IT Live: Sark's New Offensive Formula

Summary

Inside Texas Football – IT Live: Sark’s New Offensive Formula

Date: July 29, 2026
Host: Tex Homer
Guest Analyst: Ian Boyd

---

Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian's (Sark) evolving offensive formula as the Longhorns adapt to their new SEC surroundings. The hosts analyze how Sark’s preference for pro-style schemes blends with modern spread principles, the impact of Texas’s upgraded personnel, and what that could mean for the 2026 season. They also dissect SEC preseason polls, the “strength of schedule” debate, and the art/science of “closing” games. Expect data, sharp takes, and frank discussion of where Texas stands in the current college football landscape.

---

Main Topics & Key Insights

1. Sark’s “New Offensive Formula” – Evolution, Not Revolution

[00:44—08:26]

• Pro-style Roots vs. Modern Trends:

  • Sark was shaped by the old BYU pass-happy, “proto-Air Raid” teams that still used traditional 21 personnel (two backs, one tight end) and heavy pro-style looks.
  • Over his career, Sark shifted from fullbacks to 12 personnel (two tight ends) to maximize versatility and run power effectively.
  • Quote (Ian Boyd, 03:15):
    “Sark has been in the pro-style world forever and he prefers more pro-style personnel generally… at some point he moved from 21 personnel towards 12 personnel along with everybody else.”

• Balancing 12 and 11 Personnel:

  • Sark has gotten flak for not going all-in on 11 personnel (three WR sets), but he values the run-game flexibility of bigger formations.
  • The “blending” happens when big, athletic receivers (e.g., Coleman, Wingo) block as well as some tight ends, giving the offense flexibility to shift between power and spread.

• Hybrid Players as the Formula’s Pivot

  • Texas’s ability to field WRs who can block changes the math for defenses, forcing them to either get lighter and risk getting run on, or heavier and risk getting beaten in the pass game.
  • Quote (Ian Boyd, 07:14):
    “Hybrid players change the math. Hybrid players can only be matched by other hybrids and defensive hybrids are extremely hard to come by…”

---

2. Texas’s “Closer” Mentality & End-game Analytics

[08:26—21:59]

• Data: “Closing” and Comebacks

  • Analyzing charts (from Cody Nagel, 08:00) showing P5 teams’ records when leading by 7+ points in the 4th, Texas is good but not elite—around 90%.
  • The top “closer” teams (Georgia, Notre Dame, Michigan) are typically run-heavy, grind-it-out squads.
  • Quote (Tex Homer, 09:48):
    “Nine out of ten is still solid enough, but it’s nowhere near [the tier of] Ohio State, Georgia … Texas is more on par with Louisville, Illinois, TCU…”

• Comeback Stats:

  • Texas also shows low comeback rates when trailing by 7+, confirming a trend where Texas wins when controlling early, but struggles to rally from behind.
  • Quote (Tex Homer, 14:23):
    “Texas is not known as a comeback artist … once again Georgia is a freaky outlier.”

---

3. Will Sark Change Play-Calling Approach With New Weapons?

[17:17—21:59]

• Fan Q: Will Sark go for more ‘kill shots’ or keep playing ball control?

  • Boyd’s take: Sark is pragmatic—he’ll do what the team is best at, based on roster and game situation; he’s not married to one style.
  • The “all gas, no breaks” mantra was always about aggressiveness in preparation and attitude, not necessarily “run up the score” on Saturdays.
  • Quote (Ian Boyd, 20:05):
    “[Sark] was actually very clear … all gas, no breaks did NOT mean we’re gonna try to score as many points in football games as we possibly can…”

• Personnel Impact:

  • With the team’s improved receiver talent and, possibly, Arch Manning’s prowess at QB, the staff might be more aggressive in putting games away since the likelihood of hitting “kill shots” is higher.
  • Quote (Ian Boyd, 19:29):
    “That’s why I think it’ll be different with this team… it matters what the playoff committee thinks, period … they like big scores.”

---

4. Execution vs. Philosophy & The Limits of Ball Control

[21:59—29:27]

• When Ball Control Fails:
  • The hosts argue that attempting to grind out games makes sense—if you’re elite at it (like Georgia)—but it’s risky if your execution isn’t top-tier.
  • Texas’s historic struggles running out the clock stem from not dominating in the run game despite the philosophical intent.
  • Agreeing that, with this personnel, Texas should lean into its strengths—explosive players and effective passing—rather than emulating teams like Georgia.
  • Quote (Tex Homer, 24:43):
    “But the point is we normally can’t [run out the clock like Georgia]. So that’s why… we forsake our explosive upside…and then choose to go to a weaker style of play.”

---

5. What Does the New Look Offense Look Like on the Field?

[25:40—30:48]

• Bunch Formations and Condensed Sets:

  • Expect more bunch formations with big receivers tight to the line, mimicking some of the blocking and leverage advantages of 12 personnel but with the passing threats of 11.
  • These sets make both the run game and matched routes difficult for defenses, especially those playing man.
  • Quote (Ian Boyd, 25:50):
    “Just more bunch formations… there’s so much you can do from bunch.”

• Run Game Evolution:

  • The run game should focus on duo, pin-and-pull, and outside zone, maximizing the athleticism and pulling ability of Texas’s offensive line.
  • The ability of the Y (tight end) to block on the edge is considered a key unlock for these concepts.
  • Quote (Ian Boyd, 29:52):
    “If the Y can block the end one-on-one and do a passable job, you can do all kinds of stuff… All of Texas’s linemen can pull. They're all athletic.”

---

6. SEC Poll & Schedule Talk—Contender Landscape

[32:15—56:10]

• SEC Preseason Poll:

  • General consensus on Texas and Georgia as top-2; minor gripes on placements (LSU too low, Mississippi State too low, A&M too high).
  • Polls are more about collective perception than prophecy; any of the top 5-7 teams have real playoff potential.

• Schedule “Luck” & The Missouri Lesson:

  • Strength of schedule remains the ultimate wild card. In years past, teams like Missouri have benefited from a luckier draw—they got to Atlanta with less resistance.
  • Texas got an “easy” schedule in their first SEC year, but questions remain whether such breaks exist in the new 9-game format.
  • Quote (Ian Boyd, 49:34):
    “There is a team … that has a better draw than most, and that is LSU … their schedule is so home heavy and they just happen to have maybe the best home field advantage in the SEC.”

• Home-Field Debates:

  • Ian argues for the real (if hard to quantify) impact of SEC home-field advantage, especially places like Death Valley.
  • Tex pushes back, arguing level of team matters much more, and home-field is overvalued except for a consistent 3-point spread adjustment.

---

7. Poll Wisdom & Season Predictions

[69:48—End]

• Poll Predictiveness:

  • Wisdom of the crowd: The more media voices included in preseason polls, the more accurate the top-end predictions tend to be—although the bottom and middle can be hazy.
  • Difference between 4th and 7th in the SEC may be negligible due to talent depth.

• Season Outlook for Texas:

  • Both agree Texas is an 11-1 or 10-2 regular season team, with most likely losses at LSU and possibly Ohio State or another tough SEC road game.
  • Despite talent, execution concerns linger—and Sark's record is yet to show consistent “floor-raising” as a coach.

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Hybrid as Key:
  “Hybrid players change the math. Hybrid players can only be matched by other hybrids…”
  — Ian Boyd, [07:14]

• ‘All Gas, No Breaks’ Clarification:
  “He was explicit in explaining that the point of the mantra was… the aggressive attitude as a philosophy to life and as a philosophy to football and development…”
  — Ian Boyd, [20:05]

• Ball Control vs. Execution:
  “[We] forsake our explosive upside… and then choose to go to a weaker style of play.”
  — Tex Homer, [24:43]

• The Limits of Polls:
  “If you study any of these teams and consider a best-case scenario for them, you could talk yourself into any… but these teams have so much more talent than the Big 12 teams of the past.”
  — Ian Boyd, [34:12]

---

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:44 – Start of football talk, intro to Sark’s offensive scheme
• 02:04 – BYU roots, evolution to 12 personnel
• 07:10 – The calculus of hybrid personnel
• 09:44 – Game “closers” discussion and data visualization
• 14:23 – Texas’s comeback record
• 17:17 – Will Sark “go for the throat” with new weapons?
• 20:05 – “All gas, no breaks” original meaning
• 25:50 – Visual breakdown: 11 personnel, bunch sets, and receiver blocking
• 30:48 – Run game philosophy: duo, pin-and-pull
• 32:15 – Dissecting the SEC preseason poll
• 41:35 – Oklahoma’s season outlook and schedule debate
• 47:32 – Texas’s schedule analysis; the perils of road games
• 56:10 – Who got the “easiest” path in the SEC?
• 63:06 – Coaching, talent maximization, and what it takes to win big at Texas
• 69:48 – Preseason poll wisdom, the jelly bean effect, and closing thoughts

---

Takeaways & Final Thoughts

• Texas’s offensive evolution is more about leveraging hybrid personnel and flexibility than a wholesale scheme change.
• Execution is king: Even with massive talent, Texas won’t reach its ceiling if it can’t capitalize, especially in the run game and “closing” moments.
• Sark’s approach is pragmatic: He’ll play to team strengths and is not ideologically opposed to aggression or conservatism—his history shows both.
• Polls and schedule models are educated guesses: “Wisdom of the crowd” helps settle the top, but upsets and schedule quirks will define the season.
• The SEC has more parity and depth than ever: Even “middle” teams are dangerous and upsets are always lurking, especially on the road.
• Realistic expectation: 10–11 wins is a fair ceiling, with playoffs in play—if Texas delivers in critical moments.

---

For fans, this episode provides clear-eyed optimism about Texas’s chances, tempered with caution about past execution issues and the meat grinder that is the SEC schedule.

Transcript

[Bank of America Announcer]

Soccer teaches us lessons we can take with us long after we leave the field. That's why bank of America and US Soccer are committed to helping bring soccer to every school. Raise your hand to helpofa.com socceratschools what if upgrading your windows and doors didn't mean tightening your budget? Scratch that. What if it meant spending nothing? Today for a limited time renewal by Anderson is offering no money down, no monthly payments and no interest for 18 months on a minimum of six. That means beautiful energy efficient windows and doors. While the payments wait, visit renewalbyandersonhome.com today and see how easy it is to buy now and pay later.

[Tex Homer]

Good morning everybody. Welcome to IT live. I'm Tex Homer. That is Ian Boyd. Today we're going to talk about Sark's new offensive formula, what that means and then we'll get into SEC preseason poll and then maybe the strength of schedule argument that is tearing up all non SEC fans on Twitter as of yesterday. First head over to Inside Texas. You can join right now for $1, then 50 off your first year. That's awesome. The season is about to start. Take advantage of this. There's gonna be information flying around all the time. Link in the description down below. Now I know you and Cord on Sunday did a video similar to this in 11 personnel, but you dropped the article a little bit afterwards. So we can talk about some notes that maybe weren't hit but also explain the concept. All right, we already, we already have a doubter here and our man Ryan Nelson in Homer. Is it a new formula or just better players? I don't think offense will look much different just with better players. Let's hit this topic and then we can see. Right? All right. Better players does help though. That's always a part of the formula.

[Ian Boyd]

Better players let you do different things though, Right?

[Tex Homer]

Right. Yeah, exactly. So set it up here. You gotta. I don't think I can play it but old school BYU clip here. But what does this represent?

[Ian Boyd]

Well, this is just, I don't know how familiar people are with those old BYU teams that they were like the proto air Raid team in the 80s and 90s BYU and they would throw the ball around a ton and just have so much past game concepts. And a lot of people were like well they only do that because they're older and so they can get away with it. We can't do that at our school. Maybe that was true to some extent, but it became not true. But so then if you are familiar with BYU's history, is this like Passing football heaven from the past. You may not realize that they played in 21 personnel all the time.

[Tex Homer]

Yeah.

[Ian Boyd]

So here they are. Here's Sark in the super pass heavy BYU offense taking it to Texas A M and they got a fullback and a running back and some iffy guard play and they're just chucking it around the yard. Yep.

[Tex Homer]

So why do you show Sark's old team here?

[Ian Boyd]

What's the value of that's so Cirque's. Cirque has been in the pro style world forever and he prefers more pro style personnel generally. So at some point, I'm not actually sure when, but at some point at USC or somewhere, he moved from 21 personnel towards 12 personnel along with everybody else. Everybody was like, instead of using a fullback, let's use even more tight ends. And that's been Cirque's modus operandi or a long time. And certainly last year as a Texas, even when he had Casey Thompson, they would still play tons and tons of 12 personnel. It's always been a huge facet of

[Tex Homer]

the offense and a part of his strategies that allows him to do certain things. Fans have been frustrated with it. Myself too. At times it felt like, why are we not just playing 11 personnel spread, but maybe with our personnel and our good players? As Ryan Nelson mentioned earlier, there's a. There's a way to do a handshake here between the 11 personnel and. And 12 personnel camp.

[Ian Boyd]

Handshake.

[Tex Homer]

An agreement.

[Ian Boyd]

An agreement, maybe.

[Tex Homer]

Well, it's what the whole article is about.

[Ian Boyd]

Is it? That's a weird. It's a weird way to put it.

[Tex Homer]

You're blending the two worlds.

[Ian Boyd]

You're blending the two worlds by. I guess we're just jumping ahead. You can get the best of both worlds. If your receivers can block.

[Tex Homer]

Yeah, that is true.

[Ian Boyd]

If your tight ends are super fast and can catch, that is also helpful. But. Sark prefers to have 12 personnel in the bag because when you really want to run the ball, you need the extra blocker or else the defense can just load the box. Right. So if you're like sitting on a lead or whatever and you're trying to run, clock and protect the ball, the other team can get you out of that in the spread. Unless you're willing to run your quarterback or run option plays or whatever, it gets a little dicey. You lose some of the. We're just going to do what you know we're going to do and we're going to do it anyway. That's a lot harder to do from the spread than it is from 12 personnel. Because the whole point of the spread is spread them out and then put the ball where they aren't. And so if they're like, well, we're going to put our guys in the box and where, where they won't be is outside. So we dare you to keep throwing it outside or keep running your quarterback, then you have to do it or you just play at a disadvantage. That's why Sark has never been all in on the spread is because he doesn't want to do that. So he always maintains that 12 personnel possibility. But if you have all big receivers who are all willing to block and are actually good receivers, like Cam Coleman and Ryan Wingo and Emmett mostly the fifth, then you can just bunch them up and use them like tight ends. And if the other team is like, well, we're not going to let you bully us with receivers. We're going to put big guys on the field. We'll put an extra linebacker, we'll put an extra defensive lineman. Oops, thanks for doing that. Now we're back in the spread. We'll forego the ability to just run out the clock. If you're going to let us run Ryan Wingo in routes on a £240 linebacker, we'll just, we'll extend the game but score guaranteed points. That's fine.

[Tex Homer]

So how does that, how do you, how do you change the math here?

[Ian Boyd]

That's it. Hybrid. Hybrid players change the math. Hybrid players can only be matched by other hybrids and defensive hybrids are extremely hard to come by because it's a lot. So like, it's not that hard to find big receivers that will block smaller defensive backs. It's not that, it's not even that necessarily that hard to find big tight ends that can run past linebackers because defense requires more athleticism. Offense is about like skill and discipline and defense is about athleticism. If you, you can get the 240 pound tight end that can run past someone and catch the ball and fight, figure out how to get open against zone and all that, it's very hard to find his counterpart, the 240 pound dude who can run backwards and react to wherever the tight end goes and blanket him, you have to find a smaller guy to do that and then once you find the smaller guy to do that and then you just ask the Titan to block him and then you're back at disadvantage. So hybrid personnel is everything.

[Tex Homer]

The whole game is defeating in detail. We have something here from Dre. Appreciate it, man. Stark Has a tendency to keep games close and play ball control against teams we are better than. Do you think circle, switch it up and go for more kill shots. If the situation presents itself this season, Hook them. Hook them, Dre. So want to show Ian this because I think I like it. So this was a chart. I need to see who it's from. Cody Nagel. So this is the best closers in college football. And the number or the. The setting here is records and games when leading by seven plus points entering the fourth quarter since 2021. So he has a series of charts, and it just shows Georgia as like a juggernaut in, like closing games. He has like three different charts. So really the point here is how incredible Georgia is. And they kind of stand above the pack on all the charts. But Texas is on this chart. They're a little bit below the line here at. At 900. But nine out of 10 games here, when Texas is leading, they do win the game. That's Ian's point essentially is like the flash is. Is non functional for us. Even though we want it as fans. I want it as a fan. Ultimately, the strategy works. Is that correct, Ian?

[Ian Boyd]

Well, it kind of looks like it doesn't. Right. It. It's still.

[Tex Homer]

You're still winning at nine. At nine out of 10 games, even though they've put the magic line somewhere.

[Ian Boyd]

No, but the. The line is telling us that that's not that impressive to win nine out of 10 in that setting. It's telling us that most. That almost every team can do that except the teams that are, like, notorious for choking.

[Tex Homer]

Right.

[Ian Boyd]

Nebraska and Michigan State.

[Tex Homer]

Right. But it's.

[Ian Boyd]

It's.

[Tex Homer]

9 out of 10 is still solid enough, but it's not, if you notice. What the charts are trying to say is it's nowhere near Ohio State, Georgia, these kind of Notre Dame. That there's an elite tier here of special closers. Texas is not the elite special closers. They're more on par with Louisville, Illinois, tcu, Georgia Tech, Virginia, Oklahoma State.

[Ian Boyd]

That is not that good. What are the games? They've played 40 games like that and they've lost.

[Tex Homer]

Yeah, according. According to the chart. We don't question the chart.

[Ian Boyd]

Wait a minute. Entering the fourth, what. What are the 10 games Texas has lost in this setting? Oh, they're all from 2021. That was like every single game in the 2021 season since.

[Tex Homer]

Since 2021

[Ian Boyd]

since. But then I don't think there's. Have they even lost 10 games since 2021?

[Tex Homer]

It wouldn't. It wouldn't be 10 if you're 90 of 40.

[Ian Boyd]

So in 2022 they lost to Oklahoma State. They might have been leading by seven points entering the fourth quarter in that one. They lost to Alabama. I don't know if they were leading by seven. It's possible they definitely had a lead in that game that they lost. They lost to. Who else did they lose to in 2022? TCU. I don't think they ever led in that game. This isn't, this isn't adding up for me, Connor. I feel like it has to include the 2021 season when every other week they took us.

[Tex Homer]

It does include the 2021 season. That's what I'm saying. 21, 2021 forward.

[Ian Boyd]

Okay, well then their winning percentage is a lot better than that. And I feel good again.

[Tex Homer]

Yeah.

[Ian Boyd]

You notice though that the teams that are at the top, like the. The teams that just like never lose in that setting are teams that are very run centric. So Notre Dame is known for just running, running the ball. Georgia runs the dang ball. Tennessee actually does too. Even though they're veer and shoot, they run the ball a ton. I see North Carolina State, they like to run the ball. Alabama, some of that. Deborah is also as good a game controller as I've ever seen. And then Michigan would probably be all the way if they had more Harbaugh years because that was their thing too.

[Tex Homer]

Keep discussing Ian. I'm pulling up some more charts. So just what else do you think is interesting about this chart here?

[Ian Boyd]

Blake Bryan is right. Every loss in 22 is one possession in like four or five or fourth quarter leads. I think you're thinking 2021. That may have been true in both seasons. I can't quite remember. Texas Tech in 2022 says Ryan Nelson. That's correct. Yeah. So Texas used to be bad at this, but they've not been bad at it since Stark really got rolling.

[Tex Homer]

They have some other ones, but Texas is not even on the list on some of these. Let's see here. So this is comeback artist recording games when trailing by seven plus since 2021. And then Texas is right here. I don't know if you can see it. See 10 games and right next to OU at the bottom. 10 games point percentage. Right next to SMU. OU, MI. It's hiding right behind OU here in the bottom left corner. So. So Texas is not known as a comeback artist here. Once again, Georgia is a. Is a freaky outlier as they were. This, this is like a. The story of Georgia really these charts. But the point too is when Texas is behind, they don't come back either.

[Ian Boyd]

I feel like that's probably partly an artifact of the Queen yours era.

[Tex Homer]

It could be.

[Ian Boyd]

Texas is very good at getting out to leads and they would lose a lot of steam when the script was up with also with Casey Thompson, certainly with Quinn yours. I think Arch Manning has a whole lot more comeback artists in him than those guys.

[Tex Homer]

I mean run like that helps comeback artistry too.

[Ian Boyd]

I think being able to run like that and also his ability to execute progression passing so like he can get into a game and figure out the coverage and find an open guy. He doesn't need the play to be scripted open for him to find an open receiver. So Dre from Va. 757. That was 2021 that you're thinking of that awful game.

[Tex Homer]

I was at that game and it sucked.

[Ian Boyd]

I was in a wedding. I like went into the ceremony with Texas on like a seven touchdown lead and I was like, I can't believe this is happening.

[Tex Homer]

That was the biggest high and low I felt in a single game.

[Ian Boyd]

I come out of the ceremony, I look at my phone and I see like the. The quick score by Oklahoma and I'm like, oh my God. I see Texas score at the very ends laid on the deep pasta worthy. And I'm like, okay. And then they do the thing where they like announce the bridal party and you come out into the reception area. And I had to do that. And I was like, hey everybody. And I go into a corner and like reload the phone and it's like the kickoff and the like immediate score by was what a terrible game.

[Tex Homer]

So comeback artist since 2021 factors Texas is still since 2021, this has not been a strength of Texas. And then it's George is good at it. And then clutch performers. I was trying to even look for us on here in the clutch performers metric. But you see once again Georgia and Michigan are actually taking the lead there when it matters. But I don't even see Texas on this graph.

[Ian Boyd]

I'm honored to make history and to make my community proud. What a brilliant tackle from Naomi Kerma. What would you like the power to do?

[Bank of America Announcer]

Bank of America proud to be the official bank of US Soccer bank of America NA member fdse.

[Tex Homer]

But really cool, really cool charts. Really cool way to visualize the fourth quarter there because it can be tough to. Because it the fourth quarter will stick out in wrong ways to you sometimes or you'll find a trend that's not there, but this is a good way to go about it. So all of that showing you all of that, just to get back to what Dre was actually asking, do you think Sark will switch it up and go for more kill shots, or will he continue his approach?

[Ian Boyd]

I think he'll do whichever he's better at. If it's padding the score with an extra touchdown, he'll do that. If it's sitting on the ball like Michigan or Georgia are doing to score so high in these, then he'll do that. And I don't. I don't think he cares, which it is. I think he'd like to be able to. Maybe he'd like to be able to run the ball, but I think we'll see him. If he's like, I should get one more touchdown here in the third quarter to put this away. I don't. I think he'll do that. They're like, hey, Arch, look for Coleman on this one. They're getting a little nosy. Let's throw it deep. I think. I think they'll do that.

[Tex Homer]

Because of the new personnel.

[Ian Boyd]

Yeah. Okay. Because it'll play to the strengths.

[Tex Homer]

Because that's my thing in the third quarter. That's. The third quarter, particularly, has been weird for scoring with Texas. Sometimes in the fourth, they'll come back because it becomes more crystallized and real. But it's. It's. They can have weird third quarters. I don't know why you don't go for kill shots. I mean, I really don't. Is if you can hit them. I can understand, like, when Quinn couldn't hit deep or something like that, but I don't know why you wouldn't.

[Ian Boyd]

Those Georgia and Michigan numbers are why you don't. Because those teams don't care. And they do this better than anyone.

[Tex Homer]

They're. They're better. I don't know about Michigan, but Georgia is the real outlier. They're better executors than us.

[Ian Boyd]

They were with Harbaugh.

[Tex Homer]

Yeah. And Harbaugh from Michigan. They're. They're better executors in the run game. We're not great runners. So it's like, when we do it, it seems like we're choosing the weaker of our two hands. Like, Georgia never has receivers, but it's like, we do have elite receivers. So sometimes we forsake our explosive upside, which is what the whole offense is. Is explosivity, and then choose to go to a weaker style of play.

[Ian Boyd]

I. I remember I could remember multiple games very Easily off the top of my head, where Texas stalled. Stop scoring in the third quarter, even though Sark was trying to dial it up in the passing game. And then Sark would say, screw it. Just run Wisner for the rest of the game and win that way. Because the passing game, they couldn't hit the kill shots. They would miss them.

[Tex Homer]

That's why I think it'll be different with this team, because we couldn't hit. I think you need to do that for two reasons, too. It matters what the playoff committee thinks. Period. They're the decision makers. It matters what they think, no matter what. They are the ultimate gatekeeper. So they like big scores. They're. They're simple in that way.

[Ian Boyd]

You bring up James Oliver's Lament at 9:49. Yeah, go ahead.

[Tex Homer]

All gas, no breaks means 10 offensive touchdowns. You don't stop until you get there. Defensive touchdowns don't count.

[Ian Boyd]

He's joking. But Sark was actually very clear. Now, it's. I'm not. It's Cir's own fault, but he was very clear when he got here that all gas, no breaks did not mean we're going to try to score as many points in football games as we possibly can. He was explicit in explaining that the point of the mantra was we're going into this full steam. Everything we do, not pausing to look around. We're just, like, racing ahead to get this program on track. And like this, like the aggressive attitude as a philosophy to life and as a philosophy to football and development was the point of all gas, no breaks. And fans heard what they wanted to hear, which is, we're gonna score 40, 50 points a game, like my last Alabama team did.

[Tex Homer]

To be fair, man, that's a very reasonable interpretation of it.

[Ian Boyd]

It is very reasonable. Yeah, but I hear. I hear, like, every day still, like, on the message board, people are like, what happened? All gas, no brakes. And it's like, that was the point of. It was never what you thought it was. And he tried. I don't. I. I get it. That's. Of course. That's why fans latched onto it.

[Tex Homer]

But if I. If you were just to tell me a coach said all gas, no breaks, I would think it means aggression on field.

[Ian Boyd]

He. He. Yeah.

[Tex Homer]

Not aggression in meetings. Like, get this done in the meeting.

[Ian Boyd]

It's like, no, but here's a part of this.

[Tex Homer]

It's a fan mantra, too. Sold to the fans. Of course. It should materialize on the field.

[Ian Boyd]

He meant it as aggression on the field, too, but not necessarily aggression like our Goal is not to try to win games. It's to score as many points as possible. That was never the deal. James says if you score 70, it's hard to lose. James, you'd be surprised.

[Tex Homer]

Go back to like old Big 12.

[Ian Boyd]

I've seen some Big 12 games. I've seen some because Liberty Hill run the ball every play. But they use tempo.

[Tex Homer]

Yeah.

[Ian Boyd]

And they just try to score all the time. I've seen some wild stuff. Will Hammond with Hudo played a game against Liberty Hill before he graduated. The current Texas Tech quarterback there was like 77 to 70.

[Tex Homer]

I missed that era of the Big 12 too. Man, that was a fun era. I, I was in like late high school during that era and it was just fun to watch whoever played it was absolutely great. But I think so Ian saying, but this personnel and the fact that we can hit shots. He thinks we don't have to just hang out in the third or get frustrated early in the third trying to hit deep and then realizing it's not going to happen and then just shutting off the offense. Turning into a run centric offense to try to kill clock. The goal is to score more points than your opponent. I agree.

[Ian Boyd]

If y' all watched Spain win the World Cup, a big trick to them was they really emphasized the opponent's not scoring with their approach.

[Tex Homer]

Yeah, but they also took like 50 shots on goal. They just didn't come go in.

[Ian Boyd]

No, they didn't.

[Tex Homer]

Yeah, they did. Spain had a ton of shots on goal. Argentina has like zero shots on goal all game. They did have a good defense, but they were also very aggressive offensively. They just didn't score.

[Ian Boyd]

But eventually they did with Argentina. Maybe with France everyone was like, France is so overpowered. France can score on anybody. You can't stop France. Yeah. And Spain shut them down mostly just by never allowing the ball to be be in a position where France could use it to shoot out their goal.

[Tex Homer]

But I think that's the point is like we know now that championship teams do both. Like you can have the elite defense, you can have the elite offense. So I don't think it's either or.

[Ian Boyd]

Well, no, but Spain. A big part of Spain's defense was the way that they possessed the ball.

[Tex Homer]

Right. But I'm are possessing the ball. We're not executors in the run game. So we, we say it like that they had ball control but they were still going three and out on these runs. So it's like if it was like hyper effective and they were putting together these monster drives they might have one where they actually drive the field in game and score in the second quarter. They might have one.

[Ian Boyd]

They were good at that in 24 and they want to be good at that this year if they can. In Georgia. The reason Georgia is so good is because Georgia can do that.

[Tex Homer]

Exactly. But the point is we normally can't. So that's why I understand the global strategy of it. But it doesn't matter if you can't really do it well.

[Ian Boyd]

But people are talking global philosop philosophy here.

[Tex Homer]

So I'm talking local. But it's like I would. If you can do what Georgia does, have at it. But we don't do that. So it's like. But also if you stand deep and can't complete, you also can't do that either. So it seems like there's a whole execution issue going on sometimes for the offense.

[Ian Boyd]

Georgia also loses in the playoffs every year, so.

[Tex Homer]

Yeah.

[Ian Boyd]

Still have that firepower.

[Tex Homer]

Yeah.

[Ian Boyd]

You can't just run the clock out in the playoffs.

[Tex Homer]

Yep. All right. Any final thoughts? We got way off track there, but any final thoughts from your 11 personnel article or you think we got the. The crux of it?

[Ian Boyd]

I think so. I'm sitting on some stuff that I've heard about it that we. Is more proprietary.

[Tex Homer]

What do you think it would actually look like? Non proprietary. What do you think it would actually look like on the field? What does having big receivers mean? Do they spread out? Are they going towards the box? How does that work?

[Ian Boyd]

Just more bunch formations.

[Tex Homer]

Okay.

[Ian Boyd]

There's so much you can do from bunch.

[Tex Homer]

There was. I do want to show the fans so they just have a visual on this. Getting these guys in here like this. Now you can get smaller guys to block smaller guys. And so it even looks like, you know, if you're just from a distance, it would look like personnel, you know, because it's in so tight. But that's gonna. These are the kind of looks we mean when we say bunch and wide receivers blocking. They're going to be trying to dig out ends, nickels, corners, all that kind of stuff to give you some of the functionality of 12. But in 11 personnel while still having the ability to flex out at any point and really tap into 11 personnel.

[Ian Boyd]

This duo stuff that they can do from it too is particularly good because like yeah, here's Ole Miss doing it to Georgia. They have a slot as the fullback. He doesn't even touch anyone. Go back up. This is like duo. And when you have maybe small, fast, athletic guards that you're not sure if they can really drive block people, well, if the if they have double team help on both defensive tackles and then your running backs are both unreal at bouncing runs outside because they're so agile, then this play becomes murderous because it just it hits downhill. You have combo blocks in both tackles. It's really hard for the defenses to not get creased up the middle against double teams. But then if you sell out inside, Relique Brown will bounce that outside of the receivers and just house it.

[Tex Homer]

I I can get annoyed with condensed formations. I don't always love them, but when you have a speed bag it's perfect because if any of those corners lose their leverage in any way shape or form, it is wide open like then Relik just has to be to safety around the corner if they don't even get pulled into the box. I love the I love fastback condensed sets. Other than that, I think condensed sets can just bring a if you're not a good executor, all you're doing is inviting more people to break the play. So you have to be able to execute. Your guys have to win one on ones. Otherwise you've just located all of the defenders right next to a ball carrier.

[Ian Boyd]

It's very good against man and man match. We won our flag football championship majoring in bunch formations because the other top teams kept playing man coverage. And it gets really difficult because you can release like in the bunch side. The stuff you can do route wise is so difficult because like every defense has to default to telling the corner like whoever the wait for the first one out of the bunch and then just get that guy. Don't try to get this guy and then chase him through all that mess through the box. And the same thing happens in the run too where like maybe your corner is decently positioned to force the edge, but maybe your corner is not a guy that is up for that. Maybe he's small, maybe he's timid and then you're like best run defenders can just get caught in the wash and it doesn't even really matter that no one gets a real physical block on them just because the mess of bodies makes it impossible for them to get where they need to go.

[Tex Homer]

I think Smothers is really good at that too. From watching him. He can like walk into the middle of nonsense, three guys around him and then just work his way. I think he'll be really good on the interior. Do you expect kind of this in our run scheme? Do you expect basically like vertical duo bunch type stuff paired with outside Zone are those kind of the two run

[Ian Boyd]

schemes you're thinking and pin and pull?

[Tex Homer]

Yeah.

[Ian Boyd]

So, like, if that Y can block. If the Y can block the end one on one and do a passable job, then you can do all kinds of stuff. You can do duo. Duo is much, much better if you can do that. But you can also, like, pin that end and then pull the tackle around. So get Siani or Trevor Goosby out on the edge where they're extremely good. You can pull the center around and have.

[Tex Homer]

This is why we wanted Mazunis initially.

[Ian Boyd]

Yeah.

[Tex Homer]

For this exact role. Because if that tight end can handle an end you unlock a lot, you're in trouble.

[Ian Boyd]

All of Texas's linemen can pull. They're all athletic.

[Tex Homer]

Yep.

[Ian Boyd]

Connor Robertson is actually, like, really good at it. And then actually, I don't know if I've seen Seymour or Baker do it, but I'd be surprised if they aren't at least adequate because they're mobile.

[Tex Homer]

Siani does on tape really well. So that'll be the big key for 11. All right, we have some SEC poll stuff to talk, and I'm sure people. I think actually this one's been pretty non controversial. Most people.

[Ian Boyd]

You hit the commercial yet?

[Tex Homer]

That's what I was going to say. I was. Thank you. But before we do that, 30 minutes.

[Ian Boyd]

Connor, I was getting nervous for you.

[Tex Homer]

But before we do that, let's hear a word from old Drew right here. If you run a business in Texas, it could be real estate, construction or manufacturing. You should talk to fellow Longhorn Drew Smith with Hub International. Most businesses outgrow their insurance, but they never update it. And Drew builds coverages around the business you have today, finding coverage gaps before they become those costly claims. When something does go wrong, Hub's dedicated Central Texas claims team are actually there to help. And in one case, Drew helped overturn a denied fire claim and got paid in full. The market is changing fast, but if your agent's only answer is it's a hard market, it's time to call Drew Smith at 210-393-8-3820. That is 210-393-8382. Make sure you talk to Drew before your renewal, not after. Contact information is down there and that their description. Alrighty, let's talk poll. This was non controversial. I think everyone was actually okay with it because of what we experienced with Georgia.

[Ian Boyd]

Okay, okay, hold on. The media took aside in a very notable conflict with this result.

[Tex Homer]

Okay.

[Ian Boyd]

LSU being all the way down at fifth and Ole Miss being Way up at third. Is everybody siding with Ole Miss in the divorce?

[Tex Homer]

In the divorce? I agree. I think that was. Yeah, I think that's fair. I think LSU will be better, but I understand the, the psychology of like, I like Ole Miss better than LSU after that situation. But I do think LSU will be better than Ole Miss.

[Ian Boyd]

I also think Vanderbilt is maybe too high and Mississippi State is too low. Yeah, I, I get that Vanderbilt has like, lots of solid players and I'm sure they still have a ton of veterans, but playing a freshman quarterback to do everything Diego Pavia did, I just don't think that's going to go well.

[Tex Homer]

Yeah, Pavia was. He was, he wasn't just in too much in that he was, he was the machine, the driver. Both like emotionally, but also he was the thing that connected the whole offense together. Now Curtis is a, a great prospect and all of that, but we just don't know anything there. But I would agree. I like Camario Taylor's upside at Mississippi State. I like Levy's offense. They were close on a lot of games last year. They just didn't learn how to finish. Maybe last year was the year they learned. They need to learn how to finish. I don't. I would agree with that analysis. A lot of people too said Kentucky was too low. They think Stein's gonna get after it in year one.

[Ian Boyd]

Oh, yeah. I don't know.

[Tex Homer]

But they often never name who should be below them. They'll be like, that person's too low. It's like, well, who do you want to move down? And they're like, no one. I don't want to move anyone down. So you have to think like that too.

[Ian Boyd]

But I'll tell you, like, if you study any of these teams and consider a best case scenario for them, you could talk yourself into any. Like, I'm used to doing this in the Big 12. Right. All of these teams, I could make a case is making the Big 12 championship game in a given year in the 2010s.

[Tex Homer]

Yeah.

[Ian Boyd]

Which I know we're about to get into more of that. But these teams have so much more talent than the Big 12 teams of the past. And that also gets you into trouble when you're trying to do. You're trying to pick schedule outcomes. And you're like, you see auburn, that's picked 12th. You see Tennessee, that's picked 8th. And you're like, okay, www no, it's not just an automatic W. Those teams are going to beat teams next year that we're not supposed to lose. To them.

[Tex Homer]

We just did a short that's coming out. I can't remember the exact number. You'll see something like since like the 90s, the preseason poll has picked the winner correctly like 10 times. And I'd like to see it too, for like each kind of spot. But the preseason poll is. Is not a hyper accurate thing. So there's that factor too.

[Zepbound Advertiser]

What?

[Ian Boyd]

There's too many teams now. The people that are voting in the poll don't know all these rosters that well.

[Tex Homer]

Yep. Did you get to vote on this?

[Ian Boyd]

Yeah.

[Tex Homer]

Yeah.

[Ian Boyd]

Here's another thing. The voters in these polls may or may not be taking it that seriously.

[Tex Homer]

Are you talking about yourself?

[Ian Boyd]

Are you admitting from the bar with Evan and are just like dozing off watching Troy on tv?

[Tex Homer]

Did you. What was your. Who was your number one? Georgia.

[Ian Boyd]

I can't remember. Actually.

[Tex Homer]

You can't even remember number one.

[Ian Boyd]

I'm telling you, I was gonna. I think I was gonna do Georgia and then I was like, no, screw it. Like, Texas is gonna be really, really good. I don't. I think they're better than Georgia this year. I'll just put them number one.

[Tex Homer]

Yeah, you do a whole article here. You had a one ahead of it. Do you want to do your first kind of six points to this talking about teams or you want to go right into their differentiator scheduling?

[Ian Boyd]

Six. Six points.

[Tex Homer]

Talk about six teams right here.

[Ian Boyd]

Oh, yeah, yeah, sure.

[Tex Homer]

Okay, so these are your first kind of top line thoughts here.

[Ian Boyd]

I think these are like universal. Everyone is on the same page with the. With the voting. Right. Number one, Georgia is in the SEC championship every year. We just saw all the charts. They don't lose games, hardly ever. So that feels really safe. Just put Georgia number one until they're not Georgia anymore. Okay. 2. Everyone agrees that Sark put together just an unbelievably talented roster. It's insane not to put them really high. 3. This one maybe not be quite as given or it should maybe be lower. This is how I thought about it. Lsu also insane roster talent. Lane Kiffin is used to putting these teams together. Don't count out lsu. Ole Miss, best player in the conference. Maybe Trinidad. Shameless. You could also say best player in the conference. Kiwan Lacey. Some people might think that as well. Return a bunch of defensive linemen, add some more in the transfer portal. Just went to the semi finals with some of the Same core guys. A M11 one last year. Marcel Reed could get better. Lots of talent. And then Oklahoma I. People are going way overboard with this, but Oklahoma having that Brent Venables defense and then getting all this personnel to where they could actually run the ball this season. Yeah, it makes so much sense why they would just be really good.

[Tex Homer]

The dark horse. Unfortunately. Dude, they made the playoffs with like no offense. Like it was, it was a good coaching job by Venables. It was not a good preseason coaching job by Venables to not have an offense in place. But they, they overperformed for what they had.

[Ian Boyd]

They got.

[Tex Homer]

What do you mean? Ah, they had no tight ends, they had no run game, they had no like Satania. Right. But no freaky wide receiver. Mater was hurt and he's a little bit schizophrenic with his play style. Like I, I can't ask you to give them credit, but it's like they did to get to the playoffs with that on offense. It's been significantly upgraded.

[Ian Boyd]

All right. Okay. I'll give our buckle a little credit because Arbuckle would hit like one or two big plays every game with Satania just, just like draw something up to get him loose in space and Satania would take off. And that was enough because they had that the bicycle shorts kicker and their defense was. Not only was the defense playing really well, but the defense would put that offense. They were like spoon feeding games to the offense with turnovers and field position. The other thing with Oklahoma is that preseason you looked at the schedule and it was like this is a murderer's row.

[Tex Homer]

Yeah. They tried to hold on to that even when the season was over.

[Ian Boyd]

Yeah, LSU collapsed.

[Tex Homer]

Yeah.

[Ian Boyd]

Auburn hit. Worst case scenario. Alabama was super beat up when they played them. Alabama got like a little bit healthier for the playoffs and then destroyed Oklahoma in the playoffs in Norman. Tennessee was like a really impressive win. I think Tennessee was like Michigan.

[Tex Homer]

Michigan turned out to be a solid team but they were super, they were super fresh in their season when that happened.

[Ian Boyd]

Yeah, Michigan was not that good. Tennessee, Tennessee was whooping that butt and they kept like shooting themselves in the foot with like how many interceptions and turnovers did they have? Tennessee like they should have won that game like easily. And then they kept turning the ball over. A credit to was Auburn.

[Tex Homer]

The one that the refs single handedly like took three scores off the board or whatever. Was that the Auburn game Chat? What was the game where the refs. I'm not even a ref guy. Those refs legitimately changed the outcome of that game. I can't.

[Ian Boyd]

Well, I mean there was the, there was the cheating play or Satania pretended to go off the field, there was,

[Tex Homer]

like, a brutal broad daylight pass interference that didn't get called right in front of the ref. And normally I'm like, let him play. But that one was egregious. Yeah, it was Auburn.

[Ian Boyd]

Yeah.

[Tex Homer]

They shouldn't even have beat Auburn if the refs. The refs had avoided, like, gave a touchdown and took two away, like, 21 points. Refs got involved into that game.

[Ian Boyd]

Yeah.

[Tex Homer]

So the point remains the same. If Matier grows up, they have a run game. All of that paired with the defense. The dark horse pick here is a reasonable one to have.

[Ian Boyd]

Yeah, they're. They're a very popular dark horse. J.D. pickell, I mean, it feels like he has, like, a gimmick to oversell Oklahoma every freaking year. But he picked him to go 11 and 1 the other day, which is remarkable. It'd be. That'd be quite a season.

[Tex Homer]

I'd have to see their schedule. I wouldn't know. I think 10 and 10 and 2. But like I said, if I'm not looking at their schedule, I can't just make up.

[Ian Boyd]

All right, all right, all right, all right. We're gonna have to do this now. You know, you can't just throw this red meat in front of me.

[Tex Homer]

Let me pull it up, because I'm the one that actually bring it on screen.

[Ian Boyd]

All righty. 11 and 1 is very generous in my estate.

[Tex Homer]

I just have to. Look, I can't just say they're nine and whatever if I don't even know who they're playing necessarily.

[Ian Boyd]

They could be a very good team and win.

[Tex Homer]

UTEP dub, Michigan dub, New Mexico at Michigan.

[Ian Boyd]

Not just an automatic W. I don't know how.

[Tex Homer]

I don't know how quick Whittingham's gonna get it going. Who I believe in. And I don't know how much I believe in Bryce either.

[Ian Boyd]

On the road against a Michigan defense.

[Tex Homer]

Allow me to work in Michigan dub, New Mexico Dub, Georgia L, Texas L. So I'm already not 11. One did. Who did he have them losing to?

[Ian Boyd]

Georgia.

[Tex Homer]

Georgia, Kentucky. I'm not doing the one team that can upset you. Just. We're setting Vegas lines here. Kentucky dub, Mississippi State dub, South Carolina dub, Florida dub, Ole Miss maybe.

[Ian Boyd]

Dude. Dude.

[Tex Homer]

Texas A M. Maybe L. So I could have them with four here.

[Ian Boyd]

They're gonna. They're gonna beat A M. Because A M has.

[Tex Homer]

They're gonna make. They're gonna make Reed work.

[Ian Boyd]

No A M plays. Okay, A M plays Texas six days after they play at Oklahoma. Oh, and they have to. Elko has to beat Texas. So I don't think A M can give Oklahoma a winning effort and winning enough attention. So that's a great.

[Tex Homer]

I see three or four here. So yeah, I'm against the 11 one. Sorry, J.D.

[Ian Boyd]

this is what I was just talking about though, because JD Goes through it and he did the same thing you do. He's like, dub, dub, dub. It's like, no, those are not freaking automatic W's to go.

[Tex Homer]

They're not. But we, we're just going with Vegas lines like, who's the favorite?

[Ian Boyd]

Vegas is not gonna. Vegas is gonna Vegas.

[Tex Homer]

I'm correct.

[Ian Boyd]

But otherwise we'll figure out what your odds are at Vegas to bet on Oklahoma. They're. They're set at seven and a half wins, Connor.

[Tex Homer]

Yeah, but I'm saying seven and a half is actually impressive. I'm not agreeing with JD Here. I just said they could have four losses. But I'm saying it's still impossible to go Kentucky, maybe Mississippi State. Maybe it's that exercise.

[Ian Boyd]

The road games though. The road games. You have to, you have to give it. Texas was this close to 7 and 5 because they barely beat Mississippi State on the road. And they barely beat Kentucky on the road.

[Tex Homer]

Yeah. So where do you have them at? What's the number that's reasonable to you?

[Ian Boyd]

All right. I think utep, New Mexico, I think Kentucky at home. I think A M at home. Those are like at least four automatics. I mean A M at home is not an automatic, but I feel pretty good about that. I think. Let's see here. They have one, two, three, four road games in the sec. Let's say they split those. So they're six and two. And then it depends on Texas and Michigan and like Ole Miss at home. So I, I think 8 and 4 and 9 or 9 and 3, unless you know, if Mater gets injured again, of course. But the way that dude plays increases likelihood.

[Tex Homer]

They are back to your chart here. So you kind of go through each groups here kind of spots. Let's talk about Texas, what you're thinking here. So I'll read it aloud.

[Ian Boyd]

Oh, that was the point of this article, wasn't it? Was these schedules.

[Tex Homer]

Yeah, but I got, I brought up. Oh, you might having a better season.

[Ian Boyd]

We were on the right, we were on the right topic.

[Tex Homer]

All right, Texas for me, Florida is emerging as one of the better dark horse options to make the playoffs from the middle of the pack just based on their roster. The fact that they have to travel to both Texas and Georgia does put a damper on that. The Longhorns will play both rivalry way games away from Austin and go to Death Valley in Tennessee there. So are you doing this exercise how you did with Oklahoma? Are you. You're still factoring in the question marks for Texas too?

[Ian Boyd]

I. The pr. The premise of this was that in the last few years, the easiest way to pick the top finishers in the SEC was to go look at the schedules and figure out who dodged all the bombs.

[Tex Homer]

Yeah.

[Ian Boyd]

Because like, we thought Oklahoma was finished going into last year because their schedule looked like it was filled with landmines. But then a bunch of the teams that were supposed to be landmines fizzled. Like lsu.

[Tex Homer]

Yeah.

[Ian Boyd]

Texas and Missouri. And there's another team in the last couple years have very notable favorable schedule draws. Like the year that Texas went to the SEC championship in year one, their SEC schedule was like kind of a joke.

[Tex Homer]

Yeah, it was.

[Ian Boyd]

It's like unbelievable how like the.

[Tex Homer]

The fans will get mad too, because all the fans would say it's the easy drawing. It's not an easy. It's like, guys, this was.

[Ian Boyd]

Billy Lucci got just ratioed to hell because he had been talking up for so long. It's like SEC schedules are different. You can't just come in here and put up wins. Like, the schedule's too hard. And then Texas did it and Lucci was like, y' all got an easy schedule.

[Tex Homer]

Yeah.

[Ian Boyd]

So he looked dumb, but he was right.

[Tex Homer]

Yep.

[Ian Boyd]

And then I think it flipped back on him again last year because A M played like the bottom 10 teams of the league or something. The bottom eight teams of the league?

[Tex Homer]

Yeah.

[Ian Boyd]

Poor Luch. Yeah. So the point of this exercise is to find out if there's a team that, with the new nine game schedule, are there teams that get a decent draw or are they all like, you have to be great or it's just not going to happen. Like that 2023 Missouri team, or whichever team it was, could never finish the same way. With these new nine game schedules, were

[Tex Homer]

you able to successfully find this team?

[Ian Boyd]

There is a team that I think has a better draw than most, and that is lsu.

[Tex Homer]

Damn.

[Ian Boyd]

So they have at Ole Miss early and you're like, that's one of the toughest games in the year. They're going to be out for blood. They're gonna have to like check people for weapons going in that they don't try to kill Lane Kiffin. Right. Then after that, it's not so bad because they get Texas and Tennessee and Alabama and Mississippi State all at home. And Texas A M Like how in the world. Yeah, the road games. Kentucky, Auburn. Oh, this is at Tennessee. Okay. At Tennessee and at Arkansas, like those are all pretty manageable, right?

[Tex Homer]

Yeah.

[Ian Boyd]

So yeah. They're just the fact that they. Their schedule is so home heavy and they just happen to have maybe the best home field advantage in the sec. Right. I don't know. I don't know what the consensus on that is. I think LSU is considered to be pretty far up there.

[Tex Homer]

Once again, I never know. Do you have a home field advantage or is your football team just very good? You know, it's. I'm very of home field advantages. I agree with spectacles like coolest stadium or whatever. But it's like you would have to look at the spread and see if they overperform it. And it's like is the home field

[Ian Boyd]

advantage because you can't over perform this. If you're consistent at it, you the spread will reflect it. In Vegas spreads magic market very notoriously consider home field advantage.

[Tex Homer]

They do, but it's cons. It's generally consistent in that what, two to three points.

[Ian Boyd]

I. I know Urban Meyer used to say that when Ohio State would play Penn State in a night whiteout game that he thought the Vegas point spread was about a touchdown in favor of Penn State. He was like, that's how much of a difference it made. If you're on the road at night at lsu, I think that that's worth a lot.

[Tex Homer]

Do you think Vegas is giving seven points on that?

[Ian Boyd]

No, not. Not every week.

[Tex Homer]

That's what I'm saying. That's why I don't. You're over performing or if you're over performing your spread, then I consistently over time then I do think so. But it's mostly an argument that I use against A M all the time because they don't over perform the spread at home. Therefore it's not a home field advantage. Even though it might be cool to look at. I think Tennessee has the coolest like spectacle.

[Ian Boyd]

All right.

[Tex Homer]

Stadium.

[Ian Boyd]

Since 2000 the Tigers are 112 and 15 in Saturday night games in Death Valley. Not against the spread, just total.

[Tex Homer]

Yeah but I'm saying how do we decouple that from that's a really good football team versus that fan yelling in section B had a factor. You get what I'm saying? Because technically a home field advantage would be a team that's actually not that good and the field is winning them games. But it's like if their average score in winning games was three, then you could say home field advantage but their average score is 10. Then they're still outperforming by 7 points. Does that make sense? This is not really worth going into 10 minutes on. But that, that's my, that's my thought is like, I don't know how you truly decouple that. But I'm not denying that LSU is a cool place to play. I just, I think home field is a, is a little overhyped besides the three points or whatever at this.

[Ian Boyd]

I don't know how you say that. Watching Texas the last couple years. I, I, There have been so many games the last two years where like, we've been like, this is gonna be tough for Texas. And then it's in DKR and it's not tough. And then there's like road games where it's like, whatever, Kentucky, no big deal, Mississippi State. And it's a huge deal.

[Tex Homer]

Yeah. But I don't think it was because Kroger Field was messing with us. You know, it's like it. I don't think. Yeah, I don't, I don't. The cowbells are super annoying. I could never be a Mississippi State fan just because of the annoyance of that. But I don't think it was their fields that did that to us, was,

[Ian Boyd]

I think the fields. I think it has a lot to do with it.

[Tex Homer]

I think there's something to do with comfort. Not fan, audible fan noise, but I think there's something to do with comfort that they're used to playing. They practice on that field. I think there's something there that, but

[Ian Boyd]

just no audible fan noise is enormous. It's hard to get your signals in. It's hard to, it's hard to communicate.

[Tex Homer]

It can be, but it's not. My, my point is I think it's overvalued. Not that it does not exist. That three points is not the same as a 10 point advantage for a good team.

[Ian Boyd]

Three points is meaningful though.

[Tex Homer]

But no one's just winning by three is what I'm trying to say, Ian. They're winning by 10 and 14. Like they're the better team if it. So that's my point is that oftentimes the fans with the great stadium or the great teams that have great stadiums is because they're great teams. They're historically great. They got a bunch of fans. They got the money to go to 100 cap because of their team's success. That's why Iowa state doesn't have 100 cap. So it's like, I think the quality of the team comes precedes all of that.

[Ian Boyd]

Yeah, but the stadium makes a big difference and the SEC stadiums are extremely hard to play in. Yeah.

[Tex Homer]

Yes, I agree. You're not. You're not listening what I'm saying. I think it is a factor. I do not think it's as big

[Ian Boyd]

of a factor as how good the team is.

[Tex Homer]

Correct.

[Ian Boyd]

Well, duh.

[Tex Homer]

Yeah, but that's my point. If we're talking the math of it, three points and 10 points, I don't think it mattered. It would be far more interesting if a team was dead even. There's no spread, and then that team like a hundred times has won by three. Exactly. By like home team advantage. That's where it'd be like, this is a very crystallized.

[Ian Boyd]

That's what Vegas assumes.

[Tex Homer]

They're giving three. They're not winning by three. Let's move on to the next next topic. We can discuss this ourselves, but I don't want to take 10 minutes out. All right. So you think LSU is the one here?

[Ian Boyd]

They have the most. The most favorable schedule.

[Tex Homer]

Yeah, I think.

[Ian Boyd]

And they're also really good. So I already include them. Like, to me, the top three rosters are probably Georgia, Texas and lsu, maybe Ole Miss, maybe Alabama, depending on. They have a few different things that are hard to tell at this juncture. Like are they playing Keelan Russell and where is he at, you know? Or is it Austin Mack? And

[Bank of America Announcer]

soccer teaches us lessons we can take with us long after we leave the field. That's why bank of America and U. S Soccer are committed to helping bring soccer to every school. Raise your hand to help of a.com soccer@schools.

[Ian Boyd]

Hello. I have an eye on Alabama, but to me, those are like the clear, most talented rosters. And if you look at the schedules, LSU schedule is very favorable to them. Unless, like honor, you believe that playing in Death Valley is meaningless.

[Tex Homer]

Yes, that's. That is the quote. All right, Georgia, Ryan Nelson. I think Georgia has the easiest of the contender schedule. You say here they don't have to play at Texas or lsu, which helps, but they do get everyone else. And we'll have to play two to three road games of real significance. This is better than some other draws, though. If we know that they can close in fourth quarters. We know they go to the SEC championship all the time. They're not playing lsu. Who you think could be an easy dark horse winner? Texas, of course, we think could win it. Yeah. It seems like this could be an obvious pick and it makes sense because they're number one.

[Ian Boyd]

I think at one point I had Georgia, LSU as the SEC championship with Texas at like 10 and 2, making the playoffs and then having to prove themselves there instead of the SEC title picture. I don't remember where I landed though in that ballot. But yeah, Georgia, it depends. If, if Bama ends up not being that good then this schedule is not gonna. It's. It's going to be really hard to keep them from the title game. Right.

[Tex Homer]

So what do you think this means for Texas? Is ultimately that Texas see, you think we'll lose two SEC games? We did a show last night. I think the true or false statement was they're going to go 1101 and I said false. So I think 10 and 2 as well.

[Ian Boyd]

I think the most likely losses are Ohio State and lsu. And then could they lose a second SEC game? Absolutely. Better not time that with a loss to Ohio State. That's for sure. But

[Tex Homer]

it's a problem because I'm looking for breathability here and at times I think I see it, but then you have the factor of that they could rise up and upset you. So you're gonna have breathability before Ohio State, you're gonna breathability before Tennessee, but you're not going to have breathability before ou. Besides in a bye week, because I

[Ian Boyd]

am a God fearing man, unlike Connor, I immediately go to the road games as the ones where things can really go sideways on you. And I've already got LSU basically penciled in as a loss at A M is obviously going to be really big. Could decide the entire season at Missouri I just can't get that worried about. Maybe that'll look foolish at Tennessee obviously could be a landmine. I mean and then there's Oklahoma. Obviously Oklahoma is going to come for blood in that game.

[Tex Homer]

But it's like when I pick out the teams, it's like Ole Miss, well, it's like all right, we have Florida before, we should be fine. But also it's like what's summer all doing there? They also have a bunch of elite players. Like we tried to poach two of them off of their offense. I think Bob was obvious if one

[Ian Boyd]

of Florida and Ole Miss were on the road, I would feel really rough about trying to make the playoffs this year. Yeah, getting those ars enormous.

[Tex Homer]

And then I'm like, well lsu, we have Mississippi State, Missouri before. I think we'll be okay with Mississippi State. Even though Camaro Taylor could go, you know, sicko mode. I think I'm the same thing with you. I kind of question Missouri's actual success over the past seasons. Because of their light schedule. But I think that could be unwise and they could get you looking at lsu. So that's the problem is like, and then Arkansas, whatever, man. But it's like I don't see the necessary breaks that I want to see either, because I do get, I'm given pause at times even by these teams that wouldn't be favorited. So I do think the answer to me is I, I think we'll lose two games.

[Ian Boyd]

Yeah. I think I just put 11 and one in the round table. I go back and forth because sometimes I'm looking at Texas and I'm like, this is such a juggernaut team. I can't believe how much talent and overlapping, like positive, like reinforcing skill sets there are on this team. This is gonna be amazing what this team can do. And then other times I'm looking at the schedule and the other teams and I'm like, dear God, like there's like odds they'll, they'll be favored in every game. Maybe not lsu. This possible. Texas will be favored in every game at kickoff. But they, they are like so many losable games.

[Tex Homer]

Do you think Sark's ever outperformed his talent at Texas?

[Ian Boyd]

Has Cirque ever outperformed his talent, period?

[Tex Homer]

I, I, that was my initial thing that I was going to ask you, but I thought maybe it was too harsh sounding,

[Ian Boyd]

maybe some of his. Washington.

[Tex Homer]

You'd have to go to Washington.

[Ian Boyd]

I mean he's, he picks his spots. So it's not sounds, it sounds worse to question that than it really is because he's, you're always on loaded programs and of course you're gonna have loaded teams

[Tex Homer]

and he has maximized load of teams. I mean he has usc. Yeah.

[Ian Boyd]

Yeah.

[Tex Homer]

So he has done it.

[Ian Boyd]

Yeah. I don't, I don't know.

[Tex Homer]

I think the, I think the talent has to be so overwhelming, which it might be that sometimes that lack of execution just, it just doesn't, it doesn't matter. You have enough room to make those mistakes. You have enough room to have some dumb penalties. You have enough room to not to stall the run game out. At times

[Ian Boyd]

I can't help but be curious what another coach would do in the current iteration of Texas football. Yeah.

[Tex Homer]

If they didn't have control over the talent. Because there's, I think we wish for that too, is like, well, what if we had some real executing guy? It's like, yeah, but with the real executing guy, have Cam Coleman, was he, would he have Arch Manning? And so that's, that's why I get worried because sometimes, yeah, you do fantasize about it. But you're like, Sark's also built this roster that I don't know if everyone else would build.

[Ian Boyd]

Yep. You know, it's not a given. It's not a given at Texas that all the, that all the resources available are actually going to get recruited and leveraged. Correct. Like Mac Brown or Sarkeesian have done.

[Tex Homer]

Right. Or they don't have the offensive allure that Sark has. Right. Like players want to play for Sark because it's repeated how good offensively he is. Sometimes he is, sometimes he isn't. But it's still the, the idea out in football is that it's an elite offense so that helps game players too. That if you had like a defensive minded coach, there's no guarantee that you would allure Arch Manning, Cam Coleman, that kind of stuff too. I careful what you wish for.

[Ian Boyd]

I guess I. I don't understand how Texas has not had more top 10 defenses in the last 15 years.

[Tex Homer]

Defenses or offenses.

[Ian Boyd]

Or offenses. It's like it should be one of the easiest setups possible because you're the flagship program of Texas and the offenses in the state are unreal with its skill, talent and quarterback development in particular. So I, I don't know about that part.

[Tex Homer]

I just think overwhelming talent is what we needed. That's what we said going into the season. That's what I ultimately settled on. Not wishing for what I want to see on the field but like maximizing what Sar can do. And I think it's just you have to have more and bigger guns and I think we might have that. But it's still a tough schedule. Catch the wave. Thank you, man. Is relief Brown comparable to Darren Sprolls?

[Ian Boyd]

I don't think that's a good comp. I think Landon Williams callous. Is that the right sequence of those names?

[Bank of America Announcer]

Yes.

[Ian Boyd]

Landon Williams callous is very Sprols ish. Relique Brown is.

[Tex Homer]

I don't have a comp. You got one?

[Ian Boyd]

I think I could come up with one. He's small but he's not like sprols was like 5 foot 5 or something.

[Tex Homer]

Right.

[Ian Boyd]

I used to give out a fake award called the Darren Sprols Water Bug trophy for most outstanding tiny person.

[Tex Homer]

Douchebawn also later probably went on to win such thing.

[Ian Boyd]

Deuce Vaughn I believe won. A lot of guys won and I had these requirements where if you're this tall you could only weigh this much. If you're this tall you can only weigh this much. And Relique Brown is as far as running backs go. He's not really that tiny because he's like. He may only be like 58 or 5 9, but he's like £190. Yeah. So he's very compact and he's not like the real Sprouls is. Sprouls is shorter than me by a meaningful amount.

[Tex Homer]

Yeah.

[Ian Boyd]

Really. Brown is about my height and then plus 30 pounds of muscle.

[Tex Homer]

You would say Relik is smaller, but it's not a curiosity, you know, like some of those. Yeah, yeah.

[Ian Boyd]

So I feel like there's like a million guys like him and yet none of them are springing to mind. I'm trying to remember how big Eno Benjamin was. Another. Yeah, you know, Benjamin was 59207 kind of similar. I think Relique is actually more explosive than him. I don't know.

[Tex Homer]

Thanks for this. Ryan Nelson 2008 offense was the last time UT offense ranked in top 10 by advanced metrics. It was top five.

[Ian Boyd]

Yeah.

[Tex Homer]

Yeah. It's weird. It's very weird. We'll see if there's any year to do it. It has to be this year, right? I don't know which. We said it last night on the show, but it's like, I don't know what more Sark requires at this point. It's like you have the, you have the cool environment in Austin. You have academics in Austin. You have one of the bigger nil opportunities. Both, you know, paid by the school, but also just the market around you to pay athletes. You can get guys national deals. You get a Heisman contending quarterback, you get a first round wide receiver. Wingo can go somewhere in the early rounds. Mosley can go somewhere probably middle to late. Right. You have an offensive line that has a top 10 pick at tackle. Siani will be in the NFL. Baker will be in the NFL for sure. And then you have two dynamic back. I just don't know what more would be required to get a top 10 offense out on the field.

[Ian Boyd]

You know, it's funny if you go, if you go player by player, the NFL talent on that 08 roster is nothing compared to the NFL talent on these circ teams. But that 8 team was meaningfully better on offense. Yeah, they were old and skilled, Connor.

[Tex Homer]

Yep. So that's what we need to see. But ultimately I'm good with the media poll. There's a little bit of gripes here or there, but Georgia number one is fine. Texas is it too.

[Ian Boyd]

I probably LSU up what's your biggest gripe?

[Tex Homer]

I don't really have one. That's what I'm saying. Like, I thought this was a pretty fair distribution. Like, it all kind of makes sense here. Who's in the middle is who I think could rise up or drop. Who's at the bottom is who you kind of assume. I think my biggest gripe, honestly, might be Mississippi State at 15, and I would only move them up to like 11 or 10.

[Ian Boyd]

Yeah, right.

[Tex Homer]

You know, but I think that would actually be my biggest issue with it because the SEC does have the talent stack. So it's like any of those top five it could happen for and some in the middle it could happen for. So I'm not that mad about it. A m too high at 4. They should be 7. I don't know. The difference between 4 and 7 too, is like so minuscule here. So I think they actually, I think in aggregate, the jelly bean thing, you get enough people guessing, I think you get close to something. Correct. And I think they did that here.

[Ian Boyd]

Jelly bean what?

[Tex Homer]

The thing where, like, if you ask one person to guess how many jelly beans are in a jar, you're going to be way off. But if you ask a hundred people to guess, you get closer than the actual number. So it's the, it's the wisdom of the crowd. Mathematically proven. So the more, the more input you get on things like these, the closer to accurate they'll become.

[Ian Boyd]

Okay, yeah. It doesn't seem to work for the Big 12, but. All right.

[Tex Homer]

Yeah, that's the thing. But I. But I think it's, it's, it's the idea of, you know, voter polls. Right. They get it wrong sometimes, but on average, there's been some recent ones they got wrong that it'll stick out in your mind.

[Ian Boyd]

But on average, very different. That's a very different science.

[Tex Homer]

Well, the science is just sample size. That's like getting enough guesses will get you somewhere more reasonable. Single person, I think stream.

[Ian Boyd]

Either way, the reason asking more people will get you closer to the jelly bean count is because the more people you ask, the more likely it is that you ask the right people.

[Tex Homer]

Sure. But they.

[Ian Boyd]

It's not an average of the crowd.

[Tex Homer]

No, it is.

[Ian Boyd]

No, it's not. It's not. Because what happens if you ask 100 people? The good answers will carry the day.

[Tex Homer]

The good answers don't count any more than the bad answers.

[Ian Boyd]

So it's just the average of everyone.

[Tex Homer]

Correct.

[Ian Boyd]

So wisdom, it's still weighted. It's still good. The good votes, you Increase the likelihood of good votes that weigh it the right way.

[Tex Homer]

Sure. But yeah, it's still, it's still just a bell curve. You're right. And there will be less extremes. But the risk is you can ask any single person and it'll go wrong. But you're. That's why I think asking more people on a media poll is better. How many? How many they ask? They ask everyone who's at. In attendance.

[Ian Boyd]

Yeah.

[Tex Homer]

Okay.

[Ian Boyd]

They had like. Steering math in my head. Must have been 150 to 200 people that voted on it.

[Tex Homer]

Okay. And different, different types too. You would have like the site guys. But you also had some analysis guys and stuff like that too.

[Ian Boyd]

So.

[Tex Homer]

Yeah, I, I didn't think it was a controversial poll here. And the problem is we didn't, we didn't have time to get this strength of schedule. But I think it's reasonable because everyone's pretty good. So you don't want to blatantly argue yes or no on a lot of them because the gap is small at times.

[Ian Boyd]

Is the strength of schedule. Confirm what I said about LSU having one of the easier paths.

[Tex Homer]

I'd have to look at it real quick. Let me pull it up. Strength of schedule here. The problem everyone was mad about, if you have extra time, we can go a little extra. But the problem was everyone was mad about is that the SEC is the one with all the, you know, top 10 or whatever. So every other league was like that. This is a self fulfilling cycle. And of course ESPN is signed with sec. So therefore they have this base. But the reality is all they do is calculate FPI and then they make the FBIs play each other. And then they're like we don't even know what's in FBI. It's like yes we do. They tell you that it's returning production. It's coaching hires. Now we've done shows on that. What does coaching hires mean but do list of criteria. So it's not like they tip the scales here. For the sec they had a standard metric that they applied but Ohio State's still number eight. I don't know when the first time. I think it's Ohio State is the first time you have a non SEC team. Yeah. And then you don't have another one until Michigan at 16. But Arkansas with the toughest pass path here and oh you at number two. Right. So that can help your 9, 11 and 1.

[Ian Boyd]

Yeah. Yeah. No way. Come on.

[Tex Homer]

But also it should hurt our 111 Texas argument.

[Ian Boyd]

Oh yeah. For sure.

[Tex Homer]

So it's gonna be. It's gonna be tough, boys. It's gonna be tough. Just try to have fun this season. Everyone head over to Inside Texas. Join for $1 50 off your first year. Guys, season's about to start, camp's about to start. Bunch of team intel getting dropped, so come hang out with us. New members only old members. We still love you everyone. Stay locked in for the rest of the shows we got coming at you later today. See you later. Snoring Gasping for air during sleep Daytime

[Ian Boyd]

sleepiness I'm Shaquille o' Neal and this

[Tex Homer]

shouldn't be anybody's experience Ask your doctor about Zepbound Tirzepatide, the first and only FDA approved prescription medicine for moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea in adults with obesity.

[Zepbound Advertiser]

Zepbound is a prescription medicine used with a reduced calorie diet and increased physical activity to help adults with moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea and obesity to improve their OSA. Zepbound is approved as a 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5 or 15 milligram injection. Zepbound contains Tirzepatide and should not be used with other tirzepatide containing products or any GLP1 receptor agonist medicines. It is not known if Zepbound is safe and effective for use in children. Don't share needles or pens or reuse needles. Don't take if allergic to it or if you or someone in your family had medullary thyroid cancer or if you've had multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2. Tell your doctor if you get a lump or swelling in your neck. Stop Zepbound and call your doctor if you have severe stomach pain or a serious allergic reaction. Severe side effects may include inflamed pancreas or gallbladder problems. Tell your doctor if you experience vision changes before scheduled procedures with anesthesia. If you're nursing pregnant, plan to be or taking birth control pills, taking Zepbound with a sulfonylurea or insulin may cause low blood sugar. Side effects include nausea, diarrhea and vomiting, which can cause dehydration and worsen kidney problems.

[Tex Homer]

Talk to your doctor, call 1-800-545-5979 or

[Ian Boyd]

visit zepbound.lilly.com as a fan chosen for the Halftime Challenge, I love sports for

[Tex Homer]

a chance to win the big prize.

[Ian Boyd]

But when my half court heaves only goes half the distance, how embarrassing for him? I wonder, is sport clips better than sports? Because sport clips haircuts is sports on TV plus an expert haircut, hot steam towel, and massaging shampoo.

[Tex Homer]

Tear up his comically large check which is better than sports plus public embarrassment.

[Ian Boyd]

Sport Clips it's a game changer. Check it online at sport clips.com Soccer

[Bank of America Announcer]

teaches us lessons we can take with us long after we leave the field. That's why bank of America and US Soccer are committed to helping bring soccer to every school. Raise your hand to helpofa.com soccer@schools.