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USF Starts The Season 4-0 But The Offense Struggles vs Bowling Green · 4th AND BULL

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  Speaker 1: As always, appreciate you guys' support. Comments are always great.
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: I did read your comments. A lot of positivity in
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: the comments towards the show. Always appreciate your guys' feedback.
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: I've expressed it a number of times. The positivity is
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: a nice thing in this business because you don't get
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: that very often. I did have a couple people say
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: they want me to talk them off of a ledge today. Guys,
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: I don't know if I can talk you off the
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: ledge today.
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  Speaker 2: It's interesting, right?
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: Because this is their first 4-0 start in a long time,
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: and we should be happy.
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: And we are not happy.
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: And that's the ups and downs of having a team
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: with high expectations, right? Sometimes, you know, you think about
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: your team losing. Now, we haven't experienced that yet, although
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: it feels like we have, right? But when your team loses,
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: sometimes you're like, oh, I just wish I had a
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: team with no expectations. This wouldn't hurt as much. Well,
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: you get a team with expectations, which means all of
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: the games are just that much more emotional. And this
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: was another one of those games. It was frustrating. Now,
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: before we break down the game, can I just say
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: one thing that drove me nuts about the game?
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: The broadcast.
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: And I get it was on ESPN +. Commentators were fine.
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: That is what it is. I'm not attacking anybody there.
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: Can I just get a microphone on the field?
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  Speaker 2: Just one?
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  Speaker 1: Attach it to the ref or just set it up
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  Speaker 1: on the sidelines. If you can't pay anyone to walk
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: around with the mic, that's fine. just give me some
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: sort of ambiance it just felt like it was always
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: silent with the play-by-play crew and it was just an
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  Speaker 1: awful awful uh viewing experience i would love for the
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: american conference i i don't start your own streaming platform
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: something but i i wasn't a fan of the broadcast
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: on saturday just because i thought the audio quality not
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: from the play-by-play crew itself but just can we get
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: some on-field audio would have been nice that was just
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: a complaint I had written down, I would imagine a
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: lot of you feel the same way.
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: I feel like.
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: The American Conference deserves a little bit better than what
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: you got from a broadcast standpoint there. Anyways, that's just
• 4:28
  Speaker 1: one of my own complaints. I figured for a moment
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: I'd complain about something other than this team. And I
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: know people want the offense to air it out. And
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: if I told you that USF would throw for 52 yards...
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: lose the time of possession battle, and turn it over twice,
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: you would have predicted.
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: A USF victory, right? No.
• 4:50
  Speaker 1: All of those stat lines sound like they lost. And
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: I know you want them to air it out. I
• 4:54
  Speaker 1: hear that after every single game. Why are they not
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: throwing it around more? Tim Beck's got to open up
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: this offense. I know people don't love this offense, but
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: this offense runs through Crowder in the running game. And
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: it is so easy to blame Tim Beck. But there
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: are so many things... that are wrong with this team
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: besides Tim Beck. It's easy to blame a coach or
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: a coordinator. That's just the natural reaction of all of football.
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: And by the way, I'm not sitting here saying Tim
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: Beck is the greatest thing since sliced bread with this offense.
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: I'm not.
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: I'm not telling you he's doing an incredible job. What
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: I am saying, though, is what do you want him
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: to do? The offensive line was awful. Again, Miles Bradley
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: was insane. insanely good because of your performance against that
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: kid i'd have to go back and see if he's
• 5:50
  Speaker 1: a senior or not big schools are already calling that
• 5:53
  Speaker 1: kid he was absolutely incredible forced two fumbles uh on
• 5:57
  Speaker 1: the second and was it the second and third drives
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: first and second driver you know early in that first
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: quarter he he was just so dominant the offensive line
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: and again starting the here's the biggest problem with the
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: offensive line it's like They're starting a different unit every
• 6:13
  Speaker 1: single week. It's already a room full of transfers. They
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: have never been in sync with each other. They're all
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: great individual players, and then you put them together, and
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: it's like they're just not a great unit. Now, could
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: that be on Tim Beck and the system not quite fitting? Maybe,
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: but I think you're going in too deep when you
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: think this is all on Tim Beck. There's a deeper
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: issue here. There is an execution issue. This team cannot
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: execute anything. And so if you can't execute anything, what
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: is Tim Beck supposed to call? Because I felt like
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: every single time MVB took a snap, the play kind
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: of broke down quickly. And run blocking is much easier
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: than pass blocking. Pass blocking is hard. That's why you
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: see that clip. I want to say it's from like
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: the early 2000s. I think it's Jeff Saturday. I know
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: it's Peyton Manning and the Colts. And I think it's
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: Jeff Saturday. Like, can we call a run for God's sakes?
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: You know, Peyton's yelling. I'm like, just block. You don't
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: worry about what we call because run blocking is a
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: lot easier. So this team already wanted to be a
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: run first team and they know what they got in Crowder.
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: I mean, he's an absolute, I mean, you saw that
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: he took over the game on Saturday, but not only
• 7:29
  Speaker 1: did they always want that to be their identity. That's
• 7:32
  Speaker 1: what they feel most comfortable with, with this offensive line.
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: And then you have Schrader go down. And apparently he's
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: on crutches after the game. I don't know the latest.
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: Forgive me if they if they gave one and I
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: missed it. But that's a big loss for this team.
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: He is essentially going into the season was your best
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: offensive lineman. I mean, some some were saying he was
• 7:52
  Speaker 1: projected to be NFL talent.
• 7:53
  Speaker 2: Right.
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  Speaker 1: And so now with him out, you're going to be
• 7:58
  Speaker 1: forced to start another combination up front, which is just
• 8:01
  Speaker 1: going to be more problems if he is out long term.
• 8:06
  Speaker 1: And so it really all starts on offense up front,
• 8:11
  Speaker 1: and they don't trust this offensive line. And when you
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: don't have a good offensive line, it's hard to pass.
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: I mean, look at the Buccaneers on a Sunday, right?
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: You can blame Baker all you want. You can be
• 8:20
  Speaker 1: upset with Baker. But the offensive line is struggling to
• 8:24
  Speaker 1: protect him. There's not much the Bucs can do other
• 8:26
  Speaker 1: than run and throw screen passes because the second Baker
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: got the ball against the Vikings, he was getting hit. Now,
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: if you're watching this as a Bulls fan, you didn't
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: watch the Bucks game. You have no idea what I'm
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: talking about. My apologies, but the offensive line for the
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: Bulls supposed to be a strength. They game planned all
• 8:44
  Speaker 1: off season around this offensive line to form their identity
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: as a run first team, knowing they needed to lean
• 8:51
  Speaker 1: on the run because they thought their strength.
• 8:53
  Speaker 2: Was offensive line. And now the offensive line is not
• 8:55
  Speaker 2: a strength.
• 8:57
  Speaker 1: I will give Michael Van Buren some credit there before
• 9:01
  Speaker 1: the end of the half. I, Great awareness. It's funny
• 9:04
  Speaker 1: because on that final play of the first half, I
• 9:08
  Speaker 1: started to write down, like, you've got to be aware
• 9:10
  Speaker 1: of the guy on your back because I thought he
• 9:12
  Speaker 1: was going to get sacked. And then he runs it
• 9:14
  Speaker 1: for a big game, gets in field goal range, and
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: he gets down. And then I scratched out bad awareness,
• 9:21
  Speaker 1: wrote down good awareness to escape the pocket, also get
• 9:25
  Speaker 1: down to gate. you know, the, an opportunity for the
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: bulls to kick the field goal there at halftime, only
• 9:32
  Speaker 1: for Nico to of course miss, um, which is only
• 9:36
  Speaker 1: fitting for how bad of a half that was.
• 9:38
  Speaker 2: But, uh, that was just a little note.
• 9:39
  Speaker 1: That I wrote down on MVP that, uh, MVP that
• 9:42
  Speaker 1: I thought was kind of funny, but, uh, back to
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: the Tim Beck stuff, it it's, it's hard to, it's
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: hard to just put all of the, like, if you
• 9:50
  Speaker 1: have criticisms of his offense, I totally get that. Right.
• 9:55
  Speaker 1: I'm not ready to say wrong hire just yet because
• 9:58
  Speaker 1: I'm also.
• 9:59
  Speaker 2: I try to not to overreact, right?
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: I am not going to ever probably be the first
• 10:05
  Speaker 1: person that calls for someone's job. So that's not the
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: kind of show I will do right now. Now, there
• 10:13
  Speaker 1: could be a time down the road where I could
• 10:15
  Speaker 1: be out on him. But I'm not there yet. And
• 10:20
  Speaker 1: if you are, it's normal for fans to feel that route.
• 10:24
  Speaker 1: I feel like it's always coaches and quarterback first. But
• 10:28
  Speaker 1: to me, the real problem isn't Tim Beck. It's I
• 10:30
  Speaker 1: think you're very limited in what you can call because
• 10:33
  Speaker 1: this team is not consistent. Actually, they're consistent at one thing,
• 10:36
  Speaker 1: and that's they're consistently inconsistent. And like we said, we
• 10:41
  Speaker 1: haven't seen them play for good quarters yet.
• 10:44
  Speaker 2: So.
• 10:45
  Speaker 1: I'm not there on the judgment of Tim Beck yet.
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: I understand the criticism. Fire Tim Beck. That's a little
• 10:52
  Speaker 1: too rich for me. I can't go there just yet.
• 10:54
  Speaker 1: You're going to have to trust Brian Hartline that he's
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: got the right guy. And if Brian Hartline feels that
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: the play calling isn't very good, then, well, Brian Hartline's
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: got the power to take it back. And we've seen
• 11:04
  Speaker 1: teams do that before. If he feels it's truly not
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: going well, I'll use an example out of the NFL
• 11:11
  Speaker 1: last year. Ben Johnson went to the Bears. The Lions
• 11:15
  Speaker 1: made a new hire. That offensive coordinator they hired, they
• 11:19
  Speaker 1: didn't like the play calling. Dan Campbell took it over.
• 11:22
  Speaker 2: Guess what?
• 11:22
  Speaker 1: He ended up getting fired at the end of the year.
• 11:24
  Speaker 1: So if Brian Hartline feels the play calling is a problem,
• 11:28
  Speaker 1: he has the power to make that switch. I don't
• 11:30
  Speaker 1: think he feels the play calling is a problem because
• 11:33
  Speaker 1: I don't feel, and I don't know half as much
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: about football as Hartline, I don't think that's the problem
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: with this team. I think they have an execution issue,
• 11:41
  Speaker 1: which limits the play calling to how many things they
• 11:44
  Speaker 1: can do. So they are 4-0. But is it time
• 11:49
  Speaker 1: to start to possibly change your expectations before you end
• 11:53
  Speaker 1: up heartbroken? I think it is okay to change your
• 11:56
  Speaker 1: expectations in a season for the good or for the bad, right?
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: I've used this example on my radio show. If you
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: don't listen to me on the radio, I think you should.
• 12:05
  Speaker 2: 95.7 WDAE and AM620. That's how I started this whole podcast.
• 12:10
  Speaker 1: I got a radio show in Tampa and it's like
• 12:12
  Speaker 1: talking about the Tampa Bay Rays, right? When the season
• 12:15
  Speaker 1: first started, the expectation wasn't playoffs or win the AL
• 12:19
  Speaker 1: East or win a world series. But as the season
• 12:22
  Speaker 1: went along, the expectations changed. And if you are wondering
• 12:28
  Speaker 1: what my expectation is, it's world series or bust. You
• 12:30
  Speaker 1: got to win because of the box. So the bolts
• 12:32
  Speaker 1: were in that position. number one seed going into the playoffs,
• 12:36
  Speaker 1: they'd have the same expectations. And so I think that
• 12:38
  Speaker 1: should be the expectation of the Rays. But back to
• 12:40
  Speaker 1: the Bulls. The expectation going into the season was to
• 12:44
  Speaker 1: win the American Conference and go to the college football playoff.
• 12:49
  Speaker 1: Those were the two goals that you set out for
• 12:53
  Speaker 1: this team. And that is the goals that they set
• 12:56
  Speaker 1: out for this team. And that's why they haven't been
• 12:58
  Speaker 1: happy with what they've seen on the field so far,
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: because they know what they have seen is not getting
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: them either of their goals. Now, they are not going
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: to run the table unless something drastically changes and this
• 13:12
  Speaker 1: team learns how to play four full quarters.
• 13:18
  Speaker 2: It's a tough one to say.
• 13:19
  Speaker 1: Until that happens, and it feels like there's no sign
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: of that, I think your expectation can still be.
• 13:30
  Speaker 2: Winning the American Conference.
• 13:32
  Speaker 1: Even if they do, I don't know if that's going
• 13:35
  Speaker 1: to get you to the college football playoff. I did
• 13:38
  Speaker 1: see that Boise State is already ranked, and they should be.
• 13:41
  Speaker 1: They just blew out a really good Western Michigan team.
• 13:44
  Speaker 1: They hung in there with Oregon, and Oregon just had
• 13:45
  Speaker 1: that big win against USC this weekend. So their resume
• 13:49
  Speaker 1: looks pretty good, and USF didn't play one of those
• 13:51
  Speaker 1: caliber teams to see how they would look against a
• 13:55
  Speaker 1: power four. So you've already got that against you. Now,
• 13:58
  Speaker 1: just because they didn't schedule a power forward doesn't mean
• 14:00
  Speaker 1: they still can't get to the playoffs. I will say
• 14:02
  Speaker 1: that you're actively rooting against Boise State, that's for sure. But,
• 14:08
  Speaker 1: you know, right now I'm not focused on the college
• 14:10
  Speaker 1: football playoff. It really is just win the American, I think,
• 14:16
  Speaker 1: is your goal. And right now I don't feel good
• 14:19
  Speaker 1: about that either. You know, I've had a lot of
• 14:21
  Speaker 1: people reach out asking me, because I put out rankings
• 14:25
  Speaker 1: every single week. You can usually find those on my
• 14:27
  Speaker 1: social media handle by Sunday morning. I start working on
• 14:33
  Speaker 1: those Saturday night as I'm watching the late night games.
• 14:35
  Speaker 1: And I put a lot of thought into those. I
• 14:38
  Speaker 1: watch all the games and I take pride in my rankings.
• 14:42
  Speaker 1: And I try to do it a little unethical. And
• 14:46
  Speaker 1: by unethical, I mean I try to do what the
• 14:49
  Speaker 1: AP poll won't do because the AP poll is kind
• 14:52
  Speaker 1: of silly. I mean, for example, we all remember when
• 14:55
  Speaker 1: USF was still ranked behind the Gators by AP voters.
• 15:00
  Speaker 2: That happened again this week.
• 15:01
  Speaker 1: There was an AP voter that has Ole Miss ahead
• 15:04
  Speaker 1: of Florida, and it's like, what are we doing? So
• 15:06
  Speaker 1: when I do my rankings, I try to be unethical.
• 15:09
  Speaker 1: To me, it doesn't matter where a team is ranked before.
• 15:12
  Speaker 1: I will change my mind on teams the more information
• 15:15
  Speaker 1: we get. People think my rankings are crazy. I look
• 15:20
  Speaker 1: at Florida as one of the best teams in the country,
• 15:22
  Speaker 1: so I just put them up there. I like their resume,
• 15:23
  Speaker 1: and I like what I've seen out of them. And
• 15:26
  Speaker 1: so I don't have USF in my top 25. And
• 15:30
  Speaker 1: that got me a couple messages from Bulls fans, which,
• 15:32
  Speaker 1: by the way, I appreciate you guys reaching out. I
• 15:33
  Speaker 1: appreciate you following me, asking me why they're not in
• 15:36
  Speaker 1: the top 25 being undefeated. And look, there's a number
• 15:40
  Speaker 1: of teams that are undefeated that aren't in the top
• 15:42
  Speaker 1: 25 that have played tougher opponents than USF has played.
• 15:47
  Speaker 1: So there's a number of teams that fall in that
• 15:50
  Speaker 1: same category you fall under. But When I'm sitting here
• 15:54
  Speaker 1: and I'm looking at all of these teams and watching
• 15:56
  Speaker 1: these games, and I'm trying to grade USF, and look,
• 16:01
  Speaker 1: obviously I have a little bit of bias there.
• 16:02
  Speaker 2: I want them to do good.
• 16:04
  Speaker 1: I think the better they do, the more people are
• 16:05
  Speaker 1: watching this, but I can't sit here and come on
• 16:08
  Speaker 1: this podcast or put USF in my top 25 and
• 16:12
  Speaker 1: say that with a straight face because there is nothing
• 16:15
  Speaker 1: about this team that looks like a top 25 team.
• 16:19
  Speaker 1: If they were playing last year's schedule, They are one
• 16:28
  Speaker 1: in three right now. And they are far from a
• 16:34
  Speaker 1: top 25 team. That's just the reality. Now, can they
• 16:37
  Speaker 1: get there? Yes, but a lot of things have to change.
• 16:43
  Speaker 1: I really think that your best case scenario is win
• 16:47
  Speaker 1: the American, and that's going to be an uphill battle.
• 16:50
  Speaker 1: Playing the way that they're playing right now, I don't
• 16:51
  Speaker 1: think the American is something they can accomplish. But I
• 16:55
  Speaker 1: don't think it's out of the realm either. But if
• 16:59
  Speaker 1: your goal, and you aren't going to be happy with
• 17:01
  Speaker 1: anything other than the college football playoff, which I do
• 17:04
  Speaker 1: believe that is the case for a lot of fans
• 17:06
  Speaker 1: because you felt like you were so close last year.
• 17:11
  Speaker 1: And you almost tasted it, right? And then your coach,
• 17:15
  Speaker 1: maybe he's not focused. Whatever the problem may be there,
• 17:18
  Speaker 1: a lot of things came up. He takes the new job.
• 17:22
  Speaker 1: You end up losing the Navy and it kind of
• 17:24
  Speaker 1: ruined everything. But you were on the doorstep. You tasted it.
• 17:27
  Speaker 1: You got that feeling. And I get it. I've been
• 17:32
  Speaker 1: there as a sports fan too. And when you taste
• 17:34
  Speaker 1: something like that, you just want it so badly. And
• 17:36
  Speaker 1: so you come into the season and that is your expectation.
• 17:39
  Speaker 1: And I know that's all you want. And look, the
• 17:43
  Speaker 1: way that this program is going, the direction that it's going,
• 17:45
  Speaker 1: building its own stadium, the NIL is there. We believe
• 17:48
  Speaker 1: the coaching staff is in place for the most part.
• 17:52
  Speaker 1: I do think playoff expectations every year should be your expectation. This,
• 17:56
  Speaker 1: to me right now, does not look like a playoff team.
• 17:59
  Speaker 1: I can't lie to you. I don't think they're a
• 18:01
  Speaker 1: playoff team right now unless they truly grow big time. Now,
• 18:06
  Speaker 1: that's going to be on Coach Hartline. If he can
• 18:08
  Speaker 1: turn this around, because we do believe the talent is there.
• 18:11
  Speaker 1: But see, this is the thing when it comes with
• 18:13
  Speaker 1: transfer portals and so much movement in college football. You
• 18:18
  Speaker 1: can take all the talent in the world, but if...
• 18:22
  Speaker 1: they don't gel together on the field and work is
• 18:27
  Speaker 1: one it doesn't matter how much talent you have if
• 18:30
  Speaker 1: they just don't produce together now it's it's kind of
• 18:34
  Speaker 1: interesting we're seeing this on the field because i feel
• 18:37
  Speaker 1: off the field these guys are so close to one
• 18:38
  Speaker 1: another and that's what's surprising me that it's not clicking
• 18:42
  Speaker 1: yet is that this is a unit that off the
• 18:44
  Speaker 1: field is really close and i thought that would kind
• 18:46
  Speaker 1: of help and i thought you would see that translation
• 18:49
  Speaker 1: on the field and we just we have not But no,
• 18:53
  Speaker 1: they are not a top 25 team. They are nowhere
• 18:56
  Speaker 1: near my top 25 rankings right now. I want nothing
• 18:59
  Speaker 1: more than to put that USF logo in those rankings.
• 19:03
  Speaker 1: But if I do that to you, then I lose credibility.
• 19:07
  Speaker 1: Because if I put them in the top 25, for
• 19:10
  Speaker 1: those that did reach out asking why they weren't in there,
• 19:13
  Speaker 1: and I come on this show today and I tell
• 19:15
  Speaker 1: you that they are a top 25 team, you're not
• 19:19
  Speaker 1: going to trust me anymore. because I'm telling you a
• 19:23
  Speaker 1: lie what I will never do I believe in this
• 19:26
  Speaker 1: on the radio and I believe this on this show
• 19:29
  Speaker 1: I am never going to tell you what you want
• 19:32
  Speaker 1: to hear like that's just not what I can now
• 19:35
  Speaker 1: sometimes I will say things that might make you feel
• 19:37
  Speaker 1: better and I feel like maybe I did that weeks
• 19:39
  Speaker 1: one through three there's nothing I can say about this
• 19:42
  Speaker 1: game that's going to make you feel better I can't
• 19:44
  Speaker 1: pander to that I can only give you my honest
• 19:47
  Speaker 1: opinion of this team and I'm never going to sugarcoat
• 19:50
  Speaker 1: it just to tell you what you want to hear.
• 19:54
  Speaker 2: I just, I won't.
• 19:56
  Speaker 1: And in today's one of those episodes, there's no sugarcoat
• 19:58
  Speaker 1: what happened on Saturday. It was a bad look to
• 20:01
  Speaker 1: not score on that team until the fourth quarter. A
• 20:06
  Speaker 1: team that gave up, I believe, 21 to Tarleton State.
• 20:08
  Speaker 1: 50 plus to the two power four teams that they played.
• 20:14
  Speaker 1: That was supposed to be, I had it at a
• 20:17
  Speaker 1: 31-14 game. Just missing the Vegas spread by a point.
• 20:21
  Speaker 1: That's 17 and a half that the number originally opened.
• 20:24
  Speaker 1: I had you at 31-14. Boy, was I around 14-6?
• 20:30
  Speaker 1: And it took the running game in the fourth quarter.
• 20:32
  Speaker 1: I do want to highlight a couple players, though, that
• 20:34
  Speaker 1: deserve some credit. Levi Smiley, that sack on the third possession,
• 20:38
  Speaker 1: that was huge. Michael Williams, he got one, and the
• 20:43
  Speaker 1: second fumble from the Bulls offense ended up not being
• 20:47
  Speaker 1: any harm to this team, thank God. Defense was lights out.
• 20:51
  Speaker 1: I do got to give the credit to the defense.
• 20:54
  Speaker 1: There is some positive things to say about the defense.
• 20:57
  Speaker 1: They locked down, backs against the wall, offense put them
• 21:00
  Speaker 1: in really bad situations. And the defense held it down.
• 21:04
  Speaker 1: You know, both of those field goals come off of
• 21:06
  Speaker 1: turnovers from the offense. So I guess there is positivity
• 21:11
  Speaker 1: coming out of that game. And it is the defense.
• 21:14
  Speaker 1: And I guess if you're looking for another positive, these
• 21:17
  Speaker 1: guys know how to win in pretty much every situation now,
• 21:19
  Speaker 1: because they've been in every scenario. Now they can win
• 21:22
  Speaker 1: a last second game. They can win a game where
• 21:24
  Speaker 1: they just need to pound the rock and get out
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: of there, win ugly. They can win in a blowout.
• 21:28
  Speaker 1: Like they did Delaware state. Like, They've now won in
• 21:32
  Speaker 1: different ways each time. But it still doesn't mean I'm
• 21:37
  Speaker 1: happy with the way that they're winning. So the defense,
• 21:42
  Speaker 1: I'm very happy with. But the offense is so concerning
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: right now. And it's like, we never get a game
• 21:47
  Speaker 1: where they both compliment each other. You know, week one,
• 21:50
  Speaker 1: it was the defense, offense, turd. Week two, both of
• 21:56
  Speaker 1: them had their moments together. I thought at times the
• 21:59
  Speaker 1: defense is giving up way too many yards per carry.
• 22:01
  Speaker 1: And then I thought at the end of the first
• 22:04
  Speaker 1: half of the Army game, you knew they were throwing.
• 22:06
  Speaker 1: You still couldn't cover them, and they throw the touchdown
• 22:08
  Speaker 1: in the end zone. And then there was the Delaware
• 22:11
  Speaker 1: State game where you gave up really big plays, a
• 22:14
  Speaker 1: 90-yarder and a 50-yarder in the first half. And the
• 22:18
  Speaker 1: offense really scored 21 points in that first half. But
• 22:21
  Speaker 1: it's Delaware State. I'm not crazy about 21.
• 22:25
  Speaker 2: I wanted more. Call me greedy.
• 22:27
  Speaker 1: So it's like the offense and the defense haven't played
• 22:31
  Speaker 1: their best yet together. So when I say they haven't
• 22:36
  Speaker 1: played a good solid four quarters, it's both units together
• 22:40
  Speaker 1: haven't played a solid four quarters. The defense played a
• 22:42
  Speaker 1: solid four quarters on Saturday. I give them that.
• 22:47
  Speaker 2: The defense played a solid four quarters in week number one.
• 22:52
  Speaker 1: So we've seen the defense do it a couple times.
• 22:54
  Speaker 2: We've yet to see the offense do it.
• 22:56
  Speaker 1: But I did want to give a lot of credit
• 22:59
  Speaker 1: to Levi Smiley and Michael Williams because those were two
• 23:02
  Speaker 1: massive plays. Whenever I'm watching a game, I like to
• 23:05
  Speaker 1: keep little notes. And I did write down, you know,
• 23:09
  Speaker 1: this could be a game-changing play if the game flow
• 23:15
  Speaker 1: continues to play out like this. And it did continue
• 23:19
  Speaker 1: to play out like that, unfortunately. You know, we talked
• 23:22
  Speaker 1: a lot about red flags recently. On the last episode,
• 23:26
  Speaker 1: the line of scrimmage right now, it's the biggest red
• 23:28
  Speaker 1: flag on this team. The defensive line outside of Miles
• 23:33
  Speaker 1: Bradley for Bowling Green and all of the games that
• 23:39
  Speaker 1: I had watched and all the research that I have
• 23:42
  Speaker 1: done to prepare for last week's show, that was the
• 23:45
  Speaker 1: weakness of their offense. And it showed in the fourth
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: quarter when the run game started to go. It's like
• 23:52
  Speaker 1: it kind of wore them out. But their defensive line,
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: like I said, you made Miles Bradley look like a
• 23:58
  Speaker 1: first-round pick. I think he ended up with four and
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: a half sacks. You know, and if Thomas Schrader, if
• 24:03
  Speaker 1: that injury is long-term, I don't know where they're going
• 24:06
  Speaker 1: to go from here. You got Temple this Saturday night
• 24:08
  Speaker 1: at 730, and then it's going to be a Thursday
• 24:11
  Speaker 1: night against UTSA.
• 24:14
  Speaker 2: Right? I'm pretty sure I got that schedule right. Do
• 24:18
  Speaker 2: I not? Let me check just to be sure. I
• 24:20
  Speaker 2: know it's Temple this weekend. That's a 730 schedule.
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: 7.30 game, but I believe it's the UTSA game after that.
• 24:26
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it is. So it's going to be a short week.
• 24:29
  Speaker 1: So Temple on Saturday, and then you're going to turn around,
• 24:32
  Speaker 1: and you've got UTSA on Thursday night. Do they play
• 24:36
  Speaker 1: on a Thursday night the same? Them and the Bucs
• 24:41
  Speaker 1: play the same Thursday night? You've got to be kidding me.
• 24:46
  Speaker 1: That is unbelievable.
• 24:48
  Speaker 2: Yeah, they do.
• 24:50
  Speaker 1: Usf thursday october 8th 7 30 buccaneers october 8th 8 15.
• 24:56
  Speaker 2: That sucks.
• 24:59
  Speaker 1: You know even when the bulls are the better team
• 25:02
  Speaker 1: they don't get the spotlight they deserve the nfl screwed
• 25:05
  Speaker 1: that one up i don't know whose schedule comes out
• 25:07
  Speaker 1: first but whoever schedule came out second you screwed that
• 25:11
  Speaker 1: one up to put those two on at the same
• 25:13
  Speaker 1: time but uh Yeah, the offensive line is a massive
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: red flag, and until that gets turned around, I don't
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: have a lot of faith in these guys, like accomplishing
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: the goals that you want them to accomplish. Looking at
• 25:26
  Speaker 1: some of the numbers in this game, the number 52,
• 25:30
  Speaker 1: that number represents Michael Van Buren Jr. 's passing yards.
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: That is not something I expected to see. It wasn't
• 25:38
  Speaker 1: like you went to Bowling Green in November, weather was bad, oh,
• 25:40
  Speaker 1: we had to run a lot. No, it was like
• 25:42
  Speaker 1: a 70-degree day. The weather was perfect. Just couldn't get
• 25:46
  Speaker 1: anything going. Now, he didn't drop back and throw it
• 25:48
  Speaker 1: all around. It's not like they were throwing it a lot.
• 25:51
  Speaker 1: I just feel like, again, they didn't trust the pass blocking.
• 25:54
  Speaker 2: 143.
• 25:55
  Speaker 1: That number represents the rushing yards Crowder had. 6.2 is
• 26:00
  Speaker 1: how many yards per carry he had. And the number
• 26:04
  Speaker 1: 116 is USF yards on its two fourth quarter touchdown drives.
• 26:09
  Speaker 2: Think about that.
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: Majority of the yards came there in the fourth quarter.
• 26:14
  Speaker 1: USF had 98 yards in the first 45 minutes of that.
• 26:18
  Speaker 2: Game, 98.
• 26:19
  Speaker 1: Then they had 116 on the final two drives in
• 26:23
  Speaker 1: the fourth quarter. There's something about this team though, that
• 26:26
  Speaker 1: I do like, they do have that. It's like that.
• 26:32
  Speaker 2: I don't know.
• 26:32
  Speaker 1: Like when, when their backs are against the wall, they,
• 26:35
  Speaker 1: they somehow are able to kind of like come together
• 26:39
  Speaker 1: and get it done.
• 26:39
  Speaker 2: Right.
• 26:40
  Speaker 1: Like army it, Army was the final two drives. This game,
• 26:43
  Speaker 1: final two drives. That's the one thing I will say
• 26:45
  Speaker 1: about USF, is that if it is a one-score game
• 26:48
  Speaker 1: and they have the ball last, there's a good chance
• 26:52
  Speaker 1: that they either tie it or they beat you. You know,
• 26:55
  Speaker 1: that is the one time when I do have the
• 26:57
  Speaker 1: faith in the offense. Like, even as bad as they played,
• 27:02
  Speaker 1: and even though it came down to the fourth quarter
• 27:04
  Speaker 1: before they were scoring, I still never felt like they
• 27:06
  Speaker 1: were going to lose the game. It just felt like
• 27:09
  Speaker 1: you could tell that they were were the more skilled
• 27:12
  Speaker 1: team it just wasn't showing uh really on the field
• 27:16
  Speaker 1: or on the scoreboard and then of course it did
• 27:18
  Speaker 1: finally show uh in that fourth quarter i think you
• 27:21
  Speaker 1: just wear bowling green down but against better opponents that's
• 27:24
  Speaker 1: not going to happen like you're not going to just
• 27:26
  Speaker 1: be able to wear down utsa or memphis the way
• 27:30
  Speaker 1: that you wore bowling green down there at the end
• 27:32
  Speaker 1: by run run run run run uh the number four
• 27:36
  Speaker 1: and a half that is the sax miles bradley hat
• 27:38
  Speaker 1: on you not good 85 is the amount of rushing
• 27:43
  Speaker 1: yards Bowling Green had on you. So just a tremendous
• 27:46
  Speaker 1: job by the defense. But that is by the numbers
• 27:51
  Speaker 1: for this game. We went to the mailbag. I put
• 27:54
  Speaker 1: that out on Twitter on Saturday night asking you to
• 27:56
  Speaker 1: send me some feedback or send me some questions for
• 27:59
  Speaker 1: the podcast. I always enjoy doing this segment because it
• 28:02
  Speaker 1: gives you an opportunity to ask your questions and I'll
• 28:06
  Speaker 1: try to answer them. Bearish Bulls fan asked, we need
• 28:10
  Speaker 1: to know what Tim Beck is telling the offense after
• 28:12
  Speaker 1: a performance like that. Should we expect the same thing
• 28:14
  Speaker 1: against Temple?
• 28:16
  Speaker 2: There is.
• 28:18
  Speaker 1: Nothing that tells me you won't see the same thing
• 28:21
  Speaker 1: against Temple. My guess is Tim Beck is, I don't
• 28:25
  Speaker 1: think he's yelling and screaming at the guys or singling
• 28:29
  Speaker 1: out a certain person, but again, I think it all
• 28:31
  Speaker 1: starts up front. And I would imagine that's where Tim
• 28:33
  Speaker 1: Beck's conversations are beginning. Like, what what can we do
• 28:38
  Speaker 1: in this offense to compensate for this problem? We have
• 28:42
  Speaker 1: an offensive line because this unit is just not what
• 28:46
  Speaker 1: we thought they would be. So I don't know exactly
• 28:48
  Speaker 1: what he's telling them, but I would imagine they are
• 28:51
  Speaker 1: trying to figure out how can we incorporate more plays
• 28:55
  Speaker 1: into this offense with this offensive line? We don't trust.
• 28:59
  Speaker 1: Cause again, when your offensive line is, it's not good. Like,
• 29:02
  Speaker 1: like there's right now, there's only so many things you
• 29:04
  Speaker 1: can call and it, Obviously, a bad offensive line is
• 29:08
  Speaker 1: going to make the offensive coordinator look worse than maybe
• 29:11
  Speaker 1: he might be.
• 29:14
  Speaker 2: Let's see. Sane guy.
• 29:16
  Speaker 1: How deep is the O-line, and why does this offense
• 29:19
  Speaker 1: consistently fail to get the wide receivers involved? On the
• 29:22
  Speaker 1: flip side, our defense did step it up this week. Yeah,
• 29:25
  Speaker 1: the defense was great. Defensive line, it felt like they
• 29:27
  Speaker 1: were in the backfield. Anytime you needed pressure, they delivered.
• 29:31
  Speaker 1: Defensive line, I thought they played excellent for USF this weekend.
• 29:36
  Speaker 2: That was really encouraging. Uh, that, that was probably the
• 29:39
  Speaker 2: best game.
• 29:39
  Speaker 1: I think, you know, from start to finish, they've seen
• 29:41
  Speaker 1: from the defensive line, uh, it felt like they were
• 29:43
  Speaker 1: in the backfield all day.
• 29:44
  Speaker 2: They did a really good job.
• 29:46
  Speaker 1: And again, you held them to just 85 rushing yards. Um,
• 29:52
  Speaker 1: and when we talked to, to Xavier Hamilton last week, who,
• 29:54
  Speaker 1: by the way, had a great game, he said they
• 29:56
  Speaker 1: were focused on stopping the run and they did that. Uh,
• 30:00
  Speaker 1: So I think the defensive line, that is one thing
• 30:03
  Speaker 1: you can take into the next game.
• 30:04
  Speaker 2: That is encouraging.
• 30:06
  Speaker 1: As far as how deep the O-line is, the O-line's deep.
• 30:10
  Speaker 1: There is, I believe, 18 total guys in that room,
• 30:14
  Speaker 1: and 15 of them are over 300 pounds. And a
• 30:17
  Speaker 1: lot of them are talented. The problem is we haven't
• 30:20
  Speaker 1: seen any of these talented players be talented as a
• 30:24
  Speaker 1: group of five. And that's the real... And that's not
• 30:27
  Speaker 1: something I think that gets fixed because... You had all
• 30:30
  Speaker 1: the time in the world to get that continuity built
• 30:33
  Speaker 1: this offseason, and now you've had four games this season,
• 30:37
  Speaker 1: and it's still not fixed. And now with Schrader down,
• 30:41
  Speaker 1: I don't know if you're going to see a better
• 30:43
  Speaker 1: offensive line.
• 30:44
  Speaker 2: That, to me, is probably.
• 30:46
  Speaker 1: Going to be what falters this team from a perfect
• 30:51
  Speaker 1: season down the road. Michael Ferguson asked a genuine question, Nick.
• 30:56
  Speaker 1: What is Tim Beck doing? I mean, with I mean
• 30:59
  Speaker 1: that with full sincerity. I feel like I've kind of
• 31:03
  Speaker 1: hit this a number of times. I mean, if you're
• 31:05
  Speaker 1: listening to the entire podcast, how many different ways can
• 31:08
  Speaker 1: I really express this? I'm not there on it. See,
• 31:12
  Speaker 1: I just always feel like it's too easy to just
• 31:16
  Speaker 1: go coach and quarterback right away, right? It's like on
• 31:20
  Speaker 1: my radio show today talking about the Bucs. It's Baker
• 31:23
  Speaker 1: and Bowles is who everybody wants to blame, and they
• 31:26
  Speaker 1: deserve a fair share of blame.
• 31:27
  Speaker 2: Don't get me wrong.
• 31:29
  Speaker 1: Ownership, you know, above, right? You look at the layers
• 31:34
  Speaker 1: of the box. Well, Baker sucks because his coordinator sucks. Well,
• 31:37
  Speaker 1: his coordinator sucks because Todd Bowles is a lame duck
• 31:40
  Speaker 1: head coach. Nobody wants to work for him because there's
• 31:42
  Speaker 1: no job security. Well, the coach is there because ownership
• 31:44
  Speaker 1: didn't make a decision. And then it's all a mess, right?
• 31:48
  Speaker 1: There's layers of these things. So it's hard for me
• 31:51
  Speaker 1: to just say Tim Beck, right? Yeah, the offense doesn't
• 31:55
  Speaker 1: look great. But is it a scheme? Is it the execution?
• 31:59
  Speaker 1: I think a lot of it really has nothing to
• 32:02
  Speaker 1: do with predictability. Bowling Green, at the end of that game,
• 32:04
  Speaker 1: they knew you were running it. They could not stop it.
• 32:08
  Speaker 1: They knew your game plan going into the game. I
• 32:11
  Speaker 1: knew the game plan going into the game, and you
• 32:13
  Speaker 1: knew the game plan going into the game.
• 32:14
  Speaker 2: They were going to run it.
• 32:16
  Speaker 1: Bowling Green still couldn't stop it there in the fourth
• 32:17
  Speaker 1: quarter when they knew the run was coming. So the
• 32:21
  Speaker 1: problem with Tim Beck and the offense, again, is they
• 32:25
  Speaker 1: can't develop anything. You got these wide receivers, but are
• 32:28
  Speaker 1: they having, are they, I look, I don't have access
• 32:31
  Speaker 1: to the all 22 film. I'd like to see it,
• 32:33
  Speaker 1: but are the wide receivers even given enough time to
• 32:36
  Speaker 1: run the route with.
• 32:37
  Speaker 2: With the way that it was just, it was a
• 32:38
  Speaker 2: mess of the blocking.
• 32:40
  Speaker 1: Miles Bradley looked like miles Garrett out there.
• 32:44
  Speaker 2: It just, it was such a poor display.
• 32:47
  Speaker 1: And look, I guess if you want to blame the
• 32:50
  Speaker 1: offensive line on Tim Beck, and maybe they're just not
• 32:52
  Speaker 1: getting his scheme, then, then, There, I guess you could say, yeah,
• 32:57
  Speaker 1: he's a problem. To me, I always try to... I
• 33:00
  Speaker 1: feel like it's a cop-out as a broadcaster to just
• 33:03
  Speaker 1: say coach right away or quarterback right away. There's deeper
• 33:08
  Speaker 1: things to all of that. I think there's a deeper
• 33:09
  Speaker 1: issue here than just Tim Beck. I think you could
• 33:12
  Speaker 1: have the best play caller in the world. I think
• 33:15
  Speaker 1: you could have Sean McVay as your play caller. I'm
• 33:18
  Speaker 1: not sure how much different the offense would look. You
• 33:22
  Speaker 1: can call all the plays you want, but If you
• 33:24
  Speaker 1: can't execute anything, especially at the line of scrimmage, well,
• 33:28
  Speaker 1: what good is Sean McVay going to be?
• 33:32
  Speaker 2: Let's see.
• 33:33
  Speaker 1: Greg, number one on the O-line, beyond the typical coaching blame,
• 33:37
  Speaker 1: was staff's transfer portal evaluations made in haste due to
• 33:42
  Speaker 1: enormous turnover replacement needs? Let me try that again. Was
• 33:46
  Speaker 1: the staff's transfer portal evaluations? Well, look, USF is going
• 33:50
  Speaker 1: to be... Look, they're one of those programs that when
• 33:53
  Speaker 1: they do good, plus you lost your coach. So you
• 33:55
  Speaker 1: had two things go in there. You lose your coach.
• 33:57
  Speaker 1: He gets promoted. The sec takes, you know, some players
• 34:00
  Speaker 1: with him. I mean, that's just college fall in general,
• 34:04
  Speaker 1: but especially at the group of six level, you know, you,
• 34:07
  Speaker 1: you're going to have players plucked. Like this is unfortunately
• 34:10
  Speaker 1: the new normal where maybe not to this extent.
• 34:14
  Speaker 2: Like this year it was 60, 61 new players.
• 34:18
  Speaker 1: You know, with the incoming freshmen and the 41 transfers
• 34:21
  Speaker 1: or something like that, 61, 65, it might not be
• 34:24
  Speaker 1: like that every single year, but that is the new normal.
• 34:27
  Speaker 1: And that to me is going to be the biggest
• 34:30
  Speaker 1: downfall of the, I shouldn't say downfall of the program,
• 34:33
  Speaker 1: but that's what's going to hurt the program the most
• 34:37
  Speaker 1: is that you're not going to get guys playing together
• 34:42
  Speaker 1: for three or four years like you once would. And so,
• 34:46
  Speaker 1: you know, yeah, you got to have excellent scouting and
• 34:50
  Speaker 1: you got to be able to make the right, like,
• 34:51
  Speaker 1: that's what I think kills Florida state. They, their scouts
• 34:55
  Speaker 1: let them down. They go and recruit the wrong quarterback
• 34:58
  Speaker 1: every year. Kurt Cignetti at Indiana. I think he is
• 35:01
  Speaker 1: a trim. He knows he can develop, he can seek talent.
• 35:04
  Speaker 1: He finds it. And then he can also further develop it.
• 35:07
  Speaker 1: But like, I look at Norvell and I'll be like, yeah,
• 35:10
  Speaker 1: he could never be a GM in the NFL. He
• 35:11
  Speaker 1: can't identify talent. Then I look at Cignetti at Indiana.
• 35:14
  Speaker 1: It's like, He's doing the same thing Norvell is. He
• 35:16
  Speaker 1: just can identify the talent, right? Fernando Mendoza, see him
• 35:20
  Speaker 1: at Cal, I'm going to bring him over here, I'm
• 35:21
  Speaker 1: going to win a natty. Meanwhile, Norvell's like, oh, I'm
• 35:23
  Speaker 1: going to grab DJ Uyunglele because he was a five-star
• 35:26
  Speaker 1: recruit out of high school, but he hasn't done anything
• 35:28
  Speaker 1: in college.
• 35:29
  Speaker 2: I'm going to bring him here and try to develop him.
• 35:30
  Speaker 2: And it just doesn't work out that way.
• 35:33
  Speaker 1: So I think this day and age, your scouting department
• 35:37
  Speaker 1: and your coordinators have to be so good at being
• 35:41
  Speaker 1: able to identify talent. because your talent is going to
• 35:45
  Speaker 1: get plucked and you're also going to pluck talent from others.
• 35:48
  Speaker 1: But that is going to be something this year where,
• 35:51
  Speaker 1: or not this year, but going forward, like that is,
• 35:55
  Speaker 1: I mean, that's the new world of college football. You're
• 35:57
  Speaker 1: going to have probably enormous turnover every single year. There
• 36:01
  Speaker 1: was a second part to his question. I started with
• 36:04
  Speaker 1: agreement of experts, average wins at eight. Then I bought
• 36:08
  Speaker 1: into 9-10 by the Army win, but with the O-line
• 36:11
  Speaker 1: regression against Bowling Green.
• 36:13
  Speaker 2: I'm at 8. How about you?
• 36:14
  Speaker 1: Well, I started the season off at 10, and I
• 36:18
  Speaker 1: guess we could kind of have fun with this every
• 36:20
  Speaker 1: week and come to the table and go, all right,
• 36:21
  Speaker 1: have you changed your mind off of 10? I guess
• 36:26
  Speaker 1: if you put me to the table now, let's see.
• 36:33
  Speaker 1: Looking at the schedule ahead, Temple this weekend. They'll get
• 36:39
  Speaker 1: it done against Temple being at home. What is the
• 36:42
  Speaker 1: spread of the Temple game? What did that open up at,
• 36:45
  Speaker 1: USF and Temple spread?
• 36:46
  Speaker 2: Let me check. I'm actually kind of curious. I haven't
• 36:51
  Speaker 2: deep-dived into Temple yet.
• 36:54
  Speaker 1: I'll obviously do that before I do the preview show,
• 36:57
  Speaker 1: but I have not deep-dived into them. All right, USF's
• 37:00
  Speaker 1: minus 6.5. That's about what I thought it would be.
• 37:02
  Speaker 1: I was going to say 7.5, but after the performance
• 37:05
  Speaker 1: against Bowling Green, I guess I could see why. I
• 37:08
  Speaker 1: still like them to get the job done against Temple. UTSA,
• 37:12
  Speaker 1: I had that as a loss at the beginning of
• 37:14
  Speaker 1: the season. UTSA, Memphis, and Tulane, I just.
• 37:20
  Speaker 1: Tulane, he got it home. Maybe some things start changing.
• 37:23
  Speaker 1: Right now, if you sat me down and said, all right,
• 37:28
  Speaker 1: I need you to predict how many games this team
• 37:30
  Speaker 1: is going to win. And if you get this number wrong,
• 37:33
  Speaker 1: I'm taking your cute puppies from you, you lose your house,
• 37:36
  Speaker 1: your wife, your car right and i had to get
• 37:39
  Speaker 1: this right looking at the schedule i'd probably tell you.
• 37:44
  Speaker 2: Eight wins and that would be utsa memphis two.
• 37:50
  Speaker 1: Lane and then throw a random l in there right
• 37:54
  Speaker 1: that's that's gun to my head i still think the
• 37:57
  Speaker 1: ceiling is probably 10 wins and i think the floor
• 38:01
  Speaker 1: is probably i don't want to say you know what
• 38:04
  Speaker 1: i don't even want to talk about the floor but Yeah,
• 38:08
  Speaker 1: I guess I've changed a little bit. I'm no longer
• 38:11
  Speaker 1: at the 10 number. But they can also change my
• 38:14
  Speaker 1: mind and get me back to the 10 number. And
• 38:17
  Speaker 1: that starts Saturday. Now, if you can rip off these
• 38:20
  Speaker 1: next two, you go 6-0 against UTSA, then my expectation changes.
• 38:25
  Speaker 2: Because I think UTSA is a really good team.
• 38:28
  Speaker 1: My expectation will change if you are able to win
• 38:32
  Speaker 1: the next two and you start off at 6-0. Let's see,
• 38:39
  Speaker 1: Kurt Olson, what are the chances we change our scheme?
• 38:44
  Speaker 2: No chance.
• 38:45
  Speaker 1: I don't think they're changing the scheme. USApples horns up
• 38:49
  Speaker 1: on Twitter. What's going on with the O-line? I just
• 38:53
  Speaker 1: think there's no consistency. You're constantly, it's a revolving door.
• 38:56
  Speaker 1: You're playing with a bunch of different line combinations. These
• 38:58
  Speaker 1: guys just, they were already new to begin with, and
• 39:01
  Speaker 1: then every single week it seems to be new. So
• 39:04
  Speaker 1: there's just, they haven't gelled yet. It's bottom line. Matthew Ferguson,
• 39:10
  Speaker 1: should there be concern with the low offensive output this
• 39:14
  Speaker 1: past game? Yeah, 100%. We're pretty close to code red.
• 39:20
  Speaker 1: I can't even sugarcoat it. Yeah, there's concern. If you're
• 39:26
  Speaker 1: not concerned, then you're one of those fans It's just like,
• 39:28
  Speaker 1: you're like my dad where it can be the worst outcome.
• 39:31
  Speaker 2: He's like, yeah, you know what?
• 39:32
  Speaker 1: We still got a chance at the natty. I'm like, no,
• 39:33
  Speaker 1: we don't like we don't, we don't have a chance
• 39:36
  Speaker 1: at a natty. Uh, so if you're not concerned about
• 39:39
  Speaker 1: the offensive line, then you're too positive for me. Um,
• 39:43
  Speaker 1: because yeah, there's, there's reason to, to have concern a
• 39:46
  Speaker 1: hundred percent. Uh, I don't even know if I'm pronouncing
• 39:51
  Speaker 1: that right. The O-line situation is hell. They keep shifting
• 39:55
  Speaker 1: guys because of injuries with Wooten out. Schrader shifts to
• 39:58
  Speaker 1: tackle was a mismatch, directly led to the two fumbles
• 40:02
  Speaker 1: in most of the sacks. Yeah, you know, when you
• 40:05
  Speaker 1: got guys, like, see, here in Tampa Bay, we see
• 40:08
  Speaker 1: Tristan Wirfs go from right tackle to left tackle, and
• 40:10
  Speaker 1: it's like, oh, which, by the way, he's struggling at
• 40:12
  Speaker 1: left tackle now, but last year he was great at
• 40:14
  Speaker 1: left tackle. And he still is overall, but it's not
• 40:19
  Speaker 1: easy to just switch positions on the offensive line. Like
• 40:22
  Speaker 1: us as fans think going from guard to tackle, Oh,
• 40:25
  Speaker 1: that must be pretty set.
• 40:26
  Speaker 2: It's not.
• 40:27
  Speaker 1: And you saw that on Saturday. Um, there was more
• 40:31
  Speaker 1: to that question too. Is this a personnel issue or
• 40:33
  Speaker 1: more on the coaches? This unit was supposed to be
• 40:35
  Speaker 1: the strength. I think it's a little bit of both.
• 40:39
  Speaker 1: I mean, I, I, again, the coaching staff isn't Scott
• 40:43
  Speaker 1: free in all of this. I want to make sure
• 40:44
  Speaker 1: I'm clear on that just because I'm not going, Hey,
• 40:46
  Speaker 1: fire Tim back. Like, Some of you are, it doesn't
• 40:49
  Speaker 1: mean that there's not issues with the coaching staff. Cause I,
• 40:52
  Speaker 1: that is part of it. But again, that's, that's the
• 40:56
  Speaker 1: thing with offensive line. Like that's the one thing, like
• 40:58
  Speaker 1: go back to what we were just talking about a
• 40:59
  Speaker 1: couple of minutes ago. You know what I'm talking about?
• 41:02
  Speaker 1: How every year you're going to have to deal with
• 41:03
  Speaker 1: this new influx of people. That's where it's going to
• 41:06
  Speaker 1: hurt you. The most is if you can't get a
• 41:09
  Speaker 1: consistent offensive line, like that placed a lot of football together.
• 41:18
  Speaker 1: It's going to be tough sledding because these guys have
• 41:20
  Speaker 1: played a lot of football, just not together. And individually,
• 41:23
  Speaker 1: they all had really good years last year. And then
• 41:25
  Speaker 1: you put them all in the same room and it's
• 41:26
  Speaker 1: like they can't figure this out. And so maybe, you know,
• 41:31
  Speaker 1: back to the question about scheme. Yeah, maybe it's a
• 41:34
  Speaker 1: scheme issue. I hate comparing the Bulls to the Bucs
• 41:37
  Speaker 1: because one team is winless and the other is undefeated. But,
• 41:40
  Speaker 1: you know, I look at this offensive line for the
• 41:42
  Speaker 1: Bucs and it's like, well, they were really good in
• 41:43
  Speaker 1: the past. It's the same group of guys, but the
• 41:45
  Speaker 1: scheme has changed. And so I look at Zach Robinson
• 41:48
  Speaker 1: and I'm like, what has he done to kind of
• 41:50
  Speaker 1: ruin this offensive line? I don't have that same kind
• 41:53
  Speaker 1: of evaluation with USF because we've never seen this offensive
• 41:57
  Speaker 1: line together.
• 41:57
  Speaker 2: So I don't know if they were ever going to
• 41:59
  Speaker 2: be good together.
• 42:00
  Speaker 1: Like the Bucs, we had evidence these guys were good
• 42:03
  Speaker 1: together and it looks like they might have a scheme issue.
• 42:05
  Speaker 1: I haven't been able to identify that yet with USF.
• 42:08
  Speaker 1: If this is a scheme issue or just to me,
• 42:12
  Speaker 1: it's an execution issue. And I think it's okay to
• 42:17
  Speaker 1: put the blame on players at times. Again, like the
• 42:20
  Speaker 1: theme of the show, we always talk about blaming the
• 42:21
  Speaker 1: coaching staff. Sometimes you got to hold the players accountable.
• 42:26
  Speaker 1: And I think right now I'm doing a pretty good
• 42:28
  Speaker 1: job holding the offensive line accountable. I think they're the
• 42:32
  Speaker 1: biggest problem with all of this. And I think if
• 42:34
  Speaker 1: you get the offensive line fixed, well, the running game
• 42:37
  Speaker 1: will continue to be a strength.
• 42:38
  Speaker 2: It'll get even stronger.
• 42:39
  Speaker 1: And that's going to open up the pass game, which
• 42:41
  Speaker 1: ultimately opens up the run game. So, the online is
• 42:44
  Speaker 1: what changes all of this. You know, I'll go back
• 42:47
  Speaker 1: to my 10 wins. Hell, I'll tell you, they can
• 42:49
  Speaker 1: win the American. If the offensive line lives up to
• 42:51
  Speaker 1: the expectation, if the offensive line doesn't live up to
• 42:54
  Speaker 1: the expectation, you're not sniffing the American conference.
• 42:57
  Speaker 2: USF bowl central. Last question.
• 43:00
  Speaker 1: Is USF still a college football playoff caliber team?
• 43:06
  Speaker 2: Come on, man. I, I, I, I can't believe that's
• 43:16
  Speaker 2: a question.
• 43:16
  Speaker 1: And I know, okay, I get why you asked this question.
• 43:19
  Speaker 1: You want me to make you feel good? You want
• 43:20
  Speaker 1: me to tell you yes?
• 43:21
  Speaker 2: I can't. This is not a playoff caliber team. Not
• 43:25
  Speaker 2: even close. Who's Boise State got left on their schedule?
• 43:31
  Speaker 2: Could already be a wrap. The problem with that, you're
• 43:34
  Speaker 2: definitely going against them. Let's see.
• 43:39
  Speaker 1: Fresno State, Utah State. They got Washington State. Texas State,
• 43:44
  Speaker 1: Oregon State, Colorado State. There's a good chance they're going
• 43:48
  Speaker 1: to run the table. Do they have San Diego State?
• 43:52
  Speaker 1: They do have San Diego State, who did get them
• 43:55
  Speaker 1: last year. At the end of the year, that would
• 43:57
  Speaker 1: be their second loss, but I don't think they're going
• 43:59
  Speaker 1: to count that loss to Oregon. They're not really going
• 44:01
  Speaker 1: to penalize them for that. Honestly, I shouldn't even be
• 44:05
  Speaker 1: looking at others right now because it doesn't even matter.
• 44:07
  Speaker 1: To answer your question, no. They're not a playoff caliber team.
• 44:11
  Speaker 1: They're not even close. I think their defense is playoff caliber,
• 44:15
  Speaker 1: but this offense is nowhere near playoff caliber. But again,
• 44:20
  Speaker 1: the defensive line, I was so impressed with this weekend.
• 44:23
  Speaker 1: So defensively, yes. Now, the defense, because the offense has
• 44:29
  Speaker 1: been so bad, the defense would get destroyed against a
• 44:36
  Speaker 1: playoff team. Because I think the defense will be on
• 44:39
  Speaker 1: the field for so much. I don't even want to
• 44:41
  Speaker 1: think about that right now.
• 44:42
  Speaker 2: So.
• 44:43
  Speaker 1: I let's, let's go ahead and leave college football playoff
• 44:46
  Speaker 1: out of our vocabulary for right now.
• 44:48
  Speaker 2: I love that. It can be an expectation here.
• 44:51
  Speaker 1: And that's one thing that's great about the 12 team
• 44:53
  Speaker 1: playoff is it gives you hope not to kill all
• 44:56
  Speaker 1: your hope or anything, but I, I think we need
• 44:59
  Speaker 1: to just, we need to pump the brakes a little
• 45:00
  Speaker 1: bit on the CFP. We need to pump the brakes
• 45:03
  Speaker 1: and think of our top 25 team just because we're undefeated.
• 45:06
  Speaker 1: And I think you're just gonna have to be patient,
• 45:08
  Speaker 1: but right now, no, this team is nowhere near a
• 45:10
  Speaker 1: playoff caliber team. And, I would hate for this team
• 45:13
  Speaker 1: to just somehow stumble its way into the playoff playing
• 45:15
  Speaker 1: the way they are right now and have to see
• 45:17
  Speaker 1: them go up against any of these top 12 teams.
• 45:20
  Speaker 2: Cause I think it would be really ugly.
• 45:22
  Speaker 1: And then, you know, then you're going to have to
• 45:23
  Speaker 1: hear all about, Oh, USF can't hang with the big boy.
• 45:26
  Speaker 1: Like it would get ugly. This team, they cannot compete
• 45:29
  Speaker 1: at that level right now. I mean, they just struggled
• 45:31
  Speaker 1: to Bowling Green and Bowling Green got waxed by power
• 45:36
  Speaker 1: for teams that are not playoff teams. You know, that's,
• 45:42
  Speaker 1: That's what is so like Iowa State. They're in a
• 45:46
  Speaker 1: completely different roster from a year ago. They put up
• 45:50
  Speaker 1: 55 on Bowling Green. Nebraska put up 56 on Bowling Green.
• 45:57
  Speaker 1: Those are two teams that are not good. So, no,
• 46:03
  Speaker 1: there's a lot of work to be done. So I'm
• 46:07
  Speaker 1: assuming that was a question that you're hoping I could
• 46:09
  Speaker 1: make you feel better on. I'm sorry I couldn't. Got
• 46:13
  Speaker 1: to just completely be honest with you. But no, they
• 46:15
  Speaker 1: are so far from a playoff caliber team. I did
• 46:21
  Speaker 1: mark down in my notes, though, defense played A +
• 46:23
  Speaker 1: + in the first quarter. They really played A +
• 46:27
  Speaker 1: + every quarter. But with the turnover on the fourth
• 46:32
  Speaker 1: down and the two fumbles, and for them to only
• 46:34
  Speaker 1: give up six points, hell of a job. Because otherwise
• 46:39
  Speaker 1: they pitch a shutout, if not for the offense. So
• 46:42
  Speaker 1: that's where we're at. That's my thoughts on that game.
• 46:44
  Speaker 2: Uh, it was ugly. Wasn't great.
• 46:47
  Speaker 1: Uh, make sure you are subscribed to fourth and bowl
• 46:50
  Speaker 1: on I heart radio, Spotify, and Apple podcast. Make sure
• 46:53
  Speaker 1: you subscribe on YouTube at fourth and bowl podcast. Um,
• 46:57
  Speaker 1: I should have a player interview interview for you. Wednesday
• 46:59
  Speaker 1: have not reached out. You can let me know in
• 47:01
  Speaker 1: the comments. So you want me to talk to, I usually,
• 47:03
  Speaker 1: I usually reach out to the school today. Usually a
• 47:06
  Speaker 1: little bit later on tonight. Um, but yeah, let me
• 47:10
  Speaker 1: know in the comments. And then of course we'll preview
• 47:14
  Speaker 1: this game on Thursday. And then I don't know what
• 47:16
  Speaker 1: next week's going to look like because, uh, next week
• 47:19
  Speaker 1: they play on Thursday. So that could be, I don't
• 47:25
  Speaker 1: know how I'm going to, I don't know how that's
• 47:26
  Speaker 1: going to look for me. Cause I don't know if
• 47:29
  Speaker 1: we'll have a player next week with them playing on
• 47:31
  Speaker 1: a Thursday. If we do, maybe it's on Monday. I gotta,
• 47:33
  Speaker 1: I gotta figure that out. But, uh, but yeah, expect
• 47:36
  Speaker 1: another episode with a player on Wednesday. And then of course, uh, Thursday,
• 47:40
  Speaker 1: you'll get another episode. We'll preview the Temple game, which
• 47:44
  Speaker 1: is Saturday night, and hopefully the Bulls will be able
• 47:45
  Speaker 1: to go 5-0 and make us feel a little bit better.
• 47:48
  Speaker 1: It is interesting to be 4-0. Best start since, what, 2017?
• 47:52
  Speaker 1: And nobody's happy.
• 47:54
  Speaker 2: Nobody. You're not happy. The coaching staff's not happy. The
• 47:56
  Speaker 2: players aren't happy. I'm not happy. But that's a good thing, right?
• 48:00
  Speaker 2: The expectations are there for this team.
• 48:01
  Speaker 1: That's the sign of a program that is on the rise,
• 48:05
  Speaker 1: and they know they're not living up to the expectation.
• 48:08
  Speaker 2: You know it. I know it.
• 48:09
  Speaker 1: And we can only hope that they get better. They
• 48:11
  Speaker 1: got a lot of work to do. The potential is there.
• 48:14
  Speaker 1: But they are way off from being a playoff team
• 48:17
  Speaker 1: right now. So we should probably just focus on, how
• 48:20
  Speaker 1: about we just focus one game at a time? And
• 48:23
  Speaker 1: maybe somehow they progress. And you never know. American Conference Championship,
• 48:28
  Speaker 1: maybe that's, like, look, they've never done that. So let's
• 48:31
  Speaker 1: just start there before we start worrying about the college
• 48:33
  Speaker 1: football playoff.
• 48:35
  Speaker 2: All right?
• 48:35
  Speaker 1: All right, that is going to wrap it up. Again,
• 48:38
  Speaker 1: make sure you subscribe, all the channels, YouTube, Apple, iHeart,
• 48:42
  Speaker 1: and Spotify. And make sure you follow me on social media.
• 48:46
  Speaker 1: Hopefully the next podcast we do, hopefully, we'll have the
• 48:49
  Speaker 1: sponsor locked down. Let me check my email.
• 48:51
  Speaker 2: Have I heard back?
• 48:52
  Speaker 1: I'm starting to get a little bit worried at this point. No,
• 48:56
  Speaker 1: nothing yet. But hopefully we'll get that locked down for
• 48:58
  Speaker 1: the next one. If you or anyone you know owns
• 49:00
  Speaker 1: a business, wants to advertise, I've got a couple different
• 49:04
  Speaker 1: packages available. that we can put out there for you.
• 49:07
  Speaker 1: We can customize them to fit your business. We've got
• 49:10
  Speaker 1: a pretty good, decent-sized audience, and the one thing I've
• 49:12
  Speaker 1: learned about our audience, they support, man. So if you've
• 49:15
  Speaker 1: got a business, we'll put it on the podcast, and
• 49:17
  Speaker 1: Bulls Nation will support you. All right, thank you so
• 49:20
  Speaker 1: much for supporting me.
• 49:21
  Speaker 2: I appreciate it.
• 49:22
  Speaker 1: Thank you so much for watching and listening to 4th
• 49:25
  Speaker 1: & Bull, and we will talk again later this week.
• 49:28
  Speaker 2: Go Bulls!