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Sooners On SI Podcast: CFP Deep Dive, OU-Bama Matchups, John Mateer's Thumb and More! · The Sooners On SI Podcast

0:11
[SPEAKER_01]: So for everybody, welcome on in.
0:13
[SPEAKER_01]: It is finally playoff week in Norman, America.
0:16
[SPEAKER_01]: Finally, it feels like we've waited months and months and months, just a three week grind year, but Oklahoma and Alabama for the second time this year kicks off on Friday night.
0:27
[SPEAKER_01]: And we are here to talk all about it on the suitors on a side podcast.
0:31
[SPEAKER_01]: Got myself right, Chapman here with John Hoover, or anything.
0:34
[SPEAKER_01]: Ryan Avery, getting the whole squad together, a big 40-dours for who's in carcinist, who is sporting right now.
0:43
[SPEAKER_01]: John, you've got a big Rams game to watch tomorrow and then obviously coverage of the CFP on Friday.
0:50
[SPEAKER_01]: How are you feeling about the week as we, it feels like we've had a media blitz with all the CFP stuff we've been able to.
0:56
[SPEAKER_03]: hey let's get this team in the playoff more often right as opposed to one bold press conference we've had four CFP media opportunities now and getting to talk to the head coach which we did again today on a zoom call we bueno.
1:13
[SPEAKER_01]: We'll take it.
1:13
[SPEAKER_01]: We'll take it.
1:14
[SPEAKER_01]: Very big $40 for the same reason, but a different reason Carson Seahawks, where we tried them back from, was it the Tennessee, no, how do we Alabama?
1:23
[SPEAKER_01]: Because who was in the car?
1:23
[SPEAKER_01]: It was the last time, Oklahoma played Alabama the day after the Rams and the Seahawks.
1:30
[SPEAKER_01]: What a world we live in.
1:31
[SPEAKER_00]: yeah glad i'm not listening or watching this one with john who for this time i can show my fandom a little bit more um but i haven't been focused too much on that admittedly with big game coming up friday obviously all of the availability we've had it's been awesome so very excited
1:50
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I went headphones in a tactical headphones in during that game because I was like, I'll all stay along with it, but whatever's happening, good, better otherwise between the front seat and the back seat, I would like to stay out.
2:02
[SPEAKER_01]: This is the second time I've seen Ryan Abert a day, Abert hope your hoodie is good.
2:05
[SPEAKER_01]: He brought me over to do some manual labor of which I couldn't do and we ended up getting just like three guys down the street to did it for us But that's a okay as Avers building toward what you got the packers on Saturday It's play up stuff all over the place and I'm just hoping that Fernando Mendoza doesn't get hurt basically that that's my rooting interest and everything
2:23
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, I mean, I'm, you know, more interested in this, the penguins right now with their just announced that they're going to sell to away from Fenway Sports Group to the Hoffman family.
2:39
[SPEAKER_02]: So that'll be interesting, but I'm not, I don't pay super close attention to the NFL like week in and week out.
2:47
[SPEAKER_02]: Usually I'm dealing with my own hockey stuff on Sundays.
2:51
[SPEAKER_02]: But without a game on Sunday, and with the Packers playing in a big time when I was able to sit down and watch finally just in time to see Mike a Parsons knee blow up, so that's where I am on my NFL fandom.
3:06
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, not great.
3:07
[SPEAKER_01]: They're unfortunately, I guess as much as last Sunday was about injuries all over the place, we'll start here as it's been the news of the week Oklahoma.
3:17
[SPEAKER_01]: Good news actually on the injury front as they build into this football game Carson and I were in normal Ever was there on Monday as well, but Carson I were at practice on Monday and the two big items that I think everyone were immediately eyes darting toward Carson were
3:34
[SPEAKER_01]: one armacent Thomas is he dressed up what's he look like and then to jake my clothes he dressed up what does he look like well armacent Thomas went through everything in the 15 minutes it was just a small 15 minute portion early in practice but we saw armacent doing everything and lo and behold Tuesday night the first day of the little report of the week comes out
3:51
[SPEAKER_01]: No Armace and Thomas, he is fully available at the time of recording and assuming there's no setbacks, not on wood, all the stuff.
3:58
[SPEAKER_01]: The flip side of that, Jake Mike Glut, Oklahoma Center, who only missed that LSU game, but if you remember all the way back to LSU post game, he had talked about irrevertible, so talked about he was in the hospital with the infection.
4:09
[SPEAKER_01]: Of course, I'll toss you on this, he was listed as questionable on that.
4:13
[SPEAKER_01]: Watching!
4:14
[SPEAKER_01]: there's two he was off to the side he was dressed out but he was off to the side in Carson for me there's usually two versions of that the first version is guy standing off to the side helmet and hand 10,000 yard stair where you're like that guy's not close to doing anything
4:30
[SPEAKER_01]: it's kind of like what when we were there during fall camp jade or spring football excuse me jade Gibson like for instance would be staying up to the side you knew okay he's not really close do anything like that jake micro off to the side but as the ones would go through there you know steps and things like that he was at least trying to step along with them even though he's in the back of the inzone stuff like that i would say Carson and you tell me because you also watching it
4:55
[SPEAKER_01]: I would assume best case dare is probably he's available to be the emergency center if things get to that, but I would anticipate Carson.
5:05
[SPEAKER_01]: If that's you, we would start at center at Ryan Boge, I start at night right going in Derek Simmons starting at night right tackle.
5:10
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I think that's probably the most likely scenario at this point.
5:14
[SPEAKER_00]: It could be something like what we saw from Kobe McKinsey at Tennessee where dresses out, sees if he's able to go.
5:20
[SPEAKER_00]: And if he's not, and they just play Fabeshi at that center spot.
5:24
[SPEAKER_00]: Fabeshi played obviously in the LSU game, started that center.
5:27
[SPEAKER_00]: I think he said that was his first time since high school, starting a game at center.
5:32
[SPEAKER_00]: And he played well.
5:34
[SPEAKER_00]: He wasn't
5:34
[SPEAKER_00]: As effective as he was at guard, but he's still played a good game still excellent in the past block.
5:39
[SPEAKER_00]: So I mean, it would be a loss for them, and you probably wouldn't see the exact same production that you would if a bet you were playing guard, but having someone that's that good of a player gotten that much better, being a former walk on now, being a finalist for the Burroughsworth trophy move to center.
5:56
[SPEAKER_00]: He's shown that he's capable to do it.
5:59
[SPEAKER_00]: It seems like either way they're
6:04
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, and on the Alabama side of things, not the now, it's really shocking, sorry for Oklahoma as far as the stuff that have been going throughout the year on the Alabama side of things, right back, Jim Miller, he was off the report, so it was our Mason, he'll be available defensive lineman, LTO over 10 out for Alabama.
6:23
[SPEAKER_01]: That's a guy that had something pop up going to the SEC championship game and it was kind of a,
6:28
[SPEAKER_01]: didn't seem like Alabama was super optimistic, but he's out of it on that side of things.
6:32
[SPEAKER_01]: And then today, Kaylin DeBore, both Titans, Josh Quavus, and Lewis Jr., who were guys that were listed as a questionable, I believe, on the first report, Kaylin DeBore said that both of those players should be available to take on the Sooners in Norman, which brings me all the way around to this Ryan Avery.
6:51
[SPEAKER_01]: This is a very, very kind of weird setup because
6:54
[SPEAKER_01]: it was a by week leading into the first Alabama game and then we have the three week layoff where one of those three weeks is not really oh you Alabama was a possibility but we all thought I would move around we've had a month basically we take these two weeks in the first two weeks to preview oh you Alabama I don't know if there's going to be any grand new revelation but
7:14
[SPEAKER_01]: When you look at the injuries and armace and Thomas, who didn't play the first time, and else you everton who did play three total tackles, I think two solo tackles for LT overton, how much if any does the injury news and things shape how much different this could or couldn't be from the first go round.
7:33
[SPEAKER_02]: Well, I think it's going to be a different game.
7:35
[SPEAKER_02]: Regardless of personnel, just because of the situation and also two really good coaches who can adjust and do some different things.
7:46
[SPEAKER_02]: But certainly, if you're Oklahoma, you feel really good about having our Mason Thomas back, especially given the fact that
7:53
[SPEAKER_02]: uh... you know they played really well in the defense of line at end even with without ormason in in that game you know Taylor winds been fantastic uh... their their depth has been developed there a little bit more with uh... you know danya koye
8:08
[SPEAKER_02]: PJ out of Broadway and those guys, but our Mason Thomas is a difference maker.
8:14
[SPEAKER_02]: We've seen it a ton.
8:16
[SPEAKER_02]: We saw it the last time he was on the field against Tennessee.
8:19
[SPEAKER_02]: We saw it, you know, early to season coming off the the targeting call.
8:23
[SPEAKER_02]: Just how impactful he was from the jump of that Auburn game and, you know, I think this is a game that certainly he's going to be fired up to perform well in
8:33
[SPEAKER_02]: uh... certainly his last game at home potentially his last game as a sooner and then uh... you know on the alabama side the defense of front is the strength of their group and uh... you know not to have l t over ten there his dad played it all you is a big time loss of for them and uh... will certainly affect how they're able to uh... you know get to john material
8:59
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm really interested, John.
9:00
[SPEAKER_01]: If nothing else, one of the big things, Armace and Thomas is available.
9:05
[SPEAKER_01]: Here's what we don't know.
9:06
[SPEAKER_01]: We don't know does Armace and Thomas.
9:08
[SPEAKER_01]: He's available and he looks good in the 15 minutes of practice that Carson I were there for, but Oakland has him on a pitch count.
9:15
[SPEAKER_01]: and so it means only if they're down Kai or do is Armace and Thomas, so available that he plays every snap, even if Oklahoma's deep is on the field for 90's.
9:24
[SPEAKER_01]: That's what we don't know, and we won't find out until the clock hit zero on Friday night, all that stuff.
9:30
[SPEAKER_01]: But,
9:32
[SPEAKER_01]: for Alabama, they don't know that either, which means that they just see Armace and Thomas available.
9:38
[SPEAKER_01]: That means the first time 32's on the field, it would be a big mistake to not prepare as if Armace and Thomas is 100%, which may be that shifts things throughout the game if they notice Hayes only in on third long stuff like that, but things that we saw in the first game, Kip Lewis, unblocked a lot, had a ton of time to do whatever he wanted.
9:57
[SPEAKER_01]: Taylor Wine, re-tab it, Grayson Halton, really nice game.
10:00
[SPEAKER_01]: All the way down to when Brett Mills went to sprinkling a corner blitz and day day Jordan was able to come in and trigger and produce a big play.
10:08
[SPEAKER_01]: It feels like in a way despite the fact the Oklahoma Alabama have already played once and despite the fact that Caleb DeBours prepared for the so-called Madeefense a couple of times here in the last 13 months it almost seems like Brett Mills might have more options at his disposal even if it's the absolute worst
10:27
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, so assuming that Oklahoma is playing, you know, showing all its cards that like they're supposed to on the injury report, the availability report, assuming that he's not on there for a specific reason, meaning he's 100%.
10:44
[SPEAKER_03]: Like if he's or close to it, right, he's definitely going to play if he's 80% 90% I don't think he's going to be on pitch count.
10:50
[SPEAKER_03]: I think he's going to be, you know, they rotate their guys all year anyway.
10:54
[SPEAKER_03]: I think he's going to be a starter.
10:55
[SPEAKER_03]: I think
10:57
[SPEAKER_03]: affects the way that, you know, Alabama calls their protections up front, for instance, you know, whether it's the offensive line or the, or the just the center or the quarterback.
11:10
[SPEAKER_03]: They're going to see him standing out there and they're going to say, okay, we need to make sure we get a chip on him.
11:15
[SPEAKER_03]: We need to make sure we get a combo on him.
11:17
[SPEAKER_03]: We need to make sure we have his rough past rush covered because he's been out for, he missed the last three games.
11:24
[SPEAKER_03]: You know, hunger he's going to be.
11:26
[SPEAKER_03]: And when he gets hungry, we've seen what he can do in the fourth quarter of games near the end zone against Jackson Arnold when he wants a sack, right?
11:36
[SPEAKER_03]: He's going to go get it, so I would expect him to have a really big role in this game.
11:41
[SPEAKER_01]: We know our Mason, the Closer.
11:42
[SPEAKER_01]: We also have seen, you're talking about the safety.
11:45
[SPEAKER_01]: We've also seen when he is to sit on sideline for one half of football and his first play and he almost gets another target because he's flying through the air, stuff like that.
11:54
[SPEAKER_01]: And the crazy thing about all this Carson, I think is that rightly so, there's been so much attention on our Mason Thomas and making the play off.
12:01
[SPEAKER_01]: What time has that been bought for him to get back in?
12:05
[SPEAKER_01]: But another thing, which is bad news, I think for Alabama's offense,
12:09
[SPEAKER_01]: Jaden Jackson, he was a guy that was limited in that first contest, he went out there, I think he ended up being 12 snaps, they tried them as the rotation guy, like the second in the fourth series, that we didn't see much Jaden Jackson after that, Carson for an Oklahoma defense that already did a really good job holding Alabama in the running game, an Oklahoma defense that already
12:27
[SPEAKER_01]: Mission accomplished once as far as trying to make Alabama one dimensional.
12:31
[SPEAKER_01]: If you get a J. J. Jackson that said next to three weeks and he talked about that on Monday, I think it was and all that.
12:38
[SPEAKER_01]: Even if our Mason is just there for third and long, Oklahoma's defensive line, I think is going to be substantially better because they're getting back one of a healthier version of one of their best run stoppers who they were great in November, even without them, that's just another guy that they will have back in the fall.
12:54
[SPEAKER_00]: 100% and it's one of those things that I wrote about Jade and Jackson earlier this week, and I didn't realize that his stats are more or less parallel, maybe even slightly better in some categories this year, despite sitting out of a Kent State game, despite being very limited, the last three games of Ouse regular season.
13:13
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, that just speaks to how disruptive he is, how effective he's been when he's been at full strength.
13:18
[SPEAKER_00]: which you saw in games, Auburn's the first one that comes to mind in this year's season.
13:23
[SPEAKER_00]: He was a menace along with our Mason Thomas, David Stone, Grace, and Houghton that game.
13:28
[SPEAKER_00]: But he's just, he's such a brutal player that getting him near full health is its monumental for the defense.
13:38
[SPEAKER_01]: and it's a defense to that we know is a group that going all the way back to last week when we talked to Eli Bowen on the practice field and he said yeah i mean sure we played well but we feel like we can play a lot better that that's kind of been a through line we've talked to Owen heineke this week we talked to jaden like we said we've talked to Kindle Daniels and Ryan it's a group that it feels like it
14:03
[SPEAKER_01]: The way that we talked to them it feels like they played bad in that first game against Alabama And I'm like guys I understand that I'll be able to e-gave up yards and stuff like that But you limited to Alabama's offense to 21 points on 75 plays and that's before it was this version of Alabama's offense where
14:18
[SPEAKER_01]: I think Vinnables and his coaching staff put out kind of a blueprint of how you can maybe frustrate Tyson.
14:23
[SPEAKER_01]: So I know that they're in rumors that Tyson's is out of 100%.
14:26
[SPEAKER_01]: But this was the Alabama team that had just gone through the gauntlet of what five straight ranked wins and they were streaking coming off it.
14:32
[SPEAKER_01]: That was a full confidence crimson tie that Oklahoma held to 21 points.
14:37
[SPEAKER_01]: This group, maybe the hitme test that I've talked about for two weeks have really gotten in there and figured things out.
14:42
[SPEAKER_01]: But this is a group that the first time Oklahoma's defense has a little success.
14:48
[SPEAKER_01]: here we go again, especially for the guys that were in Norman last year that got held without a touchdown.
14:55
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, I really like what we've heard from from Oklahoma's defense.
14:59
[SPEAKER_02]: When you hear about those guys talking about, you know, not being satisfied and I don't think it was, I mean, I think that's sort of Brent Venibule's perfectionism, you know,
15:13
[SPEAKER_02]: You know, trickling down to the rest of the defense and the way that he's been able to, you know, project that in a way that doesn't seemingly doesn't burden them, but, you know,
15:28
[SPEAKER_02]: gives them, you know, sort of that edge to continue to push to get better, which is what we've seen during this winning streak.
15:36
[SPEAKER_02]: I think that that's really big, but they did play really well against Alabama.
15:42
[SPEAKER_02]: You know, I think yes,
15:44
[SPEAKER_02]: The yardage you can point out some things, you know, Tyson's and got a lot of yards, but a lot of that was late when Alabama really had to push the ball down field through the air.
15:55
[SPEAKER_02]: A lot of it was on, you know, a couple of big plays rather than, you know, any significant, uh,
16:02
[SPEAKER_02]: failing on this defense as part.
16:05
[SPEAKER_02]: But I really like the way that they're responding to things.
16:10
[SPEAKER_02]: And I think it shows that this team still has that edge that has carried it through.
16:15
[SPEAKER_02]: Because that was one of my questions.
16:17
[SPEAKER_02]: How are they able to continue that after a layoff?
16:22
[SPEAKER_02]: after doing it for, you know, four consecutive games will that, you know, be tough to get back.
16:29
[SPEAKER_02]: But certainly you would much rather be in Oklahoma's position and we're a position of strength than Alabama's trying to figure out and OU defense that, you know, really nobody has figured out consistently all year.
16:42
[SPEAKER_01]: It's something that I'm really curious and, I don't have an answer for this and, sorry, I don't have many answers, but you look at it and go
16:51
[SPEAKER_01]: When you have a rematch like this, that it felt like that second half was defined so much by Alabama, came out, had the first fantastic drive, and then like you said, Abraham, they did not really move the ball again substantially until that last drive, and on that last drive, things had changed.
17:07
[SPEAKER_01]: Alabama clearly was not overly hurried, say, got the ball back with six and a half minutes left, and it became a weird thing, like, Oklahoma wasn't an improvement, but they were like,
17:18
[SPEAKER_01]: Hey, uh, we're okay if you want to try to nickel and dime us and get two yards, three yards, check down stuff like that.
17:25
[SPEAKER_01]: We're just trying to keep it at a field goal range, then that turned into obviously the decisive drive there.
17:29
[SPEAKER_01]: I kind of wonder,
17:31
[SPEAKER_01]: Does this chess match pick up right where we left off where Oklahoma clearly at halftime found answers to slow down Josh Quave as he had, he was deleting receiver the Titan 80 yards on six catches I think for a touchdown, 60 of those yards came in the first half, only one catch for 20 yards in the second half and if Oklahoma is able to pick up there, that's where I think things become really interesting guys because I think that Alabama's running game has gone backwards since Oklahoma played them.
17:58
[SPEAKER_01]: I think that the Crimson Tigers become
18:00
[SPEAKER_01]: It's much like when you talk about Oklahoma's offensive line outside of Michael the guys are there But they're beat up and that doesn't show in like misnaps or things like that and then it's suddenly if you're able to take Quave us kind of off the table car so it becomes a all right jerry been hard and Right Williams awesome players
18:20
[SPEAKER_01]: But Oklahoma did a pretty good job quote and killer in Eli Bowen had success and Oklahoma's defensive line I think did as much to help those guys out on the back end too by generating so much pressure on Tyson.
18:30
[SPEAKER_01]: So I'm just kind of curious, Carson.
18:32
[SPEAKER_01]: Is it that or is it back to a game reset where they come out like prize fighters and kind of feel each other out and play everyone plays a little bit safe in the first quarter on Friday night.
18:41
[SPEAKER_00]: It might be a little bit of both, but to your point about stopping Williams, Bernard, some of their weapons, I feel like the adaptability of this defense hasn't necessarily been talked about enough, just with how much better the second area's gotten since Cam Coleman burned them earlier in the year specifically, Cortland Gillarie.
18:59
[SPEAKER_00]: Um, Quaveus obviously had a big game against, oh, you the first time.
19:03
[SPEAKER_00]: But you look at how OU did against Bowersharp, Norfleet from Missouri, other titans before that game too.
19:10
[SPEAKER_00]: I felt like they played really well against the titan right for Ole Miss.
19:16
[SPEAKER_00]: I feel like they've just really adapted throughout the year and every area of the defense, whether that's the secondary, like I just mentioned.
19:23
[SPEAKER_00]: But I do think a lot of it is,
19:25
[SPEAKER_00]: We're going to see some different looks from both coaches.
19:28
[SPEAKER_00]: There's going to have to be some adapting done by both defenses, um, because Tyson's still even with how he's looked at at least still a heck of a football player, heck of a talent, and they obviously have all the athletes in the world.
19:39
[SPEAKER_00]: So they're still going to be plenty of adjustments to make for brim venables.
19:46
[SPEAKER_01]: And it's something to the, and we talked to Kobe McKinsey on radio on Mondays and and talking with Kindle Daniel Scott.
19:54
[SPEAKER_01]: Everyone's kind of asked like what can you guys do better in your position group, but I think the live backers that they talked so much about we need to tighten our coverage and they didn't say the word Josh Quay was but I think it was a lot of it seems that the conversation at halftime and tusk blue so was simply trying to be like, Hey boys, that's on you get your butt over there and make that happen at Oklahoma did
20:13
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm going to be really interested to see how that starts and then I guess like the flip side of it is you've got some creative minds and been our about cool preventables, Ryan grab stuff like that.
20:22
[SPEAKER_01]: We've seen Alabama use way more like trick plays, susceptible stuff.
20:26
[SPEAKER_01]: I almost wonder if that's what Alabama would toss out there early trying to use.
20:34
[SPEAKER_03]: it's going to be a pretty interesting like what where do you pick up when as Brett said you played three times and 13 months it feels like there's going to be no secrets between these two coaching staffs yeah for sure no secrets um as well as these guys uh scout each other as as thorough as they're going to be as coaching staffs scouting the opponent
20:54
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, there's going to be no secrets, but I think you could look back at, say, the just the Tennessee game, the week before Alabama, right?
21:01
[SPEAKER_03]: Um, when, uh, Owen Heinecky comes on that blitz.
21:04
[SPEAKER_03]: I don't think we've seen Owen Heinecky blitz very much throughout the season, but he comes on that one blitz.
21:09
[SPEAKER_03]: Uh, I can't remember.
21:10
[SPEAKER_03]: I think it was third down forces the fumble, um, our Mason Thomas brings it back for a touchdown.
21:16
[SPEAKER_03]: I don't think we've seen that from, from OU all season other than that one time.
21:20
[SPEAKER_03]: Maybe, maybe once here there.
21:22
[SPEAKER_03]: But that's something that I would expect, you know, Alabama is going to go back and they're going to scout that game, just like Oklahoma is, but they've got 11 other games that they need to scout too.
21:33
[SPEAKER_03]: They've got, you know, situations that they're going to look at and they're going to read their old scouting report and they're going to say, wait, remember now they did this, it's going to cloud things a little bit.
21:41
[SPEAKER_03]: If you go back and look at
21:43
[SPEAKER_03]: I've got the statistics up right here.
21:47
[SPEAKER_03]: The 406 yards that Alabama put up against Oklahoma's defense, which was, you know, you will tell you way too many, but like you said, a lot of it came late in catch-up situation.
21:57
[SPEAKER_03]: 406 yards was their fifth best offensive output for the season.
22:02
[SPEAKER_03]: Okay, you know who the others were against?
22:04
[SPEAKER_03]: Louisiana Monroe, 583, Eastern Illinois, 539, Vanderbilt, 486, and Wisconsin, 454.
22:16
[SPEAKER_03]: So the 406 that Oklahoma gave up was, to me, was an aberration on both sides.
22:22
[SPEAKER_03]: I think Alabama's offense has shown that it can be explosive at times, but in 2025, I think you'd more qualify them as a little bit limited at times, especially running the football.
22:33
[SPEAKER_03]: You made reference to the rushing yards.
22:36
[SPEAKER_03]: After they had 80 yards against OU on the ground, 269 against Eastern Illinois with eight touchdowns.
22:42
[SPEAKER_03]: Let's throw that one out.
22:44
[SPEAKER_03]: Then they had 158 against Auburn, which is pretty good.
22:46
[SPEAKER_03]: And then they had minus three against Georgia.
22:49
[SPEAKER_03]: So when you put it against the context of the entire season, they were under 100 yards rushing, one, two, three, four, five, six times.
23:00
[SPEAKER_03]: have their season under a hundred yards rushing.
23:02
[SPEAKER_03]: So this Alabama offense is probably a little bit more limited than what we're used to seeing from the crimson tide, especially with an offensive genius like Kaylandivore, right?
23:12
[SPEAKER_03]: But I think Oklahoma's going to come into this game with, oh, you don't think we beat you bad enough last time?
23:18
[SPEAKER_03]: That kind of mindset, you know, that kind of chip on their shoulder.
23:21
[SPEAKER_03]: They're, they, those guys.
23:23
[SPEAKER_03]: As we know, I mean, I've made reference to it today on the zoom call with Brent.
23:27
[SPEAKER_03]: There's a lot of chips on those shoulders in Norman Oklahoma.
23:31
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, I don't chips going around all over the place.
23:33
[SPEAKER_01]: I thought Tostitos was out of bull season.
23:35
[SPEAKER_01]: Guess not.
23:36
[SPEAKER_01]: It'd be interesting.
23:37
[SPEAKER_01]: It's one of those things where you could go, hey, every coat starts off every.
23:42
[SPEAKER_01]: If we could build the ideal game plan, we would stop this or that, make everybody want to mention it.
23:47
[SPEAKER_01]: Alabama is like willingly one-dimensional in a in a weird way and we saw for a while that was great with ticeps in the field channel But like we referenced last week and and like at Carson was saying last week.
23:56
[SPEAKER_01]: You look at Couple of picks against East Illinois That ended his strip sack streak, but he had fumbled the ball off of a pressure in four or five straight games before that including Oklahoma
24:08
[SPEAKER_01]: when Taylor Wein got there, so there's plenty of reason to believe that Oklahoma will be able to put themselves in positions to take away the football.
24:17
[SPEAKER_01]: It'll just be like what we saw in November, where they're able to get a bunch of turnovers against Tennessee, against Alabama, get an interception against the LSU, do a race interception, as they're going to be like the first part of the year where it's like, man, they're doing everything, but
24:28
[SPEAKER_01]: Take the ball away, but it kind of feels like the damn has broken there But before we get off the deep it's over to the offensive side of the ball Just real quick we didn't have news on Wednesday It was reported believe it was on three that Kindle Dolby intends to head to the transfer portal and then he came out and confirmed it with the tied tried and trusted iPhone note screenshot tweet yada yada
24:52
[SPEAKER_01]: So he makes number two, Jaden Gibson, and himself.
24:56
[SPEAKER_01]: That's another one of those that much like Gibson obviously was not with the program.
25:00
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't know if we have a great insight on just the try to come back, did come back, played four games, stopped playing games, really tried to bathe in a year of eligibility when you look at it, part of why Kendall Dolby has
25:12
[SPEAKER_01]: not been a big factor for Oklahoma this year other than just kind of the the injury come back which obviously is top and and everyone was ready to form there was just that when you have Kindle Daniels who's done such an excellent job at that Cheetah spot and Reggie Powers but especially a Kindle Daniels Carson that's six five and has everything you want as far as covers like a safety hits like a lineback or all that
25:33
[SPEAKER_01]: Welcome, I did really need Kindle Dolby at cornered.
25:35
[SPEAKER_01]: I really want to be a cornerer, and Kindle Dolby is not playing over Eli Bowen, who's had two excellent Alabama games, Portland Giller, who played great against Alabama, or even Devon Jordan to Kobe Johnson, who have been big in this game in various roles the last two years.
25:48
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, it's not for any fault of his own that he kind of lost his role, but he kind of lost his role.
25:53
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, Kindle Daniels, I don't think anybody, at least I didn't expect him to be as effective as he's been on this defense, was it as productive in his last year at Oklahoma State as he was earlier in his career there, but he's been fantastic, Reggie Powers III.
26:09
[SPEAKER_00]: He's just been great depth in the secondary too, just one of the many younger guys that have been really good with his snap so far,
26:18
[SPEAKER_00]: There's not a whole lot of other places that Kindle Dobe could have really gone.
26:22
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, corner back, but you mentioned Eli Bowen, Portland Gailery, Gentry Williams, when he's healthy, there just really isn't a spot for him.
26:32
[SPEAKER_00]: And I think he's kind of understood that.
26:34
[SPEAKER_00]: Come to grips with that and now he's gonna find somewhere else to finish out his college career.
26:39
[SPEAKER_01]: Just interesting especially because you look at the other side of the ball and not that I'm expecting like a massive roll like, oh my gosh, this guy's going to play 70 snaps on Friday night, but a guy like Javonte Barnes who has asked about a couple weeks ago someone else who very clearly was trying to keep his red shirt intact, we'll guess what?
26:56
[SPEAKER_01]: Much like a bold game once you get to the couch with a playout, these games do not count against your eligibility counter.
27:02
[SPEAKER_01]: So you can play every single snap of the couch with a playout on both sides of the ball and still maintain your register if that's what you want.
27:09
[SPEAKER_01]: Jvontay Barnes, probable on the first available builder report, Jvontay Barnes, out there practice where cars not watch them go through reps, everything like that.
27:17
[SPEAKER_01]: So,
27:18
[SPEAKER_01]: It feels like they open home a much more solid.
27:21
[SPEAKER_01]: If nothing else in the, hey, if they're absent, takes a big hit, and totally like it takes a big hit early, you've got a second and one in the second quarter that you just want to try Jvante Barnes on that second one to pick up the first ad instead of going to Jade not like it was on the field on fourth down, so you can stare in the fourth quarter against hell.
27:39
[SPEAKER_01]: She was like, say you get behind.
27:40
[SPEAKER_01]: Jvontay Barnes, one of the best past blockers in the back field on this football team.
27:44
[SPEAKER_01]: Maybe it's a guy that is out there and becomes John Matier's personal protector.
27:48
[SPEAKER_01]: It'll be interesting to see what that looks like for this Oklahoma offense.
27:53
[SPEAKER_01]: Guys, I think is interesting as it can be for a week.
27:55
[SPEAKER_01]: We're just doing press conference stuff.
27:57
[SPEAKER_01]: It's been an extra week.
27:59
[SPEAKER_01]: Talking about the conversation around the Oklahoma offense, and I go to Monday night not at practice But after practice Brett Vendibles has his coaches radio show all that stuff that you can listen to and Abraham I wrote about this, but Brent in his first segment of the show is talking about that They're just talking about how he spent the the by weeks the off weeks improving things like that and he goes Hey, man this offense.
28:21
[SPEAKER_01]: I've seen incremental improvement
28:22
[SPEAKER_01]: day by day, we put 38 seconds and one time out out there and they had to go kick a field goal.
28:28
[SPEAKER_01]: Now, granted does that mean they just need to get one first down, who's to say with the Luke Rosa winner out there, but Brittman will say he was fired up about what he's seen from this offense.
28:36
[SPEAKER_01]: And I think that's been Ryan a pretty consistent message about the offense for the entire team.
28:41
[SPEAKER_01]: But they're talking to Brittman, who's today on the Zoom, or will we talk to him Monday?
28:45
[SPEAKER_01]: It seems like Brent.
28:47
[SPEAKER_01]: truly believes that the incremental growth that this football team is a group took during the year.
28:53
[SPEAKER_01]: He believes he's seen that out of the OU offense, which would obviously be fascinating for a group that you'd love to have all the turnovers and Oklahoma's defense is certainly going to try too, but it's hard to price in that Oklahoma's going to get an opportunity to cash in for 17 points off turnovers and the playoff means offense got to make up for it somewhere.
29:12
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, they don't have to be, you know, the Oklahoma offense from Lincoln Riley.
29:17
[SPEAKER_02]: They don't have to go out there and post 50 points, but they've got to be able to get first down when it matters and put a couple of dry scoring drives together, because like you said, you can't count on all those, you know, points off turnovers in this one.
29:33
[SPEAKER_02]: You know, I think they need to be, you know, clearly,
29:37
[SPEAKER_02]: better on the the offensive line front.
29:41
[SPEAKER_02]: With Favetchy we have some time to sort of settle in there a little bit more at center I think that that's good if he plays as we expect and also to get you know Derek Simmons back a little bit
29:54
[SPEAKER_02]: healthier than he's been some of those other guys with just sort of nagging things that they've dealt with there.
30:01
[SPEAKER_02]: I thought it was interesting.
30:02
[SPEAKER_02]: Also we didn't see Jacob Sexton on the list.
30:05
[SPEAKER_02]: It would surprise me if he you know played much of a role there, but you know fascinating there as well.
30:12
[SPEAKER_02]: And then to be able to run the football at least somewhat outside of just John Meteor.
30:18
[SPEAKER_02]: Mattier had that great 20-yard run in the first one, you know, he's showing some real abilities there and that changes the way that defensive can react, but you've also got to be able to run the football with your running backs, whether that's, you know, Xavier Robinson,
30:38
[SPEAKER_02]: Think he's been Tory Blaylock who looked as good in the LSU game as he had since that lot that went over South Carolina about a month earlier and then whatever Javante Barnes can add to that.
30:55
[SPEAKER_02]: So they don't have to be, you know,
30:57
[SPEAKER_02]: There's didn't have to be a massive difference, but if they're able to head in the right direction, maybe Get some more of those things going vertically.
31:05
[SPEAKER_02]: It doesn't have to be, you know 50-yard passes, but just to be able to stretch the field a little bit and do it in positions where you're not going to put the ball in danger of turnovers Then this offense can look a lot better a lot quicker
31:21
[SPEAKER_02]: And so it doesn't have to be just night and day, it just has to be, you know, like you said, incremental improvements that they can show themselves.
31:30
[SPEAKER_02]: So that's going to be really interesting to see if they live up to that on Friday night.
31:35
[SPEAKER_03]: You know, guys, I was a little interested.
31:38
[SPEAKER_03]: Um, uh, Brent Venables today on the Zoom call got a question about, uh, the open practice.
31:46
[SPEAKER_03]: Uh, what was that yesterday Monday.
31:49
[SPEAKER_03]: And
31:50
[SPEAKER_03]: He got a question about the tape on John Matthier's hand, why wasn't he wearing the tape and you know, he's not wearing the tape because he doesn't need the tape anymore, right?
31:58
[SPEAKER_03]: That's obvious.
32:00
[SPEAKER_03]: But Brett came out and said he's still not paying free.
32:03
[SPEAKER_03]: And forgive me if I'm forgetting, which I tend to do a lot these days,
32:10
[SPEAKER_03]: I don't think we've heard anything about his pain tolerance or being pain-free or experiencing some discomfort ever since he returned for the Texas game after the surgery.
32:20
[SPEAKER_03]: I don't think anybody has talked openly about, yeah, my thumb still hurts, yeah, I'm still having trouble gripping the football.
32:27
[SPEAKER_03]: And I was on a radio show in Tuscaloos today and they asked me about material and I said, yeah, I get the feeling that he's not going to throw a 60 yard bomb or he's not going to fit a, you know, just a laser in a tight window.
32:38
[SPEAKER_03]: He's going to throw the football where he can when he can.
32:41
[SPEAKER_03]: But look for his contributions to be heavily on the ground as a runner as a threat to run the football.
32:47
[SPEAKER_03]: I mean, that kind of lines up with what Brent told us today about his, his,
32:52
[SPEAKER_03]: You know, his numbers have really kind of, we've been over it several times as numbers passing throwing football, have kind of dipped since he's come back from that surgery.
33:01
[SPEAKER_03]: So, makes you wonder just how, I mean, he's better now, right?
33:06
[SPEAKER_03]: You would think he hasn't suffered any setbacks.
33:08
[SPEAKER_03]: He's better now than he has been, but here we are, mid December.
33:12
[SPEAKER_03]: We're heading toward, you know, the,
33:14
[SPEAKER_03]: The college will all play off and who knows what's beyond that, right?
33:17
[SPEAKER_03]: There's two more three more games after that if they keep winning, but holy cow, your quarterback's thumb still hurts from September.
33:24
[SPEAKER_03]: That's the, that was kind of surprising to me.
33:27
[SPEAKER_01]: It was also like a, uh, not a random toss in because it wasn't like a long answer, but he, he, like he said, he was just asked, hey, at the upper practice, he's not going to have to tape on the thumb.
33:37
[SPEAKER_01]: was that mean for him and it's like yeah he'd probably tell you that you know he's still not paying free but as far as structurally goes and grip on the football he's much better there which leads all the way back into my grand theory from a couple weeks ago is what the mindset the hypnotism I
33:53
[SPEAKER_01]: whether you feel good or don't feel good when you've thrown all your life without the little sling tape on your thumb and even if you're practicing with it and all that stuff I mean it goes down to when we would do media sessions and Carson you've been in the middle of all of them.
34:10
[SPEAKER_01]: When it's post-practice, usually if you go back and watch the videos, it's John McSier, like, I don't know if it's like a nervous tick or whatever, just that he needs something to do to say it's always talking to us, but he's usually like scratching at the tape or fiddling with the tape because he comes around at the practice field.
34:25
[SPEAKER_01]: I do wonder if this is some like,
34:28
[SPEAKER_01]: Even if it's a 1% thing that in the back of his head, even while he's playing with it, even if during a game he's got adrenaline, not filming.
34:35
[SPEAKER_01]: He's like, I've got this tape on my thumb.
34:36
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
34:37
[SPEAKER_01]: Now it's not going to affect his grip stuff like that.
34:39
[SPEAKER_01]: If he rolls out there, no tape on a Friday night.
34:43
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, it's hard to know admittedly.
34:45
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, he has come out like who was saying in Deny that there's been any sort of discomfort, any problem with the hand sense returning.
34:53
[SPEAKER_00]: I do remember, then it was on the SEC Teleconference a few weeks after materials return.
34:59
[SPEAKER_00]: He pretty much was like, yeah, it's hard to expect and material to be fool-strength immediately.
35:04
[SPEAKER_00]: It's a process.
35:06
[SPEAKER_00]: So I mean, they've said somewhat conflicting things in that regard, which
35:10
[SPEAKER_00]: We've talked about that's an admirable characteristic for your quarterback, not to make excuses, just to put the blame on yourself, even if it is bothering you.
35:19
[SPEAKER_00]: But in reality, Vinnables probably is on to something about, yeah, it's going to take a while.
35:25
[SPEAKER_00]: Even if Dr. Shannon is this legend that he has made himself out to be in Oklahoma, it's still going to be a recovery process and maybe that is still carrying
35:39
[SPEAKER_00]: pretty massive, just as far as grip, maybe it is a mental thing to some degree.
35:44
[SPEAKER_01]: Uh, if there's not even just like a split second hesitation because of that, then a lot of that timing stuff of the little field, which it feels like that's been what's missing from the first month of the season on they they try to couple of deep shots here and there that's not come off very well with material overthrowing things like that and and that's even just since the Texas game goes back to the Missouri game, but this offense I don't think it needs
36:09
[SPEAKER_01]: a 7-yard bomb or something like that to figure it out.
36:12
[SPEAKER_01]: If they could just get 20% of the jomits here who's able to either rip it with no hesitation over the middle of the field to can it, or satinia, or burks that you got in the first month of the season, or the jomits here that's able to
36:26
[SPEAKER_01]: generate enough velocity when he's scrambling around trying to make things happen to find gearing can it can some of those third down drills or titanium like he did against Michigan.
36:33
[SPEAKER_01]: It's like if you can just get this much closer to that guy, that is what you're talking about.
36:39
[SPEAKER_01]: If you get a little bit of that, a little bit healthier Xavier Robinson, a geometry as well that maybe is
36:45
[SPEAKER_01]: Again, we'll be talking about this a couple of times going out of the Auburn game, I was more concerned initially about what was going on with the big tape job on its knee than its hand, then on the focus ship to his hand.
36:55
[SPEAKER_01]: If you can get a job in here that's that much, that much more wiggle back in the open field, because his knee feels good, his hand feels good, Abraham.
37:02
[SPEAKER_01]: We're talking about, I mean, what do you think?
37:05
[SPEAKER_01]: If Oklahoma puts 27 points on the board, they win this football game, born like a big turnover that sets Alabama up on, you know,
37:14
[SPEAKER_01]: And it's not needing 50 points on the board to offset what you expect the deeper it's going to give them.
37:21
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, exactly.
37:22
[SPEAKER_02]: I would be, you know, stunned if they lost this game if they're able to, you know, score in the high 20s there.
37:31
[SPEAKER_02]: And, you know, like we've all said, it doesn't have to be this massive leap.
37:36
[SPEAKER_02]: All they've got to do is protect the football, which they've done a pretty good job of, you know, outside of really the one game there during this stretch.
37:46
[SPEAKER_02]: And then,
37:47
[SPEAKER_02]: just get a little bit more.
37:49
[SPEAKER_02]: I think the more comfortable that John material is just that can make a world of difference.
37:55
[SPEAKER_02]: Because yes, I think there's no doubt that he's been in some level of pain, but I think it's also just about the feel and the comfort level to things that we just haven't seen quite there in the same way that it was
38:11
[SPEAKER_02]: early in the season when he was, you know, looking like a guy who had a potential win a highsman trophy, you know, we don't expect him to be that kind of quarterback again, but every little bit helps and I think if he's able to, you know, shed that tape and just, you know, like you said, you know,
38:30
[SPEAKER_02]: maybe that little moment of hesitation isn't there or maybe you just can fall back into muscle memory and not have to try to work mentally to get to where you need to be.
38:44
[SPEAKER_02]: That can make a world of difference in this one and I think that I expect.
38:51
[SPEAKER_02]: You know, I don't expect to jump a tier to play like you did early in season.
38:55
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't expect him to play like, you know, Kyler Murray or Baker Mayfield or any of those guys, but I would expect him to play probably better than he has at any point since returning from the injury because of, you know, some of those factors.
39:13
[SPEAKER_01]: And if you can get that, then it just becomes, I think my next biggest question on the offense would be that this game is one where Derek Simmons is able to get back the first time and we didn't see as much Ryan Foget and Foget force back into the lineup in a big way against LSU.
39:31
[SPEAKER_01]: This lead-up, especially if there's no micro, can simply having Ryan Bogey in between Derek Simmons and Favetchy Wew and getting really, really comfortable with that, having two pretty veteran guys and Favetchy being the bulk leader of this offensive line, and you would assume
39:48
[SPEAKER_01]: in a spot where as rockets and rallying insane as the crowd is going to be on Friday, the softest lines going to have time to communicate and have the conditions to communicate.
39:57
[SPEAKER_01]: It'll be really interesting because as we all remember, Alabama, they'll move Pierre all over the place.
40:03
[SPEAKER_01]: And that's like as much as Alabama is going okay, it's almost on the field.
40:06
[SPEAKER_01]: What do we do from there for Oklahoma step one, two, three, and four for digest this Alabama defensive?
40:12
[SPEAKER_01]: Where is Pierre?
40:13
[SPEAKER_01]: What do we think is going to happen there and in making sure that everybody's on the same page up front?
40:18
[SPEAKER_01]: Outside of the big turnover, I think we've seen the Oklahoma offense, John.
40:22
[SPEAKER_01]: whether it's perfect, imperfect, whether they're just waiting for Burk's out, run everybody, or potato, run everybody.
40:28
[SPEAKER_01]: That's gonna be the big thing for me when you're talking about like the run game.
40:31
[SPEAKER_01]: Can they build some of these drives together, especially for Zebra Obbsidus?
40:34
[SPEAKER_01]: Feel it better, even though he still had that big brace on his right knee at practice.
40:38
[SPEAKER_01]: I wouldn't imagine even if he feels great that that's not gonna come off until he has to in a game situation just to not reiterate something.
40:45
[SPEAKER_01]: But can you get enough consistency when you're
40:47
[SPEAKER_01]: Once again, reliant on two true pressure in a red shirt freshman to take on Alabama in a comfortable play out of front.
40:53
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, and if you look at just some of the numbers, you know, Oklahoma, I mean, the big number for me without a doubt is red zone efficiency.
41:04
[SPEAKER_03]: Oklahoma's first in the nation, Alabama's 50th.
41:07
[SPEAKER_03]: Alabama has missed, I think, seven scoring chances.
41:10
[SPEAKER_03]: Oklahoma's the only team in the country in the country.
41:13
[SPEAKER_03]: who has cast in on every 100% of their scoring opportunities in the red zone.
41:17
[SPEAKER_03]: That's huge.
41:18
[SPEAKER_03]: That is huge for this offense because they're not real great at running the football.
41:23
[SPEAKER_03]: They're not real great at throwing the football.
41:25
[SPEAKER_03]: They're not real great at taking care of the football.
41:27
[SPEAKER_03]: I think their mind is too on the turnover margin for the season.
41:31
[SPEAKER_03]: But they get in the red zone and they score.
41:34
[SPEAKER_03]: Credit to Tacendel obviously and the whole field go unit thing.
41:38
[SPEAKER_03]: But taking care of those opportunities, hitting them when you get them, right?
41:43
[SPEAKER_03]: Like the 20 yard touchdown run after the turnover, material turn that thing into a fumble on part turn, he turned it into a touchdown run.
41:51
[SPEAKER_03]: So that's something that Oklahoma absolutely has to do.
41:55
[SPEAKER_03]: You can't.
41:56
[SPEAKER_03]: Screw up.
41:57
[SPEAKER_03]: You can't have turnovers.
41:58
[SPEAKER_03]: You can't give the football back.
42:00
[SPEAKER_03]: Remember the Tennessee game last year.
42:02
[SPEAKER_03]: They got three turnovers and gave two of them back almost immediately.
42:08
[SPEAKER_03]: You can't muck around and do stuff like that.
42:10
[SPEAKER_03]: So,
42:11
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, you're right.
42:12
[SPEAKER_03]: If Xavier Robinson's healthy and we assume Tory Blaylock is healthy, I think Oklahoma has a chance with those five guys up front because if you look at who's who's been starting, they've got the same starting five for three games in a row before Michael I went out and just
42:32
[SPEAKER_03]: for that you had to go over from right-guard to center.
42:37
[SPEAKER_03]: So, if Michael is back, that will be four out of the last five games.
42:40
[SPEAKER_03]: You've got the same starting five, you know, your quarterback's thumb feels a little better, your freshman red shirt freshman running backs, knees a little bit better, a little healthier, those are all good signs for Oklahoma.
42:55
[SPEAKER_01]: And you'll have the, what could potentially be the Trump card again, like this is the, Oklahoma special teams are a major advantage.
43:01
[SPEAKER_01]: They were a huge reason why they were able to win that.
43:04
[SPEAKER_01]: First contest, whether it be, I say it's Tane's pot return.
43:08
[SPEAKER_01]: Initially, whether it be Jaden Hardy, punch the ball out of Ryan Williams's arms, whether it be Tate Sant Dale, your grows to winner be in money, whether it be Tenderline, leaping,
43:17
[SPEAKER_01]: lines of scrimmage and getting a hand on it.
43:20
[SPEAKER_01]: Whether it be the fact that Albema had a pump block to get Georgia or a field gold kicker that seems ready to just rip everybody's head off the second that one thing goes poorly.
43:31
[SPEAKER_01]: It's just kind of funny that you come into bull season, heading into bull season.
43:35
[SPEAKER_01]: If you look at SP plus rankings and stuff like that, Oklahoma was either 23rd or 25th in the nation and in special teams a
43:44
[SPEAKER_01]: Alabama 113th in Oklahoma special teams which were a tire fire to a certain extent the first two years on our brim venables they were headed up by our old friend Jay Nunez I asked aloud on the pod after the 2023 season why does Alabama want to post Jay Nunez for local home up?
44:06
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't know I don't understand
44:08
[SPEAKER_01]: And now Doug Deacon, the guru who is great at San Diego State, has local and special teams up and running.
44:14
[SPEAKER_01]: And Alabama special teams are an absolute disaster.
44:16
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't know what Jay Dunia's has on people.
44:18
[SPEAKER_01]: He must be a great guy, but I don't think he's making a big time positive impact on special teams.
44:24
[SPEAKER_01]: So be sure to clip that when Alabama has like two kickoffers for a touchdown that decide this football game.
44:29
[SPEAKER_03]: The Ecan has been a godsend for OU special teams.
44:34
[SPEAKER_03]: You mentioned the SP plus ratings for the efficiency ratings.
44:37
[SPEAKER_03]: OU's 22nd in Putreturns, Alabama 66th.
44:42
[SPEAKER_03]: OU doesn't return kicks.
44:44
[SPEAKER_03]: It's an option that they've chosen.
44:45
[SPEAKER_03]: They don't care to return kicks.
44:47
[SPEAKER_03]: So they're 133rd, which is what next to last in the country.
44:50
[SPEAKER_03]: Alabama does return kicks.
44:52
[SPEAKER_03]: They're only 113th in the country.
44:53
[SPEAKER_03]: So
44:54
[SPEAKER_03]: point being Alabama special teams again I think they've missed seven field goals they're shooting about 66% from field goal range right on the season that's not good their punner average is 41 yards per punt by 42 yards per punt that's not particularly great remember now all clums punt teams have set up they've been inside the uh 20 a handful of times
45:17
[SPEAKER_03]: They've set up the defense for safeties two times this year with dropping the ball inside the five yard line.
45:23
[SPEAKER_03]: So it's it's been guys you hate to say it because it's such an overused term it has been complementary football at the highest level for the Oklahoma special teams in the Oklahoma defense.
45:33
[SPEAKER_03]: But yeah, defense.
45:35
[SPEAKER_01]: everybody drank our old pod game any time you get a company football everybody take a swing whatever you got in your cup got a big big big water bottle right here that will be hammering into so it should be good should be really really exciting and it's like we we talked as Tate Sandell on Monday pressure his grows away and he was like yeah man I feel like
45:54
[SPEAKER_01]: Yes, everyone has herbs, but Doug Deacon lets us be honest.
45:59
[SPEAKER_01]: He doesn't put limits on us.
46:00
[SPEAKER_01]: He's like, if the offense scores awesome, if it's out of my range, I know that Grayson Miller's going to pin them deep, and if it's my time to shine, then we know what Tate's syndrome can do, which has been pretty fantastic.
46:11
[SPEAKER_01]: And
46:12
[SPEAKER_01]: We'll get it going Friday night 7 o'clock.
46:15
[SPEAKER_01]: All the things if you missed any of it, Oakmasooners on SI.com is the place to be so thankful.
46:20
[SPEAKER_01]: If you've stopped by, just scroll by one of our tweets or clicked on a story and read through that or anything, it's been a fantastic run up here.
46:27
[SPEAKER_01]: We got a ton of great content still in the whole story to get that going.
46:30
[SPEAKER_01]: So, Oakmasooners on SI.com, for all of your Oklahoma Alabama needs and if you like it, tell a friend, do us a favor.
46:38
[SPEAKER_01]: there.
46:39
[SPEAKER_01]: But before we get out of here though, boys, we broke it down left right in center.
46:43
[SPEAKER_01]: We'll have a big post game pod, all that fun stuff.
46:47
[SPEAKER_01]: But there are other happenings in the world of Oklahoma sports that we do need to get to.
46:52
[SPEAKER_01]: On Saturday, we were at Paycom Center, Brady Carson, Abraham, I all hanging out there for the Bedlam double header.
47:00
[SPEAKER_01]: It went very, very well.
47:01
[SPEAKER_01]: if you are an Oklahoma basketball fan, Carson, you were there for all of it.
47:06
[SPEAKER_01]: But let's start with the men's game.
47:07
[SPEAKER_01]: You've been on top of the men's side of things.
47:09
[SPEAKER_01]: It felt like this was a kind of a culmination of, they found a little bit of the defensive touch in the second half against Marquette.
47:16
[SPEAKER_01]: They got the offense, going a little bit against Wake Forest.
47:19
[SPEAKER_01]: They kind of needed all that, and whether it be Xavier Brown, welcome to the party, Nigel Pack, or just the defensive stops toward the end.
47:25
[SPEAKER_01]: That's the version that I, of this basketball team that I think Portibos are in a staff thought they were putting together.
47:31
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, that was a similarly complete performance to the Wake Forest game as far as the offense looked really good with pack and brown.
47:40
[SPEAKER_00]: Both of those guys have really come into their own way.
47:43
[SPEAKER_00]: They were awesome against Kansas City last night, not saying a ton, Kansas City is not any good, but doing so against Oklahoma State, which is a much improved team from last year.
47:52
[SPEAKER_00]: The offense was great, the transition defense.
47:55
[SPEAKER_00]: was night and day better than it was against Arizona State one week prior way better than it was against Gonzaga and Nebraska earlier in the year.
48:03
[SPEAKER_00]: So they're making progress and I think a lot of it does come down to this is a very transfer heavy team for transfers a couple of freshmen.
48:11
[SPEAKER_00]: It's a lot of newcomers.
48:12
[SPEAKER_00]: They needed a lot of time to gel I think and they took two steps forward with those
48:18
[SPEAKER_00]: Wake Forest Market wins one back against Arizona State, but beating a team like Oklahoma State, neutral site, a much improved OSU team, like I said, that's a good win and it gives some momentum because barring something crazy happening.
48:32
[SPEAKER_00]: They're going to come in with only three losses in non-conference play before SCC play starts.
48:38
[SPEAKER_00]: And the SEC, it's not easy, but it's not quite the gauntlet that it was last year.
48:43
[SPEAKER_00]: Maybe they're able to put together a pretty good season in conference.
48:47
[SPEAKER_01]: Think two really good signs.
48:49
[SPEAKER_01]: We mentioned it, but Xavier Brown, put him on those are mentioned that he had an ankle injury.
48:53
[SPEAKER_01]: It felt like that Bedland game, say I was the first time he'd be like, that's the guy I think that Oklahoma thought they were getting there.
48:57
[SPEAKER_01]: And then, secondly, maybe more of a secondary thing.
49:01
[SPEAKER_01]: Kai Rogers, we know that there's so much excitement about that in the West Constant Exhibition game, then he had gotten banged up and was a doubt for Gonzaga, but between Bedland, which Moaghe had had some elbows fly and left right and said, and then,
49:13
[SPEAKER_01]: you look at that UMKC game.
49:15
[SPEAKER_01]: It looks like this is like the perfect apt to grant Kai Rogers back up in, because Oklahoma's gonna need both those bigs down low in SEC play.
49:21
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I actually asked Porter Moser about that last night after the game, and that's, that's his plan.
49:26
[SPEAKER_00]: Like it's intentional that the minutes of slowly been increasing.
49:29
[SPEAKER_00]: I believe it was 15 that he played last night against Kansas City.
49:33
[SPEAKER_00]: It was 13 against Oklahoma State.
49:35
[SPEAKER_00]: So just kind of subtly getting him into the mix a little bit more like you said, fighting off an injury earlier in the year.
49:42
[SPEAKER_00]: Um, I think that's big.
49:43
[SPEAKER_00]: He's very talented.
49:45
[SPEAKER_00]: Very just adds a lot of size to this team.
49:48
[SPEAKER_00]: So that that's huge in addition to guys like Darion Reed, Moa Ghee.
49:53
[SPEAKER_00]: Um, so getting him more comfortable just gives them one more weapon in the front court before conference play.
49:59
[SPEAKER_01]: Then I guess they're not able to think, okay, let's take care of this to get to your case.
50:02
[SPEAKER_01]: Did they have an update on Dayton 4 side because it looked like he landed on another foot, rolled an ankle, which just sucks for his ankles have been taken, they've been under fire in the last couple of weeks.
50:13
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I'm not sure if this was his left or right, but it was the opposite of the ankle that had been bugging him.
50:19
[SPEAKER_00]: So now he has two bad ankles according to Porter Moser, but they don't really have a true update on his time table.
50:26
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, plenty of time there.
50:27
[SPEAKER_01]: He's on the Armacing Thomas Plan, two-bum ankles like he was a couple of years ago.
50:31
[SPEAKER_01]: That was the front half of it.
50:32
[SPEAKER_01]: Back half of it, A-Ren, I were there for the sooner women.
50:35
[SPEAKER_01]: It was a fun chip-be-it-time matchup for the first two quarters.
50:41
[SPEAKER_01]: And then it felt like Oklahoma just pated Oklahoma State on the head a little bit in the third quarter and said, once they started turning the ball over and getting the ball down into Reagan Bears,
50:49
[SPEAKER_01]: As I said, uh, very unallquently on Twitter, the crimson and cream rose to the top at the Peacom Center in the third quarter, and it was lights out pretty quick for the cowgirls.
51:00
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, I mean, I think we've seen in these last couple games, especially that there's no team outside of UCLA who they played in the second game of the season that's going to be able to match up with Reagan Bears.
51:15
[SPEAKER_02]: on the with their defense at end and beers was fantastic, but I think you're seeing growth from a Lea Chavez and I think better decision making there wasn't her best shooting game on Saturday 6 for 14 but was was 5 of 8 from from inside the arc so she's able to get to the bucket a little bit I think you know as you and I talked about some this morning
51:45
[SPEAKER_02]: You know, Peyton Verholst's role has shifted significantly on this team where she's not asked to do as much, you know, ball handling in the offense and she's been able to be, you know, comfortable doing whatever they ask, say her Williams continues to be fantastic on both ends, but the growth that we've seen out as I event, I thought it has been, you know, really key for this team.
52:13
[SPEAKER_02]: I think the biggest thing is how well they're going to be able to handle just a seven or eight person rotation there with, you know, clearly they're, they're top five or as good as any starting five in the country, but when you've really only got Kaya Smith and Brooklyn Stewart that you can rely on, I think, because I often will continue to be, you know,
52:38
[SPEAKER_02]: more of an option as the season goes on.
52:42
[SPEAKER_02]: But, you know, the rotation there is pretty limited, but their starting five has just been phenomenal.
52:50
[SPEAKER_01]: And the good thing is that because I is not knowledge, she has freshmen, so you expect fresh friend growth, but she's coming off of, she's got back to what?
52:57
[SPEAKER_01]: Two games, I think, off of her pretty gruesome injury that had basically quelled her senior year of ball, so she's just
53:08
[SPEAKER_01]: Beatrice Olatin gets a little bit out there because she's someone that if Oklahoma needs to go with a double big or or maybe a bigger body's in a rotation that was something they didn't have to do with the Oklahoma State broken Stewart stepped up to a spot where she could take all those non beers minutes and things like that.
53:22
[SPEAKER_01]: I think that's
53:23
[SPEAKER_01]: really really positive there much like the man they've got a couple of games to ramp into SEC play and it's not the most treachery start to SEC play until it is when suddenly they're at Kentucky and then LSU oh it's out of Carolina home so should be good there they'll be back in action on Monday believe at the Lloyd Noble Center and finally it's not a part of the neighborhood I without sneak in some softball news and there's no sneaking about this this was the softball shot that was heard around
53:47
[SPEAKER_01]: the softball world at least yesterday.
53:50
[SPEAKER_01]: Last week left off, it was getting the report from Carson at the beginning of December that so if we affordy former number one overall picture in the 25th class who reclassided the 24th class, she had joined up with Oklahoma year early just to red shirt, did not finish the year with Oklahoma ended up leaving the team headed back home.
54:08
[SPEAKER_01]: She never rejoined the team for fall ball, which led to the question, was she going to portal or what that was going to be?
54:14
[SPEAKER_01]: She did enter the transfer portal on December 15th and 11 days later.
54:20
[SPEAKER_01]: It's Texas, the raining national champions.
54:23
[SPEAKER_01]: We have a red river transfer portal situation.
54:26
[SPEAKER_01]: We've had that with Brennan Thompson and football.
54:30
[SPEAKER_01]: You've had a couple of bedlam transfers on the football side of things.
54:34
[SPEAKER_01]: We get our first red river transfer here, Aver, and
54:39
[SPEAKER_01]: People were paying attention, we could say that.
54:41
[SPEAKER_01]: So if we afford it, it's a rare thing too.
54:43
[SPEAKER_01]: We didn't ever need to see so if we afford it pitch because her reclassification came after Fallball two years ago.
54:49
[SPEAKER_01]: Red shirting, she was never gonna pitch and then she was not ever back in Norman this fall.
54:55
[SPEAKER_01]: This is a complete unknown for Mike White with taking an obviously Mike White a pitching specialist there, but welcome.
55:03
[SPEAKER_01]: April 11th, 10th, 11th, 12th in Austin, we'll see.
55:08
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, I mean, at least one, it's in Austin, but two, even when Texas makes their way north of the Red River, hey, Mike White has somebody to take some heat off of him because I can't imagine OU fans are going to be too fired up with, you know, a borty there with her move.
55:33
[SPEAKER_02]: But you know, still a lot of potential there like you said we never really got a chance to see her Oklahoma is clearly in a pretty good position pitching wise they've continued to be but hey if you're a pitcher and looking across the landscape.
55:51
[SPEAKER_02]: You know, if you're not going to go with Jen Rota and Oklahoma staff, I mean, Mike White's is good as anybody at working with pictures nationally and, you know, not an overly surprised that she would wind up there, but it's going to make for a fascinating series for sure, even though it was already going to be incredibly fascinating, but just another layer added on top of everything.
56:19
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, it'll be interesting, especially because that's what I was so curious about, not to like dive into too much stuff like she had gone home.
56:25
[SPEAKER_01]: She had made a pretty impactful statement and it had gotten some autonomous support from Oklahoma's program, players, coaches alike, just talking about the mental health and what athletes go through.
56:36
[SPEAKER_01]: But her being from the Philly area, when you enter the portal, if you're looking for a big time program,
56:42
[SPEAKER_01]: You're going to have to go away from home again and we knew that was probably going to be a very, very, very highly sought after talent, but to head to Oklahoma and Texas, go from a four time national champion for the previous four years to the raining national champion that series needs no extra spice, but spice we have with our friend Mike, why always good to us always good to see Mike, why I know you guys don't like him, Abraham, I do.
57:07
[SPEAKER_01]: Sorry, tap, he's he's he's great to talk to you.
57:10
[SPEAKER_02]: So we'll get that.
57:11
[SPEAKER_02]: When you're writing words for a living, he makes things a whole lot easier and he delivers it in an accent that's just fun to listen to.
57:21
[SPEAKER_01]: tough.
57:21
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, and if that means that Abraham, I get to reprise our road trip from a couple years ago, then so be it.
57:28
[SPEAKER_01]: Don't have to tell us twice, but gentlemen, before we depart and before we break until we reconvene for the college football playoff post game, but have we missed anything, because all the days are ready together.
57:42
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't remember the last time we spoke.
57:43
[SPEAKER_01]: We talk every day.
57:44
[SPEAKER_01]: Oh, yeah, I didn't know what we fit, what we have it.
57:47
[SPEAKER_03]: a quick dive into one more number.
57:49
[SPEAKER_03]: Oh you all time against Alabama five wins two losses one tie.
57:54
[SPEAKER_03]: One of the two losses was basically for a national championship.
57:57
[SPEAKER_03]: It was the college football playoff back in 2018.
58:00
[SPEAKER_03]: That counted.
58:02
[SPEAKER_03]: That was not that they don't count.
58:03
[SPEAKER_03]: Not that they all don't count.
58:04
[SPEAKER_03]: But that was the game in this series Oklahoma really, really, really, really would be good to even that thing up in the games that counted one to one when they play on Friday.
58:15
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, how about he was the first number.
58:17
[SPEAKER_02]: Oh, sorry.
58:17
[SPEAKER_02]: Go ahead, Ryan.
58:19
[SPEAKER_02]: No, go.
58:19
[SPEAKER_02]: I think we're going to the same place.
58:20
[SPEAKER_02]: You go for it.
58:21
[SPEAKER_02]: I think another number was Brent Vinnables brought up the other day that no team at beat in Alabama twice since I believe 1890.
58:29
[SPEAKER_02]: 1893.
58:31
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
58:32
[SPEAKER_02]: Anybody know who that was?
58:35
[SPEAKER_02]: Yes.
58:36
[SPEAKER_03]: Crimson white.
58:38
[SPEAKER_03]: I just just looked at up.
58:40
[SPEAKER_03]: It was the Alabama.
58:40
[SPEAKER_03]: No, the Birmingham athletic club.
58:43
[SPEAKER_03]: correct.
58:44
[SPEAKER_02]: So Oklahoma can join a prestigious club of the Birmingham athletic club, which I don't believe exists anymore.
58:52
[SPEAKER_02]: And certainly doesn't exist in the same way.
58:54
[SPEAKER_02]: And Oklahoma as teams at a beaten Alabama twice in one season, if they're able to win on Friday.
59:01
[SPEAKER_03]: Sounds like the BAC had a good year in the transfer portal at year.
59:05
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, they hit it hard.
59:08
[SPEAKER_01]: Isn't that what Tom Brady bought the Birmingham outlet other this Birmingham say that was a joke for only me sorry to everyone else and with that I'm going to put myself in time out because of that big day You per usual if you want to do us a huge favor give us a five star rating review wherever you get your podcasts and it to a friend all that fun stuff, but the biggest favor you could serve us is just simply come back
59:29
[SPEAKER_01]: on Friday night, which will actually be Saturday morning when we get it out, but post game, the squad, we will be a podcasting deep into the night from the press box at Gaylor Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium is, do we have the whole squad going, I only get my emails.
59:44
[SPEAKER_03]: I think we're, I think we're, I think we're five for five going to be there.
59:47
[SPEAKER_03]: I've been invited to, to Brady's tailgate, so we're definitely, I think we're all five for five going to be there and
59:55
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, that's, that's it, just one.
59:57
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, gonna be fun, fun weekend.
59:59
[SPEAKER_01]: Would they be in a Friday?
1:00:01
[SPEAKER_01]: My schedule is slightly different.
1:00:02
[SPEAKER_01]: I'll be especially crabby because I'll be up 69 doing my normal radio shift, and then instead of doing the, I usually trade around for like the last post game ship so I can sleep in on Saturday, no sleeping in for me, so we'll see if I'm able to get a nap, but on game days.
1:00:16
[SPEAKER_01]: who knows on the big worry worth.
1:00:17
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm like the second I go to sleep, I'm terrified that seven things are gonna fall out of the sky.
1:00:21
[SPEAKER_01]: It's like, nope, I'll probably just be up and wired for sound with like seven Celsius in my backpack.
1:00:27
[SPEAKER_01]: So it'll be good, it'll be my CTV regardless of what happens.
1:00:31
[SPEAKER_01]: And hopefully for all of you probably listening to this, we'll be like debating Rosemull plans for how we're gonna get there stuff like that.
1:00:38
[SPEAKER_01]: That would be good news for you guys and certainly for the excitement around this thing
1:00:45
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, this is one of those things that I'm not even really guys talked about the atmosphere because I know what the atmosphere is going to be.
1:00:51
[SPEAKER_01]: We may not have seen an atmosphere like it, but it's going to be incredible.
1:00:55
[SPEAKER_01]: Just watching the actual playoff games last year, the ones at home this opening weekend were unbelievable and I think there were a lot of people sitting around just going, man, what I would give to be a part of that, just be able to go to one, see it, be in the mix and one year later to have it in Norman, it'd be Oklahoma, Alabama, I mean.
1:01:12
[SPEAKER_01]: How thankful are we?
1:01:15
[SPEAKER_01]: How blessed are we?
1:01:15
[SPEAKER_01]: Because I think it's going to be an absolute show on Friday night.
1:01:18
[SPEAKER_03]: I'll tell you this.
1:01:18
[SPEAKER_03]: I don't think any of us are on this podcast.
1:01:21
[SPEAKER_03]: Look to the future in 2025 and said, I think Oklahoma could be in the college football playoff next year.
1:01:26
[SPEAKER_03]: We looked at the military ball that we went to last year, coming home from Fort Worth after a loss to Navy and thought,
1:01:37
[SPEAKER_03]: Gosh, wouldn't it be great to cover a college football playoff game one day again, you know, in the 12 team playoff because it looked a long ways way that that was that that was ever going to happen in Norman and here we are
1:01:49
[SPEAKER_02]: I mean, if we were to said once more likely that we're going to be covering a year from now, when we left that game, would it have been a playoff appearance or a coaching search?
1:02:01
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, coach search.
1:02:02
[SPEAKER_02]: I think most of us, all of us probably would have said a coaching search, and here Oklahoma isn't a playoff and Brent Minnables is riding high.
1:02:11
[SPEAKER_01]: with all of the chaos that's happening across country.
1:02:13
[SPEAKER_01]: Thank you, preventables.
1:02:14
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm happy we're not covering a coaching search right now.
1:02:16
[SPEAKER_01]: And here's a good news.
1:02:18
[SPEAKER_01]: Rick Vinnables remembers that those comments.
1:02:20
[SPEAKER_01]: He's not gonna hold against us though.
1:02:21
[SPEAKER_01]: And so that's it.
1:02:24
[SPEAKER_01]: For inventables, if you don't understand what happened there, be sure you had to lose you two page John Hoover Media and watch the press conference.
1:02:30
[SPEAKER_01]: Back this week, for inventables it's been must see TV's with pretty good diss week.
1:02:35
[SPEAKER_01]: But alright, that'll do it for us like I said.
1:02:37
[SPEAKER_01]: We'll talk to you guys Friday night, with loser draw, after the game, break the ball down.
1:02:41
[SPEAKER_01]: Those of all me, we will tell you, as soon as the suitors and the crimson ties are done with everything.
1:02:46
[SPEAKER_01]: from Caleb family, welcome to Memorial Stadium.
1:02:48
[SPEAKER_01]: More A-Bre 4 cars for whom I've arrived.
1:02:50
[SPEAKER_01]: Have a thanks so much.
1:02:51
[SPEAKER_01]: For stopping, we'll talk to you guys.
1:02:53
[SPEAKER_01]: And let's just call Saturday morning.