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Week 11 Tape Truths: Mendoza's Draft Stock, Ty Simpson Is NFL Ready, and King Miller's Rise | The Mcshay Show
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- [00:00]
Todd McShay
It's a jam packed tape. Truths Monday on the show and the clock is still ticking with just 164 days until the NFL draft. So I gotta ask Mensch, you good?
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Stephen
I'm great man.
- [00:15]
Todd McShay
Roll that beat, Tucker. The McShay report is out. If you don't subscribe to it, Google it please. Thank you for everything you do in supporting this show. The Saturday Night live reaction show with the chat going starting at noon all the way until 1 in the morning. And yes, we got to 1 in the morning. We appeased everyone who was on the chat. Everyone was screaming at Tucker. Keep them to one. Something about, I don't know, RSS feed or some points that they'd get to.
- [00:58]
Stephen
XP points or something.
- [00:59]
Todd McShay
XP points, who knows. But we, we did it. We, we landed that, that plane for him. This is the McShay show presented by FanDuel. And college football Saturdays are heating up. Whether you're in for the early kick or the late night action, FanDuel lets you bet your way with the same game parlays, live betting game props and more. And Missouri get excited because FanDuel is coming your way on December 1st. Download the app or head to FanDuel.com McShay and make every Saturday count. Must be 21 and older and present in select states or 18 and older and present in DC, Kentucky or Wyoming. Gambling problem. Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit rg-help.com, call 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org chat in Connecticut. Exciting show today. It was a good weekend in College football. Week 11. Week 12's got a slate. You ready for this? Friday night we start Minnesota, Oregon coming back off that rain game. Physical game for the Ducks. They've got Minnesota. Kind of a tricky one, but it's at home in Austin. Then you've got Notre Dame pit. It's where game day is going to be this week. You get South Carolina at Texas A and M. Everyone says, well, South Carolina fired their oc. They're not. Yeah, keep an eye on that one. Iowa, usc, usc. Sneaking around the chicken, Cooper. I was unrelenting. They'll bounce back. North Carolina State at Miami. The ACC is an absolute mess. They had two teams lurking around the 12. The top 12 after the first College Football Playoff rankings reveal at 14 and 15, right?
- [02:46]
Stephen
Yep.
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Todd McShay
Virginia and Louisville both upset. Conference is a disaster this year. So all of a sudden, all of a sudden, Georgia Tech and Miami are back in it. Well, guess what, NC State, Miami is awfully Interesting. Florida Ole Miss lagways bench last week. Florida can't poss. Well, that defense, they always show up. Doesn't matter who's coaching, who's quarterbacking. There's always that crazy upset when I when get into November and then the big one and I. And I no shade at Notre Dame pit. And we're going to get to the pit quarterback in a minute here. Men just been digging. But Texas, Georgia between the hedges. That's nothing like SEC on a Saturday night. The light show, the pyrotechnics, the dogs, the Longhorns come rolling in from Texas. It's going to be a fun one. So this episode is brought to you by Fox 1. Fox 1 is now live stream all your Fox favorites together in one place from 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 complete terms and conditions. Fox one streaming now. We're going to start kind of previewing as we go through the 10 tape truths but also reviewing what we saw this past week. We dive in on Sundays. We've ruined our Sundays. Our families can't stand us for it. But we're here for you. We do this for you and. And let's get things kicked off. Mitch, what do you got? Tape truth number one. What do you got for me?
- [04:28]
Stephen
Well, tape truth number one. I. I already talked about him. But pick quarterback. Freshman quarterback Mason Hill is not the only reason why Notre Dame has to be worried about this pit team. Listen, Hill, since he's come in pit is averaging 40 points per game. He's thrown for over 300 yards in four of his five games. But that's not the only issue here. Guess who's the the guess. Guess who gives up the fewest yards per carry in the country right now.
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Todd McShay
McShay, who's that mensch pit pick is.
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Stephen
Up the fewest yards per carry in.
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Todd McShay
The country of Judarian Price. You're on notice. Yep, 239.
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Stephen
2.39 is what it is at home. 2.13. That's how few of the yards they give up. Let me tell you something else about.
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Todd McShay
What I tell you about Narduzzi. Man, he loves.
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Stephen
Let me tell you about it. This is why we should not be surprised. Did you know that four of the last six seasons that Pitts had the best run defense in the acc? Four of the last six seasons. I didn't know that. In this team this defense has all the trademarks of a Nars doozy defense, right, rallies to the ball. They're aggressive, they're physical, they play hard. They do a great job of funneling everything inside. They don't let guys get outside and it's built like a minority. And what I mean by that is you think about the Aaron Donalds, you think about that they have some undersized defensive tackles. They want to be. They want to wreak havoc, they want to get into gaps, they want to cause chaos. They have pretty good size of the edge. They always do. They have guys who can set the edge, but on the inside they're going to try and be. They're going to try and be disruptive. And they have great linebackers that are very active. They flow to the ball. Look, I'm going to say the same thing that I said about the Oregon game in Iowa last week. I Notre Dame is the better team. They are the more talented team. They should win this game. But don't have a bad day. Don't have a bad day. If you have a bad day, Notre Dame is going to be in real trouble.
- [06:19]
Todd McShay
I almost wish it wasn't game day. I almost wish there wasn't the hoopla and hype. I do like, I believe it's a noon kick on Saturday. I do like that. But I almost wish Notre Dame just kind of, you know, tiptoed in there and pit. It's quiet, hanging out at their team hotel and there was nothing to this game. Like, yeah, just a little. Every time I see Pat Narduzzi, it's the same version of hey, make sure what's going on. Yeah, we get a couple guys down here at the Senior bowl or yeah, we got a couple players. What do you think about this guy for the NFL draft? Yeah, we're just lowly pit, you know, I'm sure, I'm just, I'm just happy that Jim Nagy let a couple guys come down here. You know, who knows, maybe they can make their way under a roster. But we're just, we're just quiet little pit hanging out in the corner. Don't worry about us. There's nothing to see here. Just doing the best with what we have. Don't have the resources that the Alabamas and the Michigan's and Ohio states and the Texas is have. But we're, you know, we're putting up a good fight. And I'm looking, I hear you every single. I'm looking at him every single time and I'm like, you're not. Who are you kidding? You're not fooling me. I know what you're doing. You know what I mean?
- [07:33]
Stephen
And this, this ain't the team that lost to West Virginia, man. This is a much better team. And I want to. I'll just counter that because I had the same thought, right, that they're not under the radar anymore and Notre Dame knows it. But just a little bit of a push back here. C.J. carr, the quarterback for Notre Dame, some critical mistakes in big games. Last time, the, the last big game they really played was usc. Did not play in that well in that game. Had his worst game of the year. I thought he was, he had turned a corner. I thought he's playing much better. So pressure on CJ Car, a little pressure on CJ Carr in this game.
- [08:03]
Todd McShay
Let me tell you. Let me tell you this.
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Stephen
Does he start pushing a little bit, something to keep an eye on?
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Todd McShay
And Tom Brady comes out and says, no one's doing it better at the college level in terms of like, understanding defenses, managing and, and, you know, directing an offense, understanding the game. That's Tom Brady. That's the goat.
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Stephen
Yeah.
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Todd McShay
Now, mind you, grandson of Lloyd Carr.
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Stephen
Yes.
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Todd McShay
Lloyd Carr was coach of Tom Brady. So there's obviously a tie there, but there are times where you've reported back to me and I've watched it myself, but you've been adamant, like there's a. He's going to track if this keeps going. He's doing things that look like maybe down the road, first round type of talent. Right. So it's not. So it's not just Tom throwing, throwing all these flowers at a kid who doesn't deserve some credit, but there's been bumps in the road and this is going to be a high pressure. This is the last high pressure game for Notre Dame before the College Football Playoff. And if, if what you're seeing on tape is, is accurate, which it always is, there's a good chance that Pitt's going to give Notre Dame's run game some trouble. Now with Nardu's, Narduzzi's defense, it's always about can you, can you successfully match up your receivers against their safeties? Because they do not change what they do. And it's that cover four, I believe, or the safeties get, they won't move them around. They're like they are going to do what they do and they're going to trust their safeties on an island, even if you motion your best receiver in. And so there will be matchups there. And cars got to, got to hit those that's going to be this game.
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Stephen
I agree. And they should win this game. Don't have a bad day.
- [09:51]
Todd McShay
That's going to be a fun one. That's going to be a fun one. Tape truth number two. Fernando was both below and above the Mendoza line in what was his grittiest performance to date as the starting quarterback at Indiana. I went back and watched this tape because when I watched on Saturday from the couch, kids running around, chaos around here, but was dialed into that game, obviously it was the best game of Saturday and the performance at Penn State. Indiana had never wanted Happy Valley. And yet Penn State had lost five in a row. But it's still a team that's got like eight or nine guys who are going to be drafted in the NFL. And they just came off a game where they, it was like a three point game going to the half. The Ohio State, while they wind up losing in Ohio State pulls away. There's some confidence there, there's respect, there's pride, there's NFL scouts lurking around, general managers there, Jets Senate contingent, several general managers, a lot of NFL teams. That was all the report. So you got to put your best tape out there and you got to catch some eyes of some NFL decision makers. Okay. And that's what Penn State did. Showed up and played arguably the best game that Penn State played all season long. The first takeaway for me from Mendoza is and we've known this going back to Cal in the summer, you know, tape session that we did. And let's, let's give a history because we've had, we joke around on this show because I'm like, I was ahead of everybody in publicly on Mendoza. Pete Thammel's talking about it on his, on his podcast and reaching out to me like, you're right, I'm talking to GMs and maybe he is a first rounder, but no one else is talking about it. And this is going to be an exciting year for all these quarterbacks, but Mendoza is one that you can't forget. The truth of the matter is I didn't want to do a show, a full breakout show on Fernando Mendoza. I didn't even know that we had to do a full breakout show on John Mattier. And so Mensch gets in the ear of Dan Comer and Connor Nevins.
- [12:05]
Stephen
In fairness, Dan got my ear first.
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Todd McShay
Thank you. We're just airing out the laundry right now. Yep. So whatever happened behind the scenes. And then I get this group text saying, hey, Todd, will you reconsider? I know we're doing, we're doing Arch and we're doing, we're doing Nussmeier and we're doing Club Nick and we're doing Allard. We're doing all these other guys, right? Yeah, let's, let's do Matier Mendoza. And I'm like, listen, I, I'll do it. I love looking at all these guys but is there going to be enough do people care about the cow transfer to Indiana? And they're like, let's do it. I'm like, all right, let's do It's July. Who cares? And then I watched the tape, I watched the tape on Mendoza. I'm like, oh, I like this guy. He's not there yet, but there's first like he's 6 5, he's 220, he's mobile. He's got a smooth stroke. He's got a live arm. He's somewhere between a Justin Herbert and a Daniel Jones.
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Stephen
Interesting. That's a big gap. I like it though.
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Todd McShay
It is a big gap and it was a huge gap for the if you look at the respective first handful of years in the NFL, I'm not saying the gap has closed that much, but it has closed considering what. Yeah. With those better supporting cast and all the resources that he has and the life and game experience that he has coming off the Giants debacle. Right. And, and his health. And I'm not, I was, I railed on Daniel Jones throughout the process, but he's somewhere, he's. I mentioned those guys because they're tong tall, long levered, mobile, strong armed guys who there, there are some like holes in their game but not in their physical traits. Right. Okay.
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Stephen
Right.
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Todd McShay
So I watched this game and I talked to you about I the Iowa game and even though it was tight and it was sloppy, I learned more from that game than I did the Illinois game where he, where they just blew him out and he was 21 of 23 as you reminded me the other day.
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Stephen
Agree.
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Todd McShay
I learned more from this game than I have any other game that he's played at Indiana and I see growth in his game and I'm going to go through some plays here. I promise this will be my longest truth of the day and we'll, we'll get it going. I want to go through some plays early on. I'm going to go progressively throughout there was a play and I'm not going to give you maybe a couple time codes, but I'm not going to early in the game. First read, not open, slight panic, fast clock but rolls to his right, drills a sideline. Sideline throw on the run. Really impressive. Another play versus Cover one. It's a play action. Cover one means man across with the free safety in the middle. Play action. He looks the free safety off to his right. NFL stuff gets Becker. Charlie Becker, who emerged out of nowhere, seven catches all season long, has seven in this single game because Elijah Surratt, the NFL draft prospect at wide receiver, is out of the game. Another big target, six foot four, I believe. 210 pound. Becker comes out of nowhere, but he gets Becker off of a switch release to the left side. Right open in the middle of the field. Drills it. Okay. Oh, no, no, no. What? No. Becker got a step down the field. Mendoza almost sidearm slings it to him. It was a chunk play. Great design versus man free, but also great execution. Then there's that touch. Touchdown run. Minute 50 left in the first quarter. His mobility in this game showed up in multiple ways. The first way was design runs. The second way was scrambling off of drop backs for positive yards when the. When the what he wanted coverage wise and receivers being open was not there. And the third way was extending plays, and he did that on several occasions. So you saw the mobility and the decisiveness. Exciting to see him as an evaluator in this regard because he doesn't look like he's grinding. He's. He's just kind of a smooth, long. You know, those long strides. All of a sudden, he's picking up 15, 20 yards. Okay. It's frightening for defensive coordinators who are fixing to try to deal with this guy during the next two months of the college football season, regular season, Big Ten championship and college football playoff. So keep that in mind. Now, here's the start of what I still believe is a glaring flaw in his game.
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Stephen
Okay.
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Todd McShay
It's the most important thing I'm going to share with you because as. And this is why I started this whole thing on Mendoza, with the. The genesis of why I. And sometimes, unfortunately, I get. Because of my history and whatever I. If I say it on the show, even though you and I are agreeing, sometimes a family will pick it up and we have a relationship, and I've worked with him and all that. So a lot of people were looking at me, like, when McShay's saying that in the preseason about Mendoza, we were on him earliest. So why isn't McShay racing to the podium right now to get to hand it over the number one pick to Mendoza? Is it. Has he cooled on him? Does he not like, no, this guy's unbelievably talented. Find me another six five, 220 plus quarterback with this kind of toughness, this kind of efficiency, with this kind of energy on his ball, with this kind of mobility. There isn't one and there won't be one in the 2026 draft. Okay, but why can't I fully go in on this guy? Here's an example of a play a bit panicked in the pocket. First reads not there, eyes drop. There's this quarter count of panic that I see in his game. This is the first time in this game that I saw it. But in this case he turns a negative into a positive because of his mobility. Takes off and picks up a handful of yards. Okay, then we keep going. There's another positive. Perfectly placed fade route to Omar Cooper, who's been sensational. Number three, Omar Cooper. Cooper Jr. Perfectly placed fade into the corner, left corner of the end zone drop and we'll come back to the end of the game and see how we made up for it.
- [18:01]
Stephen
Right? But yeah, in a big way.
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Todd McShay
But. But it was an important play in the game. Beautiful ball, drops it in. They don't get the score because of the drop, but they kick a field goal. But it's kind of a four point lost opportunity there. No, nothing to do with Mendoza. Okay, then we go down. This is the eighth play that I jotted down in my notes. He got sacked in this. Absolutely annihilated and deserved it. Sometimes quarterbacks don't deserve the punishment they get. This time he did. It did go to show some of the big hits that this guy took. Like one of the first steps in the game and then this one and then a couple others. His toughness is not something to be overlooked. So I'm going to focus on negatives, but I want you to hear all the positives that he. This guy's going to be a top 10 pick. Let's book it down right now. Fernando Mendoza is going to be a top 10 pick. There's going to be a lack of quarterbacks. There's going to be teams starting with like the Saints, the Raiders and several others picking in the top 10 that need a quarterback. They're going to see all these traits like I see in him, all the positives, NFL stuff, NFL size, NFL modern day mobility, NFL arm. But there's room for growth in his game. Okay. And on this sack, when he was annihilated, he held onto the ball too long. Didn't feel backside pressure in this case either. Hit the crosser earlier or throw the ball to the first guy in the stands that you can see. Don't take that sack. Couple plays later, his eyes fucking drop again, man. 9:40, third quarter, initial read isn't there. And this is the trend that's starting to scare me.
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Stephen
This is my problem. This has been my problem.
- [19:50]
Todd McShay
But yeah, it's correctable. Steve. Agree. I, I agree with every but I'm not seeing correction this year. So start to look and say, well, he's got another year in college maybe is it worth coming back and then being a part of a class with. With Dante Moore and Lenora Sellers and with maybe Ty Simpson, whether he's here or next year, this year or next year with Julian saying with Arch Manning like that class is going to be out of control with talent.
- [20:18]
Stephen
Agree.
- [20:19]
Todd McShay
But his eyes drop again. 9:40, third quarter, initial read isn't there. Panic, gets himself into a mess, eventually throws the ball away. Okay, then you Fast forward to 1122 in the fourth quarter. These are the moments that scare me. I wrote know the game situation. This is the interception. Yep, it's the same stuff. It's the, it's that quarter count of panic, the eyes dropping and then the worst of it is when that happens and it's followed by a decision. I want you to look this play up. Match 1122, fourth quarter. I don't care if it may be at the end of the show while I'm talking on something else this past game. 11:22, fourth quarter, it's his interception. Watch on the tight copy. First of all, you got to know the same the game situation. Fourth quarter, leading by three points. Can't make this. Can't make this throw. Can't make this decision. Can't make throw to an interception.
- [21:13]
Stephen
Nope.
- [21:14]
Todd McShay
If you go back and watch this throw, I swear to you his eyes are dropping again and it's play action and it's rolling out and it's his eyes down and then it's his eyes over here. And then last second he sees a receiver flashing flash.
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Stephen
Yep.
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Todd McShay
Flashes and like. Yep, got him. I get this big arm, but he doesn't see the safety or the corner behind it.
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Stephen
Undercut it. Yeah.
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Todd McShay
Who undercut the throw? So these are the things now. Now we're trailing by 4, 24, 26, 27. Makes a nice throw, but then get sacked from behind a couple plays later. Drive stalls. Then we get to the final drive. So we get all those, all those positives but some alarming negatives that don't over that sack.
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Stephen
Scared me Too. By the way, that sack was scary to me too.
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Todd McShay
From. From behind.
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Stephen
We were holding on the ball too long and yep, Brad had to get out.
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Todd McShay
These are not isolated things. They're all a trend based on the same stuff. I'm talking about this quarter. Count of panic. Trying to do too much, holding onto the ball too long, eyes dropping. They're all in this little bubble, right? But then you get to the final drive. And this is why I do love him. Not just those physical traits we talk about. This guy's taking a beating. His team is down. The season's on the line. Indiana never wins in Happy Valley. Literally rips the seam route on the first throw of that drive to Cooper on time. Drills it. Let's go. This is my drive. I'm in command. Follow suit. Next one out. Route to wide receiver. Seven drills it complete. Next throw, he overshoots Cooper. Light pressure in his face didn't affect the throw. Crowds going crazy though. You're watching on the. That tight copy and the. And the. It's going up and down like the. The scene is wild. There's pressure building down. He's made two great throws. Overthrow this. Throws this one a little bit. How does he respond? Because Happy Valley with 107,000 plus is going crazy. All that pressure's on him. You know how he responds. Incredible left rail placement to Becker. Awesome catch. But doesn't get a chance to make that awesome catch without a perfectly placed ball. And then another from the seven yard line. I want you to understand. I'll describe it to you now. Gets up to the line. Games on the line. I'm not saying the season's on the line, but it feels like it for him in that moment with that crowd, with that environment. Seven yard line. It's all on him. And you know what Penn State does Because Penn State has zero fucks left to give. They bring eight man pressure. Steve. They sent eight.
- [24:07]
Stephen
Eight.
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Todd McShay
So he knows he's gonna get killed. And as he's getting ready to release this ball, he's gotta. He's got to make sure he sees the receiver knows exactly where he's got to place it because. But guess what? Cooper was perfectly covered on that play. There's only one throw that gives Cooper the chance to make the best catch of the year. And it's the one that Mendoza made. And Mendoza made this throw with two defenders coming in like this.
- [24:35]
Stephen
He got killed.
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Todd McShay
Absolutely smoked. But he hung in there and he made that throw. And we talk about onions on this show a lot and how important Onions are for that position if you're going to succeed in the NFL. And my goodness, he is. Onions plus yeah.
- [24:56]
Stephen
Both Penn State and Iowa tried to heat him up at big points in the game. And he beat Iowa with a touchdown pass to Surat, who had a great. His receivers are making great plays, don't get me wrong. But you got to make that throw. He beat Iowa with a throw right in the face of pressure. And he beat Penn State now with a throw right in the face of pressure. Teams, if you're looking at them going forward, you might want to rethink about heating them up. No, no.
- [25:17]
Todd McShay
What I'm doing against him is I'm three man rushing him. I'm dropping eight. Exactly. And I'm making him read defenses with his eyes up. Yes, the pressure will get there when it gets there, if it gets there at all. But I'm making him, he can make all the tight throws and all that stuff. I'm making him think and play poised and relax when his first read isn't there and go to his second, go to his third. That's how I'm defending him. I'm not doing the pressure.
- [25:41]
Stephen
So he might not stop him, but you'll at least contain him. I'm with you. I think that's, that's the right move.
- [25:46]
Todd McShay
If you're in Lubbock, Texas, you deserve all the attention you're getting from that. When it was dominant and it sent a message to the rest of the country. Tape truth number three today for me was supposed to be Texas Tech. The story was the defense for the Red Raiders. Phenomenal. But we knew going in. We've talked to you all season long, starting like week two. That defense is like loaded with NFL talent and we've come to expect that kind of performance. And they showed up and they did it. I wanted to watch the offense. I wanted to spend time yesterday watching the offense because you told me they're scoring around 40 plus a game.
- [26:22]
Stephen
Yeah.
- [26:24]
Todd McShay
Despite all the character or not character, all the flaws right. In what they've done. And we saw the flaws on Saturday and they weren't finishing drives, but we saw a lot of the good things and we saw the balance and the run yet. So I wanted to talk about Cameron Dickey and Jacoby Williams at the running back position, both as runners and receivers. I wanted to talk about Caleb Douglas and Coy Eakin and Reggie Virgil and Terence Carter and what they've loved.
- [26:45]
Stephen
Terence Carter.
- [26:46]
Todd McShay
Yeah, with. With all 30 plus catches this year. But I couldn't because tape Truth number three is that Ty Simpson's tape has become the truth serum for quarterbacks around the country.
- [27:03]
Stephen
Really? I have her down a little bit over the last two weeks. I feel like he's missed a couple. I can't wait to hear what you say.
- [27:10]
Todd McShay
You know, I have, I have an admitted. Admitted addiction.
- [27:15]
Stephen
I love him, but go ahead.
- [27:17]
Todd McShay
I have an admitted addiction when it comes to quarterbacks. And so when I get done with Mendoza and I'm all worked up and it's Sunday afternoon and I'm sitting here all alone and I'm like, I wish I want to talk to the world about what I just saw with Mendoza. What runs through my mind consistently is, well, how does this stack up against the bar setter, Ty Simpson? So I'm like, I'll get back to Texas Tech in a minute because I already did my other truths. And I, I saved Mendoza for last because I wanted to give it a lot of time. And then I'm like, and I'll do Texas, Texas offense after that. And I'm like, I can't do it. I gotta. I'm gonna watch Tysons, but I'll get back to Texas. It's probably not that impressive. Like, the stats weren't great, so I'll just, I'll get back. So I throw it on 18 key plays in this game for Ty Simpson. I didn't. I watched the full game. We broke into that game at night. So I like, had a good background of like what the game situations were and all of that. I want to remind people he's completing 70 or 67% of his throws this year. 8.3 yard per attempt average, 21 touchdowns, one interception. This game was, I wouldn't say underwhelming. Statistically it was kind of on par, but like slightly off. 60% of his throws, 277 yards, almost 8 yards per attempt. So right on it with one touchdown, no interceptions. So. So why, why even. Why bother? It's just another game. We. You know who he is, Todd. I went through the 18 plays and this is why he's the standard setter. And I broke it down. I'm going to give you three plays to tell to explain why. The first play is 13:11. First quarter, okay? Pre snap, he motions the tight end by motioning the tight end assesses the defensive coverage in the motion. Defender doesn't run with the tight end. Now he knows zone. Then he, he resets the bat, switches the back, right? Then he sees something off of that where he goes up to the line of Scrimmage back, goes up with him, communicates the whole line, checks the play back, get the ball, then you do post snap. He looks to his right because he now knows exactly what they're doing. And he saw off of the motion and off of the back switch. Okay, I know exactly what they're trying to do. I now know the beater post snap affects the safeties with the safety with his eyes. Both safeties, actually, because this is zone coverage too. High look affects the safeties with his eyes, then comes back to his left side because he's looking right. Safeties start to do this and he. Then he comes back like this in a flash and hits Ryan Williams on a 15 back to 12 curl. Not a huge gain, nothing. You watch, you're like, all right, nice pickup. I'm watching it. I'm like, this is NFL stuff. Pre snap, post snap, eyes negotiating, safeties drilling the ball, decisive at like. It's everything you look for when you're looking for an NFL quarterback. Don't care about his size, don't care about his speed, don't care about his. Does he have the strongest arm? His arm is plenty strong enough. And the way he sees the field, he doesn't need to be any taller. Play two of the three. Three plays. I'm going to give you 449. First quarter, pre snap motion, the tight end again. That indicates to him, I know I'm. I gotta stay hydrated. I love it. Indicates to him that LSU's in. LSU is in zone again. He hits Bernard on an in breaking route in that soft spot of the zone. Right on. Like, didn't break stride. It's almost like he didn't even have to catch the ball. It was just like, it's here. Like, I don't even have to look up. I can start looking for yards after catch. Beautiful throw. Ball in the middle of the zone. Knew the coverage pre snap, identified where the beater was. Balls thrown, perfectly poised in the pocket. Footwork, mechanics, everything's in line. Third play I want to tell you about. Motions to running back out. The linebacker this time travels with them. LSU's gone from man heavy to zone to zone heavy to man right.
- [31:28]
Stephen
They switched.
- [31:29]
Todd McShay
Yep, they switched. What they're doing, he's beating us. He's killing. He's beating us in zone. Let's switch it up. Let's try to. Let's try to play mine.
- [31:36]
Stephen
Doing it all year, by the way. He kills them.
- [31:39]
Todd McShay
Kills him. Linebacker travels, signals. Cover one, cover one again. Man, man. The man across with a Free safety point in center field. What. So what do you, what does he do? Ty looks to his right. He knows pre snap what he's doing. There's no, there's no question. It's. I'm going to look to my right. I'm trusting everything. Backside gets that free safety to cheat from like from the, from kind of. He was cheated over to the left side and by looking over to his right, he gets that free safety as he's backpedaling to go back towards the middle of the field. Okay. Then drills a strike to 80. The tight end. Cuevas. Josh Cuevas down the left rail. Yeah, here we go. I'm looking right. Bang, bang, bang. Safety's moving over. Now you got no shot. It's like it was a good fellas. Now as you can't leave or.
- [32:30]
Stephen
It was my, it was by far my favorite throw in that game. Because if you also look, if you look to the right, he had Bernard underneath. And this is what I want to say about Ty Simpson because we do talk about all these things about mechanics and taking what the defense ism, it gives him. And then you might be like, oh, he's kind of a check down Charlie. No, he had, he had an easier throw to make there, but he knew he could hit the tight end down the left rail there. He made an the execution on that throw. It's one thing to make the read. That's a difficult throw to make and it was perfect. It was perfect. He is not a guy that's going to sit back, back and just, you know, I'm going to dink and dunk all the way down the field. If you give him an opportunity to strike, he will go.
- [33:08]
Todd McShay
He will go.
- [33:09]
Stephen
He'll take a shot on you.
- [33:11]
Todd McShay
This quarterback class for 2026, oh, it was unbelievable. This quarterback class for 2026 has been largely disappointing. There are a bunch of talented guys that could come out that we just did a lot of intel with you and I think a lot of them are going to go back to school next year and I'm glad they will because I think they need it in order to be ready for the NFL. Ty Simpson is the most NFL ready quarterback in the country. And I stamp that. I will stand alone on that island. I will plant that flag at the top of this mountain. Tye Simpson is the standard at the quarterback position. And I want people to understand no one is doing the things that Ty Simpson is doing at quarterback. Pre snap post, snap ball placement, poise, decisiveness, mechanically, all of those things. And I Want people to also understand he's the only guy doing it at a high level that has absolutely no running game to consistently rely upon. There are flashes, but it's not consistent. And in this game, that's a good point. It was 56 yards rushing ties having to carry that offense. Ty.
- [34:28]
Stephen
Yeah, that Indiana run game's good, man. Yeah.
- [34:30]
Todd McShay
Ty Simpson is the standard at the quarterback position in college football. And I don't care about his size. I don't care about his arm strength. I don't care about his mobility. He is a very high NFL draft pick whether he comes out in 2026 or 2027.
- [34:47]
Stephen
I mean, I care a little bit, but I hear you. I think you're right. You're 100 right about what you're saying. I care a little bit, but I hear you. You, you're not wrong. If there's, if there's a guy who's going to do it with that skill set, this is going to be the guy. And we talk about being a coach's son, too. How cliche that is. Oh, he's a coach's son. This seems like. Yeah, he feels like he was born. He was like, made in a lab that he's been, you know, following dad around his entire life, working on like two high defenses when he was like 6 years old. I mean, it really. That sounds funny, but it like, legitimately wouldn't.
- [35:19]
Todd McShay
I have literally. I have literally. Stephen, 25 years of scouting and evaluating quarterbacks in every other position. I have literally never seen a first year starting quarterback in college football play the game at this high of a level. Never.
- [35:35]
Stephen
I can't think of one. There's. I can't think of one. And even if there is, even Andrew.
- [35:40]
Todd McShay
Andrew Luck was, was, was advanced early on, but there was some slop in his game early and he had, he got away with it. Mobility and, and just grit and those sorts of things as he developed. No, I can't think of one in his first year as a starter. We're talking about the same stuff in week five. Week six, 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. We've got a great slate in week 12 of college football. And I'll get back to you later in the week about Georgia. Texas, between the hedges, prime time. But one game that's jumping out to me right now. It's another big one. You got Oklahoma and Alabama. I think all the money is going to be on Bama in this, and I love Ty Simpson. No one in the country is doing it the way he's doing it, but I think John Mateer is progressively getting a little bit better. I think he's got enough weapons. I think there's going to be a little bit of a shootout and at the end of the day, I think it's going to be real tight. So give a little boost with the Sooners this week. That's my play so far. So here's how it works. Each week we're giving everyone a profit boost to use on college football. No invite only nonsense. Everyone gets the boost. We're talking real games, real teams, 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 and get in on the action. Must be 21 and older and present in select states or 18 and older in present 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 hey friends, it's Karamo. Talk show host, life coach and your next best friend.
- [37:53]
Stephen
You just don't know it yet.
- [37:54]
Todd McShay
I'm hosting a new podcast called started on WhatsApp brotherhoods. We're going around the world to explore male friendships and all the wins, challenges and bonds that are made in WhatsApp group chats. And that's exactly where you can listen to it right in. The app is streaming on the official WhatsApp channel. Just open the app and go to the Updates tab to start listening. While you're at it, message your best friend and make sure they listen to I'll see you there. This episode is brought to you 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. Trust me, like I'm a scene at the grill, I know what this is all about. They've got bibs loaded with pockets, gusseted pants so you can crouch without snuffing out your coals and free swinging shirts tailor made for beanbag tossing or some like to call it cornhole. Stay comfortable from preseason to playoffs in the toughest tailgate attire around. Only at Duluth Trading Company.
- [38:59]
Stephen
I'm going to word this differently than I thought I was, so I'm going to. I'm going to say this tape truth number four. The Georgia offense is the definition of a heavyweight, heavyweight prize fighter. And what I mean by this is when you watch these guys, these boxers, and they go 15 rounds, they start off in that fight and they are, you know, the, the. They're going against their opponent, who's probably protecting their face, got their hands up. So what do you do? You work the body. You take body blow after body blow until that guy's so sore in his kidneys that those hands start to drop. And then you. You take that chance and you knock him out. And here's what I mean by this. Georgia second in the sec and in both time of possession and carries per game, they're kind of, you know, they're fourth, and I think they're fourth in yards per game and fifth in rushing yards per carry. So it's a pretty good run game. But I would say it's also been a little bit up and down. It's been a little bit up and down. They don't care. They're going to run. They didn't blink against Tennessee. They didn't blink against Ole Miss. You think about both those games, right? Ole Miss, the difference in time of possession, 15 minutes, the difference in time, possession against Tennessee, almost 17 minutes. They are going to drag you into the fourth quarter. If you don't bury them, they will drag you into the fourth quarter and they will beat you. They will beat you there. And this is why they're so good at it, right? It starts with the fact that they have one of the most talented backfields in the country. And Nate Frazier and Chauncey Bowens, both elite backs, in my opinion. The second thing is, if you wear that Georgia uniform, you play offense, you block. I don't care who you are, I don't care if you're the best receiver in the country. When we recruited you, you're gonna block. Tight ends, block, running backs, block for receivers. When they go out, it's. You have to block no matter who you are. They're tight ends. I think Oscar Del particularly, has done a really good job. So you look at that.
- [40:44]
Todd McShay
Delp's growing on me. And, and I know you lead the charge on that, but Delp is growing on me, man. Go ahead.
- [40:49]
Stephen
I really like him. And of course it is that commitment. Again, they're going to run the ball no matter what. And then also they got a pretty big offensive line. They've had to shuffle the offensive line. I think. I still think they've done a pretty good job. Even though they've had a lot of personnel changes. They have not had the same starting offensive line very often this year. So good on them for being competitive. I don't think it's a great offensive line, but again, they're good enough. And then you had Gunner Stockton, who makes these. He's just such a good decision maker on these run past the, the read zone that when he keeps the ball and he sneaks out the back door, he's going to get five, he's going to get 10. He's not an elite runner, but he's super efficient and efficient. If you don't pay attention to him, he will, he will make you pay. And then you like the scheme and I'm going to get into the scheme a little bit. I like that they have. They run a lot of inside zone, which creates natural double teams for their inside offensive lineman. I love inside zone. There's another play. They also run power and one of their power runs is one of my favorite runs. And it's a buck sweep. And what you do is you run, you pull both offensive guards and get them out in front. And Nate Frazier had an X play off of this. The buck sweep is one of my favorite plays to watch. So they're going to mix it up on you in terms of their scheme too. So it's not the same vanilla running game you're getting. Yes, they're running the ball a lot, but you're going to get some quarterback, you're going to get some power, you're going to get some zone, you're going to get two different backs and also you're going to get a little bit of the wide receivers attacking the perimeter, most notably Dylan Bell. But they will get other guys involved and if you're not watching for that, they can scoot. They can. They can burn you in that way.
- [42:17]
Todd McShay
So it's not.
- [42:18]
Stephen
It hasn't been the most productive run game in the sec when you look at yards per carry and it's not maybe one of the best run games that Georgia has had, but is the flip side of that is they don't care about how many yards they get. They just want to extend drives and wear your ass out over the course of the Game. It's such a Kirby smart team. It's impressive to watch.
- [42:41]
Todd McShay
Interesting. Yeah. There isn't a bigger game on Saturday, man. And I know, yeah. The next two truths are on Texas and back to Georgia. So let's just keep pounding it because this is a great way to preview that game because there's just a lot of tape to share.
- [42:56]
Stephen
So tape truth number five is Texas has the best run defense in the country. I mean, I talked about Pitt and how good they are, but Texas second in the FBS and rushing yards allowed. And I think you look at maybe what's been going on with Mississippi State and giving up a lot of points in that game without Michael Taft in the lineup at the safety, the leader of the defense. The past defense has been this had some holes. This run defense is suffocating. Suffocating. And it amazes me. What amazes me the most about it is you think about the talent. They've lost a defensive tackle. Byron Murphy, sweat. Alfred Collins, Vernon Broden, all walked out the door, man.
- [43:33]
Todd McShay
All top straight into NFL. NFL. Yeah, exactly. Top 100 picks.
- [43:38]
Stephen
Three of them were top 50 picks. These are elite defensive tackle prospects. They go out in the portal and they brought in 45 defensive tackles. Do I see the same level of talent?
- [43:49]
Todd McShay
Nope.
- [43:49]
Stephen
Nope. But they rotate guys. Doesn't matter. They rotate guys. They got guys coming in in waves. They're going to stay. They're going to stay fresh. They're going to keep those guys fresh. With the way they rotate players, I mean there's. There's so many players to get into. I think Ethan Burke is an interesting player. The guy the edge does a great job of being a. An edge setter. Colin Simmons, who we. We love as a pass rusher, the way he played read option last week against Vanderbilt was unbelievable. And I'm not just talking about the force fumble he had early in that game. He was great in that game about staying where he needed to stay and not committing until Pavia had made a decision. He's played really well. We know Anthony Hill Jr. The linebacker is outstanding. He's had some monster games over the last month. Two guys that I really wanted to highlight though is the linebacker Ty Anthony Smith and the safety Jelani McDonald. I love how active these guys are. I love how physical they are. They're just going to come up, they're going to clean everything up. They're instinctive. They hit where they are supposed to be every single play. And then on top of that, I mentioned Michael Taft. He's missed two games. With I think it's two, maybe three games with a thumb injury. He's another great run run defender if they can get him back. So to me, you look at this, we're going into this Georgia Texas game and I think the instinct is the Kirby defense versus the Sark offense. But I got my eye on the other side of the ball, man. I think this is going to be an absolute brawl between that Georgia offense and this Texas defense and we'll see who blinks. And I'll be honest with you, I'm giving a little bit of the nod to the Texas offense, but I don't know man. It is going to be a 15 round fight in my opinion.
- [45:24]
Todd McShay
Yeah, it's interesting because Texas like they Texas's defense, it felt like it like a really obviously, you know, it was like Ohio State 14 points. Right. And then. And kept them in that game, one score game even though it was a disaster offensively. I'm just looking down the list here. San Jose State 7 points. UTEP 10 points. Sam Houston State shut up. So great first month of the season. Then we get into October 2029 points allowed in that upset loss to Florida. Yeah, not a great day. But it wasn't like earth shattering. And the offense put him in some tough spots. But then only allow six against Oklahoma. Right. Great performance. Only 13 allowed Kentucky. But then the last two games have been weird and I say weird because Mississippi State scores 38 on them in a win.
- [46:18]
Stephen
Yep.
- [46:19]
Todd McShay
So it almost felt like a letdown. I, I have not watched that tape. I'm being honest. And then Vanderbilt, really, they, they were awesome for two and a half quarters and then Vanderbilt, I just, they backed off up so big and then Vanderbilt started taking advantage and then things got hectic and all that. So here's even though 31 points in that game, it was, it was kind of. It was backloaded.
- [46:48]
Stephen
The past defense has been a shadow of itself without Taffen. That's why it's going to be big to see whether or not he plays. They gave up 382 passing yards to Mississippi State and they gave up 365 passing yards of Vanderbilt. The run defense.
- [47:00]
Todd McShay
And it's why when I talk scout last week about, about Texas's defense, he, he's. He was saying Muhammad like I don't think he gets out of the second round the corner. And yeah half is Taft. Maybe it's not going first, may not go second but one of my favorite players in the entire draft, if we could get him like third round that range I'd be thrilled. Yeah. So Taft is a huge. Like, he. He just kept. And I. I kept mo. Trying to move him off Taft to get to some other players in that region. He kept going back, talking about on tap, you know, Love it. So. So that is a. That is a key player in this game. All right, let's. Let's stick with this game. And it wasn't by design. We just.
- [47:36]
Stephen
We're.
- [47:36]
Todd McShay
We're truly interested in. In these units. I went to Georgia's defense because I feel like we've talked a lot about the resiliency of Georgia and the job that Kirby Smart is doing and. And. And the kind of. The. The enlightenment we've all had with Gunner Stockton and. And it's not like the Carson Beck offense that felt like it was pulling a. Like a tractor pole the whole time. And. And the past game has kind of opened up, and Stockton's been grinding it out, and he's been putting up big numbers and Nate Frazier will pop, and they've got the depth at running back, all that stuff. And we've known that the Georgia defense has not been up to Georgia standard, and that's Kirby's baby. But I don't feel like a lot of people have dove in as to why. So I took the time and dove in and I went back to this, and I watched some previous games, and I went back to Mississippi State to see improvement, and I'm seeing improvement, and I want to remind people that Mississippi State kind of up and down this year, but it was nine points allowed in that loss to A and M, one of the elite defenses in the country. Then we've seen gradual improvement. Remember, Florida was fighting for its life, trying to save Billy Napier's coaching job. Little did they know. I think it was this after this game that they. They beat Florida, Beat Mississippi State, I believe. Yes. 21. 21 point scored in that game against a vicious Florida defense. Not a horrible day, to be honest with you. Then it's 38 against Texas that we just talked about and 38 again against Arkansas. Not a great defense, obviously, but still, we're seeing progression. Mississippi State comes out and they drive. First drive, 14 plays, 75 yards, right down the field. Touchdown. Here we go again. Why am I. I'm sitting here asking myself, why am I spending time Sunday away from my family and watching the Georgia defense? We all just know that they're not very good, they're not up to standard. Nothing to see here. But then adjustments are made. Okay. There's a lot I could do 20 minutes on it. And I've got all these notes, right. But I want to sum it up in a few different parts. First of all, the front line, the defensive front is not what we're used to. It's not Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, Devonte Wyatt, even Trayvon Walker. It's just not. But what they do have working for them is, is a good deal of a lot of depth. Like nine guys depth for those three. If you, if you even include like the hybrid fourth. It's kind of that Leo or whatever they're calling it Georgia, but it's, I'm talking about the three interior guys. I'm seeing nine different numbers jerseys roll out there, okay. The best of them, the most consistent of them has been Christian Miller, who's a draft prospect probably, right. I don't know. Day two, somewhere in that range, number two, the most talented though of the group, in my estimation from studying the tape, is Elijah Griffin, freshman, number 99, number 90. Then there's Xavier McLeod, there's number 0, who's kind of, kind of plays that role of the Trayvon Walker, I'm blanking on his name right now. Jordan Hall, 6, 4, 3, 20. But you go down the list and remember back in the day with the, with, with the Jalen Carters, the Jordan Davis's, the, the Wyatt's, those guys would like, those guys would not only blow you up and play that Kirby smart because your job as a defensive lineman for Georgia is first and foremost top priority. Gap, discipline, control two gaps, get into the pads violently control the gap, then get your eyes up, locate, and once you've done your job, then you get, you're allowed, you're afforded the opportunity at that point to go make a play, but you better make sure your job's done first, right? Those guys would go make plays because they were special. They were all first round NFL draft picks. The difference this year is they're getting into the Pats and there's nine of them. So they're rotating and they're staying fresh. They're getting into the pads, but they're not doing it violently. I'm not seeing those offensive linemen get jacked up consistently. I see it at times. From 52, Miller, Kristen Miller. I see it at times from 90, the freshman Elijah Griffin, probably more so than any of the other guys. He's the best pass rusher of the group, but it comes in flashes because he's a freshman. He's going, he might be the next one. We'll see in a couple of Years. Okay. But that it's. With the lack of violence, it's more read and react stuff and that's the difference I see in this team.
- [52:38]
Stephen
Just not as dominant.
- [52:40]
Todd McShay
Not as dominant up front. Now I do want to say they are young and they're getting better and we're seeing improvement. And I think what we saw early in the season is not what we see now. And what we see in the College Football Playoff, hopefully for Georgia and Kirby Smart is a little bit better than what they've got now. This is not going to be a dominant group, but if they can keep improving with the depth they have and the young, some of the young players they have, there's a chance that they become, I don't want to say service. They become like, okay, we gotta, we gotta deal with this defense. It's not the same enough we saw in September. Good enough.
- [53:13]
Stephen
Can they be good enough? That's what they need. They need him to be good enough to compete for a championship. The lot have to be like those other defenses.
- [53:20]
Todd McShay
The secondary was a massive problem early on and it's still, they're playing a lot of zones, like quarters, mixing zone coverages, a lot of let's back off and keep everything in front of us. Kirby learned some early lessons, especially that Tennessee game early on when Joey Aguilar was just dicing with, with Brazil and Staley and those receivers. Right.
- [53:42]
Stephen
Yeah.
- [53:42]
Todd McShay
So they're, they're like, okay, let's be, let's be as good as we can up front. Let's get our. I'll get to the linebackers in a minute. But the secondary, we just can't give up the big plays. Make them earn it, make them drive down the field. So they're backing up a lot. But even there, 20 Jacoby Thomas couple mental errors in this game didn't get exploited. Busted coverages didn't get exploited. They are very helpful.
- [54:05]
Stephen
Getting away with some stuff.
- [54:06]
Todd McShay
Getting away with some stuff. So. So while there's promise and there's improvement, there's also some red flags where I'm watching like against, against Ty Simpson. I know they already played again, but against that level of top tier quarterback, he's going to see that. Okay, so there's that to, to think of the linebackers though. And I'm not saying it's the elite of the elite that we've seen in several years, but the linebackers are the deal for Georgia and the linebackers are so good that then when they've tried to get some pressure on the quarterback because they know they're not Georgia standard up front. It's been the linebackers getting involved from off the ball, not, not rushing off the edge like we saw last year.
- [54:48]
Stephen
Right.
- [54:49]
Todd McShay
With. From depth with Walker. Yeah, sorry. Yeah, it's, it's from depth and, and picking the A gap, B gap, C gap. Right. So these three linebackers are, are absolute players. C.J. allen we all know about, probably a late first round draft pick. He doesn't go, he'll go top 50 at worst, but he's, he's probably been outside of Orville. Reached the best off off ball linebacker in, in college football. Raylan Wilson. A little bit tighter than I thought. Not like an elite, elite athlete, but he's been instinctive as a pass rusher when he gets his opportunities. He's violent, he's vicious. He gets in there and he will, he will lay it when he, when he gets to the quarterback. Okay. He had a second half this past week. He's a third year player, state of Georgia. Not a transfer portal guy. He's worked the process. He's gotten better and better and so they rely on him and they believe in him and they should. He's earned it. 6, 1, 2, 35. Then there's this Chris Cole cat. And I want you to remember that name, number nine. I'm seeing flashes out of him that he is next up. He's only a sophomore, but he is coming into his own and he is long and he's dropping into coverage and he's tough to throw around and when he comes on the blitz, he's a violent hitter and he's got some. So like between 90 up front, who. I talked to you about a defensive tackle, Elijah Griffin and, and who's a freshman and then, and then nine. Cole, who's a sophomore. They get two young guys that if they keep tracking could be huge difference makers in the College Football Playoff. So I just wanted to give an update on Georgia's defense and I hope people have a better understanding of why they're not the standard but where they're getting and some of the hope that they can be a good unit, a respectable unit, a unit you have to deal with when they get to the playoff.
- [56:49]
Stephen
How do you feel about that unit against Sark and Arch this week?
- [56:54]
Todd McShay
I think Arch is going to have to play a big game. I, I think the run game. No, no. And I know, yeah, but do you.
- [57:01]
Stephen
Think he will, do you think he will have that game?
- [57:04]
Todd McShay
I think it's going to. Honestly, I think Arch is now capable and if you asked me that question three weeks ago, I would have said, he'll have a decent day. This isn't a great defense, but it's going to all. Not all. There's going to be more on him in the pass game then I'd like to see. Had you talked to me about this before Oklahoma and since Oklahoma and then this last outing that he had. I think Arch has grown leaps and bounds. And I told you Arch is dealing right now. And it's not as good as Julian saying, who's in the same class. Julian saying is just better right now. It doesn't mean that Julian saying, when we get to the NFL draft is going to be better than Arch. We'll see the progression.
- [57:43]
Stephen
Yeah, I think both of these teams are better than they were at the start of the year. And I think Texas is. Texas got a real shot.
- [57:49]
Todd McShay
I think Sark is eager to find ways to get after that secondary. And I think. I think George is going to have to make a lot. And Kirby Smart specifically is going to have to make a lot of tough decisions on when to blitz Arch because when they bring the linebacker, that leaves them vulnerable and they've known it. But when they do their bats out of hell and, and, and it's gonna. But an Arch is gonna have to know where they're coming from and to get the ball out. And everyone's gonna be on the same page. But Sark with Arch and with those receivers, with Wingo, with more, with Livingston, Livingstone, Livingstone with injuries at tight end, they're. They're perfectly capable of chopping this. This defense up and making this into a track meet between the hedges on Saturday night. But this is gonna be. It's gonna be.
- [58:42]
Stephen
Gonna be awesome because it's.
- [58:43]
Todd McShay
Because it's a young quarterback who's finally coming into his own with.
- [58:47]
Stephen
There's so many layers going onto the.
- [58:49]
Todd McShay
Road with that pressure, that environment, that crowd noise. Right. So those things are stacked against Sark. What's stacked against Kirby Smart is the fact that he's got a secondary that he doesn't fully trust that he's having to back off. He's got a defensive front that's not getting the pressure that he wants, so he's going to have to blitz. So it is the ultimate. I'm telling you, if you love football and the chess match, this is the ultimate game of. Of. Of cat and mouse chess.
- [59:19]
Stephen
It's great.
- [59:19]
Todd McShay
And there's going to be a lot of isolated situations of chicken.
- [59:26]
Stephen
I love that. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely true. Both of these guys, by the way maybe the best coaching jobs, they're outstanding coaches. Maybe the best coaching jobs they've done for them. You think of the challenges, the rosters, all of it. It's, it's. Yeah, it's awesome. I'm excited. I'll stop talking about it now, but I'm excited.
- [59:43]
Todd McShay
All right.
- [59:44]
Stephen
Tape truth number seven. It's my favorite one of the week. There's, there's been a lot of good ones. This is my favorite one. Tape truth number seven. A walk on is playing a big role in USC's push for the playoffs. Waymond Jordan. Remember Waymond Jordan, the running back from usc who we talked about earlier in the year, who we, who we love.
- [60:02]
Todd McShay
And why do I have the feeling that you, you should, you should be in front of a fireplace with your grandkids around.
- [60:07]
Stephen
I'm trying to get better at it.
- [60:08]
Todd McShay
I like smoking feelings. I'm okay with smoking jacket on. With your pipe in your mouth and you're reading a. Reading a little story to the, to the kiddos means I feel like I'm.
- [60:17]
Stephen
Doing my favorite time.
- [60:18]
Todd McShay
Go ahead, please take the stage.
- [60:20]
Stephen
Waymond Jordan out with tightrope surgery. So he's out four to six weeks. I think that I can't find anything McShay but I think that means he could be coming back soon which would be great for usc. Eli Sanders was number two, the number two running back. Unfortunately season ending knee injury against Michigan in steps. King Miller, great name. King Miller is a preferred walk on. Who is the fourth running back on the depth chart coming into the season with all these injuries all of a sudden we got to get King Miller in the game and he's had to play be the primary ball carrier for the last three games.
- [60:54]
Todd McShay
Let me explain. I was a preferred walk on at Richmond and I quickly learned like two days in. What preferred means versus just a walk on is, is that we, we prefer you to take all the hits from our first team defense so that we can save the guys that we gave scholarships to go. Yes.
- [61:13]
Stephen
You know, happy to have you.
- [61:15]
Todd McShay
Happy to have you.
- [61:16]
Stephen
So he has had been the primary ball carrier for the last four games. Three of those games he's gone over 125 yards. I love his running style. He is that classic. One step, one cut back, sticks his foot in the ground, explodes up field, gets skinny, gets north, south, no nonsense to his game, get takes with the, the, the what he's getting in terms of blocking. You look at him and he could run out of, he could run out of juice a Little bit. He doesn't have elite speed, but he had two 45 plus yard runs against Michigan. He's plenty fast enough, man. He can get to the second level and he can make a linebacker mix miss. He can make a safety miss. This kid is just one of the best stories in college football. He's been unbelievable in terms of picking up the slack for them. They need to pay this guy. I don't understand why they haven't paid him. They need to pay him. One of the other cool parts of the story. His twin brother, also a preferred walk on, as far as I understand.
- [62:11]
Todd McShay
Also preferred walk, twin brother.
- [62:13]
Stephen
And he's an offensive lineman and he's starting to get snaps. Stop. Yes. So these two kids show up, as you know, preferred walk ons, and now they are USC's making a push. I mean, USC's legit. I mean, you talk about Makai Lemon, we talk about all these guys and how balanced that offense is, and you wonder where they would be without King Miller and how well he's run the ball for them. I mean, you. It would be an interesting thing to see. Now listen, he came out of the Northwestern game because he got banged up, but in my understanding is that he, he had. They brought him out because, yeah, he got banged up, but they're up three scores and we're not, we're not risking this at this point. They got a good Iowa run defense that's been good outside of that Oregon game last week. They've got an improving Oregon run defense coming up. There's a couple matchups, but don't, like, don't forget this guy went for 18 carries for 158 yards and a touchdown against Michigan. He is a legitimate talent. And I keep checking, I keep checking to see if they've given this kid a scholarship. They need to pay him. They need to figure out a way to get this kid on scholarship. I'm sure they will figure it out. And two, they'll figure it out soon. And to Lincoln Riley's credit, he knew. He knew. He talked about this kid in fall camp about how. How about King Miller might be someone who, who plays meaningful snaps for them. It could come on for them. So I think it's a really cool story. You look at that. We've talked about how USC has been hanging out, how they can make a push. This could be that team that you look at the. Little farther down the rankings, but that could be the team that sneaks in. And I agree with you. And this kid's played a big Part in the. In their story this year.
- [63:43]
Todd McShay
I love it.
- [63:45]
Stephen
Pretty cool, right?
- [63:46]
Todd McShay
It's so cool. And you think that's what's great about college football? All the resources and all the money and all the. And a couple walk ons, especially one of the. They're twin brothers and they're now like. And usc.
- [63:59]
Stephen
One's a running back, the other one's an offensive lineman. That's funny.
- [64:02]
Todd McShay
And, and we talked about. They got another big game. They get Iowa. You talk about it like just a clash of. Of. Of different, different styles and, And. But I was gonna travel out there. I'm excited to watch now. Now I'm more excited because I know that story. I had no idea he was walk on. And I saw the talent. I saw him play. And I like, when I remember talking about it on the reaction show, the Saturday night reaction show, when he broke out, I was like, this guy. This guy's good. You know, he's got a really similar.
- [64:31]
Stephen
Running style to Woody Marks. If you watch him last year, the guy was with.
- [64:34]
Todd McShay
Yes.
- [64:34]
Stephen
With you.
- [64:34]
Todd McShay
Yes.
- [64:35]
Stephen
Who we loved. He's built different. They're built different, but the same style. They, they. They press the front side. They see. They see a seam. They stick their foot in the, in the, in the ground, and they get up field in a hurry.
- [64:50]
Todd McShay
Tape truth number eight. It's. Let's just call this portion of the show the. The Marcel Reed Update. Okay. No fancy name. No, no. You know, here for it. No. Yeah, it's the Marcel Reed Update. I, I came on and said A M is going to get got at some point because Marcel Reed is just not playing to the level. And it came off after that LSU game where they won. And so I think people were surprised, like. Well, the broadcast and Herbie's kids went to school with them and, and like, he's known him since he was in, like, middle school or grade school. And, and like the special big plays, and they're all there. And I, And I. And I want to start this by saying Marcel Reed is a phenomenal athlete. He's a gamer. He is. He finds ways to win. And his mobility gives Texas A and M something that very few offenses in the country have because his. And he's not. He's not four, three. I told you. I think he might be four or five.
- [65:49]
Stephen
Right.
- [65:49]
Todd McShay
His quit, his quickness, his first two, three steps is unlike anybody else's in the country at the quarterback position. And so it extends, it creates and all those things. Okay, let's start with that. And I Love the guy. I love his competitiveness. Everyone swears by him. So I'm not, I'm not here railing. I'm just here telling you what the tape said. And honestly, I sat down on a Sunday because I kind of felt badly. It's like A M's rolling, man. A M's undefeated. This is the best season.
- [66:16]
Stephen
Why are you the bad time guy?
- [66:17]
Todd McShay
In my lifetime of A and M and Elko is in the. One of the five best coaches in college football right now in terms of what he's been able to do at a place that never had this stability and foundation. Okay, agree. I, I love this defense. I love the in game adjustments that they're making on both sides of the ball. That's a, that's a good Missouri team without their starting quarterback. So the defense took advantage, but that's a damn good Missouri defense. Okay, so keep all of that in mind. When I, when I explained to you, I was, I was saying there are some flaws in Marcel's game that have not improved enough from year one to year two, where if A and M's gonna get got, it's going to be because of some of the things I'm seeing on tape from Marcel as a passer. So I pop in this tape because I watched the game the other night and what I'm seeing, and understandably so, you see the flash plays, you see the replays of them and the celebration of them, and you see, see all the good things, and occasionally you see, you know, a negative or an interception or sack or something like that. But the good always outweighs the bad with Marcel on the broadcast. And he's a special, special dude. So I watched this tape because I wanted to come back and be like, hey, maybe I was wrong. Maybe he's, maybe he's taken to some of the coaching and maybe we're seeing a progression. So I pop in the tape and there are 11 key plays from reading this game, a lot of other runs, the run games going. They get the black Unicorn going, who's. Who's jumped in from moss and black unicorns become my favorite nickname. One of my favorite players in college football. Right?
- [68:00]
Stephen
It's awesome.
- [68:00]
Todd McShay
So I love so many things about this Texas, like I am a backer, I'm an Aggie backer. But if I'm, if I'm the skeptic and I'm looking at how, how could something go wrong?
- [68:10]
Stephen
Still got to do your job. You still got to do your job.
- [68:12]
Todd McShay
I still got to do your job.
- [68:13]
Stephen
You still got to do your job.
- [68:15]
Todd McShay
Texas is lurking. SEC championship games. Lurking. College football playoff on the horizon. Right. All those things. Elkin and his. I want to start with this as the foundation. Elkin and his staff.
- [68:28]
Stephen
Oh, go ahead.
- [68:29]
Todd McShay
Oh, sorry. Elko. Elkin. Elko and his staff knew they were going to win this game with their defense protecting the ball, being smart that without per Bula that Missouri just couldn't hang. They're going to wear them down over four quarters. Let's just be smart and get the hell out of Missouri.
- [68:48]
Stephen
Okay.
- [68:48]
Todd McShay
Let's get back to Texas, man.
- [68:50]
Stephen
Right. College game plan the opponent. Yep. Game plan the opponent.
- [68:54]
Todd McShay
So they limited Marcel Reed's risk exposure. Let me say that in English. The whole design of this game plan and brilliantly was let's limit Marcel Reeds risk exposure. With that in mind, he only had 11 key plays. Sometimes you just have 27 for a quarterback, 24, 22. A light one for Ty Simpson was 18. Okay. He had 11 of those 11. I color code. I have a system that I have if I'm going through play by play. There were 11 plays I went through. Red bold means it's a negative play. It was. It was a mental error or physical error. Some kind of mistake. Bold without the red is. Is a positive play. Let's highlight. It's a highlight play. It's something they did really good. And then just regular typing lettering is. Is just, you know, nothing maybe shouldn't have been a key play or nothing used to gain from it. So of the 11 plays, I had six negatives. It's not a good race.
- [69:58]
Stephen
Interesting. No. I was expecting something different. Here we go.
- [70:03]
Todd McShay
I had three solid plays and only two where it's like these are really positives. First play in the key play reel is bad miss on an arrow route. For those who don't know, it's the running back. It just kind of just arrow shoots into the flat. Kind of. Kind of try to jump and throw it and just. I actually can't remember if he. If he air melted or hit in the dirt, but he a bad mess. Next one. Bethel Roman. Ashton Bethel. Roman guy who I said keep an eye on this cat. He's. He's starting to make some plays right with you. Yeah, it looks like he bails them out, but what really happens is the cornerback bails him out. This is the touchdown throw to Abr Bethel Roman. He's rolling. Marcel Reeves rolling to his left. Ill advised. Throw his feet. He's throwing here and this. But like you want to be here and he's here, right?
- [70:58]
Stephen
Yep.
- [70:59]
Todd McShay
And it's not back over the middle of the field, but it's kind of like. It's a risky throw. The cornerback undercuts it, as you would, because the velocity is not going to be on that throw. And you can kind of see it coming. Undercuts it right in position to make the pick. It, like, goes through. I had to rewind, like, kind of just went through his hands. It was almost a miracle he didn't pick that ball off or at least get his hands on it. Right. And it just winds and AB is like, well, I'll take that. Thanks. Touchdown. So what looks like on when we were watching the game, you're like, oh, rolling left. Mobile play extends. Touchdown. Ah, let celebrate. It's actually getting a Red Bull on my notes. All right, then you got another one. Sloppy sack.308. Second quarter. Just footwork is about. Here's the big takeaway. He's got to calm his feet. Marcel Reed has got to calm his feet 100%. When he does more and I and I'll get to. There's a couple plays and I don't want to take too long. But like you, here would be my message to him as his quarterback coach. I promise you, man, you are so athletic and talented. You are just as explosive. If you have your feet married to your eyes and you're not bouncing up and down and panicking and doing this. If you're like this and you decide you gotta go, you're just as fast. In fact, you might be faster because you get your right foot already there in the ground and you just drive off of it and go, rather than having to go from here and then come forward. It's the biggest thing I see in his game. And it's correctable because. And like you said, 25 seconds left, third quarter. I wrote, this is good. This is what I want to see. More patient in the pocket, feet married to his eyes. It's an easy throw, but he hits Craver, the wide receiver crate. Mario Craver going across on a crosser, but he hits him in stride because his feet are right and his mechanics are good. And he sees it. He decisive hits it. That's what it can be. But then we go back to some of the negatives. 406, third quarter, zero chill in the pocket. Crosser comes open late. That's what I wrote. We got zero chill in that pocket.
- [73:16]
Stephen
I love it. It's true, though. It's. It's an accurate description.
- [73:21]
Todd McShay
The crosser comes open late and so if your feet, if you're going through your progressions with your feet married to your eyes and everything's like this, you know, then you're ready to throw, but the feet are a mess because there's no calm. And it's a horrible mess. High and over the middle and in that game situation and like in just overall as a quarterback, you can't do that. So now because you're bouncing around and you just try to flick it, it goes high over the middle. It's a mortal sin as a quarterback. And it should have been picked off, but it wasn't. You got away with it.
- [73:56]
Stephen
Texas feasts on those kind of mistakes they have historically.
- [73:59]
Todd McShay
Zone coverage, eyes forward, everything in front. They literally recruit 4, 5, 40 yard dash guys in the state of Texas because at cornerback, in safety. Yeah. Run a 4, 5, 3. Are you smart? Do you read things quickly? And do you catch the ball like a wide receiver? Those are the, that's the standard for that group to play, that scheme. So. Yes.
- [74:24]
Stephen
Yeah.
- [74:26]
Todd McShay
And then there's this design run in the fourth quarter. 450 left, 25 yards, 25 yard gain, down to the 15 kind of seals the game. They're up 14. There's a score for Missouri and then. And. And there. But they score again and now they get the ball and they're trying to put it away. And he takes off and he runs and I'm like, this is why I would never. I can't give up on Marcel. There's flash.
- [74:46]
Stephen
I'm here for it all.
- [74:47]
Todd McShay
Oh my gosh. It's so many guys can. Not many. Some guys are picking up a six or seven there he's picking up 25. He's a special dude. He's an awesome athlete. And that's part of the deal. And that's the perspective. You have to keep with it. But they. And times running out like we gotta, we gotta drill home the patience, the calm feet in the pocket because he's capable. He's just doesn't have the tools yet to, to be more consistent as a passer. But it's there and it's concerning.
- [75:17]
Stephen
I completely agree. But I'm here for it all. You're 100, right? It's. It's up and down. It looks great. It's great. There are times you. It is, you know, you kind of duck your head and put your hands over your eyes like, I don't. Please don't do that again. And it'll be interesting to see how this story ends because the movie's been awesome, but we don't know if the ending is gonna be like. It's fine.
- [75:38]
Todd McShay
It's a thriller. It's one of those, like, a psychological. Where you're like, I don't know, this could go. My favorite character, like, commit the murder. I, I, I like. And they're just kind of the whole.
- [75:50]
Stephen
T. I feel like Elko is this most calming, steadying head coach, and his team is just testing. And the defense, the, the penalties.
- [75:58]
Todd McShay
All of the penalties. Oh, my.
- [76:00]
Stephen
The penalties. The defense has been a little up and down with certain plays, and I'm sure he's sitting there like, I, if you, if I can just get my guys to understand how good they are, if I can just get them to believe how good they are, that they can just. If they just do their jobs and what they're coached to do and use their talents, man, that Texas A and M team is dangerous. Oh, my God, I love that team. I love that.
- [76:22]
Todd McShay
All right. All right, go. We got to keep rolling here. My bad.
- [76:25]
Stephen
Yeah, sorry. I'll be quick here. Tape truth number nine. JMU's defense gives them a shot to make the playoffs. JMU is ranked higher than south Florida by one spot. I think it's 23 and 24 in the AP poll. We'll see what happens with the rankings for the playoffs. So now, you know, JMU is a legitimate shot to make the playoff, and I want to get into it and see what, you know, I haven't. I'll be honest. I haven't watched any JMU tape this year. What do we got? Statistically, the defense is really good. 8th in overall in total defense. They're top 15 in a bunch of other characters. Their defense quarter is Colin Hitler, who was with Alabama last year, is with. Was coached with Luke Fickle for years. Defensive, you know, pretty good buying defensively. He takes some chances, man. I like what he does. I mean, they do a lot of simulated pressures. They do a lot of twists and stunts. They're going to try and keep your pass protection honest. They're going to do some run blitzes, but he also takes some chances. There's a blitz he had in the Louisville game where he. They got home. The linebacker got home. But if had they had he not that the back end of the coverage was going to be in a lot of trouble. So there's some interesting things that they do. They've got a linebacker and Trent Hedrick, who's a Hendrick, who is a physical dude, both as a run defender and as a pass Rusher. They've got a corner Justin Eagle and really good at off Carters playing the ball at two picks against ODU does a good job of reading breaks and then getting his eyes on the ball as he's breaking on the pass. There's some guys here that I really like and if they're going to make it, it's going to be because of this defense. But I am going to rope a dope you here a little bit. I think they're in trouble against Washington State in two weeks. This is a fun team to watch. I think it's a very good team. It's. It's amazing where JMU has come in as a program. I don't think they're quite ready for.
- [78:08]
Todd McShay
A playoff appearance really.
- [78:13]
Stephen
And you know, they play, they play Louisville tough, but I just don't, I don't see it right now. I think they're, they're still a little bit far away. They've still got to make some steps.
- [78:23]
Todd McShay
I don't disagree. I think Bob Chesney is, is the rising, one of the rising stars in coaching and I've shared that holy cross and what he did and people who have gotten to know him and been around that and him just absolutely believe in him. And I know of a few different places that really interested in him last year and I. And it seems it's only growing as they're having success. Right. So keep an eye out for that name in the future. Maybe it's not next year, maybe it's two, three years down the road, but he's going to wind up. Maybe it's a bridge job or maybe it's just a big job, you know. However it was, I don't think, because I look at Alonzo Barnett at quarterback, it's 62%. He's only got like 1780 pass yards and 16 touchdowns, four interceptions protecting the ball. But they are averaging 34 point, almost 35 yards per game. But it's like this balance and key spots and feeding off the defense and Wayne Knight and Jordan Fuller running back and the quarterback Barnett is adding to it as well. So there's some positive things. But this doesn't feel like Boise State from a year ago, you know, and.
- [79:32]
Stephen
It doesn't feel like South Florida this year.
- [79:34]
Todd McShay
We thought South Florida was, was ascending.
- [79:36]
Stephen
I still think they are. Yeah.
- [79:38]
Todd McShay
Yeah. So. So I, I don't disagree with you, but it is a fascinating team and I think they're just building under Chesney and I think whatever, whatever the result is from this season I think it's only going to get better, you know?
- [79:50]
Stephen
Right. They deserve a ton of credit. They are a damn good football team. I just don't know if they're there yet.
- [79:55]
Todd McShay
Yeah. I don't disagree, but I think it's good to, you know, shine some light on them as we now are starting to. And that we're gonna see all of a sudden, like Reese Davis and the gang are going to come with the College Football Playoff reveal or the rankings reaction show. Reveal show. And you could have. You could have the Dukes up there, right?
- [80:16]
Stephen
You could.
- [80:17]
Todd McShay
So you could. It's gonna be so.
- [80:20]
Stephen
Gonna be fun to watch as.
- [80:21]
Todd McShay
As the 12 seed, so. So people need to start getting to know who they are. Just like you need to start to know what, what, what, what. What South Florida is doing and the program that's being built there, too. All right, tape truth 10. And I'm taking a real risk here. Yes, I'm taking a real risk here. The future at quarterback in college football. And I'm not talking 26, 27. I'm talking about maybe the 2028 NFL Draft.
- [80:50]
Stephen
Here we go.
- [80:51]
Todd McShay
And it's. That's not the risk. Me saying it.
- [80:54]
Stephen
It.
- [80:54]
Todd McShay
The risk is me trying to pronounce his name. Jaron Kibe, Sanga, Paul Latelli, Sanga Poelli. That's it. I nailed it. People love this kid, Sanga Poelli. He's had some bumps. Bumps. There's been some up and ups and downs. He was a national sensation early on in the season, but they have struggled at times. Okay. It's this. This tape truth is not about 20, 25. This is about the future. All right.
- [81:25]
Stephen
I love it.
- [81:26]
Todd McShay
This was the first win of significance for Cal. This is the first win where it's like I went back and looked. They're 6 and 4. Whatever the record is, they beat teams they should have beaten. They lost the teams and kept some close and didn't. And others. This is the first. They were 18 and a half point dogs. Cal was at Louisville and they beat Louisville 29, 26 in overtime. And I'm telling you, man, this was one of like, some things are grinds. The Marcel Reid tape is frustrating, but like, I see what it can be. I get into Ty Simpson when I should be watching Texas Tech. Sunday's a roller coaster around the McShay house.
- [82:07]
Stephen
Yep.
- [82:08]
Todd McShay
But some things are just labors of love when you get to sit down and watch a quarterback that you don't know a lot about and you know he's just a puppet he's just a baby swaddled in that Cal offense. And you see this, he's going to grow to be this unbelievably talented and beautiful, wonderful man and all like I'm telling you, San Capolotelli is so talented. Steve, it's. Oh yeah, it's like preach. Okay.
- [82:38]
Stephen
Yeah.
- [82:40]
Todd McShay
Six three, 225 pounds as a freshman in this game. And think about having to come back overtime. The moments that it took 30 for 47, 323 yards, two touchdowns, no picks.
- [82:53]
Stephen
Okay.
- [82:54]
Todd McShay
He's a southpaw coming from the left side just ripping it. Ball jumps off his hand. Okay. So much energy even when there's pressure in his face and he can't get his throat like his motion, his hips into his throat, no problem. The tempo of this offense feeds off of his like he's not like an elite runner by but it's just like the feet are right and the quickness and he's drilled at home and all the things and his ability to threaten all from from one side to the next and all three levels puts a lot of strain on the defense. Okay. I saw cross field throws on a rope. I saw rolling right drilling a strike as a left hander. So it's a crossbow drilling a strike right down the left rail. I saw hitting spots in between coverages. I saw back shoulder fades to number 81. Landon Morris is a tight end. That was like. Wait, is that. Is that Aaron Rodgers and Devonte.
- [83:57]
Stephen
Calm down. Well, here we go.
- [83:59]
Todd McShay
I forget who Aaron Rodgers favorite target was a Cal. But like I actually Aaron Rodgers stuff from the, from the left side.
- [84:06]
Stephen
Yeah, yeah.
- [84:07]
Todd McShay
The timing, the pinpoint. It's NFL stuff man. And he's just a pop. And then he caps the game off with an altered arm angle throw to Jacob De Jesus. I can't even throw. Let's pretend this stuff it's like walk off game winning touchdown pass from a weird angle and the the KU yawns to make that throw. And the trust you have. Speaking of day deJesus, he's only 5, 770 pounds and he's a possession receivers averaging like 9.8 and all that stuff.
- [84:51]
Stephen
Might want to.
- [84:52]
Todd McShay
I mean we might want to just put him on the radar for a late round prospect at the wide receiver position. 16 for 158 in a touchdown in this game against Louisville. Pretty good. I get it. There have been some bumps in the road. I get it. 13 to 9 touchdown interception ratio. I get it. But I also want to share this with you. When you lose a quarterback like Fernando Mendoza to go to Indiana, and that said quarterback is now emerging as a potential top 10 pick, and who knows, maybe number one overall. Like all the draft lunatics on Twitter want to say, you should be devastated when you're a Cal program. Right? There was a reason. There was a reason why they weren't heartbroken. They were. They didn't want to lose them. They like Mendoza, great young man, very talented. They were not heartbroken. And I. I'm telling you that because I talked to a scout last week who. So I'm just giving you inside information because they. They knew this guy is special. Now, the hardest thing Cal is going to have to do is keep this guy there. Yeah, right, the lefty Hawaiian. Just absolute slinger. But if they do, Cal's a team to watch out for in the acc because that one guy could change the whole thing for the next couple years there.
- [86:06]
Stephen
How about the travel schedule for those guys over the last six weeks at Boston College, at Virginia Tech, at Louisville? I mean, how about that for Cal, having to go just crisscrossing across the country? I mean, you hear about all these other guys talking about, about the travel. I mean, getting to the east coast three times in six games. That's pretty.
- [86:24]
Todd McShay
Yeah. I mean, I took you out the NFL draft. I didn't hear from you for three days after the jet lag. I thought I lost you.
- [86:31]
Stephen
I was done. I was. Yeah, I was done. I was toasted.
- [86:35]
Todd McShay
Yeah. But seriously, I mean, it's six and.
- [86:37]
Stephen
Four for that team. You know, no moral victories, I guess, in college football. Six of four for that Cal team is pretty good.
- [86:43]
Todd McShay
It's really good. And this guy's special. And something to be excited about for UC Berkeley moving forward. Like, there's some stuff going on there. All right. This was fun. We got a big week coming up, obviously. We got Wednesday, look out for it Thursday. We're still deciding what we're going to do. We gotta. We gotta kind of react to the, to the, to the. The rankings reveal. It's not going to be a huge shakeup, but we certainly have rough draft coming up on Thursday. We got. We're gonna break into that game. I'm telling you right now. I want to break in early. Texas, Georgia, there's going to be so much to cover. We got. The chat's probably already starting right now, and the McShay report will be out later this week. And, and as we, like, I want to give it 4.9 stars, but I gotta give it 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 chatincut or visit mdgamblinghelp.org In Maryland, Hope is here. Visit gamblinghelplinema.org or call 1-800-327-5050 for 24. 7 support in Massachusetts or call 1-877-ATE-OPE NY or text HOPE NY in New York.