← The Bill and Doug Show: Ohio State Football Talk
The Bill and Doug Show: Ohio State Football Talk
Ohio State schedule preview Week 2: Texas added major transfers, made surprise coordinator firing
00:33:38
It's Week 2 of our Ohio State schedule preview for 2026. That means looking at the Buckeyes' trip to Texas on Sept. 12 to take on the Longhorns. To give us insight into the Longhorns, beat writer Danny Davis of www.statesman.com and The Austin American-Statesman joined The Bill and Doug Show.
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- [01:06]
Doug Laymor
Welcome back to the Bill and Doug Show. Doug lamaris and Bill Landis, joined by a very special guest. It's Danny Davis of the Austin American Statesman. He covers Texas football. We're doing it every week through the off season, breaking down the Ohio State schedule. We did Ball State last week. We're now into week two. September, September 12, 7:30 Eastern in Daryl K. Royal Memorial Stadium. Ohio State at Texas. Bill and I will be there. Danny will be there. Danny, thanks for sharing your expertise about the Longhorns with us today.
- [01:38]
Danny Davis
Thanks for having me. It's kind of hard to believe that this is just around the corner, even though we have a little bit of time, but it's just around the corner.
- [01:44]
Doug Laymor
Clock is ticking. It's always ball time in Ohio and Texas, man. We know that. Like, you can talk. We can talk college football. 365. Our first question for you, Danny. Ohio State was in this position in 2024. They had a player say it, Ryan Day. Their head coach didn't necessarily love the idea of it, but it was a conversation around natty or bust, that you have very good players back, you have very good transfers coming in. And at a blue blood program, you're always good. But there might be a spot special opportunity here. Is that at all on the table for Texas in 2026? Is it on the mind, mind of the fans at all? Is it on the mind of the players and the program at all?
- [02:34]
Danny Davis
I don't think Steve or any of his players are going to come out and say that. I mean, they're pretty media savvy and not that They're Ohio State players. I. I've been to an Ohio State press conference. I know they. They train those guys. Those guys pretty well. I don't think, yes, any of those players are going to outright say it, but it is what it is. I mean, you have Arch Manning, the way they attack the transfer portal this offseason. That doesn't look like a team that's, you know, looking for two, three years down the road. They've reached the semifinals to the last three years. They were disappointed with how last season ended. So, yeah, I think a championship run is expected now. Sure. Things happen. And maybe if they get to a title game or has some heartbreaking loss in semifinals, people can kind of be like, it is what it is. But I think people expect this team to be contending for a championship and will be disappointed if they don't at least contend for one.
- [03:23]
Doug Laymor
Okay. Okay. I think that's fair.
- [03:25]
Bill Landis
Yeah. And I guess, like, Danny, Doug and I were having this conversation the other day about this game and. And what it. You know, it's in September, the playoffs expanded. Like, not. Not every game carries the same weight that it used to, but. And no one's gonna be happy if they lose this game, obviously. But it does feel like it would signal something different for Texas if they were to lose to Ohio State for the third straight year. Like, obviously, Ohio State wants to win, and it's playing a tough schedule, and a lot of people are going to be asking what's up if they go to Texas and lose, but what's riding on this game for Texas? I guess, like, it just so happens that it works out. This series comes on the heels of these teams meeting in the playoff in 2024. But to have these losses to Ohio State each of the last two seasons, what. What all is at stake here, I guess, in an early September game, as much as something can be at stake
- [04:14]
Danny Davis
for Texas, I think it probably depends on who you ask. I think you ask Texas fans with who Ohio State is. They want to win this game because they're tired of all the Buckeye fans arguing with them and chirping with them on Twitter or, you know, the ones that are going to make a trip to Austin, it's going to be a lot easier to leave the stadium if. If you're. If your house will held higher after. After a win. But I think, obviously, if you're a Texas fan, if you. Or if you're a Texas player, if you ask the. You know, if you ask Steve, if you ask some of these players they're going to tell you the reason they didn't make the playoff last year is because they lost to Ohio State in week one. And you know, they're going to ignore the fact that they lost to Florida, but they're going to say, hey, we lost that, we lost that Ohio State game. You know, we had to go through SEC play. That's a gauntlet. You're going to slip up a time or two when you get to SEC play. So winning a game like this against Ohio State early is going to obviously give you a huge boost going into conference play because they're going to win their other two non conference games or other three non conference games pretty handily. So Ohio State win obviously looks great on the resume. It allows you a little wiggle room and SEC plays. If you do lose to Florida, your season's not over. So I think, you know, I don't think the players or Steve or the coaches are going to be necessarily looking at the last two years because a lot all these players weren't there at the Cotton Bowl. A lot of these players weren't, weren't, weren't in Columbus last year. But I think the fans obviously are going to want to, you know, has, want something to boast about with their, with their friends from Columbus.
- [05:36]
Doug Laymor
All right, we're four and a half minutes in. We've, we've held our, kept our powder dry long enough. Let's talk about Arch Manning. We have a draft that. Which is, is it, is it Arch, Archie? No, it's just Arch Famous relatives. We have a quarterback draft that we're going to run on, on this channel on Friday where we, you know, are trying to put Arch Manning and Julian Sam, the two quarter quarterbacks in this game, into context Nationally. It felt like maybe the dominant storyline of college football last September was what's up with Arch certainly played better in the second half of the year. Danny, what are your expectations for how Arch Manning will play in this game against Ohio State in week two and then what this season will be like for him?
- [06:26]
Danny Davis
Yeah, I think last year, both for Arch and probably a little bit for Julian, I wasn't paying too close of attention, but I'd imagine some of the hype and the buzzer on him was something similar. You know, people probably expected too much out of Arch and people expected him to go into the horseshoe and throw for 300 yards against an Ohasa defense. That turned out to be pretty good as we saw from how they played. You know, what happened, what happened in the draft and all that stuff. And, you know, when he doesn't go and throw for four touchdown passes and gets off to, you know, some struggles and doesn't play that great against Florida, people are like, okay, he's the bust, whatever that athletic article says. But then you kind of forget, okay, this is a quarterback. He was a junior, but he didn't have a lot of experience. He sat for the. The past two years, got, got some starts now and then. So once he actually got some footing and got some experience, he played like we expected him to play down, down the stretch. Now, can he carry that over? Can he do that against, you know, how. I'm sure this Ohio State defense is going to be just as good this year. Can he actually, now that he has experience, now that his, his feet are a little wet, you know, play better? Because I, I thought the expectations probably for myself as well, as well as from media and I mean, labeling him as a Heisman favorite before last season was a joke. And I don't know what a lot of us. What a lot of us were, were doing, you know, saying stuff like that, but I think the expectations probably as a quarterback at Texas, having that Manning last name and actually now having a, you know, season as a starter under his belt, they're going to be what they were last year, but they're probably going to be a little bit more warranted this year. We're just going to see if he can reach those, some new toys that he has, has around him this year.
- [07:56]
Doug Laymor
What did you think the biggest problem was for him? Like. Like, was, was he inaccurate at times? Was he not reading defenses? Was he not using his legs enough? Like, what. As you just sort of evaluated the play on the field, where, like, what did he get better at? And like, as he was maybe not playing as well as he wanted to
- [08:14]
Danny Davis
early, why I think he was uncomfortable a lot. I mean, you go back and look at that UTSA game that was. I mean, that was utsa, not. Not utep. Excuse me, that UTEP game, he was terrible. And that was. That was utep. And, you know, part of that, I think that he was. I think he was just pressing a lot. And you kind of saw the same. Colin Simmons was the exact same way on defense. Like, they were just, you know, trying to maybe play like, you know, those preseason all Americans not letting the game come to them. And once they kind of settle down and, you know, their teammate. I mean, I think there's a clip going around on Twitter or X whatever you want to call it. A couple days ago, of just, you know, how many drops Arch had from his receivers. I mean, his team didn't play well around him either. I mean, that offensive line was in shambles for most of the year. Running back, they're running leading runner had like 500 yards and like that. They couldn't run the ball. The receivers were dropping things left and right. So it was just like a lot of things combined. And Arch would just seem very uncomfortable and very hurried in just trying to figure out who he was. And he'll be the first one to tell you. He'll be the first one to tell you that he wasn't playing well. He'll be the first one to tell you that he wasn't comfortable and wasn't really didn't feel like himself. And then once he started to kind of take a couple deep breaths, try to have a little bit more fun out there, you know, things kind of settled in a little bit. Although the offensive line, running game, all those problems kind of persisted throughout the year.
- [09:31]
Bill Landis
So how much better than Danny do you think this, the skill around him will be this year? Obviously, Cam Coleman comes in from Auburn and that's sort of the. The headliner of all those transfer editions. But there's also like Ryan Wingo's back, Emma Moseley's back. Like, what is the expectation, I guess, for the. Because I both live last year and actually re. Watched the game this year, I was a little struck and kind of shocked by just how ineffective Texas's receivers were last season. Kind of given the. The reputation of some of those guys as prospects, is the confidence level pretty high that that receiver play is going to be what it needs to be this year?
- [10:09]
Danny Davis
I think if you get Cam Coleman, that helps. Helps a little bit.
- [10:13]
Bill Landis
Sure.
- [10:13]
Danny Davis
Yeah. Ryan Wingo, I think, had some really nice moments last year and he's a year older. Emmett Mosley was hurt for a good chunk of the beginning. I think he's hurt for that Ohio State game. So you expect him to be healthy. He showed some flashes, especially that Mississippi State game. So a year more with him in the system and him getting healthy, those are a nice, a nice big three. But, you know, going to have to figure out what's going on at tight end. They're going to have a new tight end one. They brought in two transfer running backs maybe that you expect the running back game to the rushing game to maybe improve. They pretty much revamped their entire offensive line, save for a couple of guys. So the offensive line should be a little better too. So they've reworked a lot of the offense around him. But you know, you'd expect Cam Coleman if Ryan Wingo can take that next step. Those are a lot better of a one, two punch than, you know, Ryan in his first year is kind of the guy. And you know, some other Deandre Moore, Parker Livingstone had some moments with the. Those guys have moved on. So I think, I think the wide receiver room is better, but we'll see in September. It's a lot easier for me to say right now that this room's a lot better, but we'll actually have to see what it looks like when they're actually facing some good defenses.
- [11:17]
Bill Landis
I saw a, I saw. I think it must have been on the Athletic. I think it was on the Athletic and it's one of those things where like no one puts their name on a quote so you only put so much stock in it. But they were talking about some of the better transfer portal classes and, and when talking about the running backs that Texas added, Hollywood Smothers and Rayleigh Brown, this person anonymously said that they actually thought Derek Cooper might be the best running back, the true freshman. Like what do you think the possibilities are of that actually being the case? And what do you think that running back room is actually going to look like for Texas this year?
- [11:47]
Danny Davis
Yeah, Texas is high on Derek. He was a four or five star, five star kid, but he's also a freshman. And you know, it's one thing to be able to run the ball, but as we know, the running back's top job is to protect, protect number 16. And as well, we don't know how he's going to do and pass protection and we don't really know how he is at, you know, you know, catching the ball and stuff like that. And Texas doesn't go out and get those two running backs. They feel that, you know, a freshman can be RB1. So I'd expect Derek to be in the mix. I wouldn't expect him to be the starter on, on, on, on day one when Texas State comes to town. But you know, Texas is high on him and I expect him to get some run. But those two guys transferred here for a reason. That's to, that's to start and be RB1 and RB2. So I would expect to see those two first. But Derek Cooper, they're high on him. I'd expect him to be a factor this season and more so down the road.
- [12:36]
Doug Laymor
Okay, that's interesting. Yeah. Young running backs, pass protecting. My God. That's all we talk about at Ohio State, it's like, well, it's a talented guy. Was like,
- [12:47]
Danny Davis
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- [12:53]
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- [13:25]
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- [13:34]
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- [13:56]
Doug Laymor
Offensive line, Trevor Goosby is like a dude, right left tackle, projected first round pick, two other starters back, two transfers in. Is this offensive line going to be good, gonna be good in week two, Danny?
- [14:09]
Danny Davis
We. We'll see. I think, you know, Texas was happy to get, was happy to get Goosebie Trevor back. I think, you know, that was kind of a, a little bit of a surprise. But you know, in the Nil era, you know, it's a little easier to commit some of those guys, those surprises.
- [14:23]
Doug Laymor
Yeah, money, what a surprise. Yeah, they do that. Ohio State too.
- [14:27]
Danny Davis
But you know, Trevor, you know, is, is kind of a foundational piece of that left tackle spot. You know, Melvin Sny was their bigot in the transfer portal. They're really excited about what hit, what he can bring. And then, you know, you see, see what some of those other, other guys can bring. You know, Brandon Baker, he's a right tackle last year. They're moving him to a guard position, guard position this year. Connor Robertson, he's a fifth year guy. He, he's kind of played all over the line. I expect him to kind of be a center this year. So see if that veteran leadership, you know, help helps out a lot or you know, some of these other transfers. They got a couple other transfers coming in, so it's Going to be a mix and match from what we saw, from what we saw last year. But Texas, before this offseason under Steve, had never gotten a transfer offensive lineman. I mean, the last one they got was 2019 when Tom Herman was still here. So obviously, they knew that just developing these guys wasn't working. They needed to try to, you know, get some beef in the portal, and that's. And that's what they did. And we'll see if mixing that with the guys they're bringing back can have better results, because they definitely need better results up front.
- [15:25]
Doug Laymor
Interesting.
- [15:27]
Bill Landis
I want to flip it over to the defensive side, if that's okay, Doug, before we talk about any, like, the positions or guys from afar. Anyway, I was surprised that Pete Kuiakowski was fired as defensive coordinator and. And now Will Muschamp is there. So what? Like, why did that happen?
- [15:47]
Doug Laymor
Why.
- [15:48]
Bill Landis
Why did. Because it seemed like a pretty. I know, like, last year wasn't great in a bunch of different ways, but it seemed like a pretty successful marriage in Texas prior to last year, had some of the best defenses in the country. How surprised were you by that change? And. And what do you think this move to Will Muschamp will mean in terms of anything different for Texas's defense compared to last year?
- [16:08]
Danny Davis
It's one of those things where I was surprised, but at the same time, I wasn't, because I think after just how disappointing last season was, someone was going to have to take the fall. And that someone wasn't going to be Steve. That someone wasn't going to be Kyle Flood, who's been with Steve forever, and that someone wasn't gonna be Jeff Banks, who's been with Steve forever. So that kind of leaves pk, who is, you know, hired from outside when Steve got here, as kind of the. The odd man out. And, you know, the fact was he had five years here, and, you know, those were five good, for the most part, really good years. But sometimes you just need something different. And I think Steve just kind of wanted to mix things up, bring a different voice. It wasn't, you know, the Texas defense was good, but wasn't like it was the 85 bears. I mean, there. There's still some. Some issues that. That they had. So maybe you just bring in a new voice, you bring in some new ideas. You just breathe a little bit of fresh air into that room and see where. Where that takes you. But I, you know, I don't think there were going to be too many changes on the offensive staff. They did switch out their running Backs coach. But defensively, if you're going to make it, if you're going to make a change, if you're going to, you know, do something after a disappointing season, the changes are probably always going to be made on defense. And unfortunately for pk, that kind of puts him on the top of the top of the pecking order. And when you're Texas and you can go on, you can hire a wool mus champer, you can get, get a coveted defensive coordinator. That's a, that's a move sometimes you just make. But I think all of us were surprised when that news dropped. It kind of came out of nowhere. But, you know, getting a couple minutes to stand back and look at it, I don't think it's the biggest surprise in the world.
- [17:34]
Doug Laymor
So we do want to talk about defensive players, but now that we're on this thing a little bit, how much of a conversation is there around whether Sark should give up play calling on the offensive side of the ball? That was a big conversation at Ohio State once upon a time. Ryan Day did give it up in 2024. Is this a daily discussion around Texas or is it not something that people are worried about?
- [18:00]
Danny Davis
I think it depends on who you ask. You know, if you're going to stop at a Texas press conference and ask Steve, it's a non starter, like he's not going to discuss it. He's very adamant that he's the play caller. I think he has the support of the administration. But I think, you know, there are some rumblings both locally and nationally about, you know, should this happen. I think the, as you mentioned with Ryan, I think the trend is pretty clear. It's very hard to do both. And I think, you know, to be honest, I think with the way my personal opinion is, with the way that what college football is these days, like it's really hard to be the head coach, the play color on offensive and defense. And also, you know, the buck stops with me, general manager and have, you know, all these transactional stuff go through you too. Like it's just a lot to do and sometimes, you know, you know, you got to swallow your pride and see he's a very prideful person and things that his way is how, how things get done and he's had some success and he definitely has a resume to back that up. But sometimes I think it doesn't hurt to, you know, swallow that pride and give a play calling. But you know, Steve, he. There's a reason why, you know, his assistants have all been with him for a while. They all kind of believe in his system. He's not really bringing in people to necessarily challenge him offensively or, you know, pound the table saying we should do this way or that way. And I think I, I'd be very surprised. And at any point this season he gives up offensive play calling and you know, if there's another disaster, another disappointment, maybe this is the conversation for next off season. But I think Steve's going to be, you know, in charge of the headset this year.
- [19:27]
Doug Laymor
Okay, interesting. Bill disagrees. Bill wants him to give it up.
- [19:34]
Bill Landis
Yeah, I think he should.
- [19:35]
Danny Davis
I think you should give it up too. But you know, I also don't get paid to make those decisions. Yeah, he doesn't care what I think, so.
- [19:41]
Bill Landis
That's right. That's right. You mentioned Colin Simmons earlier, Danny, and how maybe he was, he was pressing a little bit in the same way that Arch might have been. With a lot of hype coming in to last season, it did seem like maybe Colin started to, to figure out a little bit toward the end of last year and I saw, I saw somebody compare Colin Simmons recently to, to what Arvell Reese ended up being for Ohio State last year, which was a guy who was sort of like playing on the line of scrimmage, playing off the line of scrimmage. You don't really quite know what he is. All you notice that he's like sort of disruptive with this coordinator change too with, with Will Muschamp. Like what, what do you think this season could look like for Colin? Do you think there's any new things out there that Will Muschamp might want him to do that maybe he hasn't gotten the opportunity to do the last couple years?
- [20:26]
Danny Davis
I think that's one of the probably like the million dollar questions questions on defense. I don't know how they, they do things in Columbus, but Texas is very tight lipped with, you know, know, practice access and you know, the spring game up up here this year was a open practice where none of the guys who, who matter participated and stuff like that. So not a lot of of us have really gotten to see what, what Colin's doing, doing in these practices. But obviously he's a talent. Will knows that. Steve knows that. Colin definitely knows that. So they're, they're going to figure out ways to, ways to use him, how that looks. I think we had to wait until September 5th to exactly see what that looks. But I'd expect in their, you know, great season from Colin. He's just too Talented for. He could put. Line him up 50 yards from the line of scrimmage. He's going to figure out a way to make plays. He's that good. So I, I'd expect even with this coordinator change, that more of the same from him.
- [21:17]
Doug Laymor
Okay. Hero Canoe, as an Ohio State transfer, we know is a guy that mattered a lot on the defensive line last year, but on the interior of that line this year, like, what are your expectations around Hero Canoe? And I mean, it feels like they need him, right? Like that. Like, Texas is often really good, has multiple big guys up front. But how important is, is Hero to what the Longhorns want to do this season?
- [21:42]
Danny Davis
Yeah, Hero, I mean, we, we in the. I don't know how much Kira talked. I know he wasn't really, you know, a pivotal player at Ohio State, but, you know, he became kind of a media darling with us last season. So we love us some Hero. And he, he obviously played really well, you know, at times last year. So I think with him coming back and then getting him to come back for another year, they're going to lean on him a lot. As you said, you know, Texas has had a trend ever since Steve has gotten here of having, you know, a couple good defensive linemen who they've ended up sending to the league. And you kind of figure Hero, maybe that next guy, Alex January, is another interior guy that they have high hopes for, who's been the system for a little bit and they've been able to develop. And he's going to be asked to do, do a lot more because they lost a few guys to, you know, exhausted eligibility and had to head into the league. But, you know, it starts with Hero. It's going to start with Alex January. And those guys are, you know, Kira played a lot. So I want to say his, you know, his responsibilities are going to increase, but, you know, he's, he's, they're going to ask him to be doing a lot this year and you'd expect a guy who's a fifth year guy like him to be up, up to the task.
- [22:41]
Bill Landis
Okay. A lot, a lot of soccer conversations with Hero while he was at Ohio State. The few, the few times that he did media availabilities, another guy, Danny, that I think Ohio State fans are at least somewhat familiar with because when he first went to the Portal, there was a thought that he might want to come back home and play here in Columbus. He's from Pickerington. Rasheen Biles, who Doug and I watched a lot when he was a pit Incredibly disruptive player. How, how important I got, like, I'm wondering about, like, obviously Colin Simmons is Colin Simmons, but then, like, who's the next sort of guy you need to circle the guy who's going to be a disruptor in a similar kind of way. And to me, it seems like that could be Biles in this defense. Is that how people are viewing him?
- [23:31]
Danny Davis
I think so. Because, you know, this linebacking core for Texas is going to be completely different. I mean, Anthony Hill is in the league now. Leongo Lafau transferred to Colorado. I believe those are their two starting linebackers last year. Ty Anthony Smith is back, but he had, you know, limited playing time. So you bring in Machine Biles, they got another kid from Florida State, transfer over. So, I mean, those are going to be kind of your linebackers that you're depending on. And that's, you know, everyone knows, you know, linebackers, in addition to having stuff up on the field, you know, now that, you know, they're on the headset, too, and they're having it, you know, have those responsibilities. So Rasheem's going to be leaned up. There's a reason they went out and got him. He's what, like the number two linebacker recruited in the portal this offseason. So obviously the talent speaks for himself. And he's, he's going to be, you know, we got to talk to him a little bit. At Texas's last media availability, he tells this funny story about. He's already got like 15 parking tickets at Texas, so he's needing to figure out.
- [24:28]
Bill Landis
But as long as it's not Georgia and they're not speeding tickets, that's all.
- [24:30]
Danny Davis
Yeah, his car is parked when he's getting in trouble, not necessarily when he's driving, but he's, you know, he's, he's going to be a vital part of this defense. Just because Texas, as we saw with Anthony Hill these last few years, leans heavily on, on this linebacker, Jalen Ford, before, before Anthony. And so, you know, machines is, I guess, the next guy up with Ty Anthony Smith and some of those other younger, younger newcomers.
- [24:53]
Doug Laymor
This is just interesting to me. Why did Lafau transfer to Colorado? He had a bunch of tackles against Ohio State last year. Right. He's a starting linebacker to go to college. Was that a surprise? Was Texas thinking, like, we want to upgrade here, it's okay if you leave. What was the deal there?
- [25:08]
Danny Davis
I mean, why does anyone transfer any. But, you know, I think, you know, Leongo is a little bit of a style mismatch. And I think Texas will be also the first one to tell you that they tried to recruit over him for the past, past, you know, three, four years whenever he got on the campus. So I think, you know, when he saw his chance, Texas got a five star out of Georgia linebacker Tyler Atkinson this past recruiting cycle. I think he kind of saw the writing on the wall and used his leverage and, you know, you know, we'll see what he does at Colorado this, this fall.
- [25:40]
Doug Laymor
Okay, is, is Texas will Sark play young guys are. When, when Texas gets a five star freshman, is there a chance they're going to be on the field and contributing in year one or is, would that be unusual? That's not usually how Sark plays it.
- [25:56]
Danny Davis
I think Steve, in a perfect world would love to develop these guys, but I also don't think that's what this world is anymore. I think unless you're an offensive lineman and you're, you know, expected to block these, you know, 21 year olds who have families now and you know, all this stuff across from you and it's a grown man world, I think, you know, those conversations can be had to, hey, let, let's sit and develop you for a little bit. But I think for most of these, most of these five star kids, they expect to play immediately and if they don't, you know, that portal is definitely an option and you know, they all have families, you know, family or agents or whatever in their ears saying, hey, you can go here or, or elsewhere. I don't think Steve's prom necessarily promising playing time, but I expect these kids to at least see a path to playing time or see you see a future here at Texas and that's hard if you're just sitting on the bench. But I think in the past there has been, there has been freshman, I mean Arch sat for two years, but he's, I think is a, is a unique, a unique scenario. But I think most freshmen who come to Texas who are five stars expect to play at least some, some way.
- [26:56]
Doug Laymor
That sounds like Ohio State. Sounds like Ohio State too.
- [26:58]
Bill Landis
Yeah, sure. Yeah.
- [27:04]
Liberty Mutual Spokesperson
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- [27:14]
Liberty Mutual Comedy Show Attendee
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Liberty Mutual Couple Partner 1
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Liberty Mutual Couple Partner 2
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Liberty Mutual Comedy Show Attendee
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Liberty Mutual Couple Partner 1
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- [28:05]
Bill Landis
This secondary, Danny, some new faces in there. Some seems like maybe some younger guys stepping up too who have been at least been in the program and not necessarily your transfers. Obviously they have to contend with Jeremiah Smith and whoever else might emerge receiving wise for the Buckeyes. But how are people feeling about the secondary? And because it seems to me from the outside, maybe defensive line might be the strength of this defense, perhaps front seven generally. But I don't want to, you know, speak incorrectly. What are the vibes on the secondary right now for Texas?
- [28:36]
Danny Davis
I I think you're correct that I think, you know, the hope right now is you kind of hope that front seven just makes life hell for Julian saying or whoever, whatever quarterback they're, they're facing all this, you know, secondary kind of matures and kind of gets their, their foot and under them because you do lose a Michael Taft to the league. He's with Miami now. You do lose a Manny Muhammad who, you know, it's had some moments against Jeremiah last year who's not, not with the Bears. But you know, Jelani McDonald, he was their leading tack year. He's, he's going to come back to, you know, be a senior safety. That's someone they're going to rely a lot on. Grayson Littleton had some moments last year as a, as a freshman. He's a nickel last year. They may move him, move him outside if they don't keep him at that nickel position. So I mean you do have some talent. This is Texas. They went out and got a kid from Rutgers last year that they're pretty high. Bo Moscow, I think is how you pronounce Moscow. Yep, that's who they're, you know, they're going to, they're going to expect a lot on at the corner position. So they do have talent. But I would say probably I'm a little bit more confident in their front seven than their, their secondary. Secondary is going to have some time and on conference play aside from the Ohio State game, that's not going to be, that's not easy. But they're going to have some, have some time to kind of get that, get their stuff figured out before SEC play.
- [29:44]
Doug Laymor
Okay, I just. Texas and Ohio State is such a great national matchup. There's so many things in common. I think that these two programs have as athletic departments, as football programs with huge resources in states that love football. But like the, the thing that separates Texas and Ohio State right now is like Texas changed conferences and, and, and has had to do something new a little bit. Where are, what are the vibes around being in the sec? Do Texas fans love being in the sec? Do they hate being into the SEC and the sec? Do they long for the old days of the Big 12? Are they glad that they've sort of landed in a conference where they are absolutely right in the middle of everything that happens in college football? Like what are the vibes around this, this fairly recent move?
- [30:32]
Danny Davis
I think most Texas fans are enjoying this move. I think it helps that Oklahoma came with them from the Big 12 because I think Oklahoma was really the only other school they cared about that's in the Big 12. But I think Texas is kind of was kind of done with the Big 12 and now you're in the SEC. Now you get a boast. I know this y' all cover the Big Ten, but you know, if you're a Texas fan, you're saying, hey, the SEC is top conference in the, in the world and this is, you know, where real football is playing. Whatever, you know, self righteous stuff you want to say. But and this is also year three, so this is like new stuff. Like Texas gets to go to Tennessee this year. Like that's never happened before. Texas gets to go to LSU and you know, a couple years ago Texas was supposed to play a non conference game in Baton Rouge that got canceled by the pandemic. So this is going to be a new experience for them. You know, Texas fans got the A and M rivalry back and that's, that's a big deal for the state. So I think right now there's still a honeymoon phase where Texas fans are going to do a lot of cool new things and go to places they haven't gone to last year. I mean Georgia was fantastic. You know, going to, going to Georgia last year was fantastic. Going to the Swamp was a very cool experience. Even though Texas lost, the fans probably didn't enjoy the walk back to the parking lot, but the game itself was, was really cool and being in that environment. So I think that part of it's awesome. I think, you know, just being in the SEC and getting SEC football is a lot cooler. I think to play the Mississippi State game last year was a lot of fun. Well, it's gonna be a lot cooler to be playing Ole Miss in the middle of the season as opposed to, no offense, Kansas, even though Kansas. Yeah, it's way more hardships than it should have the last couple years. But, you know, I, I think, I think Texas fans are enjoying, you know, playing sec, being in the SEC and playing SEC football.
- [32:07]
Doug Laymor
Okay. Okay.
- [32:09]
Bill Landis
Can I ask two very important questions before we wrap up?
- [32:11]
Doug Laymor
Doug, is it a barbecue question? Go ahead. It.
- [32:14]
Bill Landis
Well, first. Oh, yes, that's one of them. But the first one is, how hot is it going to be in Austin in early September when we're coming down there? And then the second question is, yes. Where should we go get barbecue?
- [32:24]
Danny Davis
Well, you know, I know this is a touchy subject because apparently some people are still upset that Texas wouldn't move that game last year to, to, to, to Sunday night. But, you know, I, I think if you're coming down for tossing for this game, which I would definitely, definitely recommend if you can afford these astronomical tick, I'm glad we get them for free because I can afford with these, these tickets, but it's going to be fine at night. It's still going to be a little warm, but, God, that game was at noon and on in the middle of September. That would be, there'd be passing out in the stands. You know, someone was always. Texas fans are being a little like, Texas fans are resurfacing some clips from Will Anderson at Alabama saying, you know, this was, you know, DKR was the toughest crowd he ever played at. Oh, is it is. I was like, it's because it's the middle of the afternoon in September. You were like dying a heat stroke out there. That's what made this place so tough to play out. So it should be fine in the evening. Maybe you're going to want to wear shorts and a, maybe a light T shirt. But, but before you go there, obviously you're gonna, you want to get some barbecue. I'm a big fan of style switch. But, you know, there's, you know, because there's usually not a line. You know, Franklin's is always kind of standard here, but I don't have time in my life to be waiting for three, three, four hours for barbecue anymore, so I prefer a shorter line. But, you know, there's, you know, Matthew Odom's our food writer here at the statesman, just look him up and he's going to have some kind of barbecue guide. It's going to have 20 places that you're going to be more than fine with. If you, if you get bad barbecue in, in, in Austin, that's your fault. That's just. Yeah, that's just either bad luck on you or poor research because there's, there's a lot of good stuff around here.
- [33:53]
Doug Laymor
Okay, I do want to ask, before we let you go, this home field environment. You just mentioned what Will Anderson said a couple years ago, like a night game. How good is it? Is it good enough that it can affect the outcome of the game? Because to be honest, over the years, I've sometimes questioned how good the home field advantage is in O Stadium. A lot of other people think at times it's great. Is this going to be like 6:30 local time start? Is it going to be a viper pit for Ohio State coming into this place? Like, how, how nuts will the crowd be for this game?
- [34:28]
Danny Davis
I think the crowd's going to be pretty lathered up. And I mean, that's another thing about having 6:30 games. It gives fans plenty of time to prepare and get, get, get ready in their proper spirits. But, you know, if this wasn't Ohio State, you know, I'd be, I'd be expecting like ball starts and, you know, all that stuff. But also at the same time, you know, these Ohio State boys go up to go to Michigan there once every two years, I'm sure. Yeah, that, that, that atmosphere is probably a little bit more rowdy and hostile than what, what they're gonna have in Austin. But it's gonna be loud. These fans are going to be into it. This is going to be a, a marquee game that, you know, a lot of. Probably the best home game on Texas to schedule this year since they have to go to a Oklahoma as a neutral site game. So I mean, this is going to be the, you know, the game circled on a lot of Texas fans calendar. It's going to be their first big game of the season because you'd expect them to kind of roll past Texas State in a week one. So I'd expect to be pretty loud and pretty, you know, pretty, pretty hostile. But it's also, I wouldn't expect Ohio State to necessarily, you know, fold in these, in these environments. I'd be more probably worried about the, the heat than I would be the actual crowd.
- [35:31]
Doug Laymor
Okay. All right. He's Danny Davis. You can find his work@statesman.com covering Texas football. I think this is like one of those is right. If you're an Ohio State fan and you really care about this game and of course you do, like, why don't go subscribe to the Statesman for a couple months and like, get the inside info on what's going on with Texas football. Get, get prepared for this game because it's going to be awesome. They've played five times previously. This will be the six matchup. Never has it has an Ohio State or Texas team been ranked outside the top 10 when they have played each other. It honestly has been one of the best national series in college football. We're excited for this one. Danny Davis, thanks for sharing your knowledge about the Longhorns and making us smarter about this matchup here on the Bill and Doug Show.
- [36:13]
Danny Davis
Well, I'm glad you all had me and I'm looking forward to all you Ohio State fans coming down to Austin and you have to see me on the streets walking around, you know, get. Buy me some barbecue or something.
- [36:22]
Doug Laymor
Yeah, no, this, I mean, this is what this is the best of college football to have fan bases getting to go visit a place like this. If you can swing in Ohio State fans, it'll be a great trip. Danny, thank you so much for your time and insight. For now, for Bill Landis, I'm Doug Lay. Maurice. And that was the Bill and Doug Show.
- [36:47]
Liberty Mutual Spokesperson
And Doug, there's nowhere I wouldn't go to help someone customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual. Even if it means sitting front row at a comedy show.
- [36:57]
Liberty Mutual Comedy Show Attendee
Hey, everyone, check out this guy and his bird. What is this, your first date?
- [37:00]
Liberty Mutual Couple Partner 1
Oh, no. Well, we help people customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual together.
- [37:04]
Liberty Mutual Couple Partner 2
We're married. Me to a human, him to a bird.
- [37:07]
Liberty Mutual Comedy Show Attendee
Yeah, the bird looks out of your league.
- [37:08]
Liberty Mutual Couple Partner 1
Anyways, get a quote@libertymutual.com or with your local agent.
- [37:12]
Liberty Mutual Jingle Singer
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