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Week 13 Tape Truths: Dante Moore’s NFL Comp, Alabama X Factors, Underwood Evaluations, and More | The McShay Show
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A
Big show today. It's put up or shut up time in college football and we've unearthed some important need to knows to prepare us all for the final two week stretch run before the college football playoff. It's a tape truth Monday here on the show and just 150 days until the NFL Draft. Minch, you good?
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B
I'm good, man.
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A
Roll that beat, Tucker. Do you feel it, Steve?
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B
Oh, yeah.
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A
I mean, we got Thanksgiving, we got the madness after. We get games on Friday. Texas, Texas A and M. I mean that's a massive one. Saturday, Michigan, Ohio State, the game, the Iron bowl and everything in between. 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 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 chat in Connecticut this past weekend, did you know this is like, I don't know the exact number, but I read somewhere it was one of the most lopsided Saturdays in college football history in terms of top 10 and the, the point difference in terms like what they beat their opponents by. And it kind of felt like that at times on Saturday.
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B
Right?
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A
Like it felt like, yeah, that's because.
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B
All the SEC teams were playing Chattanooga State according to Dan Lanning.
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A
Right. Eastern Illinois and everyone else. But I still felt like we learned a lot. And I still feel like with two weeks remaining, the rivalry weekend, if you will, post Thanksgiving and then the championship games, you and I, I, I, I don't want to speak for you, but you and I kind of feel like we've, we've honed in on what's important and, and there's a lot of teams that are kind of on the fringe right now or a lot of teams that are basically locked in but still have some question marks. And we spent Sunday and, and early this morning on Monday trying to dive into the tape. I went back and was digging like three, four weeks into the past trying to get some trends and figure out, all right, it is what it is. Now there are some injuries and we're going to keep an eye on it. But like, where are we with these guys? Because we've seen fast starts, dips in play, resurgences. We've seen the opposites where it's been slow starts and teams starting to rise. But I feel like right now we kind of know who these teams are. So I'm excited to share what we found. 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 do a little bit of abbreviated tape tr today. We're not going to do 10. I think we're going to wind up with six. And that's fine too because the, listen, it was a lopsided Saturday there. There were a lot of directional schools getting beaten up by, by powerhouses. And so let's, let's provide some answers from what we've seen. And I think it's more important to get six tape truths where we really dug in than it is necessarily do 10 and add four more that don't, don't have massive impact on what we're about to see these final two critical weeks in college football. I'll remind everybody the McShay report is out from this past weekend. We're not going to have one later this week. Everyone enjoy some time with the family. I don't want you looking at your phone. I don't want you reading anything that I have to write. I don't want to write anything. But we're going to be back on on Sunday again with the, with the McShay Report. If you're not a subscriber, please Google the McShay Report and subscribe. You can subscribe for free. Premium members get a lot of benefits, especially now as we're ramping up into the College Football Playoff and the NFL draft season.
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B
So yeah, start cooking now. You got to get the Machete Report.
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A
Yeah, yeah, we got, I mean, there's a lot of exciting stuff coming and a lot of exciting news for what we're trying to do in the next, I would say in the next four to six weeks. So stay tuned with all of that. Tell the fine folks who are watching this show right now how they can support us.
- [04:58]
B
Steve, you always, why do you always do this? You wait like four weeks and then you Pop it on me because I like to.
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A
I like to see you squirm. It's why I am. It's why I talk about Isaiah Satanga running for 70 yards and showing breakaway speed and relate it to a beautiful woman walking into a room who seems to have confidence in the hair is flowing and laughing and all those sorts of things. And then throw it to you. Like, do you have that same sensation that I get? And I only do it to make you uncomfortable because it's just as entertaining for me and I think it's entertaining for all the folks who are watching and listening.
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B
Yeah, if you're watching, I look like a tomato every time he does it. I turn red.
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A
All right, go to the YouTube channel.
- [05:37]
B
McShay show and hit the subscribe button. Get the alert too. Hit the alarm button so you know when a new show comes out. Also go to Spotify. Hit the follow button. Check for new episodes there. I think you can also set the alert there as well. Anywhere else you can find your podcast, you're going to find the McShay Show. Consider getting the McShay Report again. This is the time you should have already gotten it. He's great during the season. If you think it's great now, it's only going to get better. So consider getting it. He's at McShade 13 on all socials. I'm at you. Good mensch. That's M C H. Hope that helps.
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A
It's perfect. Really well done, Steve. See, it's just jumping right back on the.
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B
I had to buy time, though. That's what I was doing the whole time. I was just trying to buy some time about. What am I going to say?
- [06:20]
A
So you nailed it. You nailed it. And it like, even the, the f. The fine folks on our chat every Saturday night get, get mad at people and I love when they're. They, they're kind of like in the corner throwing hay makers for us. Like, yo, we got like over a thousand people on this chat right now. There's like one hundred and twenty likes. Just hit the like button. Hit the subscribe button. It doesn't cost anything. And, and it's honestly, I hate being a shill. I hate asking and begging and all that stuff. But it's important for the show as we continue to grow and we've made huge growth in just over one year.
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B
So, yeah, it's the nature of the business now.
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A
It is. Okay, moving on to the fun stuff. Tape truth number one. What do you got for us men? Tape truth number one.
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B
Alabama Wide Receiver Jeremy Bernard had better be ready to go against Auburn. I'm telling you. Look, Alabama is going to have a hard time running the ball in that game. It's great that they could run the ball all over Eastern Illinois. That's cool. That's awesome. They were averaging 3.1 yards per carry against SEC defense as running the ball. You're going up against an Auburn defense that ranks fifth in the fbs, not the sec, the fbs. And average yards per carry allowed. They are giving up 2.5 yards per carry at home. It's going to be tough sledding for that Alabama run game. That means this game is going to really depend on Ty Simpson in his arm. And look, I got a lot of faith in Ty Simpson, but over the last month or so he's been hold. He's been trying to make some plays. I think, I don't think he's been rattled, but I think he's trying to make plays. And that's manifesting in two. Two bad outcomes, to be honest with you. One, he's holding on to the ball too long and two, he's throwing the ball into harm's way a little bit. You saw that on the interception, I think especially on the interception that was called back against Oklahoma. Trying to squeeze a ball in there that he doesn't need to. He was even the first pick. He shouldn't have done it. And then last week against Illinois, Eastern Illinois, he threw two picks and yes, one was a Hail Mary, but the other one, he just didn't see the linebacker dropping. He's trying to force some balls in there. And I think that, you know, when you're looking at a quarterback who's going through that kind of a, a rut or, or a phase, I would say you need your, your number one receiver out there. And Jeremy Bernard as good as Ryan Williams is, as good as.
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A
I, I was going to ask you that and I don't want to interrupt you because you're, you're cooking right now, but it's interesting to hear. Like coming into the year.
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B
Yep.
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A
The fact that here we are in week 11 or 11 games in going into the Iron bowl that you're saying the guy that's got to step up is Jeremy Bernard and you're. And you went like three minutes without even mentioning Ryan Williams. Why is that?
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B
I guess is the follow up Ryan Williams super talented? I hope and I don't hope. I don't know. I said that he will, he could make some play. He should make some plays in this game and he will be important in this game. But what I'm kind of the connection that I'm seeing is when your quarterback isn't maybe necessarily playing with the same kind of confidence or in the same kind of. Of you know, on streak as he was earlier in the career, early earlier in the career, early in the season, then you want your most trusted guy. So maybe he's not the number one receiver. You can argue that it's Ryan Williams.
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A
I guess I think he's the most reliable. Like he as a quarterback, you. I can remember like there's the guys that are security that you trust that like, like I, I know I can. Then there are the guys like if this is open, he's going to give me, he's going to give me a chunk that I maybe can't get from somebody else on this. So there's almost a different mentality as a quarterback when you're approaching, you know, certain plays and certain, you know, dropbacks.
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B
Yeah. And there's not to get too technical about this, but Ryan Grub, the offense coordinator will, he'll use Bernard in different ways, whether it's lining up in the backfield, putting him in motion, putting him in the slot. One of the things that I really like that Alabama does and I think it's a great confidence booster for Simpson is the way they run outs is that Simpson, the timing and chemistry with Bernard on those kind of routes is different. And if they get access from the corner and what I mean by that is if you see a corner playing off and he's, he's not going to be able to close in time if they get access from a corner, it's basically a handoff for Simpson. And those kind of play when they run that out and that those kind of plays are just confidence builders. You're looking to get your, your quarterback into a rhythm and if you can get Simpson into a rhythm in this game, Alabama is going to be in great shape. But he has been a little bit off I think really over the last month to be honest. You especially over the last two weeks. So again, as good as Ryan Williams is and I like the other receivers on that team too, I think he's going to feel a lot more confident and more likely to get into that rhythm. If his security blanket is out there and that's Jeremy Bernard.
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A
There are two add ons. I'll provide here base because I, I did a deep dive. I don't, I think it was last week when you, you were gone with the family. I did a Deep dive into. Yeah, you weren't here. I, I went back and looked at, at Ty Simpson and some of the struggles and everyone's kind of losing their minds. Like he's a, he's overrated. I can't believe.
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B
Yeah, I think that's so I, I.
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A
Went through a whole. And if, if I'm not going to get into all those things again today, but if you haven't watched it then, then please go back and you can. I think it was last Monday and tape truth that I, I went and kind of I just dug into the last like four or five games for, for Ty Simpson in Alabama and what's going on. Cliff's Notes Virgin version the run game is, is so unreliable and there were, yeah, there were even spurts in that last game where you thought, okay, and they, they made a couple moves along the, I want to say the right side of their offensive line and you could see a little bit of problem.
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B
They've been shuffling those guys.
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A
Yeah, they have been. And so for a period in the game, in the first half of the game, you thought, oh maybe, maybe they've solved it, maybe the run game. And then it just disappeared again. I equate some of the stuff to what we saw with Nuss Meyer 2024 where remember I watched, I went back this summer and watched the tape and I was like, I don't remember. I don't recall ever watching a quarterback from beginning of season to end where I felt like literally like the, the mental and the physical toll that it took on him. Nussm because they didn't have a run game and it was 40, 45, 50 pass. Like it was an insane number of dropbacks per game. And the amount that he had to carry that team, you could see it physically, he wasn't as twitchy. He wasn't. And you could see it just wearing down. And then you could kind of see the emotional toll pressing at times doing different things that you wouldn't want your quarterback to do, but you kind of have to write it off because what are, what's the other option here? Okay, so I've seen a little bit of that in tie. I don't think he's pressing the way that Nussmeier was a year ago at all. And I give him a lot of credit for not. But when you're putting that much onus on the quarterback, it's going to wear on you, especially with that schedule week in and week out against the SEC opponents that they've been facing. The other part is and just looking into this game, right. And I kind of touched on both. The first part is he has lost a fumble in each of the last five games. He has fumbled the ball last five games. It's not all because of this, but the majority were because of this. He has got to. And he's a smart young man, obviously, and he's been around ball his whole life, obviously. He has got to now make it a concerted effort. Ball carriage protection inside the pocket when the, when it starts to collapse. That was like four of the five fumbles of a version of a variation of just not that last second. Not just covering it up and trying to maybe get like, you know, so that's going to be important in this game because it is going to be a highly charged, emotional game against a damn good defense. He's got to.
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B
On the road.
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A
On the road. So take the sack.
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B
Yep.
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A
You can recover from it. You got Ryan Williams, you got Jeremy Bernard, you got Isaiah Horton.
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B
Trust your defense.
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A
You can't recover if you can't recover from it. If, if you give. Hand the ball over. Okay. And then the final thing is, and I'm encouraged by what I saw this past week, just a literally one catch. We did a deep dive earlier in the season on Ryan Williams and the drops and remember the high percentage of those drops were contested. Defender closing in focus, coming off the ball to see if he was going to take a big hit. I saw a catch this last week. Is it this last week? Yeah, this past week. Where was it two weeks ago? I forget in the last two weeks I've seen Ryan Williams make a couple contested catches with defenders coming in on him. And I'm watching him and I went and watched the tape to see and the. And the like the eye focus is remaining where it should. And so I'm hopeful for, for Simpson and for Ryan Williams and if. If you're an Alabama fan, that that trend will continue because they're going to need to make. He's going to need to make a couple tough catches in this game and Jeremy's the guy. And I agree with you. But when Ryan Williams starts to get involved and all that speed and athleticism starts to payoff in chunkyard plays, it changes the whole dynamic of this offense.
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B
I listen, I agree and I should say that I'm kind of bearing the lead here in that Jeremy Bernard was. Did not play against Eastern Illinois last week, was banged up against Oklahoma.
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A
But the Oklahoma game, that was the. I was talking about the Oklahoma game where Ryan Williams made a tough catch in that one.
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B
That was okay. The reporting is, is that it was precautionary reasons and that Bernard should be ready to go. But it's a little, a little uneasy because they, they need him. I think he's going to be a big part of his game even. Look, we talked about how the run game is again. 3.1 yards per carry against SEC defenses. Great. You can run against Eastern Illinois. You've not been able to do it against the quality opponents. Just not a thing for Alabama this year. So even the run game, are you. You can get Bernard involved there a little bit too. Is he going. You know, he's. He's had the ball in his hands. I think he's had the most missed tackles out of all the receivers. I think he's. He's a guy that could play. Play a big role in a. In a couple different ways.
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A
That's a Saturday night prime time game that's obviously like, can't. It just doesn't get any bigger.
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B
Right.
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A
Like. And we've seen the upsets before and, and hopes dreams dashed and Auburn's got an opportunity to, to do just that again. So we'll be dialed. And just an update. We're still working out the, the logistics of it, but I know we've got a lot of fans that love our Saturday night show. We will have a show on Saturday. Stay tuned. We've got. We got more information coming out on that. We may tweak the. The time of that, but there will be at least one show. We're kind of working through options right now. But for those of you who are worried that I've got. I'm an old man now and I've got my 30th high school reunion. I, I ain't going. And, and men, she's got his 30th reunion and we're working out detailed. So we're gonna, we're gonna be there on Saturday in some, some shape or form. But. But we'll give you more information on that. All right. From one sec. Wide receiver to another. Isaiah Satania, the Oklahoma receiver we came into this year. And Dion Burks. Every scout you talk to, you put in the tape the top 100 guy. I think he still is. I think there have been moments and there have been like games where he has played to that level. And I think he's very likely still like talking to scouts again. He's a top 100 guy, meaning he's going to go somewhere in the first three rounds probably, you know, day two in that third round range. What's interesting to me is Satania, the Arkansas transfer has come in and he's become the guy. And I knew he was fast because there were reports about it and he had. He's reached 22 miles per hour on, you know, in the. The tracker and in game, which kind of equates to 4, 3 range. And then you saw. We've seen flashes of the speed throughout the season. And then you saw the speed on that long touchdown run where Oklahoma desperately needed a big play. I think it was like a third of their offensive output.
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B
It was 84 yards, I think. Right. That one catch, catch and run was 84 yards event and I think they.
- [18:39]
A
Had like 250 yards. Like a third of their offensive output was that one play.
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B
He's dangerous.
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A
So I, I just wanted to get into Satania because I feel like we've talked about all these receivers, right, Steve. We. We've talked about Carnell Tate and Jordan Tyson. We've talked about Makai Lemon and his rise. We've talked about Casey Concepcion and, and, and. And Boston from. Is it Denzel? Boston, right. From Washington. We've talked about Craver, also from A M. Mario Craver. There been a lot of receivers who have elevated this year. Jacobe Lane, another USC receiver. Chris Brazel from. From Tennessee. His, his kind of rise as well. But for some reason, Satania, who's in his third year of playing college football, his first two at Arkansas and transfer here, I don't think we've gotten ahead of, hey, he's a prospect, he's eligible. And he's having a better year than Deion Burks, where everyone in the scouting community is like, burks is top 100. So, so what's the takeaway here? Satania is not the biggest cat. Okay. He gets out muscled on the perimeter, wide receiver when, when working outside there, especially when you're running kind of downfield routes, contested catches, there's some moments, there's some balls where I see him double catching and quite honestly more so when his ball carriage and ball security has been an issue. And that's something he's got interesting. Yeah, I didn't expect that when I was watching. And even. Even plays where he catches it and gets knocked out of bounds and it's not even technically a fumble, but like ball just pops out and then it was the. What game was it. Was it Tennessee? There was another player. Ball. Ball got knocked out at the end. I just, I see him not. Not covered. Yeah. Tennessee, Alabama. Those. Those are two of the Games I went back and watched four, four or five games like South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama and, and just. And Missouri and it's just something to keep an eye out with him. However, he's both quick and fast and his confidence continues to. To rise right his. He's yards after catch weapon. They. They hand the ball off to him sometimes. And it's been interesting watching Ben Arbuckle and this offense that was. Was unbelievable. It was a Western Kentucky, then obviously Washington State and he's one of the bright young minds in college football. Unfortunately he's been neutered. Arbuckle has.
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B
Right.
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A
And so what they've had to do with the offensive poor offensive line play, no run game and John Matier's thumb, they have had. They've had to rely on Satania the quick game screen game and, and it's not necessarily Steve even how do I explain this when I'm watching Satania as a route runner? It's not about necessarily in that. In the cons the confines or construct of this offense. It's not necessarily about running the route tree or you know, that specific route perfectly to uncover for Arbuckle in that offense. It's more about getting him almost like moving a chess piece, getting him to an area so that can be a crosser from the backside where he sits and then. And then moves, moves and slides. That can be an out and up. But it's not necessarily about beating him on the, on the out and then. And then getting up field and get. It's more about the out and up to widen the zone and then get himself into his own spot. They're. Arbuckle uses him to get into spots.
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B
Right? Right.
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A
Okay. So with all that in mind, he's been so critical to this offense because they desperately need someone who can turn 3 into 10, turn 7 into 84.
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B
Right.
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A
And he's provided that for them and he's been able to do so because he does uncover so quickly as, as a. Just like the quickness and the speed, the acceleration out of cuts. But then he's smart man. And it's interesting watching him. He is just has a natural feel for the game and I don't know his background, I don't know if he played quarterback, I don't know but he. Some guys you can see, they have a natural feel for where they're supposed to be and as the play moves and, and mater who extends a lot of plays he the scramble rules as we call it after the initial play breaks down. Receivers have responsibilities and areas they have to be. And a lot of it is working with the quarterback, the way he's rolling, finding soft spots, staying in the quarterback's vision. He does a great job of that. And it's critical for Mater because he's on the move a lot. He's undersized, but he blocks. He. And then the blocking, I've noticed, sets up some of the cells in the play action so he like no one cares if, if you don't block. But then you go to pretend to block and then try to work that off, you know. But when you're blocking, even though you're undersized, you have to take you seriously. The defender has to take the receiver seriously. So they take the serious. The guy, the receiver seriously. Go to engage and understand that he does this on runs. So I better be prepared. And I've seen him kind of, you know, not guys who, who weren't prepared for me to come for, for the, this undersized receiver to come in and, and clock him. And by doing that then right before he makes contact up the field. So he's doing a lot of little things that I like. And his, his speed is what is attractive to me as an evaluator and is what is giving Oklahoma moments of opportunity. Opportunistic play to overcome all the things that are going poorly on that side of the ball. Deep ball down the left rail versus Ole Miss. I saw easy speed sits in the soft zone. Great feel, scramble rules like stuff. Beautiful job against Ole Miss. Another one against Ole Miss. Long yard after catch touchdown. That breakaway speed. The Missouri one. This past week we talked about 659 second quarter backside crosser. Just Jets.
- [25:03]
B
See ya.
- [25:04]
A
See ya. And so I, I look at this for Oklahoma. Now let's look at it from the NFL draft perspective just for a second. He had 52 catches in two seasons combined at Arkansas. 52. He has 56 catches here for Oklahoma through 11 games. Let's dig in a little bit deeper after, after the first two games of kind of getting his footing and not having it was Dion Burks. Remember it was Cannock, the tight end. Yeah, yeah. I think he had like six catches or something like that combined the first two. And it just what wasn't the big impact.
- [25:40]
B
Still finding his way.
- [25:41]
A
He was finding his way and Oklahoma didn't know what they had in him since. But after those two games he's become the go to guy for OU. Okay. Last nine games he's averaging six catches PER, 85.2 PER. And has six touchdown catches. All six of his touchdown catches have been in the last nine games. His 56 catches, Satanias, are 10 more than Dion Burks. And more importantly, you ready for this? Nearly twice as many receiving yards than burks, who has 46 catches. So it tells you the big play element. And I want to remind you I'm saying all that and when I'm watching the tape, it's screen game, quick game, underneath crossers. It's a lot of that stuff. So it's invaluable to Ben Arbuckle, invaluable to John Mateer. This guy's a difference maker now.
- [26:35]
B
Yep. And he's averaging 12.7 yards per punt return. I just looked it up. I knew he was, he was, he was dangerous in that area, too. Yeah, it doesn't have a tutty yet, but he, he is a threat.
- [26:46]
A
But for a team that's winning on defense and special teams, that 12.2 is critical in, in the ultimate goal. Yeah, some other. For some other teams are scoring 40 points, 40, 50 points a game. It's. It's not as you know, it's not that.
- [27:03]
B
It'll surprise no one if he pops upon return for a score. It'll surprise absolutely no one.
- [27:10]
A
So I, I asked this question, and it's rhetorical. If he's the guy, if he's the guy and Dion Burks is a top 100 prospect, why aren't we talking about him in the same vein? You know, and I think we need to start to.
- [27:26]
B
Right.
- [27:27]
A
I do want to say this as we're.
- [27:28]
B
This receiver class is interesting, man, but go ahead.
- [27:31]
A
Fascinating. And we got a lot of time to get to it, but I want to bring it back to this season.
- [27:34]
B
I'm excited to talk about.
- [27:35]
A
We're. We're in it right now. Two weeks, College Football Playoff. Let's go. And they're in the thick of it. And I made the comment Saturday night, like, Georgia to me is the most dangerous team in the sec. It's a team I wouldn't, I would want to play least including A and M, which has not lost a game. And I said Oklahoma is starting to scare me, too. This defense is arguably the best defense outside of Columbus, Ohio. Okay. In all of college football. And what they've been able to do with this offense is just remarkable. Special teams has been one of the best groups in the country. And if you're an Oklahoma fan, and I, and I told you that I was going to be talking about you, you guys having one of the best special teams units in all of college football this year, after that filthy mess a year ago, you would be stunned. All that's great and I love that they've taken on the temperament of Venables and this is just a chaotic, nasty team and like. And you don't want to have to line up against them because you know it's going to be an absolute war. My next tape, two tape truths. One of them is Oregon's offense. And I watch that offense and I watch this offense and my goodness, is it scary. The difference, Right.
- [28:50]
B
One's intro level and the other one's graduate level. Right?
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A
Yes.
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B
Yeah.
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A
And. And it's not our buckle because you go back and you look at his last previous two stops and, and they're just slinging it and they're. And, and early this season you could see that even against a good Michigan defense. So it's part material in the thumb, but honestly it's, it's. Opponents know what they can do against this offensive line and opponents know they can't run the football. And so while I do believe you don't want to play Oklahoma, I don't know that they're. Unless something changes in that three weeks or two, three week span between the end of the season and, and the College Football Playoff starting and whether that's Matier's health, whether that's great coaching and solidifying offensive line play, what, whether there's running back stepping, whatever it is, unless something significant changes. Yeah, maybe they could steal a game in the College Football Playoff because of the defense and special teams. This, this team as presently constructed, with this offense, they can't make a run and win a national championship. So that's what I, that's what I. I'm with you.
- [29:57]
B
I don't see them winning four in a row. I don't see them winning four in a row.
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A
Not with that offense. Unless something changes. All right, go ahead.
- [30:03]
B
And who knows? All right, tape truth number three. Tennessee is tied for six in the FBS with 35 sacks. And they have all the elements of a great pass rush. I threw on this, this, the tape. I watched every single one of these sacks, man. And I am geeked up about what I saw. And when I say all the elements, I'm going to focus on three. Okay? Talent, depth, scheme. That's what I'm looking at. They got the talent, man. And it starts with Joshua Josephs, who I think a lot of people know about the talented edge. He is a handful coming off. I don't care what the sack numbers are. I know they're not that great. He is a handful coming off the edge. He is explosive. He can win with his hands. He's a little undersized, but he could still win. He's got some explosive power. He can still win with his upper body, but he's. He's not the only guy there. They are about four deep on the edge. They rotate guys. Then they have guys in the middle that they get up field who are, you know, great, great push. Who can win on the inside. So are they. So that gets into. They have the talent. Then you get into the depth. I've already kind of talked about it a little bit. Are they as deep as last year? No, they're not. I mean that, that defensive line last year was ridiculous. But they are still rotating guys. They are still keeping guys fresh and they're still very explosive up front. And the last thing I'll get into, and this is the thing that I really want to talk about is Tim Banks scheme. Tim Banks runs a multiple front where he can rush four and drop seven and they can do that and still get to the quarterback. But some of the stuff he does in terms of simulated pressures and blitzes are unbelievable. Is unbelievable. You don't know who's coming, you don't know who's dropping. It's a really tough thing for quarterbacks to figure out what's going on. And it's a really tough thing for protections to adjust to. And the last thing I'll say, and I didn't really put it in the top three, but it's still, it stood out to me. And it's very important for them. Going into the Vanderbilt game, when I was watching these, these sacks, they don't, they're not over aggressive and give up lane integrity, rush lane integrity to get to the quarterback. They are still, everyone's still in their lane. And the guys who are inside who rush inside, whether it's a linebacker or a defensive lineman, are very disciplined about getting vertical and getting push but not losing that integrity where they shed in one direction or the other and give that quarterback a lane to rush. They can get to the quarterback without having to do that. And the other thing they do is they are incredibly unselfish. They're, you know, they talk about picks on these line stunts on these blitzes. When these guys are, when it's their job to create a lane for a linebacker or for another defensive lineman, they are unselfish about it, man, they are taking that defensive line with them. There are a couple times where linebackers just had free paths to the quarterback, because the defensive line is just doing such a great job of bringing defensive line, I mean offensive lineman with them and creating seams. I look at all of that and to me it's, it's just oppressive. The other thing I, again, I'm going to keep going here. They, they have batted down 11 passes this year. Four was against Eastern Mexico, I think a couple of weeks ago. That's. It's worth noting that there was a high number in that game. And it's also worth noting that Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia does not get a lot of passes batted down for a guy his size. I think he's only had two batted down this year. But it's important that they stay in their lanes and they get their hands up with him and make it a little bit tougher for him to see the passing windows even. They don't pat bat the pass down. They can affect them. That'll be something to keep an eye on in this game. And I'll say this, they are the X factor in this game, this pass rush, because Tennessee has given up a lot of passing yards and Diego Pavia is white hot coming off that Kentucky game. 484 yards, five touchdowns, 33 of 39. I went back and watched the tape. He looked awesome. He is under control. He's moving around the pocket without being frenetic or without being, you know, without losing his, his fundamentals. He's getting the ball out. His deep touch in that game, I, I don't remember him having that kind of deep, deep touch. And all of a sudden you got Trey Richardson Jr. Cheryl at wide receiver to compliment Eli Stowers at, at tight end. This is a, this is a legitimate passing attack from Vanderbilt. I mean it is really better be ready. I am stunned at what Trey.
- [34:34]
A
I didn't feel like it was that way. I thought it was a lot of not patchwork but like there were.
- [34:40]
B
He's still doing his thing, man. He's still doing his thing where he's.
- [34:43]
A
Moving around and he's extending.
- [34:44]
B
But he was making plays within that pocket too, man, more so than I remember. It's really encouraging for Vanderbilt. I think Tennessee's pass rush is going to have to get after him in a big time way for them to win that game.
- [34:57]
A
I'm fascinated to see what the College Football Playoff committee does and everyone's like, oh, who cares about the rankings this week, the rankings reveal. I think it's absolutely critical because I, I'm out on, on the state of Utah football. As I said Saturday Night.
- [35:14]
B
Did you see the AP?
- [35:15]
A
No.
- [35:17]
B
Utah's at 14. So Vanderbilt, Miami are ahead of Utah, but BYU's at 11. So it's. Right. It's sort of.
- [35:26]
A
It's.
- [35:26]
B
It's a little bit encouraging.
- [35:28]
A
Yeah, I feel like the committee did that to give it. So. Sorry. I feel like now if the committee were to do that, it would be to kind of hedge its bets on. Will be. BYU's still there. But what does BYU have UCF this week. Is that right or did I get that wrong?
- [35:50]
B
Let me see. I'm pulling it up.
- [35:52]
A
But they, but, but they remember have to play in the Big 12 championship.
- [35:55]
B
You're right. UCF.
- [35:57]
A
So it's UCF, but then it's the Big 12 championship. And if the result is anywhere similar to the first one, that should effectively knock BYU out of this picture. Corre.
- [36:05]
B
Correct.
- [36:05]
A
And by putting Vanderbilt up there, if that's what the playoff committee were to do, then it, it, it kind of wedges would wedge them, the sec them into the picture. Like Utah's got get out of here.
- [36:19]
B
You know, we keep forgetting about can't.
- [36:20]
A
Do it yet with byu. I get it. But like I'm watching BYU and I'm watching Utah and with all due respect, like, I couldn't, I couldn't appreciate the, the coaching and the play level and the intensity and the toughness and the discipline and all that from both of these programs. However, I watched them and then I watched Vanderbilt and I watched Texas and I watched Tennessee and I know the records aren't great and I know there's been moments and I know there are flaws, but you can't tell me, Tucker, let's find that, find that out for us. BYU versus any one of those three teams. If we could have that maybe by the end of the show. If not, we'll. We'll circle back on that Saturday night. BYU versus Tennessee. Vanderbilt, Texas. What would the FanDuel odds be on that? What would the spreads be? Because you can't tell me that those three teams aren't all better than, than byu.
- [37:18]
B
Yeah, we keep. We didn't, we didn't talk about this. We kind of let it slip on Saturday night. We're forgetting that a Virginia or a Pittsburgh's gonna get in there too. And then that.
- [37:28]
A
Yeah, but I was including Miami.
- [37:33]
B
Miami's not going to play in that game.
- [37:34]
A
Yeah, it's brutal.
- [37:39]
B
I love the honesty. I'm with you. I am right there with you, man. It is. It's brutal. And I don't know what the answer is. I don't know.
- [37:46]
A
You're gonna put, you're gonna put pit.
- [37:48]
B
I know, I know.
- [37:50]
A
They don't have a choice. I get it.
- [37:52]
B
Fun team over Texas.
- [37:54]
A
But after watching that Notre Dame game.
- [37:57]
B
I mean, yeah, no, that's. I, I am with you, man. I, I think it's a fun team, but you can't tell me that a Texas or Vanderbilt shouldn't be there ahead of a pit. It's an imperfect system. It's better than it used to be, but it's imperfect.
- [38:10]
A
The rankings come out Tuesday night and obviously we'll, we'll continue to sort through it. And this, this Saturday, this Friday, Saturday combo package is going to be absolutely massive. And it's every. As a college football fan, you want it to come down to this. Rivalry games. End of regular season and so much is on the line. Getting in the College Football Playoff. This episode is brought to you by American Eagle. Gift, gift.
- [38:31]
B
Hooray.
- [38:32]
A
Want to make the people in your life happy this holiday season? Then give great jeans with American Eagle. They've got everyone on your list covered, including you. So make sure to check out the wish list worthy new arrivals including comfy cozy sweaters, soft fleece sweatshirts, hoodies, flannels and lots, lots more. Plus you'll love their trending jeans like the high waisted Stovepipe Original straight boot cut and a whole bunch of other fits. They've got every style and everyone covered. You can check it all out@ae.com or just go to the store.
- [39:10]
C
This episode is brought to you by mobile1.mobile1 Synthetic motor oil knows your car is your happy place. But did you know your happy place has a happy place? It's not stuck in rush hour traffic. We've all been there, especially in la. It's always terrible. And the entire time you're sitting there, you know deep down that your car's favorite place is on the open road singing its favorite song while you sing along to yours. Mobile One for the love of driving, visit LoveOfDriving us to learn more. This episode is brought to you by Salty Cheesy Cheez It Crackers. Should this whole podcast just be me eating Cheez It? That would be a top notch podcast. You could hear them crunching in my mouth. You could think about how salty and savory and delicious they are. You can just get cheese it on the brain. Oh man, those Cheez it cravings, they get you. Anyway, what was I talking about?
- [39:58]
B
Oh yeah.
- [40:00]
C
Oh, Cheez It. Yeah, Cheez It Crackers. Go check them out.
- [40:04]
B
All Right.
- [40:04]
A
Tape truth number four. Dante Moore, C.J. stroud.
- [40:11]
B
Interesting.
- [40:13]
A
And I'm going to ask you some poignant questions at the end of this tape Truth. But let me get.
- [40:16]
B
Okay.
- [40:19]
A
He's got some mobility, but he won't run unless. Unless it's wide open. He'll run, and he'll hit the sideline, get out of bounds. Doesn't love getting hit. Not twitchy in the pocket, so he's going to take some hits. And he does take some hits. But he's the best pure passer in the country. He sees the whole field. He stays in rhythm. He goes from one progression to the next. And he's still developing because he doesn't have the great game experience, but you can see him do it. And I've seen the last two games because I went back and studied the last two games, Minnesota and usc. There is a definitive progression being made by Dante Moore right now. Okay. And I'm also seeing the easiest stroke that you can find out there. Just smooth stroke. Everything is thrown, catchable, layering the ball, hitting spots, leading receivers open. USC is like, go ahead, beat us in tight windows in the seams versus this zone, and hit these, hit these throws that are NFL throws, and you can beat us, and what do you do? The guy's special with his passing skills. I told you what he's not, but I also have to tell you what he is. And, yeah, there's no one who reads coverages and processes and can run an NFL system like Ty Simpson. There's nobody else in this draft class of quarterbacks that's 65, 225 pounds, has an arm and. And is mobile like Fernando Mendoza. But if you're asking me who's the best pure passer in the country, it's Dante Moore. And the reason I get the CJ Stroud vibes is because it's literally what I sat there and talked about for, like, four months on TV and going to pro days and everywhere else about C.J. stroud. He can run a little bit. Not twitchy, not like super quick or super fast, but he can run a little bit, but doesn't like to. He did finally, in that Georgia game, if you remember.
- [42:28]
B
Right. I was trying to remember which game it was.
- [42:30]
A
Yeah, he shut.
- [42:31]
B
Yeah, he shut everyone up with his big running performance. I thought it was funny. Right. Almost like, watch this, you know, I.
- [42:38]
A
Can'T, I swear to you.
- [42:39]
B
Right, right.
- [42:41]
A
So he did that. But. But throughout his career, it was the biggest knock on him. And now you hear McDonough and coming out and being like, yeah, we've talked to the defensive coordinator for usc. And, and they're like, he doesn't like to get hit, doesn't want to run.
- [42:54]
B
So that interject here.
- [42:55]
A
Yes, sir.
- [42:57]
B
I it there people will say, like, who likes to be hit? There are quarterbacks that like to be hit. I mean, I think Drake May doesn't.
- [43:05]
A
Kick into form until he gets hit a couple times. I swear.
- [43:07]
B
Baker Mayfield, I think has a screw loose.
- [43:10]
A
Josh.
- [43:12]
B
Yeah, Josh Allen, Baker Mayfield, John Mateer. If you want to go at the college level, there are guys that I think they want to get popped. I mean, don't want to get popped, but don't mind it. I think it gets their blood flowing. It gets them in the game a little bit. I don't mind a quarterback that doesn't like to get hit. I'm okay with that. I think there was a time. And I'm not saying that you're saying this. I'm not putting words in your mouth.
- [43:31]
A
No, I'm not.
- [43:32]
B
Some people might, Some people might hear when you say when, when the defense coordinator Danton Lynn from USC is saying, oh, he doesn't like to get hit. Some people might hear that as a questioning of how tough he is.
- [43:44]
A
I'm glad you said that because through that lens, I was watching Minnesota and USC this past week and I saw him take some big hits. Because the other thing that people don't, that when you say he doesn't like to get hit, I'm. This is why you're the best in the business. Match those type of guys fade away and, and, and will do things like. I thought Derek Carr was one of them. In Fresno State.
- [44:12]
B
There was some element. Listen, Derek Carr ended up being a pretty damn good quarterback. There were elements of that. His game in Fresno State. There's no, I don't see that.
- [44:19]
A
Like, I, I just saw him and, and Minnesota taking big hits because he chose to hang in there, stare down the gun barrel and make throws. So. And yeah, I'm just looking at my notes on time, like the, the, the seam stuff against USC and hitting spots and leading receivers into tight little windows, making tough throws with zero panic under pressure. That's not a guy who's not tough. That's not a guy who's afraid of getting hit. That's just a guy who doesn't want to take off and run because he wants to extend it long enough. He trusts his passing skills as he should, and he views mentally, internally, right now his best asset and the way he can Provide the, the best ability to beat this defense is to stay behind the line of scrimmage and wait for the last possible second. So yes, it's not a toughness thing.
- [45:16]
B
One other thing.
- [45:16]
A
Yeah.
- [45:16]
B
That you might not get from, you might not get from the all 22, but you get it when you watch the game. This is a team that's turned into a run heavy team. They have the best, they may one of the best quarterbacks in the country but because of their issues, that wide receiver and all the injuries there, they've turned into a run heavy team. Right. And maybe I'm jumping, maybe this is too much. Doesn't it feel like he's just a team guy? Doesn't it feel like I'm going to do what. Like he's not upset about it. He's not bothered by the fact that they're not airing it out 40 times. Even though he knows what he can do, that he is just there to do what's best for the team.
- [45:50]
A
I think he has immense, an immense, immense, immense level of respect, appreciation for his offensive coordinator, Will Stein.
- [46:00]
B
He's a sure dude. It just seems like he's on another level when we talk about that, those kind of intangibles.
- [46:07]
A
I totally agree. I think. And you know what? I. There's a very, very short list of guys that I would put all of my trust into as a quarterback in the country right now. And Will Stein's on that list.
- [46:21]
B
Like truly like, I agree.
- [46:23]
A
It's like, like trust everything this man says because we saw what he did with Bo Nixon, the transformation from Auburn. You saw what he did with Dylan Gabriel and the transformation from two previous stops. He knows what he's doing and I just told you and my, my final tape. Truce Michigan's offense and I got a lot of respect for Chip Lindsay but watching this offense compared to a Michigan offense, to an Oklahoma offense and obviously I have a ton of respect for Ben Arbuckle. He's one of the most, one of the brightest young minds in college football. The offensive coordinator position, Will Stein is at a different level.
- [46:55]
B
Okay.
- [46:56]
A
And so I do believe there's some elements of. I'm gonna like this. I'm operating within this system because this has been, this has been proven. It's like why would I go against Nick Saban and, and what he's, what he's laying out for me when, when his way works goes back to Frank D. Feliz. Hey boys. We tried you, we tried your way.
- [47:16]
B
Police gets so much play on this pod man. If you talk.
- [47:19]
A
No. God.
- [47:20]
B
Oh, he's. Oh no.
- [47:21]
A
I know that within the last year.
- [47:22]
B
Yeah.
- [47:23]
A
But sorry.
- [47:25]
B
Yeah.
- [47:25]
A
No, no, it's. He lived a wonderful fruitful life. But it was one of his all time lines was boys, we tried your way. Your way don't work. You know, like there's always a 4:1.
- [47:41]
B
4:1. I imagine Tate gets the 4:1 every once in a while.
- [47:46]
A
Hey son, we tried your way. Your way don't work. But anyway, so. So those are all the things that I'm seeing and I do think it's important that what you just mentioned, this run game has taken off and Noah Whittingham has been. Sorry. Noah Whittington?
- [48:01]
B
Yeah.
- [48:02]
A
Has been awesome and he's up over. What is he now? What is he rushing? There's 727 yards and. But it's really taken off recently. He's only played in nine of the 11 games. You got the backup, Jordan Davison who's been awesome. Dier Hill who's. Who's been really good. They just, they have talent at the running back position and it's all balanced out. I want to make this point perfectly clear as we talk about Oregon right now. I hope the college football committee and obviously they have a massive game against Washington rival on the road, horribly tough environment to go play in and that's a good team that has kind of had some stumbles in the middle of the early middle season and has slowly gotten better under Jed Fish and they've got talent. Okay. A loss you would assume Oregon's out. A win. They're absolutely in and, and right now tracking towards having a first round buy or not a buy a first round home game.
- [49:00]
B
Yeah, I would say that.
- [49:02]
A
So. But, but I want people to understand. Just like we put a lot of emphasis on with the committee I'm talking about now on hey, quarterbacks out. Maybe, you know, let's, let's not. Maybe we don't knock him for that and we've heard the committee talk about the, the losses with, with John Matier. He had the thumb injury and came back and this isn't the same. Well, I would argue John Matier is kind of the same guy. Maybe not that Texas game and not. Not Ole Miss. Was it Ole Miss. Yeah, Ole Miss game where I was. I couldn't. No, that was Nussmeier that I watched. The Texas game was the game where he really just wasn't himself after the first couple series and he still has never gotten back to. But there's been no proof that he's going to be. Or the offensive line is going to get better or the run game is going to get better. But with Oregon, man, I hope the College Football Playoff committee keeps. And I'm talking about maybe if they lose on Saturday. Evan Stewart's supposed to be a first round wide receiver. Got injured in the preseason. Now that ain't going to change. He's not walking through out that locker room door. Okay.
- [50:19]
B
Is he? Definitely. I, I thought there was something earlier in the year where he could come back. Okay, we'll look at that right now.
- [50:26]
A
Keep, keep an eye on that committee. But more importantly, decor and more. The star freshman wide receiver tweaked his knee in a non contact injury before the Iowa game and, and was Gary Bryant Jr. Right, went down with an ankle injury in the first quarter of that Iowa game. They haven't been out. Those are the two leading receivers for, for Oregon. Okay. They haven't been on the field since. And then you got McClellan who also suffered the injury against USC. And I looked and I did research and we're taping this on Monday morning. I don't have any updated information. I think it was a surprise to everyone that Pete Thammel had to announce that, that Brian Jr. And more weren't playing against USC. So I'm hopeful that they will be playing in the rivalry game against Washington, but we'll have to see how that works out. But, but if they're not in there, I hope it's kept in, I hope it's kept in perspective. And more importantly, like how good is this offense? Man, they've scored 84 points against Minnesota and USC the last two weeks and they haven't had Decoran Moore, they haven't had Bryant Jr. They lost McClellen, they didn't have Evan Stewart all year long.
- [51:41]
B
Dude, they were, they were losing offensive linemen against usc. They, they lost their center, they lost their right tackle. Like they were, they were banged up up front too.
- [51:49]
A
So like let's train keeps rolling. Train keeps rolling. 84 points. It's pretty remarkable, you know, for. I think it's 42 and 42 the last two games.
- [52:00]
B
Look, looks like I misspoke that. Earlier in the year they had some optimism.
- [52:04]
A
Yeah. Then there was an update. Yeah, there was an update that he's, he's not coming back. And that's when we were like, oh man, John Swari. Swari was this coach at espn. Right. And for all like sideline reporters and field analysts, as I was for several years, you would go to the seminar and he would teach you about asking questions. Don't know, don't ask.
- [52:28]
B
That's great.
- [52:29]
A
Don't ask a question that can have a one word answer. Coaches will give you the one word answer and you'll look like a jackass. All these different rules. Use, use who, use why and how, not when and what, you know. So there were certain. All these different rules. One of his major rules were don't ask a double barrel question. I'm breaking it. Swar. I'm going to break it here and ask you a double barrel question.
- [52:56]
B
Here we go.
- [52:57]
A
Question A. I mentioned CJ Stroud. I'm getting a lot of those vibes in terms of what I'm saying when I'm reporting back to people from the tape study. Oh, I'm Dante Moore. So the first question of the two questions is, you know what? I'm going to stick with the Swarovski rules. Forget it. I'm going to stay in line. Question A. Knowing two years ago would have been different. Knowing now what we know about C.J. stroud, is that a good thing or a bad thing for Dante Moore?
- [53:31]
B
Interesting. C.J. stroud's banged up. And I also think that C.J. stroud, when you look at, I think external factors, have so much of an impact on quarterbacks. I mean, whether it's the quarter, the scheme you play in or your offensive line. I think C.J. stroud was put in a bad place. And I know that Davis Mills has come in and played all right for the Texans. I get that. But before he got hurt, I don't think that offensive line was very good. They've had injuries at receiver last year that, you know, Nico Collins missed time, Stefan Diggs got hurt. I forget what. The exact Houston receiver that we really liked who had the terrible leg injury.
- [54:11]
A
Tank Dell Jr.
- [54:12]
B
Tank Dell?
- [54:13]
A
Yeah. Tank Dell, right.
- [54:14]
B
Terrible leg injury. I think C.J. stroud has shown at times that he can be a really good NFL quarterback. And I think in the right situation, he can still do that. So I think it's a good thing. I think if you're out on C.J. stroud, then that, you know, that's on you. I get it. He hasn't played as well as he did. I think, his. His rookie year.
- [54:31]
A
Yeah, I was just. I was just curious because I'm saying that and I'm saying it in a positive light in my mind as I'm.
- [54:38]
B
I think it's a positive light 100%.
- [54:40]
A
I. I think it can be, too. I. I do, but I just. If you want your what?
- [54:46]
B
Do you want Dante Moore to run more?
- [54:48]
A
I'm not saying that. I'm just, I'm just. I know you're not saying that.
- [54:52]
B
I'm asking you, do you want Dante more? No, I don't either.
- [54:55]
A
Not necessarily. There. There's not a lot of times where I'm watching his tape where I'm saying, what are you doing, man? There were a lot of times when I was watching C.J. stroud like, yo, just take off. You got. There were a couple times. But, but no, not to that level. I would agree.
- [55:11]
B
I, I also, I love to hate your comps. And you, you made a strong case here. You did make a strong case.
- [55:19]
A
All right, question B. And this is. This started me on the Dante Moore thing and it's all Dan Comer's fault. And I purposely, I purposely did. And we're going to run long in the show. Of course. We're doing six truths in a wind up.
- [55:31]
B
We do six ready, over.
- [55:32]
A
Yeah, but. And so it's kind of my push back to, to Dan because he took me down this rabbit hole. Dan said on Saturday, I think we should revisit the conversation on Dante Moore because Todd's got these sources and the sources are telling him he's going back to school. It's aligned with Dante, Dante's parents, the coaching staff at Oregon. The. Obviously the, the money that they have, the nil he'll have. It makes all the sense in the world. The. He's an inexperienced quarterback who has shown a lot of signs of inexperience at times, needs another year. He's with the perfect offensive coordinator who's developed NFL quarterbacks. Why wouldn't you. And you're at Oregon with Phil Knight. Nike money. Go back to school. And I talked to scouts who have been in there and have talked to people and have their sources and they have sources, man. Yeah. Now he's going back to school. It's a done deal. So, like be out ahead of it or just don't worry, like, whatever, whatever that means for you. Todd Dante's going back to school. So move on to like Simpson or, or Mendoza. Like, nothing to see here.
- [56:40]
B
Make a name.
- [56:41]
A
Yeah, but that, that was three or four weeks ago when Dante was struggling a little bit. And I don't think anything's changed. I think this is a permanent one. This wasn't like. Well, if you remember the Drew Aller stuff, well, he's kind of getting hot and he has a great college football playoff. Maybe he's gonna come out early and you can go back and second guess that unfortunately for Aller. But at the end of the day, it's about success in the NFL. And Aller is never going to have great success as a starting quarterback in the NFL. Dante Moore has a chance to be a damn good starting quarterback in the National Football League and his, his chances of becoming that, in my opinion, greatly increase with another year at Oregon with Will Stein. Well, here's history is showing us that. But I, but I do want to ask this question that Dan asked on Saturday. And I only revisit it because a, it's critically important for this Washington game and as we get ready for the College Football Playoff, I think we've covered the Oregon Duck offense and what, everything that's going on really well. So I'm comfortable now shifting this to the NFL for a minute or two. If he plays great against Washington and he plays great and this is what Dan was getting to, plays great in the College Football Playoff. And he then takes a minute and looks at the landscape and he looks at next year and he looks at John Matier's going back to school, but much more importantly, Ty Simpson might be going back to school and Arch is going back to school and Julian Saying will be eligible. He's going back. And, and you get all these names for next year and, and Lenora Sellers is probably going back to school is my information. Maybe not at South Carolina, but so all those guys, you could have six, seven guys going into the year where we're like, yeah, their first round, their, their potential first round draft picks. Right. And then you look at this year and say, maybe it's just him in MENDOZA and you get 17s in the top 11. And now I'm seeing like Pelissaro's sending out Expose and Brugler sending out an exposure.
- [58:41]
B
Yeah.
- [58:41]
A
And I'm sending you guys just laughing as I'm sitting on the couch with my family and we're watching NFL games.
- [58:45]
B
Here we go.
- [58:46]
A
Friends over for friends giving. And I'm like, there you go, Dan. Congratulations. So my second question is, will his draft stock be enough for more to change his mind? Even though we both hope not. It's a fascinating question.
- [59:05]
B
Here's how I'll answer that. I would frame it as that's only. That's up to the young man and his family and his team. And I am a Dante Moore fan. I am a Ty Simpson fan. There's a lot of quarterbacks I'm a fan of. And if he, if they ultimately decide that it's the right move for them or they believe that it's the right move for them to come out in, in go into the draft. I will be rooting for him as an analyst. I will express all the concerns that you just expressed that he could have used another year. But I'll also do the same thing. I'm, I, I am with you. There are some players that we just completely agree on and I completely agree with you on Dante Moore. He has a chance to be a franchise quarterback. He has a chance to be a franchise quarterback early and a really damn good quarterback for a long time. If I am part of his team, this is what I am telling him. And I think this is something that we all have to keep in mind. If you have a chance to be the first quarterback and the first overall pick taken in this draft, assume the jets are taking you. Assume the jets are taking you regardless of who's picking first. Assume that you are going to be a New York Jet and factor that into your decision. And look at their history of quarterbacks and what they've done with quarterbacks and whether or not you want to get into that game. Because it, it doesn't matter. The coaches, the GMs, look at the history of the quarterbacks there. It's a mess. It is a problem. And I have to say that I have to have that as part of the conversation. You're going to be a Jet man. Do you want to be a Jet? It's either going to be you or Mendoza. If, if that's the two guys that come out, say Tyson comes out. If it's a two man race, one of you is going to be a Jet. You want to be a Jet that I'm not sure you do.
- [60:45]
A
Maybe Swatzki knew what he was talking about because I just got two awesome answers rather than one jumbled one. All right, tape truth.
- [60:52]
B
You have to assume that though, right?
- [60:53]
A
You have to. It's brilliant. I'm not even following up because it's, it's, it's the perfect answer. And I couldn't agree with you more. I think it's an awesome answer. All right, tape truth five.
- [61:03]
B
Max Claire is Ohio State's wild card and we're talking about this team. Yes. The tight end. Tight end. Max Clear is Ohio State's wild card. And you know, I've been high on him and I've been waiting to talk about him all year and it's kind of got. It was a slow start. Is this guy going to do anything? Full disclosure. There's A bias here because I like this guy so much. That being said, Jeremiah Smith out last week. Carnell Tate hasn't played football in a month. I don't think people realize that they're banged up at wide receiver. Meanwhile, Claire again, it's a. The Rutgers pass evens hasn't been good this year, but he had seven catches for 105 yards and a touchdown. He's had four or more catches in six of the last seven games. He's become a big part of their offense. He is their third leading receiver. He can make plays. I'm interested to see what the situation is with Tate. Jeremiah Smith was probably more of a precautionary reason. It sounds like Tate's going to be back for this game, but they're banged up on the outside and it's something that's going to be talked about. I think as the week progresses, they're going to need someone else who can step up and make plays. And Claire's that guy.
- [62:04]
A
Man.
- [62:04]
B
He's a big target. He's a zone buster both in terms of his ability to box out and give that big target to. To Julian Saying and also his just feel for it, his ability to settle in. He's also above average route runner for a guy his size. And it's only gotten better since he's gotten Ohio State because that's what Ohio State does. They make everyone a better route runner. So he can separate from man too. The ball skills are really interesting to me because sometimes I'm watching him, I'm like, I don't have that same kind of confidence there. He had a drop on the very first target of the season and I was like, oh no, I remember that. But he had, he's had one. I think he's had one other drop since then. I think it was in the Illinois game. He got popped and he dropped it like with bang bang play. But that being said, he catches everything. It's not the. It's not always pretty, but he catches everything. He's got really good body control. His ability to adjust the passes thrown out his frame are re.
- [62:59]
A
It's. It's just.
- [63:00]
B
It's all there for him. So when I'm looking at this game and if they're banged up on the outside and they got to step up, watch out for Max Clearman. He's quietly. He quietly leads the Big Ten. Leads all Big Ten tight ends with receptions. He's got the most big. Yes. Kenyan Sadiq, I will say has more receptions per game. He's played one more game, but Claire has the. Claire's played one more game than Sadiq, but he has the most catches for a Big Ten tight end right now. Keep an eye on a man. He's a super talented player. They may need him to step up and play a big role in this game.
- [63:34]
A
I like that. It's a good update on him and, and highly important, obviously, heading into the game against Michigan. And that brings us to tape truth number six. You asked me to do this one.
- [63:44]
B
I can't wait to hear this. I'm actually really excited.
- [63:46]
A
I don't like saying no to match. So tape truth number six is. I'm going to form it as a question. Where are we with Bryce Underwood? You asked me to go back and watch some tape and provide an update as we come into the game and it was, it was a great suggestion. I was going to go in different directions. I was like, yes, of course, absolutely. I don't. Because, I don't know, I felt like I watched a lot early in the season. We watched that Oklahoma game. I saw a couple other games, but I haven't kind of circled back because Michigan has been kind of on the outside looking in and we've had all these other quarterbacks and all these discussions. So let's get to it with Bryce Underwood, the, the super talented freshman sensation at Michigan. Right? Let's start with the positive. My goodness, this guy is talented. I mean, he is big. He looks the part the ball explodes off his hand. He can, he can hit, hit, spot, he can drill the ball into spots. I should say better than a, almost, I don't know. He's in the top three percentile, let's put it that way. I mean, it just fires off of his hand. He's mobile, he's strong, he can break tackles. There are flashes in his game and I'm starting to see more than just flashes. There are consistent trends on like the deep out throw, when receivers, when he's got, when, when he's confident in where he's going with the football. He can absolutely. Just drill it in there, man. Okay.
- [65:19]
B
Drill it.
- [65:20]
A
And it looks beautiful. It looks like Josh Allen shit. It really does. Like not many guys can just, just snap a wrist. And then there's. The mobility was on display early in the, that Northwestern game, early third quarter, there are two, like the one run and then the touchdown run. Like you could see his mobility as a factor and you can see throughout every tape. But just watching these last two games, Northwestern and Maryland, to see where we are most recently with him, like you see all those things. Okay, but as we prepare for this Ohio State team and specifically for this Ohio State defense, right, with that defensive line that's playing at a high level after losing all four starters to the NFL with Arvl Reese, with Sonny Styles, with. With obviously the safety, why am I down? Caleb Downs. Thank you. Might want to remember that name. Is number one prospect in the class. My head is spinning. No, but obviously Caleb Downs, who, by the way, like the Reese has stolen all the headlines. Downs has still been his sensational self. Like he's. Yeah. I mean, phenomenal. But. But as we prepare, you kind of like, where are we with this Michigan offense? The best way I can describe the Michigan offense right now is it's uncoordinated, it's choppy. And. And the more I dove into it, the more I realized it's not a Chip Lindsay thing. The offensive coordinator. Chip Lindsay's doing the best he can with the circumstances he has. And I want to remind everyone, Justice, Justice Haynes, the. The star running back who was putting up Jeremiah Love type numbers early in the season, has been injured and is not returning. He's out. He's been out the last three games, I want to say. And. And he's not returning. Yeah, his right leg injury hasn't played the last three games. And. And he's. And he's not returning for the regular season. So. So that has led to some of the, the choppiness and lack of coordination. But. And I want people to understand, if you're a Michigan fan, you're like, is this, this new coordinator, like, he's putting in guardrails to protect his freshman quarterback. But he also, over the course of the year, like we've seen with Julian saying, like we've seen with Arch Manning, like, young quarterbacks have got to grow up at some point. And when you see some of the flashes and you start to see a little bit more consistency, you have to let the leash out.
- [67:56]
B
Yeah.
- [67:56]
A
And I've seen chips start to do that, but still within with guardrails up. Let's, let's simplify the reads here. If we go one to two instead of just one and run. So like, and then let's. I'm not going to ask you to go full field safeties. Here's the design of the play, here's the structure. If the corner does this, you do this. Okay. But you got to let him play. He's a five star. He's got the size, the talent, the arm, the mobility, all of it. And so I've seen him start to do that more in times. And the problem, the, the push pull here is he'll drill a deep out, he'll get on the edge and he'll create that run pass option. He'll throw a beautiful ball on the run, he will take off running and he'll make some big plays. So you want the ball in his hands and you want to give him opportunities to do these things because you now, you still have a good running game, but it's not like what it was. And you got two good receivers on the outside that I like a lot. And I want to mention that I like Andrew Marsh. He's got the juice. He's the Juice guy. Juice guy from Katy, Texas. He's the Juice guy from Katy, Texas. Comes up to Michigan and you could tell the Texas is in him. He's got that Texas confidence and that juice. And he's played high school ball and probably 8,000- Receiver, like all that stuff. And, and he makes plays and 42 catches. 641 yards, averaging 15.3. Right. And then you got number one on the opposite side. Four is, is. Is the Katy Texas kid, Marsh. And one is the opposite side. He's your ex. Prototypical out of a lab. 6 foot 5, 215 pounds. Looks the part. Big catch.
- [69:41]
B
Get it? Yeah.
- [69:42]
A
Possession receiver, but make it only 32 catches, but 488, averaging 15.15.3 yards. But beyond that, man, they don't have anything. So you're relying on two receivers. So is it their tight end?
- [69:54]
B
Marlon Klein flash at all? I know he's been banned a little bit.
- [69:57]
A
A little bit. But I think he's Marlon Klein and Zach Marshall, solid, but nothing special. 34 combined catches. Klein had a good catch in one of the two games. I watched Northwestern. But Samaj Morgan, number zero, hasn't. Hasn't had to catch in five games. Didn't play last week. I believe he's dealing with some injury stuff. So. So all of that in mind. I told you about all the positives for Underwood. Let's get to the negatives. 11:56, second quarter, Northwestern. I see you smiling. Simple zone read. Supposed to fake to the running back. Come up, get your eyes in the right spot. Throw it. Not complex stuff, stuff he's been doing probably since he was nine years old. Okay. But the running back's not in the right spot. He play fakes to air. Gives wide receiver no chance. Oh, sorry. Footwork's a mess. Shouldn't have made a blind. A blind throw like he did. Mrs. It was kind of like a crosser, right? It's one of those pop pop things. But now the running back's not there. No one's biting on the play action.
- [70:59]
B
Because the whole operation's off.
- [71:01]
A
Yeah, the whole operation's a disaster. When I talk about choppy and disoriented, that's what I mean. Mrs. Badly high over the middle of the field because his feet are like this and just flings it. Freshman stuff will get better over time. Lucky was his incompletion. This one was thrown to Marlon Klein. Number 17 is Klein incompletion. Lucky it wasn't picked off later in that game. 12:47 down the right rail. He's thrown some beautiful deep balls. Occasionally this. But he's thrown more of these like McClelly had no. Had no chance. McCully just line drive right over his head. Like just throw it up. Let. Let the 65 receiver go run under it or, or come back to it. What? Just can't help one guy with a big arm doesn't do that, right? Just I. I question. I saw a handful of throws like this. I questioned the feel and the layering that, you know, I don't think he has that yet. And you. And over time, hopefully it comes. Then he follows up that one with an intercept. Then. Then he follows it up. That's it becomes an incompletion, right? Low trajectory throw down the right. Right rail. Then he follows it up a couple plays later with an interception of ball. He just can't throw. Steve. He doesn't see the linebacker sitting underneath in the zone. The situation though with the game is 2116 Michigan tight low scoring game. And you're just kind of blind throwing something. And. And that's where. But, but Chip's like, Chip Lindsay's like, yo, We've completed this four other times this game. We've completed this 40 times the season. But. And I've got to let you do this right? Can't. Okay. And then he follows it up. So now. So now they get the ball back. Right now it's 22, 21 because. Because Northwestern scored. Get the ball back. Michigan drives down the field. A lot of the run game stuff and short easy stuff. Underwood throws another interception. Another linebacker sitting in zone. The first one is the right side, the second one's the left side. And you're like as a coordinator, like, I don't know what.
- [73:11]
B
How can I get this young man to understand the concept?
- [73:13]
A
What do I do with this? Right? And. And I'm watching that and I'm thinking to myself, that defensive line that I've watched for Ohio State, Arvell Reese, Styles downs, Matt Patricia. Matt Patricia. Look at what Matt Patricia did to Sark and Arch. Yeah. You know what I mean? So that stuff's scary. And then interception against Maryland. First court rolling left, throwing back, not in the middle of the field, but back kind of into, you know, against the grain, back to the inside throw. Air Mills at high. This one, this one, when he missed high towards the middle of the field, it was picked off. It's just erratic play. It's erratic play that. So you asked me where are we? Unbelievably talented. Doing things at a higher level than he was early in the year. There's some moments where it's like, oh, the light bulb, it's clicking. But then there's some moments where it's like he's still just a pup and now he's going against Patricia and that back seven and that front four. You trust him. You have to trust him. You get no choice. But it doesn't always get repaid. And I just looking at this game, it will take something unexpectedly brilliant scheme wise, utilizing his legs. He'll have to play the best game of his career to pull off the upset that Michigan has become notorious for Ohio State fans. Right?
- [74:39]
B
Did you just jinx Ohio State on this podcast? Ohio State fans are going to be livid. You just jinxed them.
- [74:46]
A
I mean, if Ohio State doesn't win this one.
- [74:50]
B
Oh man, that's even worse.
- [74:52]
A
Speaking of Ohio State, speaking of Michigan, speaking of the game. Later this week, Urban Meyer is going to join us and we're going to break it down. I'm gonna, I want to talk to him about the history, his history.
- [75:02]
B
I would just have to stand back and watch that, that happen.
- [75:05]
A
I mean my guy. Love you guys. It's gonna be some people don't love you.
- [75:10]
B
Yeah.
- [75:10]
A
Or no. But no, we're gonna have fun with that. So Urban Urban's gonna come join us and help us preview that.
- [75:14]
B
It's gonna be awesome.
- [75:15]
A
I'm sure we'll get to a lot of other stuff too, but I gotta tell you, it was only six truths. But still. Five stars match must be 21 plus and present in select states. For Kansas in affiliation with Kansas Star Casino or 18 + and present in D.C. kentucky or Wyoming. Gambling problem. Call 1-800-G GAMBLER or visit rg-help.com, call 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org chat in Connecticut or visit md.gamblinghelp.org in Maryland. Hope is here. Visit gambling helpline ma.org or call 1-800-327-5050 for 24. 7 support in Massachusetts or call 1-87-7-8-HOPE NY or text Hopeny in New.