← The McShay Show
The McShay Show
10 Tape Truths From Week 7: Elite Indiana, Ty Simpson Rising, Texas’s CFP Path, and More. Plus, the Latest Intel on James Franklin’s Firing.
01:34:28
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- [00:00]
A
Indiana has arrived. Bama might have the quarterback. Welcome back Texas. And James Franklin. There's the door. It's a tape trues Monday on the show and there's just 192 days until the NFL Draft. Mitch, you good?
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B
I'm good, man.
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A
Tucker one time. Now, kid, anyone who lives or has lived in New England knows that it's not really fall until you get a nor' easter and we're in the eye of the storm right now, Mitch. I just hope the trees hold up. The Internet works. I hope we get through two hours here. So eat power. You have a generator if we go dead, this is my forewarning. No, I don't have a generator. I'm one of those idiots like.
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B
Yeah, me neither.
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A
It will take me being without power for a week before I do something smart like that. This episode is presented by Duluth Trading Co. Ready to give rival tailgates the foam finger. Duluth Trading Co. Crafts hall of fame game day gear to help you grill hotter, cheer louder and tailgate longer. Bibs loaded with pockets, gusseted pants so you can crouch without snuffing out your coals. And free swinging shirts tailor made for cornhole tossing. Stay comfortable from preseason to playoffs in the toughest tailgate attire around. Only at Duluth Trading company. Wow, we got a wild Monday, huh? Yeah, lot going on. Speaking of storms, if you live in Happy Valley, you kind of feel like you're in the eye of it right now too, right?
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B
Absolutely. Yeah.
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A
So spent a lot of time over the like more time than I normally do. Talking about James Franklin, why he needed to go. Selfish leadership. It always comes to the surface. Sometimes it takes a decade. Sometimes it doesn't take quite as long. Sometimes it takes longer. If you want to know my feelings on the whole matter, you can go back to I think Saturday night's live reaction show. By the way, thank you everyone for supporting the show. Like the fact that we. Yeah. The fact that we just did the biggest number we've ever done on. On a live on our favorite show to do the live reaction show where we cut into the prime time games as we did on Saturday night. We had the four prime times games going. The Auburn Georgia game lasted forever because it took 40 minutes to do the last two minutes of game time. Right. But, but thank you for everyone. Like the support we're getting coming onto the chat and there's already like a thousand people in there. It's. It's been fun to see the growth of this show. This episode is brought to you by Fox one Fox one is now live stream all your Fox favorites together in one place from Major league baseball postseason to NFL on Fox to big noon Saturdays with Fox one. You get it all live. Start your seven day free trial today. Offers are subject to change. Go to Fox one for, for complete terms and conditions. Fox one streaming now. But if you want to go back to that show on Saturday night and you want to hear all my, you know, my, my insight, my take on, on what's going on at Penn State and James Franklin and why this is a move that, that should have been done a long time ago. And honestly I've talked to, it's interesting. I, I, I'm more dialed in at Penn State than a lot of places. I'm not saying it's the place I'm most dialed into. Just over the years and traveling and doing games like Reese Levy and I did, you know, did the, you know that the half, half ice puck shot and just gotten to know a lot of people there and there's been a kind of an undercurrent honestly dating back eight years ago with James Franklin and people there saw what we were seeing and, and what I got to witness firsthand and some of the things that I touched on on Saturday night and even last week I was talking about it prior to the Northwestern law. So this has been building here at Penn State. It's been building on this show. I've been trying to get out ahead with my experiences, what I know my sources there at Penn State and, and it's been interesting seeing the, the number of folks there that are in the know and have some influence that have been reaching out. There's been a lot of reports, right Steve? Yeah, been a lot of reports about what the number is, how much money is the buyout talk about. I mean, I'll just give you some of the numbers based off of my sources, right? $56 million for Franklin, another 14 to $18 million to clean out the staff and what they're owed. I believe it's around 10 million just for the coordinators, right. Andy like Kotalinki and Jim Knowles just came in. Knowles is like 6 million. Andy's like around 4, whatever those numbers are. So, so that right There is a 14 to 18 million, 35 million for a new head coach and buyout and new staff and branding is, those are just the numbers I'm getting. Okay, so you're talking about 105 million dollar decision that was made. Wow.
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B
Yeah.
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A
Wow.
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B
Does that change your opinion at all? Are you gonna get into that? Does that that make you think that maybe they should have waited?
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A
Absolutely not.
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B
I agree.
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A
The amount of money that, that football programs are bringing in and I understand, I'm not just saying, well it's 105 million. You just go figure it out. I, I understand the impact of that. I truly do. And that, that 105 million now, it means it can't be dispersed to other sports. It can't be dispersed to, towards building, towards renovations, towards new facility. Like, or if it is, you know, with that one, then you got to raise more money. Like this is a huge financial drain, but it's also one of the blue blood programs in college football. So that's kind of the dollars and cents. Listen, this is not my avenue. This is not. I tried desperately to stay in my lane and I've learned from past mistakes. I've learned from my own. I've learned from watching others in similar analysts role roles when they start to play Pete Thamel or, or you know, Adam Schefter and different roles like that. It's just, it's not, it's not wise. I've learned, you know, a, with age comes wisdom. I've learned to kind of stay in my lane. But when I get information and our audience has a thirst is we're seeing with our numbers, YouTube, Spotify, Apple, wherever you get your podcasts, like, people are generally like extremely interested in this subject for obvious reasons. This is Penn State. This is one of the programs in college football historically, currently. So, so when I get information, I, I just like to share. And I think the most important takeaway is this is going to be a process. There are a lot of people involved, but only a couple like decision makers makers in all of this. But there are influential people who, who have a voice and who are trying with their agenda positively, I'm sure some negatively to, to influence the next big decision, which is the head coaching job and the names I'm hearing. And it's not, this isn't breaking news. I told you, I told you on Saturday night I needed to see Signetti come in and with Indiana and win a game like that, not just beating the number three team in the country, but doing it at their place the way they did it. To say okay, like that was kind of the last hurdle of Signetti. The Signetti effect is real. And it's not just at smaller schools. It's not at James Madison. It's not taking a program that for 30 years, Steve, 30 years average 4.1 wins and to be 17 and 2 as the coach but the big games can he. And, and, and it wasn't like it took two or three years. Look at James Franklin. He's won in. Signetti's had more top 10 wins now than, Than Franklin did in like a decade.
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B
Yeah.
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A
In 19.
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B
There's no getting around that. There's just no getting around that.
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A
So I, I said right away. And, and, and by the way, I also have information on, on that side. And Signetti wants to build that thing in Indiana and it would take a lot to get him away from that place. And Indiana has money, even though it's known as a basketball school. They're going to make sure that they keep their guy and do everything they can. And so maybe it's a non starter. But I'm also told by people that I trust. If there's one place everyone says Signetti, Google the wins, Google them, Google me. Right. The whole, you know, everyone knows that quote also. Also google his bio, his background, where he's from, you know, the, the, that kind of western PA like that. I'm told that if, if he were to be lured somewhere, if there was some place that maybe he couldn't say no to, even though he wants desperately to build IU into one of the elites and he's on that track and we're going to get to Indiana really shortly with our 10 tape truths and I'm, I'm fired. We, we have some great stuff today. We're in, in the film room. Both Steve and I. This may be his, his weak spot. His, his kind of that, that sweet treat that everyone's, you know, falls victim to. Right. So that is very much something to keep an eye on. Matt Rule is the other name. Those are to me are the top.
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B
Ooh, I'm just gonna drop Matt Rule in there. I like it.
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A
Well, Matt Rule, I mean Matt Rules like family with the Penn State family. Like that's part that, that's his.
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B
Yeah.
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A
So you've got two guys with like roots.
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B
Right?
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A
Roots like I have in Swamp Scott Mass, where I'm on the board to figure out who the next head coach is. Even though like I, I'm not like there's. Everyone has their tug.
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B
Right?
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A
Yeah. And so for Rule and for Signetti, Penn State has a, is a special place that they have a kind of special feelings towards. So keep. But then you look at Matt Rule and all like the winning, the program building and all the things that he stands for and I told you I'm, I buy into Rule. Like I really believe in what he's doing. But has he had those big wins against the elite pro? You know, so there's a lot of factors in this. I'll say this and we'll move on from the subject more so than, than typically in a coaching move type of case, we're going to be in the know on all of this. And so over the next two weeks, three weeks, maybe two months, as information's coming in, we're probably going to be getting like the real information, right? Like the real information. Like there's Adidas reports, right? Well, Adidas had had enough. Adidas just said we'll pay it, don't worry about it. I mean I just got some, some serious texts from someone who knows about like, like that. That's kind of the dumbest thing I've heard, you know, and I don't want to, like, I don't want to compromise any sort but like, you know, like it doesn't even start till next summer, that deal and like the whole Nike situation. And so all I'm saying is fortunately or unfortunately I'm kind of, we're going to get information here. Then we'll, we'll kind of help people who are, who are Penn State fans, college football fans. The trickle down effect is going to be real. You know what happens now is, is this coach plucked from a big time school. Maybe they don't get, maybe they go through their A list and they can't get a candidate. Now is Penn State going to have to choose from a B list? It's going to be interesting to see, but we're going to have a lot of information over the next several weeks or several months if it takes that long. And we appreciate everyone who's kind of been here for the ride, even though it's not what we major in. It's kind of a minor. But, but we'll, we'll get some information.
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B
Yeah, look, I'm interested in on a number of levels. There's a, you know, I know you don't want to spend a ton of time with this, but I have things to say really quickly. Is what their guy looks like is going to be interesting to me. Is it going to be a Matt Rule, who's an outstanding coach? I think he's an outstanding coach. Is it going to be a Will Stein? Is it going to be a Brian Haynes, a defense quarter from Indiana who we're going to talk about here in a minute? It doesn't necessarily have to be the, the big name, the proven head coach. It's the guy that they think is going to get them to the next level. Look at what Indiana did with hiring Signetti from jmu. I don't, you know, like, there's a, I mean, people were like, oh, that's kind of cute. I mean, it was kind of like Dan Campbell when he got hired with the Lions, right? This guy who's talking about biting kneecaps and no one's really believing it. And all of a sudden Dan Campbell's a perfect fit for that Lions team. So I hope they find the right guy. I not, I hope it's not a looking at a resume and being like, well, who's got the most experience and all that. I think they do it. I also want to say this. I hate the take that Penn State should be happy with 10 game, 10 wins a year and not winning the big game and that that's, you know, are they going to do better? That find a way to do better? There was time for a change. Like, I just, I, I really believe that deep down and Penn State, I believe college football is at its best when Penn State is competing for national championships. And it, you can't use it as a. Oh, well, you know, maybe we're just a team that's going to win 10 games a year. Never really compete for an addy. No, no. This was the right move. This is a program that should compete for national championships.
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A
Yeah. I guess there are two, two final thoughts on it. One is like, I don't bash quarter head coaches very often because I have a great deal of respect for most of them. So when I tough job when I do Steve, it's not because the people who are texting and calling me in the last 48 hours, I, I am, I very easily separate church and state when it comes to that. It's personal interactions. It's knowing the truth behind some things. It's. It's 25 years of experience in this business. So I don't want people to think, well, now Todd's saying that he, he's got people he's talking to and maybe they didn't like him going back eight years ago. Like, I respect the people I'm talking to, care deeply about a couple of them. Like, I'm very close, but I've got people in my ear from all over. Like, I've got, I talked to a lot of people and have a lot of friendships and all. Like, but at the end of the day, it's, it's my name that clips are out there in social media and our show. Like, I'm not gonna say something unless I have a personal experience or I' work on tape or I've done so I, I'm separating all those things. The second thing is players did there, there were a lot of players that do that did love James Franklin and still love James Franklin. I'm not saying he's been horrible and like this dictator and like now all of a sudden all these people are going to come out and be like, oh, listen to this story. Is it Micah Parsons or Abdul Carter something. Someone came out. I saw. I should probably double checked. I didn't plan it but like in full support of him and like I wouldn't be where I am today. You can just, you can look it up on, on social media. So there are, there are former players who are coming out and supporting him and I think that's wonderful too. It wasn't all bad. They won a lot of games. They were in the College Football Playoff last year. He's had some great players that he's helped develop and has been part of that and have gone on to the NFL and had successful careers. But there are things and, and, and it starts with selfish leadership. It starts with not always being trustworthy that I'm putting the right things. I gave you the Mac Brown quote the other night.
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B
Right.
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A
I'm, I'm an old man.
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B
Be consistent. Yep.
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A
I'm an old man, Todd. But, but, but it's really simple. Be fair, be consistent and do the right thing. And do the right thing often times and is putting the program, morals, all, all the things that, that we know are important ahead of what's the messaging for me. Okay. So let's leave it with that. But we will have a lot of good information. But we, yeah. We also have way too much invested in the work that we did in the last 40 hours. Excited me too. We've got, we've got 10 tape truths today. Okay. And we're gonna, we went back and watched a bunch of tapes. Steve like we always try to figure out what subjects do we want to go and attack. Steve will take five. I'll take five. And this is our Monday and it's become like a staple now on our show during the college football season. Every Monday's our ten tape truce. We're going to dive a little deeper into specific things that are standing out to us on tape. And let's get it started. Mitch and, and I'm just going to forewarn everyone. Indiana has arrived and so the first few truths right now are going to be how have they arrived? What's different from the program. And I saw some. Was, well, Michael, just a few weeks ago, you were saying that Signetti is a fraud and Indiana's a fraud.
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B
Did you ever say that, by the way?
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A
Nah, nah, dog. I know. I said last year they're the best, might be the best coach team in all of college football. They're playing above their talent level. I think they're a damn good football team, but I don't know that they're one of the 12 best. And they proved that to us pretty quickly in the College Football Playoff that they weren't. Two things can be true here. You know, I can have a great deal of respect for Signetti, which I do, but I also can be a realist. And when they get into the College Football Playoff, they're probably going to play a team with significantly better talent where all the coaching in the world isn't going to. To put them on top. Now, I've said since week one, this Indiana team is different than that Indiana team. And one of the reasons and your first truth and I'm going to kick it off to you, Steve, is, is the defensive side looks different. Even though they, they lost a couple guys from last year's group to the NFL, which they don't. They haven't historically done very often at Indiana.
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B
Yeah, look, tape truth number one is Indiana's defense is a top five defense. And you could say to me if Top. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
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A
Top five in the country.
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B
In the country. Fbs. I, I think they're up there with Ohio State. I think they're up there with Texas. I think they're up there with Oklahoma. They're right there. They are right there. And you could say to me, mensch, they were, they were sixth in scoring defense at the end of year last year. Yeah, they were. But it was a lot like that team, right? Like, how inflated were those numbers because of the schedule? And you look at what they did against Notre Dame, I think they gave up 27 and they gave up 38 against Ohio State. So they were a good defense. And I like, I mean, the defensive tackle, C.J. west, who's no longer there, who got drafted. I, I love CJ West. I talked about him a lot last year. They were a good defense. They weren't great. This defense is great. And, and I'm going to try and keep the short and try not to get too excited about it because I am really freaking excited about what I saw on tape. Like, really excited. And I'll just say this. The first and Foremost, the way this team plays for one another, the players play for one another in this team really jumps out to me on tape. And one of the, the things that really is an indication for that is contain. And it's a small thing, right. They make it very hard to get outside, whether they're the edges or the corners. They're not trying to shed and make a play to the inside when responsibilities to funnel people inside and then their teammates hustle, hustle to get there to make the play. When guys are funneled back inside, they minimize big plays with the way they, they play the run and their unselfishness in the way that they play the run. They're physical, they're aggressive. I love their linebackers, Aiden Fisher and Isaiah Jones. Both those guys play downhill.
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A
Aiden Fisher's number four, right? Yes.
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B
Aiden Fisher's number four. Isaiah Jones, number 46. I'll get into the linebacker play in a second. Love those, those guys. Then you get into this guy, Brian Haynes and what he does in terms of coverages, in terms of the looks he throws at guys and what he threw at Dante Moore. And I'm going to give you zone, zone, zone, zone. Third and ten. Here comes a man look, here comes a single high man look that you didn't expect. I'm going to rotate safeties where you think you've got single high pre snap and it's going to be too high or you think you got two high and now it's going to be three high. And they play a lot of zone. And one of the things I love about their zone and this is crazy to me against a mobile quarterback, they know exactly. They do a great job of matching up in zone and then knowing which player needs to step up when the quarterback gets outside the pocket. Watch it. Against Oregon it is a thing of beauty where they know if I don't have a guy in my area, I am the player to step up without leaving the coverage vulnerable. To force the quarterback to either make a play or I'm gonna, I'm gonna tackle him. It's, it's crazy to me. And then like again, Dante Moore is seeing zone all day. Then they get a big third down and 10 in, in the, early in the second quarter and all a sudden he gets man and he's got to hold on to the ball a little bit longer. Then they've got guys that can win as pass rushers one on one. He creates one on one matchups by bringing five or more times. This, this guy is, is super talented, just super Talented. I'll go into the linebackers a little bit more too, because I think they, they do three things really well in terms of linebacker play, Fisher and Jones. One is, like I said, they're. They're downhill against the run. They, they chase, they tackle well, so they're good run defenders. The second is good luck trying to block these guys with running backs. And you saw time and time again in the Oregon game, these guys are great pass rushers one on one. The other thing is I love the depth that they get in their drops in certain situations. I will say they're vulnerable to play action because of the way they play the run, but if it's second and 16, they're not biting. They, they understand situationally where they are in a game. If they're up big, they're not going to bite on play action as much. They understand where they are in the game and what's happening within the game. And they get great depth, which makes it hard to get behind them and allows them to rally the football and come up and make plays after the catch. So that linebacker play really good to me. And this is one thing that I have to say. There's other stuff too. I'll say this. Mikhail Camaro, who was their star last year, had 15 tackles for loss and 10 sacks. I think he has two tackles for loss and one sack. They're still one of the best pass rushes in the country and he's still making plays. When you watch on tape the pressure, but you see the numbers drop for a star like that and you're wondering if something's going on. No, he's still playing well. They just got other guys who can get there too. And he's in and they're getting there quicker. It's just unbelievable. I will also say this. It is clear that Indiana's advanced scouting is, is doing an outstanding job. They had a great, they had a great feel for what Oregon was trying to do.
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A
Here's another. Dan Lanning comes out and says something and I'm paraphrasing, but I read a quote, something along the lines, like, they were more prepared for this game.
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B
It was.
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A
And I know it wasn't necessarily X's and O's. He's referred like, like mentally and dial like what? And he's sending a message to his team. But to even like whisper something like that. Yes, he's talking to his team about what we need to do to prepare and like. But it's also, there's a hint of truth in damn were they were they.
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B
Ready, right, listen, there's, there's a play that Oregon runs. It's. They stack, they have a stacked receivers to the left of Dante Moore in this game. And Dante Moore looks out and sees a corner lined up over these two receivers and a safety high. And you're thinking to yourself, I've got numbers. Any young quarterback's going to look out there and be like, I like my numbers here. I've got the option. I'm going to flip it out to my receiver. What, what does Indiana do? They have their edge defender drop to the, to the receivers right at the snap of the ball and the next thing you know it's like a two yard gain. I mean they just had a great plan. These guys execute. They play for one another. The weaknesses, I will say this, this is the weaknesses. They are vulnerable to those deep. They're vulnerable to those crossers behind their linebackers off play action. And two, I think you can run downhill on them. But the problem with that is, I'll just say this. You better buckle your helmets up because they're gonna, you have to be ready to go two, three yards. You know, three yards and then you're gonna get an eight yard, then you're gonna get a 12 yard. You can run on them. If you get right downhill on them, don't try to go outside on them. It's not, not the way to go. You have to get right downhill on them. If you're willing to be patient and you have the guys up front because not every team can do it, but if you have the guys up front, I'm thinking of a team like Miami. If we're looking further down the road about how these matchups are, if you can run right at them and you're willing to be patient about it, you can do it. But they will test your patience because there will be a loss, there will be a 2 yard game, there will be a 3 yard game, there will be a three and out. Are you willing to stay committed to the run? It's a damn good defense.
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A
That's interesting. I mean there's nothing you can tell me like literally you could give me a three hour dissertation with play breakdowns and everything else to try to compare them to Ohio State because I think that that Ohio.
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B
I don't think they're.
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A
No, I know, I'm just. But after that there we've seen, you know.
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B
Yeah.
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A
Kind of flaws in, in all of the other top defenses which are really great. I'm going to get to another one. I'm Going to get to Texas A and M in one of my tape trues later on.
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B
You're right. Ohio State's different, but they're right there with Oklahoma and Texas. You're. You're. I'm glad you said that. You're right. I don't think that they're as good.
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A
I just didn't want people to be just. Yes, listen, I. Buckeye fans are what college football is all about. But there is, as Herbie calls it, like a lunatic fringe that you got to be careful of. And so I'm just protecting you.
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B
Thank you. I appreciate it.
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A
And they would. And I hate when they're right. The worst part is everyone, every once in a while, sometimes the. The lunatic fringe will be right. And so I didn't want to give him any ammunition, so. All right, let's transition tape. Truth number two, Fernando Mendoza's secret sauce is that you got to deal with everything when you try to defend him. I almost started this, this truth with, you know, Mendoza's tracking or I'm seeing the imper like. And he is tracking and he is developing and he is a perfect fit in this system. But at the end of the day, when I was done watching tape, my biggest takeaway on Mendoza and I went back and watched a couple games and dialed in, obviously to this last one against Oregon on the road. Really wanted to see how he handled it. Where he is in this offense, you got to understand 6 4, £220, he's got mobility. He's got a live arm. I'm not putting him in the class of a Josh Allen or, you know, like even a Matthew Stafford, but he's, he's, he's a check plus arm strength.
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B
Agree.
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A
Okay. Actually, that was one of the things.
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B
That jumped out to me watching him recently is his arm is stronger than I thought in the preseason.
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A
Yeah. But he, but he also layers it so there's certain throws he's making from one hash to the sideline where, like, there's an arc on it, but you're like, there's a reason for the art. You know what I mean?
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B
Yeah.
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A
Why am I saying all this? Because what, what Indiana was missing last year in, in Curtis Rourke was a guy who, who threatened with his mobility and had the arm strength to really threaten all parts of the field. Okay. And so we're not seeing Mendoza take off and run a ton. Okay. But when he does, even whether it's on an RPO or, or more so we've. I've seen from the tape I just watched you know, go through progressions, take off and run or a design run kind of a quarterback draw. One play I saw 109 first quarter in this last game against Oregon. Dan I wrote Daniel Jones looking, looking quarterback draw. It was a QB draw all the way. And he, when he took off to run with those long legs and the chewing up yards which with each stride he's not, no there's not a lot of suddenness or twitch but when he gets out going but it's not like a long Runway like he can go but it's more straight line and then kind of gliding and will like bounce off of one tackle and keep going and. And it's not always this beautiful thing but you look up and it's like shit, that was 16 yards.
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B
Right.
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A
You know what I mean? So, so he's got that element of the game which again I'm looking at this through the defense's lens. I've got to account for that. So maybe it's not a spy like you'd have to have against like Tommy Castellanos or maybe it's not two spies and half field and all that, but it's an element that I have to account for both RPO QB draws and scrambles on design drop backs. The other thing and more, way more important, this is my biggest takeaway. There's not many guys in college football where you're on the right hash with a right handed quarterback and the design of the play is a 15 back to 12 out to the left sideline. Yes, sometimes quarterbacks will be forced into that throw or. But it's not like. No, not only are we willing to do this, this is the design because our guy can make that throw. So what? Now I've got a quarterback who can run, so I got to account for that. Now I've got a quarterback that it doesn't matter what hash he's on, we've got to cover the full 52 and whatever and he can drive it vertically and he's sensational. He and his receivers and I'll get to his receivers in the next truth tape. Truth. The back shoulder fade is a thing of beauty at times like that final drive when they. The game winning drive, the game winning throw to Surat on the left side. The back shoulder gets it out. Beautiful throw. 66 27, fourth quarter. Perfectly timed, perfectly placed. So if I've got to cover vertical and I gotta. Gotta cover horizontal. I'm talking whole field and they got the ability if he. If it looks like a vertical and now the back shoulder. Like I'm in a jam, man. And the run game's been good. I don't think they're elite at running back. You got Black and Hemby, right? Roman Hemby and Kaylan Black.
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B
I like that. Running back. The running backs, yeah.
- [30:05]
A
They have over 100 yards against an Oregon front with two NFL defensive tackles and, and some guys in the. So like I'm, they're good. But I'm saying it's not like Notre Dame's running back, you know, situation. We thought Penn State's running back situation run game was going to be this year. But my point in all of this is that's why he's so dangerous. That's what. And, and the other point, the other part that jumped out to me, Steve, and I think it's by design, Signetti and it was a comfort level early on. Signetti recognized that they did like a lot of RPO stuff and he's despite the long, long levered, you know, six four guy, he does a really good job of rpo. Quick, quick decision get. Yeah but I'm not seeing as much of it now that we're getting into the bigger games and I didn't see as much of it. This game was much more. Hey, you better cover the whole thing. Oregon and we're going to come out early on like that first drive like 1109, right hash throw on time, perfectly placed deep out to the left sideline. Big time throw. One of a couple. All of the outbreaking routes is where he excels. He also has a receiver in Surat, Elijah Surat, who I'll get to, who excels along the sideline on the perimeter. So they're, they're keeping you out wide and now and we're gonna stick with us this week we have and I think we'll have a graphic we can throw up too. The McShay Report we the biggest numbers we've had in the McShay Report during college football season was, was this weekend. And so this thing's starting to grow too. Get involved if you can. You can, you can Google it. First of all, the McShay Report. Subscribe for free and you'll get, you know, a chunk of the, the pieces we write here. You see the graphic mid season quarterback rankings on Thursday though some of them is going to be premium content and it should be right Mensch.
- [32:01]
B
Yes.
- [32:02]
A
Then the following week on, on October 22nd, we get the very first big board of the year. Top 32 prospects overall. Then we get the Q A for the Premium subscribers coming up on the 29th. So the next three weeks we're really ramping it up in the McShay report.
- [32:16]
B
Yeah, you can tell we're starting to get closer, man. With those topics. Yeah.
- [32:19]
A
Here we go. The top 32. Top. I'm more nervous about these quarterback rankings because I'm seeing a lot of different things I wasn't expecting on tape. But my point in saying this is we're going to get to like the NFL side of all of this in a little bit. But I'm starting. Even though Mendoza is not there, he's not perfect. And I think that maybe 2027 could be one of the brilliant, most brilliant all time quarterback classes of some of the guys that I think should stick around for another year. Do stick around. But I'm seeing why NFL teams maybe are higher than him, than my preseason grade because my grade starting to climb too with him. And I'm not putting him at number one overall. I'm not there. But I'm saying, man, that's hard to. That's hard to deal with. When you get a guy who can make all these throws and can run, man, he, he's got the frame we're looking for. So there, there's a lot of cool things that they're starting to do and they're doing it differently than they were early in the season. Go.
- [33:19]
B
Okay, go ahead. I love, I love him. I love him as a college quarterback. I love the fit. We'll get into this more later on. I, I still have my concerns about him being. I think he's a little overhyped as a, and as an NFL draft prospect.
- [33:34]
A
I don't disagree at this point, but I, he's awesome college quarterback, but I can see a, I can see a situation. Let's not get into all this. Let me just say.
- [33:45]
B
Yeah, let's save it. We'll save it.
- [33:47]
A
Yeah, I can see a, a Denver bow Knicks. When you got a head coach intimately involved experience with quarterback development in a certain system, looking at this guy and being like, with that, I can do a lot of the things I want to do. So maybe league majority might be picked 25, 30, but he winds up going higher because someone's looking for something specific that Mendoza has to offer and there's still a lot of growth in front of him. Okay, tape truth number three. And I'm going to stick with this because it's on Indiana. Let's finish off Indiana with the first three. And they deserve it. Number three team in the country coming off the Signature program win for signetti in game number 19 in his, his era there at IU, these receivers, man, I like him a lot. And there's other guys besides the top two, but, but they've got two NFL guys at wide receiver.
- [34:42]
B
Okay, Indiana, man, I love it.
- [34:45]
A
Indiana has. And I like last year's group too.
- [34:48]
B
Right.
- [34:49]
A
And, and Omar Cooper was, was there, right? He was there. He's had a long road and he wasn't a big part of last year necessarily, if I, if I remember correctly.
- [35:00]
B
Yeah, this is a different Omar Cooper.
- [35:02]
A
And, and so when I'm watching this year, it's really those two guys that, that are the problem. Yeah. In 2024 he had 28 catches. 594. He still averaged 21 yards catch. He was. No, he was the, he was the big, he was the big play guy. Yeah, but he had 28 catches all of last season. They played what, 14 or so games.
- [35:24]
B
Yeah.
- [35:24]
A
He's got 29 catches through six.
- [35:27]
B
Six.
- [35:28]
A
Okay, so it's a different Cooper we're seeing. He's. He's the guy along with the other, the guy in Elijah Surat. Let's talk about Surat for a second. Eight catches, 121 yards in this game in a touchdown and the game winning touchdown. I, he's not a burner, but I think he might be a little bit faster than people think. He's 6 2, he's 205 pounds. He's not the go over the middle all the time, do the, the, the dirty work and all that. He thrives on the perimeter and it's a combination of size, body control, awareness, like the way he gets his head around sometimes and, and peaks back to his quarterback and kind of signals what he's about to do. He does some next level stuff and I talk to scouts who think he, yeah, he, he's late day three coming into the year, like, I just. He's fine. That's what scouts are. Yeah, no, he's fine. Literally. That's the look. Yeah, no, no, like he, he's fine, but.
- [36:27]
B
Right.
- [36:28]
A
But I've also talked to some people. Like, I think there's a little more there. I kind of like this guy, you know, and as a number three, number four in the league early in his career and maybe elevates to number two, number three. He catches the ball consistently. Really good focus, great body control. The back shoulder stuff is beautiful. Body control. I keep saying that, that phrase, body control because like along the sideline, working it, understanding like spatial awareness, when to break off his Routes using a little nudge, using a little hand check to create separation. He is, he's just got a lot of NFL qualities to him. And when you have a quarterback who can make all these throws, it works right? Then you got the other guy, Omar Cooper, who's not as tall. El Elijah Surat, 62, 205. But this guy's tightly packed, six foot. He's listed at 2, 205 as well. In that same range, Surat might be up to 213. Depends on what you look at. But Cooper, is this the kind of the flex guy. You'll see him a lot in the slot. You'll see him out wide, opposite, opposite Surat. He's got a little bit more juice. As you can see the 21 yards per catch last year, what does he average, like 16, 17 yards per catch?
- [37:44]
B
16.
- [37:44]
A
Yeah, 16. Okay. So he's got a little bit more juice and a lot of it's run after catch. He'll catch some of the slants and go. I watched, I watched. So with like the tempoing, the routes and all the body control stuff from Surat, then I go to Cooper and I'm watching him, studying him as an NFL prospect. Both of these guys are going to be drafted. Both probably middle round range.
- [38:05]
B
Okay.
- [38:06]
A
With him it's these feet and different kind of body control where, where Surratt's kind of like gliding, smoothing, moving. This guy's got some suddenness, sharp breaking and catches the ball like that. One catch along the sideline. I don't know if there was one catch along the sideline where it's like pluck two feet in good. He can like stop on a dime type, type of body control and so crisp out of his brakes. He separates with his feet and his change of direction. Okay. And then he had this one catch. It was 614, second quarter, wasn't it? Like it was a four yard kind of flat route and it almost looked like it might be a throwaway. It wasn't a throw. It was a high throw from, from Mendoza. Not a, not one of his, his best passes of the day. He goes up. This is what was beautiful about. He goes up, one handed catch, pulls it in. But most guys, especially at the college level, most guys make that catch and kind of fall down, slide. Let's pick up four second and six. He focus, bring it in, stop. Shakes off two guys like his balance and that like the way he's tightly packed. Breaks 2 breaks through 2, 2 trackles with tackles with a little shake and winds up, picking up like 11 for first down, you know, and that's kind of get with him and he does some of the dirty work. So with Mendoza and these two guys at wide receiver, they've got something really good here at Indiana and I think that's that combined with the defense you're talking about, the balance, the coaching. Like, I don't it's going to be interesting to see how this thing plays out. But, but I don't think they're over. They're overhyped at number three. And I certainly think by the time this is all said and done, they're going to be one of the top five, six teams going into the College Football Playoff. They're that good.
- [40:04]
B
Yeah.
- [40:04]
A
All right, take it. Go ahead.
- [40:06]
B
I like both of them after the catch, by the way. Cooper again, it's different how they do it. Surat's more of a power guy and Cooper's more of that, you know, make you miss and, but still, good effort. Also, Surat game winning touchdowns in the last two games against Iowa and Oregon. Kids making plays when it matters most.
- [40:21]
A
The McShay show is brought to you by FanDuel. Ready to fire up your Saturdays? FanDuel's got a boost you don't want to miss. It's called Boosting with the boys and it's giving everyone a college football profit boost every single week. So here's how it works. Each week we're giving everyone a profit boost to use on college football. No opt in gymnastics. No invite only nonsense. Everyone gets the boost. We're talking real games, real teams, real, real Saturdays with an extra payout on the line. It's easy, it's fun, and it's only on FanDuel. Go to FanDuel.com McShay to download the app. Check out the Boosting with the boys offer and get in on the action. Must be 21 and older and present in select states or 18 and older and present in DC, Kentucky or Wyoming. Opt in required bonus issued as non withdrawable profit boost tokens. Restrictions apply including any token expiration and max wager amount. See terms@sportsbook.fanduel.com gambling problem. Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit rg-help.com call 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org chat in Connecticut. When did making plans get this complicated? It's time to streamline with WhatsApp, the secure messaging app that brings the whole group together. Use polls to settle dinner plans, send event invites and pin messages so no one forgets mom 60th and never miss a meme or milestone. All protected with end to end encryption. It's time for WhatsApp message privately with everyone. Learn more@WhatsApp.com this episode is sponsored by American Eagle, so it's official. American Eagle just launched their exclusive limited edition collab with True colors by Travis Kelce and we could not be more excited to check it out. From sweater polos to loose and baggy pants to comfy sets, there's literally something for everyone. They also dropped a handful of incredibly comfy graphic tees that you can easily wear on repeat with relaxed cargos or with jeans. If you're a huge fan or just love the collab, shop the first drop now before it's gone. You can check it out on ae.com or just go to the store.
- [42:50]
B
Tape truth number four Georgia's offensive line's a problem. It's a problem, man. We talked about it on Saturday night. 31 carries for 79 yards and two touchdowns against that Auburn defense. And let's get into it a little bit. Some of those are situational numbers, right? So if you're coming out from there was, you know, they had a run where they're coming out from their own end zone, they're just going to try and run it right up the gut. You're not going to expect to get 5, 6 yards on that carry. I understand that downing the ball at the end of the game. Sacks count for rush yards in college all I get all that stuff right. It was bad and they're banged up up front. I'll say that Georgia's offensive line is banged up up front. Both offensive tackles were out. Earnest Green, the the left tackle has been out now since the beginning of the of the season. So they were banged up. I get all that. That Auburn front is really good. Six of the FBs of rushing yards allowed. But they got manhandled up front. I mean they were manhandled. And so I, I say to myself, well maybe if it is the situational stuff and maybe it is that front, let's go back to the Alabama game where they ran the ball much better statistically. And I look at that game and guess what? Alabama got gashed in that game on some long runs or a couple 43 yard runs. You know, they, they got gashed. They were caught out of position a couple times and Georgia took exam took advantage. But when you watch the overall tape, Georgia was also handled at the line of scrimmage in that game at times too So I just look at that and I, I'm concerned. And it bothers me, too, because selfishly, I want to see Nate Frazier, Josh McRae and Chauncey Bones, those talented running backs, get going. I love their talent at running back, and that's a big part of what they need to be competitive going forward is they got to get that group going. The offensive line is just. It's not that physical group that can take over and control the line of scrimmage like you might expect for a Georgia team. And on top of that, they're not that great in pass protection. I was watching that offense and there are some things to like it about it. Colby Young is developing into a good receiver on the outside. I like their tight ends. There's. There's some aspects of it, but that offensive line going forward for me is, is a concern. You know, when you're talking about their, their schedule and some of the teams are going to go up against, you know, a Florida, a Texas, those are teams that I would be. I would be concerned about how they're going to match up up front.
- [44:57]
A
Interesting. The SEC is getting intriguing.
- [45:01]
B
It is. There's. We're starting to figure some things out. The Big 12. I know it's not a sexy. We're going to start figuring out some things in the Big 12, too. This is the, this is when we're getting into who, who are the pretenders and who are the contenders.
- [45:15]
A
Yeah. And as much as we think we're figuring things out in the, in the sec, I'm not sure it's going to look identical to what it is right now, but there's a lot of content like, is LSU gonna pull it together? Is Nussmeyer gonna get like. Is. Is he gonna be healthy enough? And what's the deal there moving forward? You've got Texas coming off that huge win and I'll get to Texas in a minute. You got Alabama playing at a high level. Georgia like resiliency and all those things in the offensive line you're talking about. So there's just a. In Oklahoma. How's Matier look moving forward? Does he get back. Back on? So there's a lot of teams as we kind of suspected coming into the year. Tennessee doesn't look, doesn't look all that great last couple weeks, but looked great early in the year. And that Georgia loss. But is Georgia as good as we like? Still a lot of questions, but there's, there's depth to. Sorry, depth to that conference that you can't find anywhere else.
- [46:14]
B
So it's tough to go against Kirby. I, I, I texted to this group last night. I wouldn't be surprised if they won out because Kirby's Kirby and out a way. But when I watch this team and the defense isn't as dominant as it has been in the past, the offensive line's not as good as it's been in the past. There are some, if we look back and they lose two games down the stretch, we'll be able to say, we'll be able to say that there were the signs. The signs were there. You know, Georgia's, Georgia still tough to beat that team, man. But if they, again, if they drop a couple, we'll look back and be like, well, this is why we, we kind of had a feeling this could happen.
- [46:44]
A
All right, sticking in the SEC tape, truth number five, Ty Simpson, the Alabama quarterback is the quarterback in college football right now. And Dante Moore is still the most talented passer at Oregon. And there are a bunch of other guys that we've talked about and we'll get back to the quarterback class for 2026 and a lot of 2027 guys when we, when we come back on Thursday. But if there's one quarterback that's playing at the highest level right now that I trust the most, it's Ty Simpson. Ty Simpson, through six games is doing what I expected to see out of Garrett Nussmire this season. And it sounds very like it's very much true. And, and it looks on tape like it's very much true that Nuss Meyer's going through some physical things that are preventing him from being the guy I was hoping that he was going to be for his sake and LSU's sake this year. But Ty's that guy from the pre snap stuff and I know he looks over to the sideline and, and K, but like he's setting protections. He's in complete control. And listen, I, I get it. And we'll talk about NFL draft on Thursday and I will include Ty Simpson in that list. And I didn't for the, like, for the life of me expect to be talking about Ty Simpson.
- [48:07]
B
I got him on my board too, man.
- [48:08]
A
I promise you this, that's getting real. And we get some real conversations to have about Ty Simpson in the NFL draft and the eligibility and how many starts and all of those things. And he's not, he doesn't have the frame, he doesn't have the elite arm. He doesn't have the elite mobility. Although he's mobile.
- [48:28]
B
I like the way he moves.
- [48:28]
A
Yeah, no, no, he does. I'm just saying, like, there's. There's no elite physical trait to his game.
- [48:34]
B
Right.
- [48:34]
A
But there's a lot of great NFL quarterbacks that don't have, like that one that don't have the strongest arm, don't have the best mobility, don't have biggest frame that just shred you. And this guy's starting to look like that. And I'm stunned at his development and his growth. He played good against Florida State in the opener, better than people want to give him credit. But what I'm seeing recently is even better than that. It's the processing, it's the footwork, it's the keeping the eyes married with the feet. It's the anticipation of throws, it's the layering of balls. It's the trusting his eyes. Man, this is like a quarter, like a quarterback coaches offensive coordinator's dream that everything you see as a coach, he's out there executing. And how does that happen six games in? Well, it's a credit to Ty Simpson, first and foremost. It's a credit to Kalyn DeBoer, and it's a credit to. To Ben Grubbs, the offensive coordinator. These guys have a history of developing quarterbacks. And. And this is next up for this. This group. So I'm watching him.
- [49:48]
B
Can I really quickly say it's also a credit to the way they built that roster. They put playmakers around him, man. They have playmakers. So it's also that it's putting him in the right spot in terms of that roster.
- [49:58]
A
They did. And yes, they have wide receivers. They've got talent. But I think this is important. I'm glad. That's a perfect transition. There's also an element of this competitiveness and like, that I love. And the decisiveness and like, this is like, I got. You get the feeling watching him on tape. At least I did. There is not trust because he's a vocal leader, yelling and all those things. And he does some of that. It's trust because this guy's got it. Like, I got it handled. They throw this at us.
- [50:28]
B
I got it.
- [50:29]
A
I've got the answers. And it can be with my feet, can be with my arm, can be with my mind. Okay. And yes, they've got wide receivers match. They do beautiful wide receivers with beautiful speed and all the things that scouts look for. They got those guys. But that's not the reason. That was my biggest takeaway from all this outside of this.
- [50:49]
B
Oh, I agree.
- [50:50]
A
This looks like Meyer should look like. And then the next Thing was, and it's not just because of the wide receiver because that's always going to be the first scouts thing when they look well, he had Ryan Williams and Isaiah Horton and he's got Jeremy Bernard who's their number three for goodness sake. He might be a second round draft pick. He's got all these guys, right. But here's the deal. It's not this, it's not the story here, folks. The wide receivers are not the story. Ties the story. And you look at this week, Ryan Williams is the star. Talk about him in the same breath as Jermaine Smith. Coming in Ohio State.
- [51:26]
B
Jeremiah Smith.
- [51:27]
A
Yeah, Jeremiah Smith. Jeremy Bernard. Jeremiah Smith at Ohio State coming out recruiting and we saw the freshman year and the massive game against Georgia and all the things he did last year. He is a special talent but a massive drop against Georgia. Drops throughout the year, in and out of the lineup. Concussion, no fault of his own. Took a big hit against Vanderbilt. Was hoping to play. Listed as probable during the week. Got one target in this last game. I watched the tape. Where, where's two? Where's two? What's up? Where's. Didn't matter. No, he didn't play. He didn't get to play that much. And when he was on the field he didn't make that big of a factor. How many catches did Brian Williams have on Saturday? Zero.
- [52:11]
B
Oh, that's right. Zero. That's right.
- [52:12]
A
One target. Zero.
- [52:14]
B
I thought it might have been one. You're right.
- [52:15]
A
He took a hit and DeBoer said he called it, you know, carry over from the hit he took in Vandy. So he'll, he'll get back rolling. But nine different Alabama skill guys caught a pass.
- [52:26]
B
Yeah.
- [52:27]
A
And Ryan Williams is out. Isaiah Horton's doing his thing, but not huge numbers. Jeremy Bernard's doing his things. Not big numbers. We got this freshman guy coming in, load zero. Brooks.
- [52:41]
B
Yeah.
- [52:42]
A
Steps in, he leads the team in receiving. Four catches, 58 yards. Those aren't even big numbers.
- [52:47]
B
Fourth down catch.
- [52:49]
A
So I'm saying it's the quarterback man. At some point we got to recognize the tight ends are involved, the running backs are involved. It's throw something at me. I've got the answer and I'm going to move around. I go back, I watched, I watched the Vanderbilt tape, I watched the Georgia tape. I watched, it was Georgia, Vandy. And then obviously this past week against Missouri, one drive stood out to me. If I was to say, if someone said give me one drive. Todd, to summarize, like what he's Doing. If I only get 20 minutes, I can watch one drive and really study it. It's the first drive of the game against Georgia is a thing of beauty. I'm going to walk you through it real quick. 13:25, first quarter. Like just the start of the game. Sends a message. He goes, drops back to throw. It's a design pass. Read one, read two, not open. Instead of wasting time to read three and getting caught in the backfield against a Georgia pass rush, it's not great, but they got dudes up front. He sees this tiny little crease and it's one, two goes right.
- [53:47]
B
Yeah.
- [53:48]
A
Takes off. Looks one looks to explodes through the hole shortly after that. So now we got a first down. Drives rolling. First drive of the game shortly after that. Beautiful design. Ryan Williams, star wide receiver, big time playmaker. Splits the safeties, gets behind them. Ball dropped in beautifully.
- [54:14]
B
Drop. Yeah.
- [54:17]
A
Doesn't let that affect him. Next up, let's go. Isaiah Horton. It was like two, it was two plays later, Isaiah Horton goes on. What was it? A perfect ball. 12 back to 10 route. I'm just looking at my notes. It was a third and 10 on that drive. So a couple plays later, third and 10 on that drive. 12 back to 10 route. Right at the sticks, left sideline. Drills it first down. I just love that sequence. Then a few plays after that, drills another cover two beater to Isaiah Horton. Down the left, the left sideline between the, you know, the corner and the safety. Safety coming over, support corner squatting, bang. Seth, left sideline. Couple plays later, run the ball, try to balance things out. Hits, hits. Jeremy Bernard, quick slant in the end zone. Touchdown.
- [55:05]
B
He's been unreal. I said this, this, the great quarterbacks, the great quarterbacks, and I'm not saying that Simpson is there yet. Are the guys that you expect to come back every single time and make plays and they scare the hell out of you. The homes like they, the Tom Brady's, the ones that scare the hell out of you. They have the. They. You think there are other quarterbacks, you're like, oh, I hope they can get it done here. In a key situation in the game, whether it's a game winning drive or whatever it is, they need points, they need to come back or whatever. I'm now looking at Simpson and expecting the expectation is that he's going to take his team down and score. And I thought, I think his teammates are seeing it the same way. When you see him, when you watch the broadcast and you see Missouri kind of tighten up that game and you see his teammates coming up to Simpson and smacking him on the back of the helmet and on the back of the pads of like, all right, here we go. This is what you do. Go do your thing. Go get us right back where we want to be. And I. It's just to watch that over this quickly when you. When the loss to Florida State and see where he is now is honestly one of the better stories in college football. I think it's awesome.
- [56:04]
A
And. And people say, well, McShay, like, it was Missouri. Know this, know it, don't think it, don't guess it, know this. That's a damn good Missouri team. I. I saw that on tape. That's a damn good edge.
- [56:20]
B
Rushers were running around the right tackle at times in that game. Like, you give me a break with. That's not a good win.
- [56:25]
A
That's on the road, and that's Missouri's Super Bowl. Okay, so they. They took their best punch. That's. That's Ty Simpson without Ryan Williams and with his star running back, Jam Miller, who just got back in roll.
- [56:38]
B
Exactly.
- [56:39]
A
Getting injured. That's Ty Simpson. Jump on here. I gotcha.
- [56:43]
B
Yeah.
- [56:44]
A
All right. Tape truth number six. Go ahead.
- [56:48]
B
Tape truth number six is I might be crazy and far be it for me to question the head coach, Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire, but I still think the Red Raiders need to make a change at quarterback. And hear me out on this, okay?
- [57:00]
A
Really? Because when you first texted me, you said, well, he can't. I know, I know, I know.
- [57:05]
B
And I was like, you know what? Let's take a different look at this mention. When I watched the tape, I had an idea going in, right? And you want to see if your. Your. The. The information, the data backs up your thesis. And in this situation, I don't think it did. Let me be very clear about this, okay? Texas only Tennessee is averaging more points per game than Texas Tech right now. It's not like they're not scoring, okay? Baron Morton is a very good quarterback. He's a serviceable quarterback. And the reason this came up again is this. Baron Morgan got knocked out of the game against Kansas, and Will Hammond, the talented freshman, came again. Last time we talked about Hammond, it was against Utah. He came in, he was 13 of 16 with two touchdowns, ran the ball for 61 yards. He looked amazing in the Utah game. Well, he comes in against Kansas and he goes 7 for 16 with 42 yards. Doesn't quite look like he did when they were. When they were beating Utah and pulling away. But I Went through every. I went through every drop. And the first two were alarming. I will say this. The first two looked. He looked like a freshman quarterback. He looked like a guy has not started. He's stuck on the first read, on the first one through the ball in the dirt. The second one, he's kind of fading back when he doesn't need to, and he misses the crosser. And I'm like, oh, oh, maybe. Maybe me and McShay were jumping the gun a little bit. We were calling for this guy to come in to play.
- [58:25]
A
I think that's when you texted me.
- [58:27]
B
But Texas Tech is rolling players. Yeah.
- [58:29]
A
So then I.
- [58:29]
B
But I start to watch it, and I start seeing some of the throws, even the ones that aren't completions, and I'm like, man, that's. That's an accurate ball. The receiver just didn't. Didn't separate, and that's a tough throw, and he didn't hit that. But, man, it was close. And you see the talent. And here's what jumps out to me more than anything else. This kid is a problem as a runner. He adds a different element to their offense. And when you look at the overall, he's had one good showing against Utah, and he's had one, you know, I would say questionable showing as a passer against Kansas now. Okay. But he hasn't been given the opportunity to come in and really be the guy. And to me, if you can get this guy to play at the level or close to the level that he was playing at Utah, and then you add in what he can do with his legs, which gives you a whole new element to your offense. I get it. Texas Tech doesn't need to make a change. This isn't a situation where, like, well, Baron Morton's not playing well, but actually, the numbers are good. They're not great. I. I just think this team is built. I really believe this team. It has the defense of a contender. It has the running game of a contender. If you're really gonna. You're gonna. You're gonna take your shot now as Texas Tech and really see how far you can go with this thing this year. I. I would really consider getting him and at least to start and see how he does. And that might be tough to handle in terms of, like, that's. It's ignoring how that might affect the locker room and how my. If you have to go back to Barry Morton, how it affects him. I understand all these things, and I shouldn't question Joey McGuire, who's on an absolute Heater with the way his team's playing. But if you're just looking at this as X's and O's, you're watching tape on Sunday and you're thinking to yourself, man, that'd be interesting. It'd be kind of interesting if they, they went with this. So again, it's in a bubble. I understand, but, man, I, I watched that. I'm like, what. How do they get their best team? What's the, the toughest offense defend for them? And I think it's with Will Hammond on the field.
- [60:20]
A
What's their. When's their next biggest game? Did you, did you say that? And I missed it.
- [60:27]
B
I actually looked at it, but now I'm drawing.
- [60:28]
A
Here's the way I view it, like, can be viewed as. This is a great problem to have, right?
- [60:35]
B
It's a great problem to have until.
- [60:39]
A
It becomes the problem. Right?
- [60:41]
B
Yeah. This is a classic, by the way. Classic. Men's just living in this bubble. Living in his, like, just, you know, in his office watching tape. Classic take for me on this because.
- [60:53]
A
A lot of others, I said it, I said it after their, their Utah win. I was like, all in. Here we go. And Morton's come in and he's done a really nice job, and that's who he is. And he operates the offense, the part that we don't quite understand because we don't wake up, get out of bed, go, go to the mess hall, get our breakfast, go over the building and spend the day in the building, on the field, in the weight room, in the meeting. That dynamic out, going out to, Going back out to the training. The training table and getting dinner or going out to me, like, we don't know that. But by all accounts, that stuff is real. Like, it's a big course.
- [61:29]
B
It is. Yeah.
- [61:30]
A
So, like, we're not ignoring that. We're just saying there is a tape element.
- [61:35]
B
This is the tape situation.
- [61:38]
A
This is the tape truth. These are not the, this is not the, the leadership intangible truths. These are the tape truths. And the tape is telling both of us. There's more offensively for Texas Tech with the young guy, but is that enough to. To surpass all the other stuff that, that Morton brings? And I, I mentioned this all the time. I have talked to scouts who consider he's. He's an intriguing day three guy. Like, he, you might hear his name, like, in the NFL draft. So Baron Morton, I'm talking about.
- [62:10]
B
So, yeah, he's not, he's not bad. It's just a different element And I think that Hammond's as talented as a passer. They've got Arizona at Arizona State next. I don't know if Sam Levitt will be back. That's obviously a different team. Utah just ran over Arizona State without Levitt in the lineup last week. And then they've got BYU in, in early November. Now the teams are Oklahoma State, just.
- [62:31]
A
Something to keep an eye on. And I'm glad we're talking about Texas Tech regardless of what the subject matter because like they're a top 10 team. They keep winning.
- [62:40]
B
No question.
- [62:41]
A
I feel like of all the top 10 teams for the last several weeks, there's just not a lot of talk about this team and how good they are and how like legitimately talented, well coached and all the things that they are. All right, take truth number seven.
- [62:55]
B
I need to be, I do need to be clear about something because I say we're going to find out a lot about the Big 12. I think we're going to find out a lot about who's going to lose, lose the Texas Tech in the Big 12 championship. That's what I think we're going to find out a lot about in the next couple of weeks. Texas Tech is, you know, the best. Yeah.
- [63:08]
A
All right, tape truth number seven. There's reason to be very optimistic, but also cautiously when it comes to Texas in their path to get back in this College Football Playoff. They're ranked number 20 this week by the AP poll. You know my thoughts on the AP poll. Don't trust them. Don't believe in the process. Think there's a better way to do it is what it is because at the end of the day it does not matter. So I'm cool with it if, if Steve Sarkeesian and this staff can bottle up the second half of Oklahoma and that becomes like the jump at the springboard to the rest of the season for Texas, they might be every bit a part of this thing as we thought Texas was going to come, was going to be coming into this year. That second half against Oklahoma, that Oklahoma team was what we thought Texas was going to be before they got punched in the face by Ohio State, by an Ohio State defense. We're now coming to figure out that might go down with like the Alabamas of the 2011, the Miami's of 2001, the USCs with, with, with all those star, you know, like.
- [64:29]
B
Those former Canes aren't going to be happy about hearing that. Man, that was insane.
- [64:33]
A
And so I'm just saying, like you, when you think, when you just like, close your eyes for a second. You think about some of the defense.
- [64:38]
B
The great ones. Yeah, right. Great ones.
- [64:42]
A
So anyway, there was a residual effect after that, and Arch clearly was affected. It's so good to see Arch right now. And it's not all beautiful. And he only threw for what. You can look up the numbers, like 166 or like it. But this is what we expected to see from Arch to a certain extent. And it's just gonna keep. It should just keep getting better. Okay. This is Arch, the creator and the distributor. This is Arch. When the protection's not there or they're just so good on the defensive side as Oklahoma is, they're gonna get home sometimes. They're gonna wreak havoc. Havoc in the backfield. This is arc showing. Yeah. I'm not Eli. I'm not Peyton. Like, I'm. I'm my dad and my mom's son. I'm the athlete of the group. I'm more like my grandpa.
- [65:33]
B
Yeah.
- [65:34]
A
I'm more like Archie.
- [65:35]
B
Right.
- [65:36]
A
And so we're seeing that element of his game. We're seeing it more decisively and even go back to Florida in that ugly loss for the Longhorns. He played pretty well in that game. And we saw kind of a steady build up a little bit, like the. Obviously the Sam Houston State, I think it was. And no one cares. Right. But I saw some confidence go growing inside of him. This Texas wide receiver group is astounding. It's one of the best groups in the country. Put in the top three or four. I know you got to put Ohio State up there, like. And we just talked about Alabama with Ryan Williams and Isaiah Horton and Jeremy Bernard and now this freshman cat. But. But Texas is. Is. Is in the conversation up there. Maybe not one, maybe not two, but, like, you can't get past five without having Texas in the conversation. But we didn't see it early this season because their offensive line was not playing to the level. Arch was flooded with Heisman number one draft pick, national championship, Manning jersey, all of this stuff. Now he's not. Now he's playing free and his mechanics aren't exceptional. There's some throws that he still is a little. But, like, he's feeling it. He's playing, he's reacting and. And now he's getting the ball out to these guys and he's missing in the strike zone. Sometimes I watch the tape. I see it, of course. So he. He can lead a receiver and maybe we get five extra yards or what, so. But there's refinement. But before it was like, oh right, we all just overhyped this guy and it's. Yeah, he didn't play at a very high level in high school and it's the Manning name and, and why didn't he start and the quarterback Quinn Ewers wasn't that great. And they. So like questions start creeping in your head, like real serious questions. But now I'm seeing the guy that we expected to see and I'm expecting to see growth. Now I want to say this because it's important to say I've covered live on the field these games and you think, oh, Oklahoma's back. They like they figured it out. They had a two loss team but they just beat Texas. And this is what I expect to see the rest of the way.
- [67:47]
B
Right.
- [67:48]
A
So they've struggling but they just pounded Oklahoma. Huge upset. I've seen those games in this history, the last couple decades, those have happened. So it can be fool's gold to think like this is just a different game. This is a rivalry. Sometimes a bad Auburn team beats in Alabama. Sometimes a bad Michigan team by standards beats Ohio State.
- [68:11]
B
Yeah.
- [68:12]
A
Even vice versa in the history. So I want to preface with, preface this with. I'm not blind to that concept and I'm also not blind to the concept that John Mattier was playing with a recovering broken thumb. Okay. But the second half is what we expect to see. The offensive lines protecting, the penalties were there for Oklahoma in the second half. In the offensive line they weren't really for Texas. They were in the first half a little bit. They only finished with four. With four, four penalties on the day, which is a step up. The protection was, was a little bit better and that, that defensive front is legit for Oklahoma. Yep. They had 50 more total yards of offense. And remember Matier was, was dealing early in that game. And most importantly, they didn't turn the ball over. And when they needed a clutch throw a couple times, Arch made it. When they needed their quarterback to run because the, because the protection wasn't there or something, Arch did it. Okay. And the defensive side, that to me is that it's just as important as what we saw from Arch in the offense. Before I switch over to defense, when I say the receivers, I didn't mention like these receivers, we're talking Wingo, DeAndre Moore, we're talking injuries at the tight end position. And what's beautiful is this Parker Livingstone guy, roommate of Arch, when Arch was in crisis mode, he was only looking when trouble was happening. And he Was flooded with bad thoughts and all. He was going to Livingstone and that was great to see some big plays. But Livingstone's the third best receiver in that group. He's just a red shirt freshman. He'll keep getting better. He should be the kind of the secondary third, you know, third type of target. And that's what he is now. And that's a wonderful thing that that guy who is starring in some big, big moments can be your number three wide receiver and maybe your number four target.
- [70:07]
B
Yeah.
- [70:08]
A
So now on the defensive side, welcome back Colin Simmons. And I know the pressures were there, but when you. But when you're Micah Parsons and when you're Abdul Carter and those are the comps you're getting for where he can develop to. And we saw the flashes of freshmen. You expect a two and a half sack game and that's what he provided against Oklahoma. And on top of that, Anthony Hill Jr. Has been doing some really good things, but he was like all over the football. He finished with, I think, seven tackles in that game. And the defensive backs with this system, right, Quickowski. Right. Quickowski system, it is zone heavy, eyes forward, make plays on the football, number one and be awesome tackling. That's. That's this whole deal, right? We can get home with our front four. We got athletic linebackers and our backset are normally a nickel. Our five defensive backs have got to do two things. Tackle. They don't have to be the, you know, oily hips turning running man to man. They don't have to do that. They've got to be smart with their eyes. They got to tackle really well and they got to make plays on the football. And I look up and I see every single time there's a play being made, whether it's a turnover or a big tackle or a tackle for loss, it felt like these guys were involved. Jelani McDonald all over the field. Michael Taft, the enforcer. As I said, they combined for 17 tackles in the sack doing their job. And then you got Malik Muhammad, two interceptions doing what Texas DBs do. I'm excited to see the path. Now, here's the path. They win. The next two, agree Kentucky and Mississippi State, and those are the schedule gods, are kind of on their favor. Even though it's. It ain't easy. But because you wonder, is there going to be a little let down, what's the residual of this Oklahoma game? It is. You know, everyone in Austin and all around Dallas is getting excited and getting inflated egos. So now, now we have time to kind of reset if you're sarc. Work on things and get better. Kentucky, Mississippi State. Start to. Not start. Continue the development and the growth, especially in the offensive side of the ball and the defense, like you're on notice now that second half when you shut out Oklahoma, the turnover, like that's what we expect here. So you get done with those. But November's a bitch, man. Okay. Vandy's a dangerous dog. Yep. But you get that game at home, then you're at Georgia.
- [72:37]
B
That's the one. Yep.
- [72:39]
A
Georgia's gettable though. You and I see it.
- [72:42]
B
I just.
- [72:42]
A
But they're also. But they're also. I don't want to play them like they, they are one of the 10 best teams in the country there. But if Texas uses the next two, three games to keep growing, they're capable of that win. Whereas 10 days ago, 15 days ago. I'm saying there's no chance they're going between the hedges. Not that team. Okay. Then you've got.
- [73:03]
B
Georgia handled them last year twice. Yep.
- [73:05]
A
Then you get that, that kind of sandwich game. Arkansas, that. Which is kind of concerning. But assuming they're gonna win there, that'll be one of those ugly ones. But then, but then if they, if they handle it, this is the course, man. Remember, one of those losses was Ohio State, number one team in the country. The other one is the only SEC loss. It ain't a. They went out and have two losses. They're in just on the, on the record. Yeah. Because one of them was Ohio State. And if, but if they, they, they get to the SEC championship game. Right. And we know the committee is going to reward teams for being in the SEC championship game. That A and M game becomes the one.
- [73:47]
B
It does. There's a path, man. Hey, listen, if you wanted to be easy, you don't play in the sec. If you wanted it to be easy, that's. You just can't play.
- [73:54]
A
I'm just saying, a couple, a week ago even, and, but definitely a couple weeks ago, it's like, nah, they're done.
- [74:03]
B
Oh, no. His pants. Yeah.
- [74:05]
A
All right, Go ahead.
- [74:07]
B
Tape truth number eight. I agree with you on Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson. He's the guy, he's the guy in America. But Notre Dame quarterback C.J. carr is averaging 310.8 passing yards over the last four games. And the tape absolutely matches the production. This kid is on fire and he is. I, I think people may not have been paying attention to Notre Dame after two losses. They haven't had really that, that big time matchup since Then so maybe a little bit under the radar. If Notre Dame can go under the radar, I don't know if they can, but C.J. carr, I love his game, man. I. The touch and the timing that he's showing on passes. And for a young quarterback, we'll get into some of the other stuff for the negative of being a young quarterback, okay? But for a young quarterback, I really want to point out a couple of plays. Boise State plays 17, it's fourth and nine. Okay, I think they're on the 20, the 19 yard line. Okay? He's got two by two, 10 personnel. He's got a single high safety. Look, the safety is shaded to his left side. Okay? To his left side. What's he do? He turns to the right side and he starts making all these hand signals. He's like, hey, over here. Look, look, look. Meantime that you see the safety start to rotate over C.J. carr, flips his hips like he's going to throw to his right. And then as soon as he's got that safety, flips back and throws a gorgeous back shoulder touchdown pass to the left side. Whole time, you know, look over here. I got you, safety. Hey, you look over here. I'm making all these hand signals. Like, look at this. I'm setting up over these routes. There was no way he was ever throwing the ball right. It was quick, right? I'm gonna sell this. And then back to his left. And again, the touch and the timing keeps showing up. Great example, play 27 this past week against North Carolina State. Eli Rand in the big tight ends, running down the seam, he's kind of run across her, but the scene, it's a seam throw for him, for Carr. Drops it in over the. The trailing linebacker and in front of the safety for a big play. This kid's. He's jumping out. He. I think he played well in the first two games. For a guy who's coming in and just starting for, for the first time for Notre Dame. And then he is just elevated his game over the last four games. I am so impressed with what he's doing. And then you look at like he's spreading the ball around. They don't have the receiving core of an Alabama. They don't have that. The receiving core of a Texas. But he knows what he's got. He's got Randon, who's emerging as the next great Notre Dame tight end. I really believe that. Then he's got Malachi Fields, who's 222 pounds on the outside. He's got those Big targets for back shoulder throws, red zone throws. He knows what he's got there. And then with Jordan Faison and Will Pauling, he's got these quicker guys that separate. Well, he's got the tool. And then by the way, Jeremiah Love is an absolute weapon in the passing game. So he's got the tools to be, to, to, to be productive with that group again. 310. I don't think people think of Notre Dame as that passing attack being that good, man. It's the 19th best passing attack in the FES right now. It is, it is dangerous. It's a different looking team than it was last year. Now, on the flip side, there are some things that he still does. There are some times where he, you know, he's gotten away. I think he has 10 touchdowns, one interception in the last four games. There was a, there was a clearly a drop in interception against Arkansas. He got away with the decision against North Carolina State. He's young. There's still some things that he does, but I think he's more, he's. He's progressed to farther than most freshmen would be at this time. He's super talented. He's got arm strength, he's got touch, he's got timing, he's got mobility. All of these things. That Notre Dame passing attack is for real and CJ Carr is for real.
- [77:42]
A
Aren't you surprised that that's the case considering all the reports in the summer and, and it was, it was Menchi who was, yeah.
- [77:50]
B
Was. Is he gonna win it outright? How much of that is Freeman though, keeping, keeping him on his toes of. Nothing's going to be handed to you. Also the team too. Like, even if you like car, you might say to the team, like, he's got to earn it. You know, this is the grandson of Lloyd Carr, the great Michigan coach. I don't want anyone to think that he's. Someone's going to come in here and be given something and so even if they like him, I like the idea of saying, oh, that's. It's still a race, man. You know what I mean? Like you still got to prove yourself every day. Yeah.
- [78:17]
A
No, all those things can be true. I'm just saying, I guess because a. It's Notre Dame and the run game and the defense and what they, they've built on and with the run they made last year and to see the shift in, in the offensive style and the quarterback position and what. So it's cool to see. I, I love it. You got another tape Truth on Notre Dame Might as well just do it, do it here, back to back. Go ahead.
- [78:40]
B
Notre Dame is a top 10 team and there's, it's not even close. Notre Dame is a top 10 team and it's not close. They got a tough game against USC this week and they can't lay an egg. They better be ready to go. They haven't played a team like that since again, the first two wins. But listen, I just talked about the passing attack and then you're going to add a running game with Jadarian Price and Jeremiah Love. And I know it's, I think it's 50th in the country in rushing yards per game. Those guys can run against anyone. I mean, Jeremiah Love is the best running back in the country and Jadarian Price has looked, I mean, outstanding at times. The offensive line hasn't quite played up to expectations, but it still played well, has room to get even better. I mean, that's a, it's a really good group. That offense, again, I'm telling you, it's tough to defend. And I'll add in. I talked about Love as a receiver. I just a few, few reps that I saw. Jadarian Price is really competitive in pass protection, man. These are guys that are, are willing to step up and help out when they have to and pass protection. So I'll just talk, you know, that's the offense. I had concerns about the defense. I, I thought the offense would get there. I had concerns about this defense. But you look at some of these guys, like Bukar Trori is a legit edge. And then you look at their, you look at their secondary with guys like Leonard Moore and Christian Gray and Aiden Scher, like, and they're deep there, man. They have, they, they have 11 interceptions this year. Eight different players have interceptions. I mean, they can turn you over. That defense is settled in. That defense is much better than what we saw when it was getting gashed by Texas A and M. Again, this is a group, I think, that it's built and you think about this. I want to talk about their, I don't, I don't know where I put it, but their, their margin. Oh, they're top 10 and turnover margin. They're really good at taking care of the ball and turning the ball over. I think that's a big stat for teams. And I go ahead.
- [80:22]
A
No, I, I, I'm looking at this thing, man. I just, like, I don't. And I get it, it's Monday. But like, I don't think this is Notre Dame Yeah, right. Like this is the touchdown. Like this is. Why aren't we. This is like the. This is a Super bowl for Notre Dame on Saturday. I hope the Irish fans know it's a big, big game, man.
- [80:46]
B
Because that's a good USC team because there are two not sleeping on that team.
- [80:51]
A
There are two truths here. One is Lincoln Riley's got this. This team and yeah, they didn't travel well to Illinois and we're going right back to the Midwest and all that stuff. And so maybe it won't be the same USC that we saw at home. USC is a very good football team. That is a. And they're starting to peak and they're playing with confidence. And so what you saw on tape against Illinois is not what you're getting when they come back to the Midwest on Saturday.
- [81:16]
B
Right.
- [81:16]
A
Number two here, this is the most important part. Like it is an absolute no brainer that Notre Dame wins this game and wins out. And I want to mention to the wins out portion of it, it's bc. I gotta get my face. It's bc Navy pit. Pitt's playing really well now with the new quarterback pit. Syracuse and Stanford. Notre Dame's winning out. So it's either a three loss team with the third loss being in October against a good but not elite USC team and now it's like probably ain't in or it's, we beat usc. And by the way, committee, our first two losses were back in. You got to go back to early September against two top five teams right now.
- [82:04]
B
Right.
- [82:05]
A
And by close game. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Mensch, mensch. Three. No, no. Four combined points. Four combined points.
- [82:14]
B
Yeah, listen.
- [82:16]
A
By one to a M and three to Miami. So this is it. Like USC, Notre Dame. Saturday night, NBC 7:30pm we're gonna be here Saturday night. We're gonna cut into this game. I'll talk to Blacklidge this week, see what's going on. Like we're going to be ready to break into that game and I'm sure there's another game or two. I haven't even looked ahead yet. I'm too busy watching the tape from last week and talking to people at Penn State. My goodness. But, but this is like the, this is the biggest game of the year for Notre Dame. This is going to decide we're in or we're out. It's an elimination game.
- [82:50]
B
Yeah. Two quick points.
- [82:52]
A
Yeah.
- [82:53]
B
Think about Marcus Freeman and how deep they went in the playoffs last year and how that's going to help him in this team all the team, all the players that did return, like they know they've now navigated that playoff better than anyone else other than Ohio State. They were the, they were, they finished second. So they have a good feeling for that. Marcus Freeman has a good feeling for how to prepare anything that he might want to tweak. I think that helps them. I think that's something that maybe slept on a little bit. But I want to go through this really quick because I say they're a top 10 team and I want to be clear about this. If I put them head to head, I like them against Georgia Tech, I like them against Tennessee, I like them against lsu. I like them against Georgia, I like them against Ole Miss. I, I mean Ole Miss is the.
- [83:32]
A
You're saying they might be top seven team in the country?
- [83:35]
B
Yeah, I like. Well, listen, Ohio, Miami, Indiana, Texas A and M, Alabama. So now we're at five. Texas Tech I like better. Six. Yeah, they're eight in Oregon. I would put them at eight right now. I think they're that good.
- [83:48]
A
Okay, interesting. Well, I'm fired up for Saturday night already and I hadn't even kind of started thinking about that. We've gone way over. It started with Penn State.
- [83:56]
B
I'm sorry.
- [83:57]
A
No, no, no. It's all on me. What? Normally we do the 10 tape tours. We're in and out in about an hour. We're not trying to take up people's time. Was important to get to circle back on Penn State for all the reasons. And I'm not going to, I'm not going to cut my 10 tape truth number 10 short. But I am going to say we're going to. We got to car wash this thing because I don't, I don't want us to have an hour and 40 minute show on a Monday. Texas A and M's defense is one of them. That's tape truth 10. And no, it's not Ohio State. I get it. I'm not saying it's top two or maybe even three. But I find it hard to believe after I just studied the te. I've now have spent two, two sit down sessions with the A M tape because I watched Cassius Howell as a pro prospect getting ready for our, our new flagship NFL draft show during the college football season rough draft, which comes out on Thursday. I, I got that ready for last week and so now I've sat back down with more tape to watch of Texas A M. And I'm just saying that group's one of them. Whatever them is, whether it's Top three, top five. Like he they're one of them. They're not Ohio State. But after that, keep them in the conversation. And I'm saying that because I was worried early on against Florida just watching the game on tv, I'm like may, maybe they're not quite as good as I thought. Maybe if you can kind of, you know, bottle up Cashes then. Then you get a chance because Florida starts rolling and I'm. Maybe Lagways found it. Maybe it's practice time. Maybe. Maybe you get the fresh Wilson. Maybe things are rolling for Florida. I went back and watched the tape. Men like this is. You got to remember this is Elko's baby. El built his career on defense. You know, Elko's been to spots whether you know, Duke is head coach but Notre Dame and where other place like it. Oh, A and M before that he's a defensive guy. So this is his baby. And it's great that Marcel Reed has got all the mobility in the world and he's flashing on as a passer and they got Casey Concepcion and Mario Craver and their running game, all that stuff. Don't get it twisted. A M's number what, five in the country? Six in the country right now because this deform. Yeah, yeah, sorry. Four A&M is number four in the country because of this defense. And that for those first two drives weren't pretty. But I went back and watched it and it was like really horrifying stuff if you're calling plays defensively. But super coachable and correctable. Like just like, like high school type breakdowns. And it was like go back the first play of the game, the DB retreated. Instead of covering the flat like you've got turn Rumbus sprinting to get back in coverage. But he hit the flat. It was just like it was a breakdown.
- [86:52]
B
Right?
- [86:54]
A
And give Florida a little credit for they created a situation and a passing concept that. That confused. But then the next of the slant Route 2 DBs don't. Didn't communicate at all. And then I saw another time on tape early in the game like the two DBs like literally were tripping over themselves. Okay so it was just kind of not fluky but just kind of stupid stuff that Elko's defenses don't do a lot. So you don't come to expect it. And I want to make the point here too. Like Will Lee's a pro prospect, probably like mid round range cornerback. He's been, he's good but he's been up and down.
- [87:29]
B
He has been the Ratcliffe, 18.
- [87:33]
A
Marcus Ratcliffe, he's a bad dude, man. That guy's gonna play in the NFL.
- [87:40]
B
That's why Lee's getting targeted. Yep.
- [87:42]
A
And he's a free safety, though. He's a free safety, but he's coming up and hitting. He's covering tight ends. He's. He's. He's rushing the quarterback, everyone. So he's doing a lot of different things. But my point in saying this about Radcliffe and Lee as a pro prospect who's been up and down is the rest of those guys are just kind of guys, if I'm being honest. This defense is about that front seven. Okay. Yeah, they got two really good linebackers, 21 and 27. 21's Torian York. Excellent versus the run. And in coverage, okay. Yeah, that dude can flat out cover 5, 10, 2, 27, but all flying around the field. 27's Damien Damien Sanford flash flashes as a pass rusher. Does okay things sometimes in coverage, but really, like, can be more consistent, but he's tough versus the run and run fits and all that stuff. The guys up front, they play that like. It's almost like two interior guys with an edge and an edge if they're a nickel. But they've got three different guys that they rotate up front. The best two are 17 and 11. It's Albert, Regis and Tyler. One, Endum, Oneidom, whatever, however you pronounce it. I apologize. I didn't even expect to get into it. But he. But. But 11 is. Is 6, 3, 295 pounds. And Regis, number 17, is massive, short, stout, like, exactly. Plug things, but flashes. 6 1, 3, 17. Excellent versus the run. Gets some push, though. And. But I'm telling you, like, it is about this front seven, but it's. But Cassius Howell is at a different level. And I said it last week on the. On the rough draft show that we had on Thursday. Watching him in this game, man, I. I read this. I watched the game, and then I was kind of looking through to see if there are any. Any nuggets. He was so impactful, and they had to double him because things were going horribly wrong and he was. He was. I read this. Pff. Right. I've never heard of this. And. And I'm not trying to target Austin Barber. It is what it is. And Austin Barber's an interesting draft prospect. We'll talk about it. Offensive tack. Yeah, he's got a lot of talent.
- [89:51]
B
But I just moved him up.
- [89:53]
A
You might want to watch this. He got a 0.0 blocking grade, if this is correct, what I. What I read.
- [90:01]
B
Wow.
- [90:01]
A
Four pressures allowed, two sacks allowed, two penalties, one hit, one hurry. And it wasn't all Howell, but it was. It was mostly. And so. And they're double teaming him, and that's opening up other things. So my point is, when we're talking about the elite defenses, we get past Ohio State, this is one of those groups. And my favorite part of watching the broadcast, I love Quint Kessnich. I have a great deal of respect for him. I've worked with him hand in hand. He works his ass off. He does all the right things. He had this, like, kind of uncomfortable halftime interview of Elko because, remember that it was 14, 14. It was a shootout. And that pisses Elko off more than anything.
- [90:43]
B
Right.
- [90:43]
A
Much rather be an ugly 3, 3 game. But. But they made the. I was listening to the game, the broadcast for a portion of it, and the, the analysts and the play by play guy were talking. Well, they were in man to man with some bracket stuff early, and they've. They've switched to more zone. I'm not going to say who the announcers were. It doesn't matter. So Quint was like. And a lot of times the sideline folks go off of what they're saying to try, of course, because that's an important point. They scored 14 on a couple drives. Now they're not scoring at all. What was the difference?
- [91:14]
B
Difference?
- [91:14]
A
Great question, right? He said, you know, it looked like, according to what's going on up in the booth, that you guys switched from man to man. And he's like. I forget the exact phrasing, but Elko's like. He's like. So you shifted from. From man, it sounded like, to zone coverage. You know, how has that been a difference? He's like, we did. Yeah.
- [91:35]
B
Yeah.
- [91:36]
A
He's like, well, so what was the difference? He's like, well, we just were, you know, basically communicating better and doing all the things. So it was funny to watch.
- [91:43]
B
Yeah. Yeah.
- [91:44]
A
To watch it be like, I. I don't know what the guys are telling you upstairs. It's not what's happening, but this defense is awesome. All right. We've gone too long. We're back on Thursday. Rough draft. It's our new flagship show in season, NFL draft, but also looking forward to the awesome week coming up. I'm sure we'll get back to Notre Dame and USC and the schedule that we have in week eight of college football. The McShay reports coming out 48 hours. Get ready for that big one. And, yeah, quarterback. The first quarterback, big board, if you will, of the college football season. And I'm kind of dreading having to stamp my name on some of the quarterback play that's gone on, but I love it. We'll see. We'll see where we are on Thursday. Until then, Mensch 5 stars must be 21 plus and present in select states For Kansas in affiliation with Kansas Star Casino, or 18/ plus and present in D.C. kentucky or Wyoming. Gambling problem call 1-800- gambler or visit rg-help.com, call 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org chatinceneticut or visit mdgamblinghelp.org In Maryland, Hope is here. Visit gamblinghelplinema.org or call 1-800-327-help 5050 for 24. 7 support in Massachusetts or call 1-877-8-HOPE NY or text hopeny in New York.