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Humility & Motivation · Talkin' Tech

• 0:39
  SPEAKER_05: Welcome in, everybody, to the Talk and Tech podcast.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_05: I am your host, Steven Rodriguez.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_05: My co-host, Tristan McGonagall, is here.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_05: Tristan, I didn't have a great time on Saturday watching the Texas Tech Red Raiders.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_04: Steven, we won a football game.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_05: That we did.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_05: That we did.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_05: And honestly, I was so frustrated at the end of that game that I was contemplating, hey, do they deserve us to play the song?
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_05: Do they really?
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_05: And then I thought.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_04: I figured that'd be the big questionnaire, yeah.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_05: And then I thought, hey, we've seen much worse in our time.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_05: In our time.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_05: There were times where we were hoping and praying that we would win a uh a road game in the non-conference, even under our current head coach.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_04: Buddy, we were we were hoping and praying that we'd win at home.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_05: We'd win any game, really.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_05: And we'd win a game.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_05: You know, we were outside of FCS team.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_05: Our first season was a Davis Webb four-win season as fans.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_05: And you know, that was a long, long time ago.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_05: And we have we we can't be this, we can't beat this podcast now.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_05: So we're gonna we're we're gonna play the song.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_03: We'll play the song.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_03: Red made of ride.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_04: Steven, we are not spoiled enough to not play the song, buddy.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_04: Like it's just we we we went and got a W, and I think there is an argument to be made.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_04: Like, you don't apologize for road wins, you know what I mean?
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_04: Like, regardless of the expectation of that game.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_04: But I'm not here to blow sunshine up our rear ends here, of course.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_04: I am I'm of course here to get real about it as well, but I do think that, you know, look, you still you're still 2-0, you are still undefeated.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_04: You we could have very well have watched our season completely sync last night before it even began, and it did not, like you survived.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_04: So, I mean, credit to that.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_04: The song deserved to be played.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_05: Absolutely, you are correct.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_05: We are, as you mentioned, not gonna sugarcoat what we witnessed on Saturday, though, because I I think I was going through it.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_05: Texas Tech Football has played three games in the year of our Lord 2026.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_05: One was against the Oregon Ducks, the second of which was against the Abilene Christian Wildcats, and the third of which was this game on Saturday against the Oregon State Beavers.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_05: And I was trying to think of what percentage of football I have enjoyed watching from the Texas Tech Red Raiders of the of the 180 minutes of football that has been played by Texas Tech.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_03: I I think we could do that.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_05: What do you think?
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_05: What do you think the percentage that you have had fun watching Texas Tech football in 2026 is?
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_04: Um 20, 30 minutes total.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_04: Okay, because thinking like the very beginning of the Oregon game, you know, you're you're obviously high as all get out, amped up, and again, and uh of course that kind of goes down.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_04: When does that start going downhill?
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_04: Second half, truly.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_05: I mean, you kept it close all game, and I think you're just hoping and praying for some sort of offense the entire time.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_05: So you're you're you're still hopeful, but you're not having fun.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_03: No, no, no, you're right.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_05: Pretty stressed, and then you open up the the 2026-27 regular season against Abilene Christian, which yeah, uh it was okay.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_05: It was okay, but I didn't necessarily have fun.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_05: No, I was having fun, no, and and I definitely wasn't having fun against Oregon State.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_05: So even if it's a miserable experience, let's say on the high end, 30 minutes of the 180 minutes, that's um 16, 17 percent uh of of Red Raider football in 2026 that we've enjoyed watching.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_05: So there's work to be done.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_05: There's work to be done.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_05: There's we need to get this taste out of our mouths, and I think that's why the reaction has been so harsh.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_05: Like, listen, we won the first game 33 to 10.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_05: Never a doubt.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_05: We were never gonna lose to Adeline Christian.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_05: We all understand that.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_05: We were potentially gonna lose to Oregon State.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, I'll be honest, but I thought there was I thought we were gonna lose when things were getting icy.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_03: I really did.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_03: I thought I thought we were gonna lose.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, I mean, there was definitely a moment in the fourth quarter when they took the lead that I was like, wow, we're and and everything just came back.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_04: Wyoming for me, it was the it was the uh the Will Hammond uh fumble.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, yeah, the fumble was bad, but seeing that, and then you're you're thinking Wyoming, you're thinking Washington State, you're thinking North Carolina State, like everything is coming back to you from all of the road non-conference games that we have not figured out under Joey McGuire.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_05: And you're like, we're gonna blow it.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_05: We're absolutely gonna blow this game to a team that is inferior to us, granted, much better, a much improved Oregon State team.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_05: Way better still does not compare to the talent on Texas Tech.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_05: And I I just it was uninspiring.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, yeah, that's a good way to put it, dude.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_04: Like completely just completely flat, and as so many other commentators put it, zero juice, um, just no spark, no fire at all, which is you know, weird for a Joey McGuire team.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_04: He's a motivator.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_04: I think you know, if you're doing a college football EA video game archetype, he's he's in the motivator category of the three or recruiter, but it's just like he just where was the fire?
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_04: Where was where was where was the lightning, you know?
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_04: And I I think some of that can be attributed to the weather and the road game.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_04: Like it was gross and it was pretty miserable out there.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_04: But I mean it's Oregon, man.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_04: What it's I feel like you gotta account for a gray rainy day out there.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_04: Um, and you start okay on defense, and then once offense gets out there, it's like, oh, this is immediately ugly.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_04: Like immediately.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_04: So with the for what the first very first play was a fumble, so it's just your your eyes start to bleed immediately.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, it was you know, I think I think I feel better actually comparing this to the Oregon Oklahoma State game that also happened on Saturday, because you're looking at a team that went on the road two time zones away against an inferior opponent, and Oklahoma State just coming off a Tulsa loss, you know, like like levels of bad are what you're thinking of what you're thinking they're gonna be.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_04: And not a still water, not a stillwater that's jazzed up either.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_05: No, no.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_05: I mean, they were definitely, you know, the crowd came alive as the game started, but like, yeah, that that crowd was not expecting, they were expecting to get blown out.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_05: Um, and then you know, you go to this Oregon State, you go to Corvallis, and yeah, they put on a good performance against Houston in week one, but they also did that last year and were terrible.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_05: So, you know, I know it's new coach, I know it's new quarterback, I know it's all these new players and everything, but you're clearly this team needed and can and will continually need more motivation and more juice as you get into the game, the the the lead up to the game.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_05: You need to find more motivation, you need to find more juice.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_05: And and what you said it is confusing because Joey McGuire has never had an issue with doing that.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_05: And yet, early on in the season, when you're going on the road a couple time zones away, when the team isn't really established quite yet, you know, you can run into these bad games.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, no, absolutely.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_04: And I I it's just it it may it makes you it makes you wonder like Oregon State had no issue getting up for this game.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_04: And I do wonder if there's a built-in motivation factor of you're hosting uh a ranked team, a team that's been deemed as highly superior to yours, just like just like I'm sure how they felt like in the Houston game too.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_04: Um so they kind of like that built-in build uh bulletin material.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_04: I feel like with us, the whole the entire uh dialogue that surrounded this game was you go and blow them out and get right.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_04: You know, like there's there was I guess there's nothing to put you on edge because it was more or less a scrimmage, maybe in the minds of our players, you know what I mean?
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_04: So it's just like I uh it's it's it makes you wonder where the heck uh was anybody that cared.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, and you could maybe look at this week now as what we thought the team was going to be post-Abilene Christian.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_05: And again, ACU was never in doubt.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_05: There was never a scare, you know, from ACU that we were gonna lose that game.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_05: And so there was a genuine scare that we were going to lose to Oregon State, and maybe that wakes them up.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_05: And I'm really hoping so because you got five days and you got to go play one of the best teams in the Big 12.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_05: So, you know, if anything, we we should be motivated now.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_05: If we're not motivated for Houston, I don't know if we're gonna be motivated.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, so before before we get to Houston, though, let's just let's go ahead and talk about the Oregon State game.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_04: If you had to give it a letter grade, what would you give it?
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_05: D plus.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_04: D plus.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, like failing would have been a loss.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_05: Uh, I think this is your next, like what what from coming from the the educator in the room here, what is a passing grade these days?
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_05: Is it still 70?
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_04: 70, yeah.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_05: Okay, so okay, so I'll give it a 71.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_05: Maybe maybe a C minus.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_05: How about that?
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, C C minus performance.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_04: I gave it a C because like like you said, you know, failing is losing, and you survived, and that's what a C is.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_04: It's surviving.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_04: And you know, it's and I don't want to be doom and gloom either.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_04: Like, yeah, I know we we were coming in here saying we don't want to blow sunshine up.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_04: Everybody's you know not gonna listen to it minds here, but it's on the same foot, you don't want to overdo the gloom either.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_04: Like we didn't we did not lose.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_04: Sure, it kind of feels like a loss in a lot of ways, but sure, I think we all know that a real loss would feel way different ultimately in reality.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, and look, you you showed up in the final minutes.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_05: You you made a great defensive stand, well threw a dot to Koy Akin, and then you know, to put him away, we found Moose Ludwig in the back of the end zone.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_05: So, you know, there was some good stuff at the end of the game when you really needed it, which is important, something good to note.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_05: Um, you know, there were other positives.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_05: Jacoby Williams was a very uh big positive for you.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_05: You're obviously gonna use him moving forward because he has been your most successful running back, and he's a dog, dude.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_05: He's awesome.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_05: Absolutely.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_05: So, you know, there were positives in this.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_04: Yes, absolutely.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_04: Uh, that's that's what I have down to, dude.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_04: I mean, ice in his vein, koi uh Koyakin.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_04: Uh, and dude, just a beautiful ball, like you said, from Will.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_04: Um Jacoby really separating himself like from the other running backs, and we'll we'll talk about that here in a bit.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_04: About the uh disappointment with the other two, I'd say.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_04: Um, but he's arguably your most uh explosive offensive weapon.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_04: And I think that uh TC could absolutely still be in that conversation.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_04: And how much do you think we missed him?
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_04: I think you missed him a lot the other night.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_05: I think you missed him a lot, and more so because he's a guarantee more so than the other guys in this receiving room.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_05: And I think this does and it leads to a bigger kind of discussion of like uh what is Texas Tech?
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, what what is their offense right now?
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_05: Who why can they not figure out their easy stuff?
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_05: You know, like the stuff that should be guaranteed, they're not necessarily completing, and they don't seem very cohesive as a unit.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_05: So TC obviously would help that, um, considering he's been now at Texas Tech for his second year, he's one of the best tight ends in college football, obviously would have helped in this one, but you should have not needed, and you didn't, to give credit, you didn't need Terrence Carter to win this game.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_05: You shouldn't have needed Terrence Carter to win this game.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_05: This is this is that talent differential that we're all talking about with Texas Tech.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_05: It's it's more of a motivation than an execution than you know a talent uh disparity.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, so I think that's the great pivot.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_04: So, I mean, any other positives to talk about before we pivot into our criticisms?
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_04: Because I think just one more positive from me, you've already hit the rest, was um, hey, like you you kind of already pointed out, Will really stepped up when he needed to.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_04: Um, I feel like that kid's got a lot of great focus, and we'll we're gonna talk about that kind of in the cons here in a second, but I know defense got lit the hell up, but they did step up when it was time.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_04: Like it's they still they still held it down whenever they really needed it.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_04: Granted, they did need some help from the sideline, but it's they still they still uh they still stood up whenever they really needed it.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_04: But that was one of the worst defensive performances we've seen in a long time.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_04: Um, but yes, okay, any anything else you've got to say be about the good stuff?
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_05: No, I mean we'll get into it because I think we'll kind of tie it into some of the some of the stuff that we'll talk about, but um yeah, I I would so I want to start off with some of my gripes.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_05: This is it's a gripe and it's and it's not a gripe.
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_05: The line play on both sides was concerning.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_05: Uh, and I'll say that I feel much better about the defensive line than I do the offensive line.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_05: The defensive line is still missing Trey White, who is was going to be and still will potentially be the best transfer, the most highly touted transfer, the most accomplished transfer that we got out of the portal this year, you know?
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_05: And he hasn't played a snap because he's dealing with his knee injury that he suffered a week or so before the season started.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_05: So that gives me hope for more of a pass rush that we will have as the season goes on, once he gets healthy and ready to go.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_05: Um, Ledamian Guyton got in this game.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_05: Obviously, true freshman.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_05: You don't want to throw him into the fire and play him a ton of snaps.
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_05: You want him to get, you know, kind of get his feet under him and figure it out.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_05: But I think him as the season progresses will start to show and be more of a um more of a dominant force for you on the defensive line.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_05: Adam Trick has been extremely disappointing.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_05: There's no way around it.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_05: It's uh it's concerning that he's not getting to the quarterback.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_05: It seems like he's kind of, you know, this either, and I don't want to say one trick pony, but definitely like he's getting some push.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_05: He's just not completing the play.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_05: And you could give this to all of the guys on the defensive line that played so far.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_05: I mean, Jamon Mathis got a couple sacks in the Abilene Christian game, but he was not a factor in Oregon State.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_05: Um, you know, Ansel Nadore was not a uh a factor as well, and he was another guy that the the coaching staff was looking at as as depth pieces, but definitely contributors, and they haven't contributed as much as you'd like them to.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_05: So that I think is more of a power positive outlook on the defensive line.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_05: The offensive line, yikes.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_05: I mean, you have you have everybody.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_05: You have had everybody from the start of this.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_05: You have three, actually, four returners was Zambrano.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_05: I know he didn't play a lot last year, but um, he's still you know returning to the program for his second year.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_05: You bring in Jordan Church, who was actually you know a guy that we thought was going to be a real influence on you.
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_05: Um and you're not getting push against Oregon State.
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_05: Like, what are we doing here, guys?
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_04: Dude, absolutely.
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_04: I I think I was really disappointed in both the lines, uh, personally.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_04: Like, it really drove me crazy watching just to kind of follow your order here.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_04: It was really frustrating watching the D-line shove into the Oregon State O-line, but just never getting there.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_04: Just never getting to the quarterback.
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_04: Uh, they really made the uh the beaver O-line look like Titans out there because they they protected that quarterback who's a baller, by the way.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_04: Um, and uh to give that kid enough time to make the right call every single time, I felt like.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_04: Um, but you never it it never felt like that guy was truly scared, like he never really feared our defensive line and it showed with the his laser focus with the uh the dimes he was dropping, dude.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_04: They eviscerated us through the air.
• 16:51
  SPEAKER_04: Um, so that was incredibly disappointing to me.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_04: Just naturally, what's gonna happen is we're gonna keep looking back to last year, and I know it's not a healthy thing to do with what we had last year, but just that was that would never happen last year.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_04: Last year, uh we have last year's D line, they would be tearing them up.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_04: And it's just it feels like that's taken a massive step back, and it clearly has.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_04: So it it's gonna be a bit of a uh uh recalibration in our minds and hopefully in the coaching staff to uh offset that, find creative ways to make sure that the uh uh we we find ways to keep the offense off kilter.
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_04: But uh like you said, we're still missing some dudes, and maybe that is the key factor.
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_04: Maybe that maybe that's truly I mean you need your starters, that's that's the point of the game, right?
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_04: Play your best players.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_04: But in all the O-line, dude, that was embarrassing.
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_04: Like you you got completely bullied by Oregon State.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_04: You got bullied by dudes who are probably half your size, you know, ultimately.
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_04: That's an exaggeration.
• 17:50
  SPEAKER_04: But I mean, in practice, like you're you're supposed to be, you know, P4, top of the line, O-line, experienced, and you uh unified.
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_04: In the documentary, they talk about how unified this offensive line unit is and how you know they do everything together.
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_04: And it really didn't feel that way.
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_04: You really feel like that was a group of brothers out there, but looked like they're a bunch of goobers, you know, plenty of uh penalties being made, and really not taking care of Will too well.
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_04: I think some of that is on Hammond personally, um, but it's it it really could have been so much better, especially in the run game.
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_04: Like nothing, literally nothing was happening on the inside, dude.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_04: Nothing.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, they were they weren't punching any holes whatsoever for the running back.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, I mean, from pretty much everybody on the O-line outside of Howard Sampson, and even Howard Sampson at times has been disappointing.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_05: But I mean, Pondon has been just a nightmare start to the year for him.
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_05: I I saw a guy who's six foot eight, 315 pounds at our right guard, and Jacob Potton get absolutely manhandled by an Oregon State defensive lineman.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_05: And, you know, he's a junior, I understand, but he started all last year.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_05: You know, he's got the experience that you need, he's got the skill set, the intangibles, he's got, you know, he's getting some NFL butts, and he has not had a good start to the year.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_05: And, you know, you talk about those interior guys, Zambrano and Church are not getting movement on the defensive line to let our interior run game get going.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_05: I don't think Sheridan Wilson's been fantastic.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_05: So it's it's disappointing because this has been a unit that has been here, you know, since the beginning of the offseason.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_05: Like we brought in Jordan Church very early from the transfer portal, but these the rest of these guys they should have a more cohesive uh nature to them, and they don't right now.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_05: And it's uh it's concerning.
• 19:42
  SPEAKER_05: And it very well could be a motivation side of this.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_05: Get mean, get angry, start shoving, and start showing your dominance of being as big and as talented as you are.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_04: Absolutely.
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_04: And it g that was just that was also something that was like uh super hyped up in the preseason, was that this O-line was the real deal, possibly the best we've ever had at Texas Tech.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_04: And clearly that's not the case.
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_04: So I hope A gets better.
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_04: And I think there's reason to believe it should, of course, um, especially at home.
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_04: But it's it's just concerning because you know you have the stable of running backs who are incredible, and you uh you wonder how much you're limiting them with a with poor offensive line play, uh ultimately.
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_04: Um it's good that we have a s a shift, a shifty guy like Jacoby where he can make it work.
• 20:33
  SPEAKER_04: He doesn't necessarily need the incredible O-line to make make magic happen.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_04: But for a guy like Dicky or Joyner, it feels like that might have to be come with the package, you know, with the with the way they their their game plan is.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_04: Um so I guess that maybe that's a good segue here with the while we're on the O-line then.
• 20:48
  SPEAKER_04: So with the running backs, um, obviously I think I think it's clear as day that Jacoby Williams has made it clear that he's your best running back and he will score you the most points possibly of anyone on the team this year.
• 21:00
  SPEAKER_04: So it was really I was really frustrating.
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_04: I'm sure all fans felt this way.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_04: Why was he not getting the ball enough in the first half in the first half?
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_04: Because he seems to make magic happen.
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_04: Um I thought Cam Dickey did fine.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_04: You know, he's he still has that role of being the uh the battering ram, and he he's gonna shove it in on there on the goal line like he did.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_04: Uh, but after outside of that, is he possibly a little one-dimensional?
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_04: I'm starting to get a little concerned if you know if if that's all his game is.
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_04: And with Joyner, I all I saw was like an undisciplined kid that hasn't played in a while.
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_04: So it's it's it's it's a mixed bag there.
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_04: What's your takes?
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_05: So I think I have a take that encompasses everything that we've just talked about.
• 21:41
  SPEAKER_05: And we played a more slowed down tempo this football season.
• 21:47
  SPEAKER_05: Like we were much more high tempo, much more, you know, running uh the most amount we ran the most amount of plays in the Big 12 last year.
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_05: I haven't seen that so far in what we've been trying to do against Abilene Christian, Oregon State.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_05: It's been a more slowed down.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_05: Calculated sort of ball game.
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_05: And the O-line, maybe they're just used to that kind of up-tempo style that we were that we were in last year, similar to the running backs.
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_05: You know, it tires out opposing defensive lines as the season goes on if you're consistently doing that.
• 22:17
  SPEAKER_05: And yeah, you do have the talent that you shouldn't have to play, you know, a sort of gadgety tempo offense.
• 22:23
  SPEAKER_05: But also, hey, maybe that's what you are at Texas.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_05: Maybe you need to do that to really get the best out of all of these different units.
• 22:31
  SPEAKER_04: And maybe you're not as good as you think you are.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_04: You know what I mean?
• 22:34
  SPEAKER_04: Like maybe you do need that of tempo.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_04: Maybe because wherever we were kind of locking in at the end of the game and moving quickly down the field, like that's when we were shining the best the brightest.
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_04: Like whenever we were playing just instinct-wise, not overthinking it, not slowing down too much to to to plan out what's next, just getting there and going.
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_04: Like, I think that's where we shine.
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_05: And I think I think that's what everybody's been doing so far is just overthinking from the coaching staff to the players.
• 22:59
  SPEAKER_05: They're just overthinking what this is.
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_05: Like just put your head down, play football, man.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_04: I I I feel that that that that uh shines the brightest, the overthinking on Maclethwich right now.
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_05: Yep.
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_04: Like we saw some insane stuff out there from him.
• 23:15
  SPEAKER_04: And I I don't mean like um uh what am I looking for?
• 23:19
  SPEAKER_04: I I don't mean I don't mean like awesome insane or uh uh utterly bonkers insane.
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_04: I mean like just strange formations.
• 23:27
  SPEAKER_04: Like super bizarre things, the two quarterback stuff that never works.
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_04: Uh like I mean like literally two quarterbacks on the field at the same time.
• 23:35
  SPEAKER_04: I know um and just getting really weird and cute.
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_04: And it's just like I don't understand the need to get really weird and cute whenever you should outclass this other team in every single way.
• 23:46
  SPEAKER_04: Like, why not just play simple football and have your bet players beat their players?
• 23:51
  SPEAKER_04: Like, that's that's I feel like that's all that would need to be done.
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, I mean, I understand wanting diversity in your offense, wanting different plays, trick plays.
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_05: I understand.
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_05: But you don't need to bust those out right now against these teams.
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_05: You really don't.
• 24:08
  SPEAKER_05: And if you're trying to practice them for using them later on in the year, I think you have a bigger issue than what we were thinking about.
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_05: I hate the two quarterbacks.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_05: I hate it.
• 24:16
  SPEAKER_04: I think the this the subbing or like all the same time, the subbing.
• 24:20
  SPEAKER_05: I I don't like it in general.
• 24:23
  SPEAKER_05: I think you have one quarterback and you play the one quarterback and you figure it out, and that you let the young quarterback in will, I know that you scored on some Tommy Castellano stuff.
• 24:32
  SPEAKER_05: I understand, I get it, and maybe some deep red zone stuff I'm fine with.
• 24:36
  SPEAKER_05: But what is the freaking point when you're on the opposite 30-yard line of throwing in Castellanos for downs one and two and then Will Hammond for the third down?
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_05: There's no consistency, there's no way that Will Hammond is gonna go in there after being on the bench for the whole entire drive to then, you know, all of a sudden make a big play on third down.
• 24:56
  SPEAKER_05: Like, this is it's ridiculous to me.
• 24:58
  SPEAKER_05: If we're gonna use Castellanos, use him in the red zone, and that's it.
• 25:02
  SPEAKER_05: Like, I I don't want to see him.
• 25:04
  SPEAKER_05: I'm sorry.
• 25:05
  SPEAKER_04: That was that was the single most frustrating thing in the game, in my opinion, was that uh game killing drive where we were just like, let's keep it simple, drain the clock, get down, get one more touchdown to put this to bed, but take your sweet time doing so.
• 25:21
  SPEAKER_04: And it was so bizarre.
• 25:23
  SPEAKER_04: I A, the Micah Hudson personal foul, um, but B, the uh putting in Castellanos there, that made no sense.
• 25:32
  SPEAKER_04: Um, and he completely blew it.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_04: He slipped like both times.
• 25:36
  SPEAKER_04: And it's why would you not just give it to your running backs, even if they just get a few yards?
• 25:41
  SPEAKER_04: You know, we don't you don't need to rip them off right now, dude.
• 25:45
  SPEAKER_04: It's it's why why have three running backs that could start anywhere and do that makes my mind break and hurt, and who knows what it does to Will Hammond's like processing the game wise.
• 26:00
  SPEAKER_04: I I I don't I don't I don't know what to think.
• 26:02
  SPEAKER_04: I'm I'm not as gun-ho against the red zone stuff as you are.
• 26:06
  SPEAKER_04: Um, if it works, it works.
• 26:07
  SPEAKER_04: Like, I kind of get the understanding of wanting someone shifty and quick that could just kind of pop it in real quick, but I mean, I think Will will be capable of doing it as well.
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_04: So I understand your frustration.
• 26:18
  SPEAKER_05: Well, and Will's not gonna get any experience if you keep throwing in Castellanos, and it's like, you know, we yeah, Will Hammond is a red shirt sophomore quarterback that still doesn't have a ton of experience under his belt.
• 26:29
  SPEAKER_05: He needs time to figure that stuff out.
• 26:31
  SPEAKER_05: And if you're just gonna go gadget play to Castellanos every time we're in the red zone, you know, that's not gonna be a good look in the long haul for you.
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_05: So I don't know.
• 26:39
  SPEAKER_05: I I and I know Will's still coming back from the injury.
• 26:42
  SPEAKER_05: I understand that there's more minute details that we're not in the day-to-day of all this stuff that the coaching staff is, and I'm not trying to pretend like I'm smarter than Joey Maguire and Mack Lefwich, but it's just like there are moments where you just need to keep it simple and you need to figure this out with your quarterback who is Will Hammond and not Castellanos.
• 27:02
  SPEAKER_05: And I don't know if there's like these with the NIL stuff with bringing in Castellanos.
• 27:08
  SPEAKER_05: Oh, I was promised a certain amount of possessions.
• 27:10
  SPEAKER_05: You never know what all that stuff is, and but to me, you stick with your quarterback, you ride your quarterback until you really, you know, understand that you need to make a change.
• 27:21
  SPEAKER_05: And Will Hammond has not shown that you need to make a change in any part of these first two games.
• 27:25
  SPEAKER_05: So um, I don't know.
• 27:27
  SPEAKER_05: I just get frustrated every time I see four out there.
• 27:30
  SPEAKER_04: You know, I I completely understand, dude.
• 27:31
  SPEAKER_04: So let's go ahead and talk about Will of the quarterback performance here's performances here for a second.
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_04: Um, you know, I know we kind of got a little derailed there.
• 27:39
  SPEAKER_04: That's my fault of moving to the running backs after the O-line.
• 27:42
  SPEAKER_04: Um, but I did want to talk about uh how Will did out there, and I'm not gonna say he did bad.
• 27:47
  SPEAKER_04: Um and but I I feel like he's almost playing with a leash on.
• 27:53
  SPEAKER_04: And I don't know if it's a self-imposed chain or if it's a playbook chain.
• 28:00
  SPEAKER_04: I I'm really confused as to the conservativeness that was done in the game.
• 28:07
  SPEAKER_04: Uh, I obviously understand playing balance.
• 28:09
  SPEAKER_04: You know, you you obviously don't you want to mix between air and ground, and you don't want to make every air ball a deep ball.
• 28:15
  SPEAKER_04: You want dinks and dunks here and there, and you gotta keep it mixed up, but it just felt like he wasn't trusted or didn't trust himself or his receivers to throw it down very much.
• 28:25
  SPEAKER_04: And when he did, a lot of magic happened.
• 28:27
  SPEAKER_04: Like we whenever he whenever he got the ball to some uh to some playmakers, good things happened.
• 28:33
  SPEAKER_04: And you saw that we have receivers who are dogs.
• 28:37
  SPEAKER_04: Obviously, most shining in the in this game was Koi.
• 28:40
  SPEAKER_04: And it's just why not trust you your guy to go up for a one-on-one?
• 28:46
  SPEAKER_04: Why not take a shot a little more often than not?
• 28:49
  SPEAKER_04: Why not see what happens on a short pass to let your receiver see if he can make some guys miss?
• 28:56
  SPEAKER_04: I just I don't know where that mindset was.
• 28:59
  SPEAKER_04: It just felt very conservative.
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_04: And before I pass the mic to you, I just want to say I felt like I was a little frustrated with Will's lack of ability of dipping out of the pocket when he needed to.
• 29:11
  SPEAKER_04: I understand the that's the O-line job to keep him safe, but I really felt like I feel like there's a few instances where he really needed to just roll out and either take off down the field, which he's good at doing, and I know he doesn't want to get hurt, or find a short pass and get out of it, or even just throw it away.
• 29:25
  SPEAKER_04: Like I he just took unnecessary sacks that I think that were a bit his fault as well.
• 29:31
  SPEAKER_05: So I'll say this about Will.
• 29:32
  SPEAKER_05: He he just needs to play more loose.
• 29:34
  SPEAKER_05: That's what he needs to do.
• 29:35
  SPEAKER_05: Joey said it in the presser uh right after the game.
• 29:38
  SPEAKER_05: He said Will needs to take more shots, he needs to just be more confident in in trying stuff because there are moments that, hey, not necessarily the most open, but go let Micah Hudson go try to make a catch here.
• 29:50
  SPEAKER_05: Right.
• 29:50
  SPEAKER_05: You know, put it, put it where you need to put it and let your receiver try to make a play.
• 29:54
  SPEAKER_05: You know, when TC's back, that's gonna be a guy that you need to do that too.
• 29:58
  SPEAKER_05: So it's I think it's a combination, right?
• 30:01
  SPEAKER_05: He's not he's still coming back from a major injury.
• 30:04
  SPEAKER_05: Getting back, getting back into the flow of things takes time.
• 30:07
  SPEAKER_05: And especially for a younger quarterback who doesn't have a lot of snaps in college football, it's gonna take him some time.
• 30:12
  SPEAKER_05: So I I have a lot more uh leeway for Will Hammond than I would for a more experienced player.
• 30:19
  SPEAKER_05: That being said, you have to let it fly.
• 30:22
  SPEAKER_05: You have to like you're going to have to get over that at some point if you want this team to do what it's going to do, you know, take them as far as you will go, Will Hammond.
• 30:32
  SPEAKER_05: So um, I also think, you know, going back to the Castellanos MacLeffich stuff, I think it throws him off.
• 30:38
  SPEAKER_05: I think you would throw off any quarterback when you're constantly switching in and out of possessions, and you're just kind of, you know, you're like, okay, I I'm going in, but now it's third and 12, or okay, I guess I'm starting this drive, and then maybe they'll throw in Tommy.
• 30:50
  SPEAKER_05: Like, I just that your mental stuff is not there for you as a as a quarterback.
• 30:57
  SPEAKER_05: And um, you know, but uh again, Will made some great plays, you know.
• 31:01
  SPEAKER_05: That that throw to Koy Akin gets you excited for what Will Hammond can be.
• 31:06
  SPEAKER_05: It just needs to be more consistent and it needs to be like he needs to just take more shots.
• 31:11
  SPEAKER_05: Like last year, I was like, Baron, don't take shots, throw it out of bounds, do whatever, like get rid of the ball, do whatever you can.
• 31:18
  SPEAKER_05: The team around you is good enough to where you can win the game.
• 31:21
  SPEAKER_05: Now, this year, Will, you're gonna take some shots, dude, because I don't think we have the defense that we had last year.
• 31:28
  SPEAKER_05: Easily, like, I think it's maybe hopefully 75% of that, if possible.
• 31:34
  SPEAKER_05: So, yeah, I mean, Will's Will's gonna have to do more than what Barron did last year, and he's gonna have to get more confident with that deep ball.
• 31:41
  SPEAKER_04: Which is a lot to ask for a younger kid.
• 31:43
  SPEAKER_04: Like, Barron was a seasoned veteran, and so in we're gonna we're probably gonna see a lot throughout the season of like, oh, I miss you, dude.
• 31:49
  SPEAKER_04: To Barron, it's gonna be that classic.
• 31:51
  SPEAKER_04: We didn't treat you well enough while you're here, um, even though you're one of the greatest quarterbacks in school history.
• 31:56
  SPEAKER_04: So, um, but it's I really I'm sure Will has that in him, and I'm not saying that he doesn't.
• 32:01
  SPEAKER_04: I just I think we're seeing a lot of youth out there.
• 32:03
  SPEAKER_04: I think we're seeing a guy that might be a little rattled from his injury still, you know, and it's just like you said, perhaps overthinking everything.
• 32:10
  SPEAKER_04: And and I'm not sure if the playbook is doing him a lot of favors.
• 32:12
  SPEAKER_04: I think right now the most disliked guy in Lubbock, Texas is Macwell Leftwich right now.
• 32:17
  SPEAKER_04: Yep, and we as Red Raider fans turn on OCs very quickly.
• 32:21
  SPEAKER_04: We saw that with Zach Kitley.
• 32:23
  SPEAKER_04: Um, and now we're gonna we're we're seeing a bit here with Mac.
• 32:26
  SPEAKER_04: And whether that's right or wrong, I mean, that's it remains to be seen.
• 32:30
  SPEAKER_04: But he's paid a lot of money to figure this out, and he's about to play what is probably the best defense you see all year upcoming here and uh in Friday.
• 32:37
  SPEAKER_04: And like you were just saying, Will's gonna have to take shots, and dude, I think he's gonna have to take shots against the Cougars.
• 32:44
  SPEAKER_04: Um, I don't know if we'll be able to rely on a run game against that awesome D-line they have.
• 32:48
  SPEAKER_04: Their defense is awesome, so you're gonna have to play gutsy to make this happen, especially because, dude, their their D might be better than ours.
• 32:56
  SPEAKER_04: So it's we we might have to lean in a little harder on making magic happen.
• 33:02
  SPEAKER_04: So that's the word of the day for me, I guess.
• 33:04
  SPEAKER_04: But all in all, it's it's hard to be disappointed with Will.
• 33:07
  SPEAKER_04: He did what needed to be done to win the game, but it's just like you said, I want to see the kid a little loosen up a little bit.
• 33:13
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, and I think I you shouldn't be overly critical of Will Hammond.
• 33:16
  SPEAKER_05: Anybody that's listening to this should not be overly critical of Will Hammond.
• 33:20
  SPEAKER_05: I think he's been okay.
• 33:21
  SPEAKER_05: He hasn't necessarily been, you know, this elite quarterback that we were hoping to see.
• 33:25
  SPEAKER_05: I think when everybody looks at Will Hammond, they want to see second half Utah and they just want to see that all game.
• 33:31
  SPEAKER_05: Like that's just it's not gonna happen.
• 33:32
  SPEAKER_05: That's not gonna be him all game.
• 33:34
  SPEAKER_05: He's still coming back and he's still figuring his stuff out.
• 33:36
  SPEAKER_05: So um we'll see how he plays.
• 33:39
  SPEAKER_04: I think that's like I that's a good point.
• 33:40
  SPEAKER_04: I just like you kind of see the haunting of him flying around whenever he was in, whenever in his in his uh his his years, uh last year's games, because you know, whenever uh Barron was out and he was flying around, dude.
• 33:51
  SPEAKER_04: He was playing loose, and but it's I I think that's kind of a rattle from unfortunately what happened, but we'll see.
• 33:59
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, for sure.
• 34:00
  SPEAKER_05: Um I had a couple more things I wanted to touch on for Oregon State before we get to Houston.
• 34:05
  SPEAKER_05: Um I just think you're underwhelmed by a lot of your defensive transfers right now, from Austin Romain to Adam Trick to Mateen or Iber Rogue, I think is how you say it.
• 34:18
  SPEAKER_05: These guys just aren't I and and you know, we had the cream of the crop last year.
• 34:24
  SPEAKER_05: We had David Bailey, Lee Hunter, Ramelo Height, Skylar Gill Howard, like all these unreal transfers, you know, that were coming in.
• 34:32
  SPEAKER_05: And you're not gonna hit on the high rate that we did last year, every single year.
• 34:37
  SPEAKER_05: It's not gonna happen all the time.
• 34:39
  SPEAKER_05: But what you're hoping for from Austin Romain is 75% of Jacob Rodriguez, and he's not been that.
• 34:46
  SPEAKER_05: Adam Trick, you're hoping for you know, 75-80% of Romello Height, and I don't think you're getting that, you know, and you're hoping Trey White is more of your David Bailey replacement, and then you know, Mateen, you want him to be 75% of Lee Hunter, and he's not right now.
• 35:03
  SPEAKER_05: So you need everybody to come in here and make up for all the lost talent that you lost to the draft last year, and it's just been disappointing because you haven't seen it.
• 35:14
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, absolutely, dude.
• 35:15
  SPEAKER_04: And credit before we leave here, I do want to want to give a little more credit back to working state.
• 35:21
  SPEAKER_04: Like they play, they played hard, dude.
• 35:22
  SPEAKER_04: That was they they played their their asses off, and their coaches called a phenomenal game.
• 35:28
  SPEAKER_06: Yep.
• 35:29
  SPEAKER_04: Like, and they they kept that that they had those boys out there playing loose, and they were just backyard football in it, having a blast against us, dude.
• 35:37
  SPEAKER_04: And it really showed.
• 35:39
  SPEAKER_04: And it's a shame to think that maybe those players will not be there at Oregon State next year, but it's a testament to how good they are.
• 35:45
  SPEAKER_04: So it's they're there, they're cooking over there in Corvallis, and I think we got really lucky in a lot of ways between the sideline giving us a lot of help, and they they slipped, they dropped a lot of catches too.
• 35:56
  SPEAKER_04: Like they had some dimes in that pocket.
• 35:57
  SPEAKER_04: I'm sure that ball was wet and just slipped on through because they could have got some tutties out of those.
• 36:02
  SPEAKER_04: So it's they've played their asses off, and but beaver tail is a delicacy, Steven, and we were able to get a little nibble of it.
• 36:10
  SPEAKER_05: Jesse Legree's incredible, and that dude is going to be, I mean, he's gonna be at some SEC school next year, probably, or Big Ten school, Ohio State or something.
• 36:18
  SPEAKER_05: Texas Tech.
• 36:19
  SPEAKER_05: Because, well, we can only hope.
• 36:22
  SPEAKER_05: 240 yards, two touchdowns on eight catches for him as a true freshman, by the way, at Oregon State.
• 36:29
  SPEAKER_05: And then, yeah, Atkinson's a dude.
• 36:31
  SPEAKER_05: Like, he is so he's a gamer.
• 36:34
  SPEAKER_05: He's just got that like confidence and bravado to him that he's not even phased.
• 36:40
  SPEAKER_05: Because we did get to him at times.
• 36:42
  SPEAKER_05: We didn't complete the play, but he definitely had pressure on him throughout the game, and he just made the right play.
• 36:48
  SPEAKER_05: He escaped the pocket or he just got the ball out and and dropped absolute dimes.
• 36:53
  SPEAKER_04: I I got I gotta say, I'm sure it's a bit of an advantage of being that underdog as well.
• 36:57
  SPEAKER_04: Of just like let it let it all hang out, dude.
• 37:00
  SPEAKER_04: Because you know, you don't have a season to save.
• 37:02
  SPEAKER_04: You're just looking your goal this year is to make some noise in the pack-12.
• 37:06
  SPEAKER_04: It's it's obviously not meant to make the playoff anymore.
• 37:08
  SPEAKER_04: So they just let it all hang out.
• 37:10
  SPEAKER_04: And it's um maybe the scoach is they they got their shepherd is is a is a guy.
• 37:14
  SPEAKER_04: So we'll we'll love to keep an eye on them.
• 37:16
  SPEAKER_04: So just hats off to Corvallis.
• 37:18
  SPEAKER_04: Um, all right, man.
• 37:19
  SPEAKER_04: What about what about this week?
• 37:22
  SPEAKER_04: The talking tech special.
• 37:24
  SPEAKER_05: I need to give one more gripe.
• 37:26
  SPEAKER_05: Oh, please, please.
• 37:27
  SPEAKER_05: You already mentioned it earlier today, but the the unsportsmanlike stuff is oh yeah, inexcusable.
• 37:34
  SPEAKER_05: I mean, freaking like joiner at the beginning of the second half and Hudson in in the heat of the fourth quarter, four minutes left in the game.
• 37:42
  SPEAKER_05: I mean, he is the reason they got the ball back and had a chance to go score.
• 37:46
  SPEAKER_05: So you can't do that.
• 37:48
  SPEAKER_05: And that is so that's such a it's an immature and uh quite frankly, idiotic play from both of those guys.
• 37:55
  SPEAKER_05: I mean, it's like I know this is a physical game, but after the whistle blows, no leave.
• 38:02
  SPEAKER_05: Don't you don't need that, you don't need that in any capacity.
• 38:05
  SPEAKER_05: And the joiner drive we ended up scoring on, so not that big a deal, but the the mica stuff that was ridiculous.
• 38:12
  SPEAKER_04: Dude, you're a five-star receiver, and you probably shoved a two-star back, you know, like this is this is this is really the the hill you want to die on, is just is shoving shoving a kid who's getting in your head.
• 38:25
  SPEAKER_04: You let him win.
• 38:27
  SPEAKER_04: You know, it's just you gotta you gotta be more mentally fortitude than that.
• 38:30
  SPEAKER_04: I know that might not be his strong suit right now.
• 38:34
  SPEAKER_04: I hope he grows and matures to uh get past that, but it's hard not to criticize him where he nearly lost us the game or something that wasn't on the field, like as in game time.
• 38:43
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, it's a horrible look.
• 38:44
  SPEAKER_05: There's not really much more to say other than just don't do it because it's the most easy, easy to avoid penalty in football.
• 38:51
  SPEAKER_05: Um, the secondary mishaps were concerning for Texas Tech.
• 38:55
  SPEAKER_05: It's uh, you know, Oregon State had one guy on the receiving core, and he absolutely tore you up in every sense of the word.
• 39:03
  SPEAKER_05: Um, Peyton Morgan, I mean, he's just been extremely underwhelming, like just uh uh a really, really tough start to the year for the kid.
• 39:11
  SPEAKER_05: And I know it's his first year starting, he's young, sophomore.
• 39:15
  SPEAKER_05: I get it, it hasn't looked good.
• 39:17
  SPEAKER_05: And we've seen guys in that position that have not started off strong ended up being really good in that position.
• 39:23
  SPEAKER_05: Think of Rabbit, think of um, you know, uh, what am I thinking of now?
• 39:27
  SPEAKER_05: Uh there's another one I had in my head.
• 39:30
  SPEAKER_05: Um, oh well, there's there's been plenty of safeties that are starting for their first time, trying to get their feet under them, and they just haven't figured it out early.
• 39:38
  SPEAKER_05: And I'm hoping that's what where Morgan's at right now.
• 39:41
  SPEAKER_05: I know he got a little dinged up in the game, too.
• 39:43
  SPEAKER_05: But um, you know, I knew I knew losing Cole Wisnesky was going to be a bigger deal than what people were talking about, because they really weren't talking about it at all.
• 39:53
  SPEAKER_05: He was such a key piece in that secondary for you, and so was Brendan Jordan.
• 39:59
  SPEAKER_05: And because of this mysterious team rules violation, that it's frustrating for me because you don't know what it is, and I know why the team doesn't want to, you know, necessarily come out and say why he's suspended, but for one of the top returning guys you have on this defense, and one of the guys that you are expecting to be, you know, uh a high-level you know team leader for this defense to get suspended for team rules violation out of nowhere, right before ACU when we discover this, it's like uh what what is happening right now?
• 40:36
  SPEAKER_05: And then you go and you see, and and you know, Escara, I think, has been fine in replacing him, but he still missed some stuff.
• 40:42
  SPEAKER_05: So it's just really young right now, and you just need to you need to get better, and I hope BJ's better in in the Houston game.
• 40:50
  SPEAKER_04: Steven, I I think that so much of that like non-tangible stuff plays a real factor into this year's Texas Tech football team because you have a massive spotlight on you.
• 41:02
  SPEAKER_04: Like you are being talked about as a legit playoff contender these days, and that's of course completely new to our team, or at least hasn't been that sort of circulation a very long time.
• 41:12
  SPEAKER_04: Um but and you're you're starting to see a lot of unfortunate nonsense off the field within our program, and most of it's been bad.
• 41:22
  SPEAKER_04: And it I feel like it's hard to understate how much that can shake the psyche of the team.
• 41:31
  SPEAKER_04: Whenever things aren't buttoned up and the uh the the strong culture seems to falter a bit, it it it translates to on-the-field production as well.
• 41:41
  SPEAKER_04: And you know, Joe, of course, is a culture guy, and I'm not saying he's lost control or anything like that, but every new year brings new troubles.
• 41:48
  SPEAKER_04: Last year didn't have the pressure that this year this team does.
• 41:52
  SPEAKER_04: And it's just are you capable of standing up to it?
• 41:56
  SPEAKER_04: Or are you gonna let both on and off the field troubles grind you down?
• 42:00
  SPEAKER_05: Mm-hmm.
• 42:02
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, it's it's a choice in the end for each and every one of those guys, but it's it's a really difficult thing to do to bring together, you know, an entire team, an entire locker room based upon some of the stuff that Texas Tech had to deal with this offseason.
• 42:15
  SPEAKER_05: So yeah, that's definitely something good to point out.
• 42:18
  SPEAKER_05: Um, but again, you know, we're two games in.
• 42:22
  SPEAKER_05: So I'm trying to, you know, we're two and oh.
• 42:25
  SPEAKER_05: We could have definitely you know been in like Oregon shoes or something like that right now, where we're just like, whoa, we just lost a game that we were, you know, 20 plus or or 15 plus, whatever we were, uh Daw or uh favorites in that one.
• 42:40
  SPEAKER_05: And uh I think you're you're never gonna apologize for being two and oh, absolutely not, and on the road, of course.
• 42:46
  SPEAKER_04: And uh another thing to note on that same theme is elite teams struggle with teams that they're not supposed to all the time.
• 42:54
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, you just don't really think about it anymore because at the end of the season, oh, they had a 10 10 win record, so who cares?
• 43:00
  SPEAKER_04: You know, so at the end of the day, and so I think that's important to keep in mind that every game is an isolated event, and you're there to win.
• 43:08
  SPEAKER_04: And as long as you keep winning, who cares if it's ugly at the end of the day?
• 43:13
  SPEAKER_04: I don't personally.
• 43:14
  SPEAKER_04: Sure, it's more fun when you're blowing the doors off of everybody, but that's a fantasy land.
• 43:18
  SPEAKER_04: And I don't think we can count on that happening every damn time, and especially with the Big 12, the Big 12 looks better this year than it does last year.
• 43:25
  SPEAKER_04: So it's it's gonna be a tougher route, this, this, this go-around.
• 43:28
  SPEAKER_04: So I think as fans, we have a bit of a responsibility to put our expectations into check about what this is gonna look like.
• 43:35
  SPEAKER_04: And as long as the wins keep coming and we keep packing the Jones to make that home field advantage something, then I think we can perhaps lend a little patience and grace to what it looks like at the end of the day, you know, how the sausage is made.
• 43:49
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
• 43:49
  SPEAKER_05: No, that's a good point.
• 43:50
  SPEAKER_05: I mean, I'm I'm trying to look back at some of the previous national champions and some of the underwhelming games.
• 43:55
  SPEAKER_05: I mean, the twenty twenty four Ohio State Buckeyes that won the national championship.
• 44:00
  SPEAKER_05: They played Nebraska at home, only one by four points.
• 44:04
  SPEAKER_05: And that was bad, bad Nebraska.
• 44:06
  SPEAKER_05: Like, and they're still not great, but bad Nebraska.
• 44:10
  SPEAKER_05: Um, I I even think Indiana last year I want to say they struggled.
• 44:14
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, I mean, they played Old Dominion the first game of the season and they won 27-14.
• 44:20
  SPEAKER_05: So, like teams struggle early on in the season.
• 44:23
  SPEAKER_05: That's not, you know, we're we're not dogging Texas Tech necessarily for having some early season struggles.
• 44:29
  SPEAKER_05: It's just been really disappointing to watch considering what we're looking at, like who we're watching, the amount of talent on this team.
• 44:36
  SPEAKER_04: And talking heads can overstate like the talent disparities between teams as well.
• 44:41
  SPEAKER_04: Like, we're still talking about D1 players, like dudes who are at college to play football and competitors.
• 44:47
  SPEAKER_04: They want to win these games.
• 44:49
  SPEAKER_04: So, like, sure, you can have a better player every single position, but any day, man, any day could be tight or you can slip.
• 44:56
  SPEAKER_04: So, it's it's uh it's just something to keep in mind.
• 44:59
  SPEAKER_04: Um, I'm glad we got the win, and I hope that we don't even remember this game at the end of the season in a good way.
• 45:05
  SPEAKER_05: It'll go down as a double-digit win for the Red Raiders.
• 45:07
  SPEAKER_04: Uh the score line doesn't look that bad.
• 45:10
  SPEAKER_05: No, I mean, yeah, you got the I I was happy for Moose on the on the final play.
• 45:14
  SPEAKER_05: True freshman play.
• 45:15
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, thank you for pointing that out.
• 45:16
  SPEAKER_05: Catching the catching the TV.
• 45:17
  SPEAKER_05: That was that was cool.
• 45:18
  SPEAKER_05: Pissippy boy.
• 45:19
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, no, and he's and he's a huge part of your team for the future.
• 45:22
  SPEAKER_05: So you know, he's he's your next TC.
• 45:25
  SPEAKER_05: I mean, potentially next year, you know, we're gonna be seeing a lot of Moose Ludwigs Ludwig.
• 45:30
  SPEAKER_05: So um let's talk Houston.
• 45:32
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 45:33
  SPEAKER_05: 7 p.m.
• 45:35
  SPEAKER_05: Friday night on the 18th of September on Big Fox, or as uh Austin McGonagall would point out, Diesel Fox.
• 45:43
  SPEAKER_05: Diesel.
• 45:45
  SPEAKER_05: Diesel Fox.
• 45:47
  SPEAKER_05: Um Friday night game.
• 45:49
  SPEAKER_05: What are your thoughts?
• 45:51
  SPEAKER_04: Um I thank God it's at home.
• 45:53
  SPEAKER_04: And thank God we're going home because I think this team is missing some some uh spark that can come from off the field.
• 46:00
  SPEAKER_04: And uh thank God I think the Jones will be packed to the brim and loud because I think most tech fans understand that this is the most important game of the season, which I still think it is.
• 46:13
  SPEAKER_04: And I would be lying if I said I'm not way more nervous about it now than I was at the beginning of the season.
• 46:20
  SPEAKER_04: Um, Houston has put together a strong season so far.
• 46:24
  SPEAKER_04: I mean, they had a very similar uh showing against Oregon State that we did, so perhaps that gives you uh insight into maybe how even we are, which I bet we are, honestly.
• 46:34
  SPEAKER_04: Um so I in I foresee an incredibly close and physical chippy game on Friday night.
• 46:44
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, I agree.
• 46:45
  SPEAKER_05: Um I was always this was always my most difficult game on our schedule, just based upon who Houston is.
• 46:54
  SPEAKER_05: Um the Friday night, I don't love it, but it I also don't think that's gonna be a major factor.
• 46:59
  SPEAKER_05: Like like you said, I think there's gonna be a great crowd there.
• 47:02
  SPEAKER_05: It'll probably be a color or a uh I think it's a blackout.
• 47:05
  SPEAKER_05: I want to say it's a blackout, yep.
• 47:07
  SPEAKER_05: I think it's a blackout, but uh yeah, and I mean it's yeah, it's it's definitely a blackout.
• 47:12
  SPEAKER_05: So that's confirmed.
• 47:15
  SPEAKER_05: Um, but it's a ranked on ranked, you know, number 13 tech, number 22 Houston.
• 47:20
  SPEAKER_05: Uh, they're two of the five teams in the AP poll that did not move up or down from last year's round.
• 47:26
  SPEAKER_03: I can't believe that.
• 47:27
  SPEAKER_05: So Houston, I mean, Houston played Southern.
• 47:30
  SPEAKER_05: So, you know, what do you think?
• 47:31
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, I know, but I'm surprised.
• 47:32
  SPEAKER_04: I'm surprised we weren't punished a little bit.
• 47:33
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I would have been mad if we were either.
• 47:36
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, I mean, I was surprised too by it as well.
• 47:38
  SPEAKER_04: Uh I think BYU is the better team in the conference right now.
• 47:41
  SPEAKER_04: Well, BYU's BYU's above you.
• 47:43
  SPEAKER_04: Oh, they are okay.
• 47:44
  SPEAKER_04: They moved above us.
• 47:45
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, yeah, they moved above uh and they had a great win against Arizona, so obviously they deserve um the early season solid win.
• 47:53
  SPEAKER_05: But um Willie Fritz, third year with the program.
• 47:56
  SPEAKER_05: Um, this is a really good Houston ball club.
• 47:59
  SPEAKER_05: It's it's very, very well put together, well coached, uh, a lot of good skill position players on this team, a lot of good players on this defense from the secondary down to the defensive line.
• 48:09
  SPEAKER_05: Um, you know, if you thought we struggled with uh with Legree, Amari Thomas is terrifying to me.
• 48:17
  SPEAKER_05: And he's an all-around playmaker.
• 48:19
  SPEAKER_05: Like you can see him in the slot, you can see him on the outside.
• 48:21
  SPEAKER_05: Like they they kind of position him everywhere, and he will get the ball.
• 48:26
  SPEAKER_05: So just expect to uh to see a lot of Amari Thomas against the Texas Tech Red Raiders, and I hope we have a uh a good game plan for him.
• 48:34
  SPEAKER_05: But um, you know, Mikai Hughes is another guy, running back, transferred in from Oregon, but was with Willie Fritz prior at two lane and has had a really good start to the year.
• 48:43
  SPEAKER_05: Really talented guy on the ground.
• 48:45
  SPEAKER_05: Um, Overmeyer, their tight end, is is a really nice pass catching force for them.
• 48:50
  SPEAKER_05: And then Wegman throwing the ball.
• 48:52
  SPEAKER_05: I mean, he's a solid quarterback.
• 48:54
  SPEAKER_05: He's not, I don't think you're looking at Connor Wegman and saying he's the best in the Big 12, but you're looking at him and saying he's probably top five, you know.
• 49:00
  SPEAKER_04: And he's got top five, top seven.
• 49:03
  SPEAKER_05: Absolutely.
• 49:04
  SPEAKER_05: So he's a he's a more than capable, solid quarterback that can that has been in opposing environments before in uh raucous crowds and can you know potentially lead his team to a win.
• 49:14
  SPEAKER_05: Um, it's it's just a really solid team.
• 49:17
  SPEAKER_05: It's it's uh it's scary to me.
• 49:20
  SPEAKER_05: I I I agree with you that I'm really happy that this is in Lubbock, Texas right now because you need some juice from the crowd and you need to feed off of it in every sense of it.
• 49:29
  SPEAKER_05: So from opening whistle to final whistle, you need to be motivated.
• 49:35
  SPEAKER_05: And you I want to see like yelling on the field.
• 49:38
  SPEAKER_05: I didn't see that in Corvallis.
• 49:39
  SPEAKER_05: And I know that that's not I know that that's not everything.
• 49:42
  SPEAKER_05: I know that you know having a guy that yells after making a big play is not necessarily conducive to uh a great player, but you need more of that.
• 49:51
  SPEAKER_05: You need some guys to just be out there and yelling and screaming and hyping up your players on the sideline and getting ready to go make another big play.
• 49:58
  SPEAKER_05: So I I I would love to see that.
• 50:01
  SPEAKER_04: I'm with you, dude.
• 50:02
  SPEAKER_04: And it's it's kind of funny, dude.
• 50:04
  SPEAKER_04: Legree, like that guy was the best receiver in their game, too.
• 50:09
  SPEAKER_04: So I really hope.
• 50:10
  SPEAKER_04: He's a great player.
• 50:11
  SPEAKER_04: He is.
• 50:12
  SPEAKER_04: Um, I really hope that that evisceration that kid gave us gave us plenty of tape for Wood to work with.
• 50:22
  SPEAKER_04: Because we gotta learn how to lock down a star receiver.
• 50:25
  SPEAKER_04: Because these will not be the last ones we see.
• 50:28
  SPEAKER_04: And it's incredibly frustrating as a fan, and probably even more so as a pla as a as players on a team, to watch one guy, one guy do it all.
• 50:37
  SPEAKER_04: So it's I really hope that we're able to lock down any threat, like you kind of like you were pointing out with with Houston's receivers.
• 50:44
  SPEAKER_04: Um, but I I I do think that it's going to be a passing game.
• 50:50
  SPEAKER_06: Yep.
• 50:51
  SPEAKER_04: I think both teams, uh obviously that someone's gonna try to establish the run, but these defenses are too good, or I hope ours is too good, to allow the uh the other team to just run it up on them the whole time.
• 51:02
  SPEAKER_04: So I think you're gonna see a lot of shots made with with it through the air.
• 51:06
  SPEAKER_04: So I envision a classic Big 12 air raid battle between between these two teams, even though that's probably not the way they want to play.
• 51:15
  SPEAKER_04: But I think we're gonna have to force each other into that uh way of scoring points.
• 51:20
  SPEAKER_04: Um I think this is gonna come down to the wire.
• 51:23
  SPEAKER_04: I think we're only gonna win by three points.
• 51:25
  SPEAKER_04: So, and I think where every point's gonna be sweet, sweet relief.
• 51:30
  SPEAKER_04: Nothing's gonna be earned easily.
• 51:32
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, I mean, I think that's a fair take.
• 51:34
  SPEAKER_05: I do think it's gonna be a tight game no matter what.
• 51:37
  SPEAKER_05: Um, I would be surprised if either team ran away with it.
• 51:41
  SPEAKER_05: I really would.
• 51:41
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
• 51:42
  SPEAKER_05: Um I I'm really interested to see how Mikai Hughes does because this is a good running back.
• 51:48
  SPEAKER_05: We haven't faced a good running back yet.
• 51:49
  SPEAKER_05: Oregon State does not have good running backs.
• 51:51
  SPEAKER_05: Avalon Christian sure as shit.
• 51:53
  SPEAKER_05: Oh, well, Broom, I'll give Broom credit.
• 51:55
  SPEAKER_05: Solid, but not this level, not Mikai Hughes level of running back.
• 52:00
  SPEAKER_05: So and offensive line is much improved at Houston.
• 52:03
  SPEAKER_05: So it's um it's gonna be a dog fight.
• 52:06
  SPEAKER_05: I I can't with confidence say that I think Texas Tech's gonna win this game.
• 52:11
  SPEAKER_03: Um I think we're gonna lose.
• 52:14
  SPEAKER_05: I that again, I think a lot of this is motivation and confidence.
• 52:20
  SPEAKER_05: Like I really do think the talent on this team is superior to most in the Big 12, not just Oregon State or ACU, most in the Big 12.
• 52:29
  SPEAKER_05: We just need to see that mean, that tenacity, that anger come out on the defense.
• 52:35
  SPEAKER_05: Um, and then on offense, you just need to take more shots and be more confident in your receivers and your and your catching game.
• 52:41
  SPEAKER_05: But um yeah, I'm I can't in in good faith, after the first two games that we've watched from Texas Tech, expect us to go beat Houston.
• 52:52
  SPEAKER_05: I I don't think it's gonna happen.
• 52:54
  SPEAKER_05: But hell, we're back in Levick, Texas.
• 52:57
  SPEAKER_05: The energy's flowing, you're riding off of that, and you're finally showing some stuff, and Will's taking more shots and feeling more confident, change up the game plan uh on both sides, and I think uh I think you could see a red raider win here.
• 53:08
  SPEAKER_05: I'm not saying it's it's an automatic L, but I I I'm not gonna expect them to win.
• 53:13
  SPEAKER_04: That's I think that's a completely fair take.
• 53:15
  SPEAKER_04: Honestly, dude, my brain is saying so hard that we're not gonna win this game.
• 53:19
  SPEAKER_05: Sure.
• 53:20
  SPEAKER_04: But my heart is saying like they're gonna figure it out just enough to get over this hump, and it'll be a big statement confidence building win.
• 53:30
  SPEAKER_04: Start well, I think you're gonna start seeing the team turn a corner and really start to understand who they are and their philosophies on offense and their tenacities on defense.
• 53:39
  SPEAKER_04: So I really I really think you're gonna start seeing that.
• 53:41
  SPEAKER_04: Um, it's gonna sound a little cliche, but it's kind of funny that you're pointing out like we need we need some more uh bright spots.
• 53:48
  SPEAKER_04: We kind of need more highlight reels.
• 53:50
  SPEAKER_04: You know what I mean?
• 53:51
  SPEAKER_04: Like we haven't really seen much to get super excited about, like it's you off the couch, you know, um jumping up and down.
• 53:57
  SPEAKER_04: Um so I would like to see a little more of that.
• 53:59
  SPEAKER_04: I don't know if the season defense is gonna let it happen too much, but you gotta take shots to even see if it can.
• 54:05
  SPEAKER_04: Um the good news is I think if this is a slug fest where it's just ugly, you have a dude at kicker.
• 54:14
  SPEAKER_04: So if it has to come down to just taking points when you can get them, I think that's actually perhaps an ideal game for Texas Tech.
• 54:22
  SPEAKER_04: Like if it if it comes down to a kicking duel, I'm all in on us winning this game.
• 54:27
  SPEAKER_04: Because I do think we can get close enough for him to kick a 50-yard field goal.
• 54:32
  SPEAKER_04: So yeah, it's it's worth it.
• 54:34
  SPEAKER_04: That's a that's a good fallback, thankfully.
• 54:37
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, he was very close to what was that, 60?
• 54:39
  SPEAKER_05: He he had the aim.
• 54:41
  SPEAKER_05: He tried, yeah, he had the aim.
• 54:42
  SPEAKER_05: He was there.
• 54:43
  SPEAKER_05: It was a little shorts.
• 54:45
  SPEAKER_05: And in a wet and rainy environment, too.
• 54:46
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
• 54:47
  SPEAKER_05: Doing that, like that's that's impressive.
• 54:48
  SPEAKER_04: Stones a guy straight down the line, dude.
• 54:52
  SPEAKER_05: And and I'll give Will Carroll, I'll give Will Carroll a lot of credit to punter.
• 54:56
  SPEAKER_05: He had a great game.
• 54:57
  SPEAKER_05: You know, he put he put a few of those right inside the 10.
• 54:59
  SPEAKER_05: I mean, really, really solid performance, and you love having those guys on your team when you need them, especially for games like Houston.
• 55:06
  SPEAKER_04: Uh I will say I don't want him punting seven times again.
• 55:10
  SPEAKER_05: No, no, you never do.
• 55:12
  SPEAKER_05: You never want to see him, but then when he's out there, you're you hope it's a good one.
• 55:16
  SPEAKER_05: So for sure.
• 55:17
  SPEAKER_05: Um, yeah, I mean, I I'd probably say I'd probably say Houston by three, but ultimately what I want to see out of this is a little more up tempo and a little more confidence in on both sides of the ball for for Texas Tech to pull this one out.
• 55:32
  SPEAKER_04: Look, brother, I want we need to keep that Houston streak going.
• 55:34
  SPEAKER_04: All right.
• 55:35
  SPEAKER_04: Absolutely.
• 55:35
  SPEAKER_04: We don't let them win anything.
• 55:37
  SPEAKER_04: No, so we can't do it.
• 55:39
  SPEAKER_04: Let's keep let's keep that rolling, brother.
• 55:41
  SPEAKER_04: Um, because but I mean I think the winner of this game has a bright future in the conference this year, whenever it comes to meeting in Arlington.
• 55:49
  SPEAKER_04: So it's I hate that it's against the Kooks, but hey man, rivalries are the best games anyway.
• 55:56
  SPEAKER_04: Let's go get it.
• 55:57
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, and it's not a it's not a make or break.
• 56:00
  SPEAKER_05: I hate saying it's like one of those make or break games because it's the third game of the season.
• 56:04
  SPEAKER_05: You have Sam Houston coming in right after that.
• 56:06
  SPEAKER_05: Like you have real Houston.
• 56:08
  SPEAKER_05: Better Houston.
• 56:10
  SPEAKER_05: Real Houston.
• 56:11
  SPEAKER_05: Um and you have a get right after it.
• 56:15
  SPEAKER_05: So you, you know, even if you lose to Houston, it's not like season's over, everything's ruined, but also you're going in with a lot, a lot better motivation if you're coming off a win against Houston to go into big school play after Sam.
• 56:28
  SPEAKER_05: But um yeah, man, it's uh it'll be interesting.
• 56:31
  SPEAKER_05: You know what I'm most excited though about is that we are going to make our triumphant return to Lubbock, Texas.
• 56:38
  SPEAKER_05: You and I and a few other of our good friends are returning to the great city of Lubbock, Texas.
• 56:46
  SPEAKER_05: Um, we're getting in on Thursday.
• 56:48
  SPEAKER_05: We're making it a whole thing.
• 56:49
  SPEAKER_05: Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday.
• 56:51
  SPEAKER_05: Your daughter's first visit to Lubbock, Texas.
• 56:55
  SPEAKER_04: I have a child, listeners, by the way.
• 56:56
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, that's new.
• 56:57
  SPEAKER_05: How exciting.
• 56:58
  SPEAKER_04: Dude, I know, man.
• 56:59
  SPEAKER_04: It's we my wife and I go every single year.
• 57:01
  SPEAKER_04: We met at tech.
• 57:03
  SPEAKER_04: Um, and we're gonna keep this rolling, dude.
• 57:04
  SPEAKER_04: I'll go I want to make I want to bring Laney to every my daughter to every single game.
• 57:09
  SPEAKER_04: Uh every not every single game, every get bring her every single year.
• 57:13
  SPEAKER_04: So it's I want to keep that tradition going, dude.
• 57:15
  SPEAKER_04: I'm really excited to have her there.
• 57:16
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 57:16
  SPEAKER_05: You gotta you gotta influence her early to make sure that that's it.
• 57:20
  SPEAKER_05: You can't push too hard.
• 57:22
  SPEAKER_05: No, you can't.
• 57:22
  SPEAKER_05: You can't.
• 57:24
  SPEAKER_05: We are going on the yearly family trip to Levick, Texas.
• 57:28
  SPEAKER_05: We are going to do that.
• 57:29
  SPEAKER_04: Texas Tech is literally why you exist.
• 57:30
  SPEAKER_04: So you owe it to going with us every single year and enjoying it.
• 57:36
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, so I'm definitely excited.
• 57:38
  SPEAKER_05: I'm I'm ready for some chimps.
• 57:40
  SPEAKER_05: I'm ready for uh some some maybe some Evie Maze, maybe a little bit, uh, maybe a little bit of other good food that's going on around there.
• 57:49
  SPEAKER_05: I don't know if we want to you want to hit up chew chai.
• 57:53
  SPEAKER_04: Oh, we might, dude.
• 57:54
  SPEAKER_04: We might.
• 57:55
  SPEAKER_05: We go chu chai.
• 57:57
  SPEAKER_05: Uh I don't know.
• 57:58
  SPEAKER_05: Go see, go see all the we'll definitely hit up jazz.
• 58:01
  SPEAKER_05: Gotta go to jazz.
• 58:02
  SPEAKER_03: Oh you gotta go to jazz.
• 58:05
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, all right, all right.
• 58:07
  SPEAKER_05: No, I'm ready.
• 58:08
  SPEAKER_05: I'm excited.
• 58:09
  SPEAKER_05: Um, this I I've been getting a chance to go back to Lubbock more and more often every single year.
• 58:14
  SPEAKER_05: It was a long, I think I went four years of not going, and it was that's insane, dude.
• 58:19
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, it's just better.
• 58:20
  SPEAKER_05: It's just better when you can make the yearly friends trip up there, and it's gonna be exciting, great time.
• 58:26
  SPEAKER_04: So we'll see you later.
• 58:28
  SPEAKER_05: What else you got?
• 58:29
  SPEAKER_05: Anything?
• 58:30
  SPEAKER_04: Dude, that's that's it for me, man.
• 58:32
  SPEAKER_04: Um, volleyball coach just got fired long over here.
• 58:35
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, yeah.
• 58:35
  SPEAKER_05: Tony Greystone gone um after what 10 years?
• 58:41
  SPEAKER_04: 10 years, dude.
• 58:42
  SPEAKER_04: 2016.
• 58:43
  SPEAKER_04: We were in school.
• 58:44
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 58:45
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
• 58:45
  SPEAKER_05: I mean, the volleyball program has been bad.
• 58:48
  SPEAKER_04: It's it's been bad, bad for sub 300 in Big 12 play.
• 58:54
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, that's bad.
• 58:55
  SPEAKER_05: That's not good.
• 58:55
  SPEAKER_04: Um 30% of the games.
• 58:58
  SPEAKER_04: That's why would this did this man have a job?
• 59:01
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, I mean, you know, uh who knows with those types of sports, how much uh help and resources that they're actually getting.
• 59:08
  SPEAKER_05: That's um, you know, Texas Tech obviously is very is known now for having great resources, but that could just be football, you know, softball, basketball, and then the other sports, you know, track and field, obviously, but you know, maybe we're we're falling behind on certain sports and not necessarily getting the uh the boost that we need financially for um for a success in volleyball.
• 59:32
  SPEAKER_04: Honestly, in those like you know, not so non-rev sports.
• 59:37
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, non-rev.
• 59:38
  SPEAKER_04: Thank you.
• 59:38
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, honestly, for the most a lot of these non-rev sports, I actually am on the the team of giving a guy a long time to figure things out.
• 59:47
  SPEAKER_04: Sure.
• 59:47
  SPEAKER_04: But 10 years is is too long.
• 59:50
  SPEAKER_04: Like to have a lot of people.
• 59:50
  SPEAKER_05: Well, and and I think I think he was I think he was growing to something, and then it just completely teetered off over the last few years, and you you started to not believe in what the program was.
• 1:00:01
  SPEAKER_05: I mean, I I think we could mention on our uh on one hand the amount of times that we've talked about the volleyball program on our podcast.
• 1:00:07
  SPEAKER_05: Of course, and so it's you know, it's not that they're not worth talking about or anything, it's just they haven't been good, you know.
• 1:00:12
  SPEAKER_05: So it's you know, you you like it when your programs are good, and hopefully we'll we'll make the right hire and move in the right direction.
• 1:00:20
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I I it's kind of the way I feel about like the women's basketball program.
• 1:00:23
  SPEAKER_04: Like Christopher Lick's finally like and she's done better, yeah.
• 1:00:26
  SPEAKER_04: Absolutely, and you you g you give some of these these sports some time, but like football and basketball, obviously you understand why it's you gotta start winning games, otherwise we gotta move on.
• 1:00:36
  SPEAKER_04: So yeah, it's just a different ball game.
• 1:00:38
  SPEAKER_04: We gotta see a different ball game than baseball pick it up, but well, that's a conversation for another time.
• 1:00:46
  SPEAKER_05: Oh my god, they posted a graphic the tech baseball top 25 recruiting classes.
• 1:00:52
  SPEAKER_05: That's where we're at.
• 1:00:52
  SPEAKER_05: I was like top, I saw number 25, and I was like, oh, no way, like we're preseason, right?
• 1:00:58
  SPEAKER_05: 25?
• 1:00:59
  SPEAKER_05: No, transfer class.
• 1:01:00
  SPEAKER_05: The 25th best transfer portal class, and they felt the need to post a graphic about it.
• 1:01:05
  SPEAKER_05: Good night.
• 1:01:06
  SPEAKER_05: That needs there, they need some help.
• 1:01:08
  SPEAKER_04: We're in trouble there, man.
• 1:01:09
  SPEAKER_04: We're we're in trouble in baseball.
• 1:01:11
  SPEAKER_05: They need some help.
• 1:01:12
  SPEAKER_05: Song of the week.
• 1:01:14
  SPEAKER_05: Tristan, we're gonna end it off here.
• 1:01:17
  SPEAKER_05: What is your song of the week?
• 1:01:19
  SPEAKER_04: I'm gonna go with one of those proud songs from a proud Red Raider in William Clark Green off of his newest album.
• 1:01:28
  SPEAKER_04: And that song is gonna be Stubborn and Remains about remaining true to who you are and just gritting through life's troubles and being the best you can be.
• 1:01:39
  SPEAKER_04: So that's what I want out of the football team this weekend.
• 1:01:59
  SPEAKER_05: Very nice choice.
• 1:02:00
  SPEAKER_05: I went with a similar theme in Yeah.
• 1:02:06
  SPEAKER_05: We need to be better.
• 1:02:08
  SPEAKER_05: We need to be better.
• 1:02:09
  SPEAKER_05: Uh Miriam Webster describes the word humility as freedom from pride or arrogance, the quality or state of being humble.
• 1:02:19
  SPEAKER_05: My song of the week is humility by the gorillas, because this program needs some humility right now.
• 1:02:27
  SPEAKER_05: They maybe they needed a little bit of humbling from the first two games of the season to really realize, hey, maybe we're not, you know, hot shit right now.
• 1:02:37
  SPEAKER_05: And maybe we need to figure some stuff out.
• 1:02:39
  SPEAKER_05: And hopefully they do so.
• 1:02:41
  SPEAKER_04: We should have made a point about that earlier in this podcast.
• 1:02:44
  SPEAKER_05: You know, well, we're doing it now.
• 1:02:45
  SPEAKER_03: That we're doing it now.
• 1:02:46
  SPEAKER_05: That's why my song of the week is humility by the gorillas.
• 1:03:03
  SPEAKER_04: Love that.
• 1:03:04
  SPEAKER_04: Love the uh offbeat pick as well.
• 1:03:07
  SPEAKER_04: Um oh dang it, I totally had a train of thought that I got completely derailed thinking about those animated gorilla people.
• 1:03:15
  SPEAKER_05: The the animated cartoon band that's also real, weird, but I dig it.
• 1:03:21
  SPEAKER_05: The gorillas are weird in like a cool way.
• 1:03:23
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, absolutely.
• 1:03:24
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, they got some bangers, of course.
• 1:03:26
  SPEAKER_05: But I think that's it for me, dude, unless you had anything else.
• 1:03:30
  SPEAKER_04: No, I remember what I was gonna say.
• 1:03:32
  SPEAKER_04: I was like, you can always tell after a game that we didn't go so great, the tone of the podcast.
• 1:03:37
  SPEAKER_04: Absolutely.
• 1:03:38
  SPEAKER_04: You know, like we were we were goofing after Abling Christian, thinking like, ah, it's gonna get so much better.
• 1:03:43
  SPEAKER_04: Then we went to the spooky forests of Oregon to get really scared.
• 1:03:49
  SPEAKER_05: So you know what will really humble you, Corvallis, Oregon.
• 1:03:53
  SPEAKER_03: Indeed, I've always said that.
• 1:03:54
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, you've yeah, I know you've said it for years.
• 1:03:57
  SPEAKER_05: It's kind of crazy that it's actually working out in this particular moment.
• 1:04:00
  SPEAKER_05: All right, you can follow both me and Tristan on Twitter.
• 1:04:02
  SPEAKER_05: Tristan's at Tristan Mick, I am at L underscore S underscore Rodriguez.
• 1:04:06
  SPEAKER_05: Pod is on Twitter at Talking Tech Pod Songs a Week playlist, Spotify, Apple Music.
• 1:04:10
  SPEAKER_05: We appreciate all of y'all listening.
• 1:04:12
  SPEAKER_05: We will see you in Lovic, Texas this weekend.
• 1:04:15
  SPEAKER_05: Always Wreck'em Tech.
• 1:04:17
  SPEAKER_03: Wreck'em Tech.
• 1:04:19
  SPEAKER_02: Uh wow.
• 1:04:20
  SPEAKER_02: First of all, uh got a lot of respect for Steven and Tristan.
• 1:04:25
  SPEAKER_02: Uh their program, tough guys, just uh a lot of fun.
• 1:04:29
  SPEAKER_02: This is wild.
• 1:04:31
  SPEAKER_01: When I walked in, and I knew this would be an awesome podcast.
• 1:04:37
  SPEAKER_01: And these guys have been tremendous.
• 1:04:40
  SPEAKER_01: I love you, and I can't wait for this journey.
• 1:04:42
  SPEAKER_01: I would like to thank uh Steven and Tristan.
• 1:04:45
  SPEAKER_01: This is incredible.
• 1:04:46
  SPEAKER_01: These guys have a passion and a love for this school.