go seven and five or six and six and it's just an absolute disaster,
22:54 say he gets fired.
22:55 And then all of a sudden, boom, transfer portal world,
22:59 Arch Manning, I mean, what's his future like?
23:01 >> Yeah, here's one stat I'll throw out there because it's made its rounds in
23:05 the magazines.
23:06 It seems to be the stat or the narrative, especially on the defensive side for
23:10 Texas.
23:11 I mean, first of all, I think when you look at what they've done defensively,
23:14 Kwiatkowski has made the most of those pieces that he does have in place.
23:17 And those are some lovely pieces he has in place.
23:20 But here's two numbers that shouldn't reside in the same world.
23:23 Texas last year led the entire country in QB pressures with 289.
23:30 How many sacks do you think they had?
23:34 >> Based on the way you phrased that question, probably not very many.
23:37 >> 27, fifth in the Big 12.
23:38 So they're not finishing those plays.
23:41 Now, again, I'm not gonna dismiss QB pressures.
23:44 Trust me, I'm an old quarterback,
23:46 a pressure can sometimes be just as disruptive as the sack.
23:49 But that's another thing, they need to take that next step and
23:51 start with these athletes.
23:53 They have getting there just a tick quack quicker and finishing some of these things
23:57 and knocking some teams off the field and killing some drives with some sacks.
24:00 Instead of some of these pressures, cuz they're doing a great job of dialing up
24:04 some crazy looks and getting after the quarterback that the offenses don't have
24:07 answers for, but can they do that?
24:09 I thought I'd toss that out there because I've seen it two or
24:12 three different places.
24:13 And it seems to be something that the local media in Austin is talking about as
24:17 well.
24:17 >> Yeah, now a program inside the state of Texas doesn't have quite the
24:21 expectations of the University of Texas every year.
24:24 But for some reason, a lot of people being attracted to Texas Tech this year.
24:28 We'll take a look at them here after a quick word from GoMart here to keep you
24:32 going, make sure you're signing up for your GoMart rewards.
24:37 So let's get to the Red Raiders of Texas Tech.
24:41 Coach McGuire ushering them to an 85 record last season.
24:45 Really, I think for at least in last season,
24:48 they surpassed a lot of people's expectations.
24:50 And because of it, they're getting a lot of national attention.
24:54 Some people think they could be the dark horse to maybe compete for
24:57 a spot in the big ball title game.
24:59 I don't know if I'm quite ready for that just yet.
25:02 Tyler Schuck returns at quarterback.
25:04 He's been dealing with some stuff injury wise.
25:06 And we saw Donovan Smith at times, he's now at Houston.
25:09 So there is some changes, but they have a lot coming back, don't they, Jeff?
25:15 >> Most experienced team coming back in the Big 12.
25:17 So, I mean, if you're gonna start with giving a team some credit,
25:20 that's one of the reasons you're gonna give them some credit.
25:22 Preseason by the media, number four in the Big 12.
25:25 This is actually the first time since the Mike Leach days.
25:28 So you have to go back to the late aughts to find a time that Oklahoma,
25:32 excuse me, Texas Tech was a preseason pick, even the top half of the league.
25:36 So there's a lot of expectations attached to year number two under Joey McGuire.
25:41 He's really got that program believing.
25:43 I mean, one of the things that has to continue, first of all,
25:46 the last time they had one quarterback start every game was Patrick Mahomes in 2016.
25:51 Now they found ways with a very creative attack to get some things done on
25:55 the offensive side of the football with three different quarterbacks last year.
25:58 They had three different kids throw for 1,000 yards.
26:00 But I'm quite sure they'd rather have one kid throw for 4,000.
26:03 So that's the approach they wanna take.
26:06 So they're gonna have to keep him upright.
26:07 I'll tell you what, when you look at some of the assistant coaches in this league,
26:11 few did a better job than Zach Kittley running that offense.
26:13 I mean, he was much heralded coming in.
26:15 I thought it was a key hire for Joey McGuire.
26:18 Now, Joey McGuire brought that aggressive mentality that he learned on staff with
26:22 Matt Ruehl-Baylor, rolling the dice on fourth down.
26:25 Nobody goes for it on fourth down more than him.
26:28 You're often stealing possessions by doing so.
26:30 It's very uptempo.
26:31 It's very aggressive.
26:32 84 snaps per game led the country.
26:35 And if you're gonna do that, you better find a way to get to the quarterback on
26:40 the defensive side and force some mistakes from the opposing offense.
26:44 And that's much easier to do with a kid like Tyree Wilson,
26:46 who's now off to the NFL.
26:48 First round edge rushers don't grow on trees.
26:51 But Joey McGuire and that staff seem convinced that by hook or
26:55 by crook as a unit, their front seven might actually be better than it was a year ago.
27:00 So if you're looking at a shortcoming for this team, they did struggle on the road.
27:04 They were a one and four football team on the road.
27:06 So they had to take that next step and master that next step.
27:09 When you leave the friendly confines of Jones Stadium, what can you do on the road?
27:14 So they come to Morgantown late in September.
27:17 And obviously, our struggles with them have been well chronicled.
27:20 But this team is legit.
27:22 This team is for real.
27:23 I mean, I agree with some of the hype.
27:26 But let's see if they can take that next step.
27:30 I always say that when you're building a program,
27:32 part of it is managing expectations.
27:34 Well, the expectations are certainly there.
27:36 Whereas last year, they kinda ambushed some people and
27:38 they didn't see them coming.
27:40 The expectations are there.
27:41 How do you handle that kind of prosperity?
27:43 I mean, they got hot down the stretch.
27:46 So when you talk about proof of concept, which I so often talk about with coaches,
27:50 proof of concept is when what you tell your kids, they see it working on the field
27:54 and translating into wins, they start to believe.
27:56 And they're picking up what you're putting down.
27:58 Down the stretch, the Texas Tech Red Raiders were really believing what
28:03 Joey McGuire and that staff were telling them.
28:05 They got to the bowl game, they played out there, and
28:06 they carried that momentum into the spring.
28:09 There's a lot of buzz in Lubbock surrounding this program.
28:12 I mean, Joey McGuire, a Texas high school coaching legend,
28:16 he's beloved down there.
28:18 He's well connected, they've recruited well.
28:21 It's all going according to plan for the first 18 months.
28:24 Now, let's see how season two can go, because is this gonna be
28:29 taking the next step or is this gonna be the honeymoon's about to end?
28:32 I mean, we'll find out because a big part of it is how you do manage those
28:37 expectations.
28:38 >> And the final team that we're actually gonna go through and
28:40 break down here is Central Florida, also the fourth and
28:44 final member that's newcomer of the Big 12.
28:48 And Jed, you could maybe even make the argument,
28:50 how's the best case to have the most success right out of the gate here?
28:53 Just because of what they have, a quarterback and John Rhys-Ponloy.
28:57 I mean, this kid is absolutely dynamic, almost ran for
29:01 1,000 yards last year, he threw for another 2,500.
29:05 They've got some guys coming back at receiver.
29:07 They lost their top running back, but they do have some depth there.
29:10 And their secondary, I know they had to retool it a little bit, but
29:14 they've got some guys in the secondary that can make plays.
29:17 To me, it's more of a matter of depth, and I'm sure you probably agree with that.
29:21 But as I told you before we recorded,
29:25 this team reminds me a lot of West Virginia when they first came into the Big 12.
29:29 They have an opportunity to get out to a hot start.
29:32 They have Kent State, Boise State, Villanova to start the year.
29:35 So there's three wins right there, more than likely.
29:38 And they can really get on a roll as they get into the conference play.
29:42 But it's a matter of when they get halfway through the schedule,
29:46 are they gonna hit a wall and just plummet to the face of the earth?
29:50 Are they gonna be able to overcome some of that adversity?
29:53 >> Yeah, if there is a sleeping giant among the newcomers,
29:58 I would anticipate this being the closest thing to that.
30:01 They're sitting there in Orlando, they have a massive student body.
30:04 They have an up and coming facility on campus.
30:07 I think they just need a big boy badge from their jersey to go out and
30:11 recruit with and
30:12 maximize what they can do right there on the home front in Florida.
30:15 And they've done a nice job right out of the gates of doing so.
30:18 Gus has done a nice job.
30:20 You're gonna have a nice plan on the offensive side of the football with Gus
30:23 Malzahn, that's what you got.
30:25 You talked about Plumlee.
30:26 Plumlee is just outright explosive.
30:29 I mean, this is the type of kid that when he was at Ole Miss before transferring to
30:33 UCF, when he was at Ole Miss, he faced the number one LSU team in the country and
30:38 ran for 221 yards on them, number one team in the country.
30:41 So yes, he's capable.
30:43 Yes, he's explosive.
30:45 As he goes, so go they.
30:46 In their victories a year ago, 13 touchdowns, just two picks, and
30:51 their losses, just opposite.
30:52 Six picks, one touchdown, couldn't get out of his own way.
30:55 Now, what they tried to do last year, they came out early and
30:58 often trying to set the tone on the ground.
31:00 They ran the football over 150 times in the first quarter,
31:03 157 times among the most in all of college football.
31:07 Why did they do that?
31:08 Because they leaned on a veteran offensive line, Herb Hand, shout out to Herb.
31:11 My old guy from Glenville, he was on staff with Richard W,
31:14 he's bounced around with some stops at Texas.
31:17 So he's down there, he's an old Gus guy as well.
31:19 They were even at Tulsa together years ago.
31:21 But Herb's coaching the offensive line for Gus down in Orlando, and
31:24 Herb's done a great job a year ago.
31:26 Here's a metric I like to look at, it's always interesting to me.
31:29 When you look at blown blocking assignments on called running plays,
31:33 they had the fewest missed assignments.
31:35 Just 4.4% of the time that they have an MA on a called run play in all of college
31:40 football, so early in all of power five, because they were counting them as the move
31:43 up to power five, so very well coached football team.
31:47 Now, that's the good news.
31:47 The bad news is Herb's gonna have his hands full with a rebuild.
31:50 They lost three critical pieces to that offensive line.
31:53 They lost the bell cow that was the number two in the run game and
31:56 Bowser behind Plumlee.
31:58 But as Plumlee goes, he's a dangerous kid.
32:01 He's an explosive kid.
32:03 He can make a lot of problems go away.
32:05 He's kind of an eraser type player.
32:08 And the big chatter coming out of Orlando, when you listen to Gus talk,
32:12 he truly believes that Plumlee has taken the next step as a passer.
32:16 And if he can develop into a legitimate dual threat,
32:19 I think that could be a challenge for opposing defenses.
32:22 And as you talked about, we'll see what kind of things or
32:25 challenges that they can present on the defensive side of the football.
32:28 The challenges that are gonna face on the schedule one through 12 this year,
32:33 at least in conference play in those nine games,
32:35 might be a little different than the top heavy American schedule that they played
32:38 in previous years.
32:39 So the depth that you touched on may in fact catch up to them.
32:43 Might be one of those teams that you need to scrutinize their schedule,
32:45 see who they have early, see who they have late.
32:48 Of course, West Virginia, we gotta get down to the bounce house.
32:51 I fully expect to have our hands full.
32:53 That's gonna be a challenging place to play.
32:54 I'm looking forward to going there for the first time.
32:56 Last couple times West Virginia was in Orlando,
32:58 we were in the Citrus Bowl, playing in the Citrus Bowl in those bowl games.
33:01 So they got the off campus, the on campus stadium, okay?
33:06 South Florida's heading in that direction.
33:08 I mean, these Florida schools are starting to get it.
33:10 They're starting to come up with- >> Took a little while.
33:12 >> It took a little while, but yeah, I think Central Florida,
33:16 it could be a burgeoning giant if given time and
33:21 given the resources that they'll acquire over the course of time with this Big 12
33:26 media deal, they're gonna step up and step up in a big way in years to come.
33:29 It's just how many teams can they surprise and ambush out of the gate in year one?
33:34 >> And then finally, Jed, to wrap up, the second part of our Big 12 preview is
33:40 West Virginia.
33:41 We're not gonna go completely in depth with this because we already have the
33:44 offense preview out there with, as Jed and Wesley and Owen did earlier.
33:50 So they did a great job with that, make sure to go on YouTube and
33:53 find that in the gun.
33:55 But Jed, you did say you wanted to double back on something, so
33:58 go ahead and hit that first though with the offense.
34:01 >> Yeah, we broke down the offense and we did so thoroughly.
34:03 I mean, Owen and Wes and I were bantering back and forth and there was so
34:06 much to chew on and so much to talk about the running back room.
34:09 There's so much to get excited about.
34:11 We got to see what the answers might look like out of that quarterback room.
34:14 I mean, I'm not one of these guys who fully anticipates the answer to be found
34:18 in the next couple weeks.
34:19 Maybe it's not, maybe it takes a little more time than that.
34:21 It's got to work itself out.
34:23 If that means work itself out within the context of the first handful of games,
34:27 that's fine too, so long as we're heading in a productive direction with it.
34:31 But I think that we're gonna lean on the offensive line.
34:33 I think we've got incredible depth of running back, but we got so
34:36 caught up in talking about those things.
34:38 And even the newfound weapons on the perimeter from a transfer standpoint.
34:41 I didn't mention the kind of camp that Rodney Gallagher's having.
34:44 I didn't mention the kind of camp that Trayvon Ray's having.
34:46 So you got a couple true freshmen in that receiver room that are also trying to find
34:51 a niche and find their role.
34:52 And they could work their way onto the football field.
34:55 They've opened some eyes.
34:56 So hats off to both those kids.
34:59 But again, on the offensive side, because of the changing coordinators, yeah,
35:03 I do think that Chad Scott, even though he's not calling the plays,
35:06 he's gonna have a different role from a big picture standpoint.
35:09 And what I'm hoping is the offense at large has a chance to,
35:15 there's an infectiousness to Chad's approach to things.
35:19 And you saw it play out on the field from a production standpoint over the course of
35:23 the last four years with the running back room.
35:25 I like the idea of expanding that infection beyond that,
35:29 when I talk about infectiousness.
35:30 So the kids really like, what he says resonates with a room full of kids.
35:36 So let's see if that translates to different things on the offensive side of
35:40 the football.
35:40 So, but yeah, I wanted to shout out a couple of those newcomers on the perimeter.
35:44 They got some opportunities to make some plays, as you might expect from
35:48 recruiting standpoint, they were much heralded coming in and
35:51 they've been up to it so far.
35:53 >> Yeah, they definitely have.
35:54 I'm really interested, I guess, just to see how all of these pieces mesh.
35:59 Because I mean, really, this is kind of like, at least in my opinion,
36:03 the first time West Virginia's had this many options at both running back and
36:08 receiver, and I guess even third tight end in the mix too.
36:11 Now that Cole Taylor's there, they got Sherrilyn Davis working in.
36:14 He's developing as a pass catcher.
36:16 So they've got options and it's really a good problem to have.
36:20 And like you guys mentioned on the show, the offensive preview,
36:24 they even have a fullback, Luke Hamilton, right?
36:27 So this is just a unique offense.
36:30 And I'm also interested to see how Neil regains control of the offense.
36:35 Now that he's calling the shots once again,
36:38 he's back into what he's done his whole entire career.
36:41 And I think it's a good move, especially in a year where you know you have to win
36:45 now, who else would you rather bet your job on than yourself?
36:50 So- >> So we've obviously had an episode
36:53 where we fleshed out the offense.
36:56 There's an episode fleshing out the defense.
36:58 As these things unfold, we populate the stratosphere with our content here.
37:04 Be sure to, once you're done with this, look those up as well.
37:07 Because we did a lot of research.
37:08 And when Wes and Owen and I had those conversations or
37:11 having those conversations, we got pretty deep with it and it was pretty fun.
37:16 >> Yeah, absolutely, great stuff from Jed, Owen, and Wesley.
37:21 Jed, final thoughts here on West Virginia.
37:23 Maybe West Virginia's stance in this Big 12,
37:26 obviously their preseason pick 14th, that lashed by the media.
37:30 But you and I both know that that's probably not true by the end of the year.
37:35 So just where do you think this team's ceiling is?
37:38 Where could that land?
37:40 >> Well, let me hear you give your opinion.
37:42 >> Okay.
37:44 >> And then I kinda wanna go from there, okay?
37:47 >> My ceiling for West Virginia is seventh, I think.
37:52 I think that's a safe spot, middle of the pack.
37:57 Maybe they steal a couple games on the road that they're not expected to win.
38:00 And they end up somehow in the middle of the pack.
38:02 I mean, the crucial thing is how they handle coming out of that brutal
38:07 month of September where you play five games, essentially half your schedule,
38:13 before you really get into the thickness of the Big 12 schedule.
38:17 So I would say seventh would be the ceiling.
38:19 But I would say for
38:22 it to be considered a not disappointing season, right?
38:27 So about expectations, living up to the expectations,
38:31 I'd say probably 10th, 10th or 11th.
38:34 Anything below that, I think that's when you start walking in the danger territory.
38:38 But 10th or 11th, I mean, you're talking about all the changes they have.
38:42 You're losing your top four receivers.
38:45 You're losing several pieces of your defensive line and
38:47 several members of the secondary.
38:48 I know you're retooling that, but I would say 10th.
38:51 This is a large, large turnover for me.
38:54 >> Okay, I'm gonna whittle my way down to this.
38:57 I'm gonna start big picture Big 12.
39:01 When you look at the teams that have played the Big 12 championship game
39:06 over the course of the last half dozen Big 12 championship game teams or
39:11 participants, this came from pick six previews.
39:14 Their record the following season is 42 and 30.
39:19 So they've stumbled.
39:21 The last three years, teams coming out of that have had a hangover and
39:24 they've stumbled.
39:25 So that opens the door for other teams to rise up and maybe take part.
39:29 That's been what's unfolded the last three years at the top of the Big 12.
39:34 They have a hangover and somebody else steps up and
39:36 replaces them like a TCU or like a K-State.
39:39 So when I look at West Virginia, again, I think the strength has to necessarily lie
39:45 at the point of attack on the offensive side of the football.
39:48 If this team is going to be any kind of team that's remembered favorably,
39:55 that does things beyond expectation.
39:57 I'm not talking about the 14th preseason expectation.
40:00 Set that aside.
40:01 I'm talking about doing some things that the team itself wants to accomplish.
40:06 It's only gonna happen if the offensive line develops in what we hope it can
40:10 develop into.
40:11 If that happens, there's all kind of possibilities offensively.
40:14 I think we'll find ourself a quarterback.
40:16 I have faith in both answers,
40:18 the skill set of both those kids bring different things.
40:21 I love what we have in that running back room and
40:23 how that even spills out into the perimeter with some of the versatility of some of
40:26 the kids in that room.
40:28 I like what we brought in in the receiver room.
40:30 We're not asking these kids to catch 110 balls like Tavon or Stedman.
40:33 That's not gonna be what their role is.
40:36 So I think what it comes down to is on the defensive side of the football,
40:38 you talked about the attrition, you talked about the losses.
40:42 First of all, how does the defensive line answer the bell?
40:45 There's some possibilities there.
40:46 There's some candidates there.
40:48 But I think that we need to help them out by getting creative on the back end,
40:51 chopping the front up.
40:52 You don't wanna lean on them more than you have to.
40:54 So that only happens if when you look at these transfers that we brought in,
40:59 these established kids that are coming from the G5 level that have shown ball
41:03 skills and they can play on the football in flight.
41:06 They have PBUs, they have career interceptions, they're ball hawks.
41:09 So if you can hit on two or three of those transfers, and
41:14 they prove to be difference makers in the back end,
41:16 that translates to what you can do on the front end of your defense.
41:20 Because I do think we'll find answers in that linebacker room.
41:24 I think there's enough talent.
41:26 I think there's enough fit with what we're asking those kids to do.
41:29 But if you find the answers on the back end to help Aubrey Burks,
41:32 you find the answers at corner, you find the depth that you might need.
41:35 If some of these transfers can hit, we talked about what TCU did.
41:39 I'm not saying we're a playoff team, but what TCU did, they hit well in the portal.
41:44 And they hit well on kids that they didn't have to outbid Alabama and
41:47 Georgia to get.
41:48 It was all about out evaluating other schools.
41:50 So did West Virginia out evaluate other schools and find a couple sleepers and
41:55 these kids that we're bringing in, in conjunction with Country Roads Trust,
41:59 this is necessary, and how it lets the course of doing business these days.
42:03 So if we hit on some of those kids, it makes other things possible defensively.
42:07 Because if you didn't hit on some of those kids,
42:09 then now you're kind of ducking for cover defensively.
42:12 And what you gotta do is truly find a way to take as much air out of a football
42:15 game as you can on the offensive side.
42:17 But I don't think that's gonna be the case.
42:19 If you hit on some of those kids, you might have a different look defensively.
42:23 And they start believing, they get some swagger.
42:26 And now you have an offense that's built to help them get rest when they need it.
42:29 So I think that you could possibly push to the top half of the league if all those
42:33 things go on, put yourself in contention, put yourself in some close games in
42:37 the fourth quarter, and then tip a ball or break a return and see what happens.
42:40 I mean, I think ideally, that's what you're hoping for.
42:43 That's what you're looking for.
42:44 But you gotta hold serve until you find some of those answers.
42:49 I mean, as you touched on, that's a brutal stretch, five games in September and
42:53 specifically who you're playing in those five games.
42:55 There's really one empty chair out of five games, and that's Duquesne, right?
42:59 So you gotta find your way, you gotta stabilize over a very rough stretch,
43:04 where you're trying to find some answers defensively.
43:08 You're trying to find your answer behind center or answers and
43:11 see how that plays out against rugged competition.
43:14 If you can survive that and push on from there,
43:16 anything's possible down the stretch because the worst might be behind you.
43:20 We'll see.
43:21 >> Yeah, it's gonna be a very interesting few weeks here,
43:24 leading up to the season that there's some jobs up for grabs.
43:28 Obviously quarterback, defensive side, there's the will position,
43:32 which is probably the most big, or I would say the biggest question mark.
43:36 Because you don't have extra low anymore, they're moving Lance Dixon over to Spear.
43:41 >> Which that interests me too, the Lance Dixon thing,
43:43 not to interrupt Skyler.
43:44 >> Yeah. >> We're gonna get heavier to the field,
43:47 setting the edge against the run.
43:50 And that kind of excites me, cuz Lance is an explosive kid.
43:52 He can move in space too, so he's not a liability in the pass game.
43:56 But go ahead, I mean, you just made me think of that, and
43:59 that's something that I wanna keep an eye on.
44:02 I mean, he's a different body type than what we traditionally had out there at
44:05 that spot in space against these types of kids.
44:08 And that, again, could be an asset against the run,
44:11 which is a big part of the reason that we're doing it.
44:13 >> Yeah, I like the outlook of this defense.
44:16 I mean, and when you look at Jordan Leslie, and again,
44:19 I won't go too in depth with this, cuz you can catch that on the other episode.
44:23 But Jordan Leslie has been phenomenal as a defensive coordinator since he's been
44:28 in West Virginia.
44:28 And I think you can look at last year as a mixture of things.
44:33 I think it's more of an anomaly, more than anything.
44:36 You had the injury to Charles Woods, and all of a sudden,
44:39 you had a lot of questions about where certain guys can play.
44:44 They're being asked to play certain roles that they probably weren't ready to play
44:47 at that certain point of the season.
44:49 And you had guys playing out of position even.
44:50 So it was just a chaotic mess that they were trying to figure out on the fly.
44:56 And I think this year, they have more answers for those questions if they arise.
45:00 The secondary, which was atrocious at times last year, and
45:03 even Neil alluded to it in a press conference a couple of weeks ago.
45:07 In my opinion, even though there's a lot of new faces in that secondary,
45:10 you have that experience to count on.
45:14 Look, Anthony Wilson and Beanie Bishop and Keyshawn Cobb and so on and so forth.
45:18 So I think that secondary is a lot better than it's getting credit for.
45:22 And if they can step up and show that they are better than what they were a year ago,
45:27 I think this team can steal a game or two.
45:30 >> That's gonna be critical.
45:32 And again, when you talk about Jordan Leslie as a defensive coordinator,
45:36 his first year in that role at West Virginia was 2020, okay?
45:41 >> As defense.
45:42 >> Well, West Virginia in 2020 with Jordan Leslie as the coordinator,
45:46 with Jordan Leslie putting the plan together,
45:48 with Jordan Leslie making the calls defensively,
45:51 was the first big 12 team since Kansas State in 1999 to lead the nation in past
45:57 defense.
45:58 Now, did we have four first round picks in the back end defensively that I don't know
46:01 about that I forget?
46:03 I don't think so.
46:04 >> No. >> I don't think so.
46:05 So the truth always lies somewhere in the middle.
46:09 It's not a coaching issue and a coaching issue entirely.
46:12 Now, the coaches are always looking at ways to improve and find ways to refine
46:16 themselves and strategize better and come up with some answers they previously
46:20 didn't have.
46:21 Jordan Leslie and that staff continue to try and do that.
46:23 But as you try and plug some holes, because I agree with you,
46:27 things kind of got out of hand last year and spiraled in the wrong direction.
46:31 Now, part of that was communication breakdown, which does,
46:34 that lies at the feet of the staff, right?
46:36 I mean, defensively, you gotta get them in position to understand
46:41 more crisply what they're doing.
46:43 But so you just hit on some key points there.
46:45 But when I revisit Jordan's first year as coordinator, look,
46:50 it wasn't because we got four first round picks playing corner, corner, safety,
46:54 safety, it was a combination of all the things.
46:56 We had some pretty good players on that back end, okay?
46:59 But not to the point that it was only talent and talent alone doing that.
47:03 So let's see how this unfolds with some fresh blood.
47:07 Now, did the scouting department come through?
47:09 Did the player personnel department come through?
47:11 Did we appropriately scout these kids that we targeted in the portal?
47:15 We're about to find out.
47:16 To some extent, we already are seeing some of it in camp.
47:19 Now, when the real bullets fly, let's see what plays out.
47:21 But that's kind of what, to me, is gonna be critical on how this thing turns on
47:25 the defensive side of the football.
47:27 But hitting on a couple of those transfers, that's one thing.
47:29 If you didn't, that's a whole different thing.
47:31 It is.
47:32 And the one thing I do like that they are doing this camp is they're tackling,
47:36 they're being more physical.
47:37 They made it very clear that they're not gonna allow that to be an excuse this
47:43 year because, I mean, the tackling in the Pitt game was probably below average,
47:48 but the Kansas game was horrendous.
47:51 And that's what honestly probably cost them that game was their inability to
47:55 tackle.
47:55 >> And even from a special team standpoint,
47:57 nobody goes live these days from a kick coverage standpoint.
48:01 But we're even doing some of that for a couple reasons.
48:03 First, we gotta grow as a kick coverage unit.
48:05 But second, we wanna make sure we got the right guys in place to give us a chance
48:09 to return some of those things.
48:11 >> Yeah, so a lot of good stuff for that.
48:14 That's it for your Big 12 preview.
48:15 Again, if you wanna check out the in-depth West Virginia offense and
48:19 defensive preview, go to the YouTube page at In the Gun.
48:23 Jed, Owen, and Wesley did a really good job of breaking that down for you.
48:26 One final thank you from Fortis for roof, performance, and
48:30 financial security guaranteed.
48:31 Make sure you visit fortis.us.com.
48:35 And for Jed Drenning, I'm Skylar Callahan.
48:37 And the one thing that we ask of you is to be in here and
48:40 tell in here about your favorite WVU football podcast.
48:43 And you have been in the gun.