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Texas' Top College QBs, Bye Week Bonanza, Early State Title Contenders with Greg Tepper · The Craig Way Show

• 0:02
  Speaker 1: We're back. It's the Craig Way Show with Hall of Fame.
• 0:05
  Speaker 2: Broadcaster and voice of the Texas Longhorns, Craig Way.
• 0:09
  Speaker 3: The autumn leaves are red and gold.
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  Speaker 4: Okay.
• 0:21
  Speaker 5: Texan Tuesday, as we mentioned.
• 0:23
  Speaker 4: In the 2 o'clock hour, we hear from the immortal
• 0:27
  Speaker 4: Stevie Ray Vaughan. On a return cut, the 4 o'clock hour,
• 0:31
  Speaker 4: the King George Strait is always in the 3 o'clock
• 0:34
  Speaker 4: hour for the iconic Willie Nelson here.
• 0:36
  Speaker 6: And some of Willie Nelson's best cuts have come from
• 0:38
  Speaker 6: the covers he's done on other iconic songs. And here
• 0:41
  Speaker 6: he is on Nat King Cole's Autumn Leaves.
• 0:44
  Speaker 4: Well, it may not feel completely like autumn yet, given
• 0:49
  Speaker 4: a couple of days, by the way.
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  Speaker 5: We could have a lot of heavy rain across the
• 0:52
  Speaker 5: state of Texas.
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: However.
• 0:54
  Speaker 4: The high school football season has hit the halfway mark
• 0:57
  Speaker 4: of the regular season. And college football is a third of.
• 1:01
  Speaker 5: The way through its regular season. So as always, Tuesdays
• 1:04
  Speaker 5: with Tepper.
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  Speaker 4: And we're pleased to welcome the editor-in-chief of Dave Campbell's
• 1:08
  Speaker 4: Texas Football Magazine, Greg Tepper, to the program. I always
• 1:10
  Speaker 4: feel like all is right with the world when we
• 1:13
  Speaker 4: got Willie Nelson and Tepper together starting out in this
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  Speaker 4: 3 o'clock hour.
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  Speaker 6: Right?
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  Speaker 5: Yeah.
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: You know, look.
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  Speaker 2: We're all good at our own things, right? Like, there's
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: just an important thing. You probably would not ask Willie
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: to break down District 11, 3A, Division 2.
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  Speaker 5: Probably not.
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  Speaker 2: And in the same way, please do not ask me
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  Speaker 2: to sing or play the guitar.
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  Speaker 4: Okay, yeah. And duly noted off of that. I want
• 1:42
  Speaker 4: to start off with something that really... I was equal
• 1:47
  Speaker 4: parts curious and amused about, and it was the piece
• 1:50
  Speaker 4: that Mike Craven put together on, and for folks who
• 1:54
  Speaker 4: don't know what I'm talking about, if you go to TexasFootball.com,
• 1:58
  Speaker 4: there you'll see the great stuff from Dave Campbell's Texas
• 2:00
  Speaker 4: Football Magazine. You can subscribe and get lots of great
• 2:03
  Speaker 4: content and hard copies of the magazine and access to
• 2:06
  Speaker 4: watching Live games there if you go to TexasFootball.com. But
• 2:10
  Speaker 4: he did a piece entitled, What We Got Right, What
• 2:15
  Speaker 4: We Got Wrong.
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  Speaker 5: Revisiting Our 2026 Predictions. Now, here's the amusing part.
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  Speaker 4: This thing was released at midnight last night or starting today.
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  Speaker 4: On September 29th, you know, I'm used to seeing that
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  Speaker 4: kind of thing in December or January. No grass grows
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  Speaker 4: under the feet of Mike Craven, and he's already at
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  Speaker 4: the one-third pole.
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  Speaker 5: Saying, here's what we got right, here's what we got.
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  Speaker 4: Wrong about college football, still with two-thirds of the regular
• 2:43
  Speaker 4: season left to be played.
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  Speaker 2: Well, and a few of them that he points out
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  Speaker 2: I think are, you know, some of them are still projections.
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  Speaker 2: One of them he says that UTSA is going to
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  Speaker 2: finish with the most wins in the G6 in Texas.
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  Speaker 1: And that obviously still remains to be seen, right?
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  Speaker 2: You know, I think that so far they're looking like
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  Speaker 2: a team that could win eight or nine games, and
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  Speaker 2: I'm not sure there's another team. Out there, the G6,
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  Speaker 2: it's going to win eight or nine games, especially considering
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  Speaker 2: UTSA has already got a win over Texas State, which
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  Speaker 2: is probably the chief challenger to that crown. That's part
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  Speaker 2: of it. Others, I think, you're capable of saying that
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  Speaker 2: there's at least a comfortable verdict on it. One of
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  Speaker 2: them was that Craven's been pretty clear he thought that
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  Speaker 2: Texas Tech was going to take at least a moderate
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  Speaker 2: step back from last year. And I think that obviously
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: the record is what it is, right? They're undefeated. We
• 3:31
  Speaker 2: don't apologize for wins. But at the same time, they
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  Speaker 2: have not been that dominant force that they were last year.
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  Speaker 2: I think it's very clear to see why. Obviously, the
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  Speaker 2: offense has been okay. It's been fits and starts, obviously.
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  Speaker 2: But the biggest thing is that they do not have
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  Speaker 2: that defensive war caddy. They do not have a David Bailey.
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  Speaker 2: They do not have a Jacob Rodriguez. And that is
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  Speaker 2: kind of.
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  Speaker 1: Laid bare, I think.
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  Speaker 2: He also said that he thought that Baylor would get
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  Speaker 2: off to a fast start, and they have. They're 3-1
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  Speaker 2: right now. But the other thing is that, as he notes,
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  Speaker 2: they'd get off to a fast start. Doesn't mean they'd
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  Speaker 2: have a fast finish because their schedule gets way tougher
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  Speaker 2: from here on out. But a 3-1 start is where
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  Speaker 2: they need to go. The thing that I think is
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  Speaker 2: really interesting on his part is that as far as
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  Speaker 2: what he was wrong about were the two flagship programs
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  Speaker 2: in Texas.
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  Speaker 1: There's A & M and.
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  Speaker 2: Basically saying that he thought A & M would win
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  Speaker 2: nine games. He has now backpedaled pretty significantly off of
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  Speaker 2: that and said, you know, I think that obviously the
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  Speaker 2: Marcel Reed situation is such that, and the schedule.
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  Speaker 1: Is only going to get tougher, that they are going,
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  Speaker 1: they're in a really tough way.
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  Speaker 2: And it's going to be, I mean, obviously they've got
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  Speaker 2: the Citadel left, which is probably the only absolute guaranteed
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  Speaker 2: win left on the schedule.
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  Speaker 1: And then the other one.
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  Speaker 2: Was about Arch Manning and saying that Arch Manning, he
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  Speaker 2: said Arch Manning will be the best quarterback in Texas
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  Speaker 2: at the college ranks.
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  Speaker 1: I don't want to speak for Craven. I don't think
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  Speaker 1: he thinks.
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  Speaker 2: Manning's been bad, but I think when you take a
• 5:05
  Speaker 2: look at what Kevin Jennings has done at SMU, who
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  Speaker 2: was our second team all Texas College to start the year,
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  Speaker 2: I think if he could go back, he'd probably flip
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  Speaker 2: those at least through the first four games.
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  Speaker 5: I agree with just about everything he said.
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  Speaker 4: The only bone of contention I would even have with
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  Speaker 4: him on the quarterback situation is, have you looked at
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  Speaker 4: Kevin Jennings' turnovers?
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  Speaker 1: Yes.
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  Speaker 2: Yes.
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  Speaker 4: I mean, if you look at the fumbles and the interceptions,
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  Speaker 4: Manning has three interceptions. And one of them is at
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  Speaker 4: the end of the half, in the end zone at
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  Speaker 4: Texas State when Emmitt Mosley slipped and the DB made
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  Speaker 4: a good play on the ball. Then you had that
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  Speaker 4: weird one to Cam Coleman where he bounces off the
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  Speaker 4: turf and the ball pops in the air and Ohio
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  Speaker 4: State picks it up. And then last week, Coleman just
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  Speaker 4: had the ball ripped out of his grasp on a
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  Speaker 4: deep route out there that Sark said yesterday he would
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  Speaker 4: take every time, take that throw. So there's that. I would,
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  Speaker 4: and he did mention this guy. Give him credit for this.
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  Speaker 4: I think Connor Wigman's having the best time. of any
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  Speaker 4: quarterback collegiately in Texas right now.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, Conor Wigman's been great for Houston.
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  Speaker 2: He's been, at least, I would say the word that
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  Speaker 2: I would use for him is he's been the most consistent.
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  Speaker 1: That I think that when you take a look at.
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  Speaker 2: The peaks, the peaks for Manning and for Jennings have
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  Speaker 2: been higher. Yep. But the valleys, I think, would also,
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  Speaker 2: you would say, have been lower. For Conor Wigman, now
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  Speaker 2: a salty veteran in the college ranks, he is kind
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  Speaker 2: of steady as she goes. You kind of know what
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  Speaker 2: you're getting from him. And there is certainly a value
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  Speaker 2: to that. that you know he's going to go out
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  Speaker 2: there and he's going to take care of you. You
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  Speaker 2: know what you're getting from him, as opposed to with Manning,
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  Speaker 2: where he's flashed and looked like, oh my gosh, he's
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  Speaker 2: a Heisman Trophy winner. And other times you've been like,
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  Speaker 2: come on, got to get more from the quarterback spot.
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  Speaker 1: I think you're right. I think Connor Wigman has been the.
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  Speaker 2: Real steady force as far as college football quarterbacks in Texas.
• 6:47
  Speaker 4: Visiting with Greg Tepper, editor-in-chief, Dave Campbell's Texas Football Magazine.
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  Speaker 4: All right, let's jump to high school. We are at
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  Speaker 4: the numerical midway mark of the season for most schools.
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  Speaker 4: Of the teams across the state of town. And this
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  Speaker 4: is a side note. I'm going to get back to it.
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  Speaker 4: I want to ask you about the top 10 rankings thing.
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  Speaker 4: And we'll get to this when we look at games.
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  Speaker 4: Is this like a Niagara Falls tidal wave of open
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  Speaker 4: dates this week? And my goodness, is 4A Division II
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  Speaker 4: even playing this week?
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  Speaker 5: When you look at some of this.
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  Speaker 2: So, so. We saw this coming in about March, when
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  Speaker 2: the schedules really started taking shape.
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  Speaker 1: We're like, boy.
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  Speaker 2: There's always one week in the middle of the season
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  Speaker 2: where there's a ton of open dates, but this felt
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  Speaker 2: like it was even more. I'm calling it the bipocalypse. Guys,
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  Speaker 2: if it feels like there's a ton of open dates,
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  Speaker 2: it's because.
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  Speaker 1: 39% of UIL teams are off this week. Almost 40%
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  Speaker 1: of the whole state is off.
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  Speaker 2: Um, which is, you know, uh, it's, it is, I
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  Speaker 2: would say we were actually doing my podcast tap and
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  Speaker 2: step with math step yesterday. And I said, I'm not
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  Speaker 2: going to tell you it's a great week. I'm not
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  Speaker 2: going to tell you it's a good week, but it
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  Speaker 2: is a not bad week. And it's an opportunity. I
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  Speaker 2: think if you are, uh, the fan of only one
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  Speaker 2: team or you go to the same game, go, go,
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  Speaker 2: it's the horizons a little bit.
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  Speaker 1: So go see what else is going on.
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  Speaker 6: Yeah.
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  Speaker 4: Uh for jake herman the voice of the bass drop
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  Speaker 4: bears the bye week probably comes at a good time
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  Speaker 4: uh right jake with some of the beatings and the
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  Speaker 4: and the injuries the bears have had to uh deal with.
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  Speaker 6: Yeah they were not planning on going to brennan without
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  Speaker 6: starting quarterback weston nielsen before the season that's for sure
• 8:30
  Speaker 6: it's not just nielsen it's on both lines it's in
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  Speaker 6: the linebacking courts in the secondary where bass drop is
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  Speaker 6: banged up right now so they're really hoping to get healthy.
• 8:38
  Speaker 4: I started to say they're hoping to get some guys back,
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  Speaker 4: aren't they?
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  Speaker 6: They should have a bulk of their key contributors back
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  Speaker 6: within the next few weeks.
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  Speaker 1: Well, and here's the thing.
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  Speaker 2: There's another side to that, which is taking on Brenham,
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  Speaker 2: which is a team that is a house on fire
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  Speaker 2: right now. Like they look every bit the part of
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  Speaker 2: the team that we've thought for the past couple of
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  Speaker 2: years could be. They are like reaching that potential right now.
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  Speaker 2: So yeah, not a great time to be banged up,
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  Speaker 2: taking on the Bears. All right, all right.
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  Speaker 5: Let's take a break.
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  Speaker 4: When we come back, I've got some other things I
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  Speaker 4: want to get to with Greg Tepper here on the
• 9:13
  Speaker 4: high school front here on this Texan Tuesday on Sports
• 9:17
  Speaker 4: Radio AM 1300 The Zone and the iHeartRadio app. And
• 9:22
  Speaker 4: we continue on a Texan Tuesday visiting with Greg Tepper,
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  Speaker 4: editor-in-chief of Dave Campbell's Texas Football Magazine.
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  Speaker 5: We talk about college football in the state.
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  Speaker 4: We've moved on to high school now. Let me get
• 9:32
  Speaker 4: to your top ten poll. And the reason why I
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  Speaker 4: say this is that we're kind of at the midway
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  Speaker 4: mark of the season.
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  Speaker 5: Your top three remain the same.
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  Speaker 4: You did a flip-flop with Allen moving or the top four,
• 9:46
  Speaker 4: excuse me, there. In fact, looking at your top seven
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  Speaker 4: actually remain the same on this.
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  Speaker 5: I'm curious to get your thoughts.
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  Speaker 4: If you're asking me, and I've looked at Jerry Forrest's
• 9:58
  Speaker 4: computer rankings, if you're asking me, I think the best
• 10:01
  Speaker 4: team in the state is Allen right now. That said,
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  Speaker 4: Waxhatchee's been number one from the start. They've been impressive enough.
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  Speaker 4: No reason to just knock about. It's the same reason
• 10:11
  Speaker 4: folks are asking the question about Texas. You know, they're
• 10:13
  Speaker 4: number one, and they didn't blow Tennessee out, but it
• 10:16
  Speaker 4: was a conference win on the road in a tough environment.
• 10:19
  Speaker 4: They stay at the number one spot. And North Shore,
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  Speaker 4: number two. North Crowley, number three. Allen, number four. San
• 10:25
  Speaker 4: Antonio Johnson, number five. KD6 and Fort Bend. Ridge Point,
• 10:29
  Speaker 4: number seven. The change comes below that. With CE King 8, Coppell,
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  Speaker 4: your alma mater, they're at number 9. And Denton Guy
• 10:37
  Speaker 4: are at number 10. How about your thoughts overall, especially
• 10:40
  Speaker 4: on those first seven who are all unbeaten and holding
• 10:45
  Speaker 4: their spots?
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  Speaker 2: So, yeah, I mean, look, right now, and we've been
• 10:49
  Speaker 2: hearing from people saying, why isn't this team? I got
• 10:51
  Speaker 2: a note from somebody saying, how is Katie not a
• 10:54
  Speaker 2: top five team and stuff like that?
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  Speaker 1: And here's the thing. My argument would be, I agree.
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  Speaker 2: I think that there's a tier here that you would take,
• 11:01
  Speaker 2: and you take a look at those top seven teams.
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  Speaker 2: I even include CE King into that at the eighth
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  Speaker 2: spot and say, okay, any order.
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: You want to put those guys in, I don't necessarily
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  Speaker 1: have a huge problem with.
• 11:13
  Speaker 2: For example, my own personal opinion, and I want to
• 11:16
  Speaker 2: make sure it's not recency bias and not just being
• 11:18
  Speaker 2: in the same building as them. I saw Galena Park
• 11:22
  Speaker 2: North Shore last week in person. If you ask me
• 11:25
  Speaker 2: right now who the best team in 6A is, it's
• 11:26
  Speaker 2: the North Shore Mustangs. They are unreal defensively. Defensively, absolutely
• 11:32
  Speaker 2: smothered in Tascocita. And the offense, they're not star-studded like
• 11:38
  Speaker 2: they normally are. But man, they just run the ball well.
• 11:41
  Speaker 2: They're quarterback. Javoris Taylor has taken a step. Their offensive
• 11:44
  Speaker 2: line is a bunch of road graders. I just look
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  Speaker 2: at North Shore. And right now, I think that's the
• 11:49
  Speaker 2: best team in the state. And also, I don't think
• 11:52
  Speaker 2: I could necessarily rank them, you know, if you want
• 11:54
  Speaker 2: to rank Allen number one, or you want to rank
• 11:56
  Speaker 2: San Antonio Johnson, who's been really good, number one, or
• 11:59
  Speaker 2: you want to keep walks out your North Carolina.
• 12:00
  Speaker 1: I'm not going to argue with you.
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  Speaker 2: I think that there are, there's kind of a tier
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  Speaker 2: of groups at the very top of elite teams in 6A.
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  Speaker 2: And I think right now I'd probably look at nine
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  Speaker 2: deep as far as our rankings are concerned.
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  Speaker 5: Okay, all right.
• 12:12
  Speaker 4: I want to ask you about a couple other Metroplex teams.
• 12:14
  Speaker 4: We haven't really talked about them much. Well, first, your
• 12:19
  Speaker 4: alma mater, Coppell. I want to ask you about the
• 12:22
  Speaker 4: teams at 9, 10, and 12. Coppell, Denton-Geyer, and the
• 12:26
  Speaker 4: Louisville Fighting Farmers, who are number 12 in your rankings.
• 12:30
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: Okay, we'll start with Coppell. You know, it makes me
• 12:34
  Speaker 2: a little uncomfortable to talk about my alma mater, but.
• 12:39
  Speaker 2: But they're really good. They're one loss on the road
• 12:43
  Speaker 2: by one score, two walks of Hatchie, right?
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: Pretty good.
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  Speaker 2: Carter Zingelman, their quarterback, is the real stinking deal. He
• 12:52
  Speaker 2: looks the part, 6'5, 200, and can run. He can
• 12:56
  Speaker 2: throw it. He is the real deal. I think they're
• 12:59
  Speaker 2: going to be in the mix. and a team that
• 13:00
  Speaker 2: I think is going to be worth paying attention to
• 13:03
  Speaker 2: kind of deep into November. Denton Guyer is really interesting.
• 13:07
  Speaker 2: I love what they do defensively. Their front with Kyron
• 13:09
  Speaker 2: Haywood is really, really strong. Zane Rowe as well, fantastic.
• 13:15
  Speaker 1: And then Louisville.
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  Speaker 2: Now, Louisville's in an interesting spot because you may look
• 13:18
  Speaker 2: at our rankings, and you may see that the Louisville
• 13:20
  Speaker 2: Fighting Farmers have a 1-3 record. They are technically 1-3.
• 13:24
  Speaker 2: It's because they had to forfeit three games. Their quarterback
• 13:28
  Speaker 2: was ruled ineligible. Now, he moved in from Oklahoma, and
• 13:31
  Speaker 2: I think the DEC ruled him ineligible, and then the
• 13:36
  Speaker 2: state said as well.
• 13:37
  Speaker 1: So as a result, they are 1-3. We're waiting.
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  Speaker 2: We decided to keep them there at number 12 for now.
• 13:45
  Speaker 2: They beat Flora Mount Marcus in the Battle of the
• 13:47
  Speaker 2: Axe and did so impressively. So on the field... We
• 13:51
  Speaker 2: still think they're pretty good. Now, I would say that
• 13:54
  Speaker 2: for them, we're going to have a pretty quick trigger
• 13:56
  Speaker 2: as far as them, that if they show a sign
• 13:58
  Speaker 2: of weakness or something, or it's become clear that not
• 14:01
  Speaker 2: having that quarterback is going to severely hurt them, then
• 14:04
  Speaker 2: if they were to drop a game, don't be surprised
• 14:07
  Speaker 2: if they drop farther than other teams normally would, simply
• 14:10
  Speaker 2: because the circumstances have certainly changed with the Farmers. But
• 14:14
  Speaker 2: as of right now, they are a talented bunch. They
• 14:16
  Speaker 2: got a lot of playmakers.
• 14:18
  Speaker 4: A better 5A Division II team, regardless of where you
• 14:21
  Speaker 4: have them in the rankings, your feelings.
• 14:23
  Speaker 5: South Oak Cliff, Bernie, or Argyle?
• 14:27
  Speaker 2: Man, that's tough because, you know, you look at South
• 14:31
  Speaker 2: Oak Cliff, they've got two losses on the year. They're
• 14:33
  Speaker 2: to North Shore and Richmond Randall, both by a score.
• 14:38
  Speaker 2: And then the challenging thing, I know we've talked about
• 14:42
  Speaker 2: this for years and years. The challenging thing about South
• 14:44
  Speaker 2: Oak Cliff is that we won't learn another thing about them.
• 14:48
  Speaker 2: until November or December because they are going to mow
• 14:54
  Speaker 2: through their district.
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  Speaker 1: And I like what I see.
• 14:57
  Speaker 2: I think there are some holes to fill, especially on
• 14:59
  Speaker 2: the offensive side in the running game. But I think
• 15:02
  Speaker 2: so far, so good for them. I saw Argyle in person.
• 15:07
  Speaker 2: I'm wildly impressed with Hayes Hackney, Julian Caldwell. I think
• 15:10
  Speaker 2: they have three legit number one receivers out there in
• 15:13
  Speaker 2: Julian Caldwell, Ake O'Neal, and Micah DeLeon.
• 15:15
  Speaker 1: They're really, really strong. Their defense gives me a little
• 15:18
  Speaker 1: bit of the heebie-jeebies. I will tell you this, though.
• 15:21
  Speaker 1: I am.
• 15:23
  Speaker 1: I am almost all in on Bernie.
• 15:26
  Speaker 2: I think they went and they continued their mastery of
• 15:28
  Speaker 2: Alamo Heights last week. They are going to be favored
• 15:31
  Speaker 2: in the rest of their games the rest of the way.
• 15:32
  Speaker 2: Quarterback Grant Sweeney has been great. They've got a new
• 15:35
  Speaker 2: running back that they've discovered that has really stepped up.
• 15:39
  Speaker 1: I think I'm in on the Greyhounds.
• 15:40
  Speaker 2: The other thing about them is that I think from
• 15:43
  Speaker 2: a path perspective... They have the cleanest path. I think
• 15:48
  Speaker 2: they are, they beat Alamo Heights. There's a good chance
• 15:51
  Speaker 2: they see Alamo Heights again in a playoff game. And
• 15:55
  Speaker 2: at that point, that is, I think, their chief challenger
• 15:57
  Speaker 2: in Region 4, which is why I really like what
• 15:59
  Speaker 2: Bernie's doing.
• 16:02
  Speaker 4: We've talked about Smithson Valley looking every bit the part
• 16:04
  Speaker 4: of a two-time defending state champ.
• 16:07
  Speaker 5: I want to say this.
• 16:09
  Speaker 4: Last year, when it was doing the game of the
• 16:12
  Speaker 4: week and ultimately the state championship games on Victory Plus,
• 16:16
  Speaker 4: they did a big documentary series throughout the course of
• 16:18
  Speaker 4: the season on Frisco Lone Star. Now, I think Jeff
• 16:24
  Speaker 4: Rayburn's been a fine coach. I would also submit that
• 16:29
  Speaker 4: a lot of Lone Star fans have PTSD about them
• 16:32
  Speaker 4: just consistently coming up short in the playoffs year after
• 16:36
  Speaker 4: year after year when it looks like they're going to
• 16:39
  Speaker 4: be pretty good. What's your take on them? They're number
• 16:40
  Speaker 4: two in your rankings. They're behind Smithson Valley, just ahead
• 16:43
  Speaker 4: of Richmond Randall. What's your take on Lone Star?
• 16:47
  Speaker 1: Yeah, there's a little bit.
• 16:50
  Speaker 2: This is going to sound mean, but if there are
• 16:53
  Speaker 2: Frisco Lone Star fans who feel like they're the Buffalo
• 16:56
  Speaker 2: Bills of Texas high school football, I can understand it.
• 17:00
  Speaker 2: They've been really good. They are the team in Frisco ISD,
• 17:03
  Speaker 2: absolutely hard stop. They're an elite Texas high school football program.
• 17:07
  Speaker 2: The only thing missing... is getting over the hump the
• 17:11
  Speaker 2: only thing missing is the big one uh they've been
• 17:13
  Speaker 2: there twice uh come up short twice and uh but
• 17:17
  Speaker 2: you know jeff rayburn of course a heck of a
• 17:19
  Speaker 2: coach this could be the year uh simply because i
• 17:24
  Speaker 2: think you take a look at what they've got the
• 17:26
  Speaker 2: quarterback spot and trey wright the usc commit and how
• 17:29
  Speaker 2: special he is they've got that dude there and he
• 17:31
  Speaker 2: was he was he played for them last year took
• 17:33
  Speaker 2: him to state championship games as a sophomore And the
• 17:37
  Speaker 2: issue is that then he ran into a Smithson Valley
• 17:40
  Speaker 2: defense that was spectacular and made him look pretty ordinary, right?
• 17:45
  Speaker 2: Part of that is that Smithson Valley did that to
• 17:47
  Speaker 2: a lot of teams. And part of that is that
• 17:48
  Speaker 2: he's a sophomore, right? I know they'd love to get
• 17:52
  Speaker 2: another shot at him, right? When I take a look, though,
• 17:55
  Speaker 2: at the way that it breaks out, they would at
• 17:58
  Speaker 2: some point have to go through DeSoto. Don't know how
• 18:00
  Speaker 2: that's going to play out. Perhaps Highland Park gets their
• 18:04
  Speaker 2: wheels back on. Highland Park's got a huge game this
• 18:06
  Speaker 2: week with Richland, undefeated Richland, who's also state-ranked. But they are,
• 18:10
  Speaker 2: in my estimation, for Lone Star, they're on the clean
• 18:13
  Speaker 2: side of the bracket. You want to be on that
• 18:15
  Speaker 2: left side, the top side of the bracket, the Region 1,
• 18:16
  Speaker 2: Region 2 side. Because the other side, Smithson Valley, Richmond,
• 18:19
  Speaker 2: Randall Porter, Memorial, Angleton, Bernie Champion, Pflugerville, Weiss, College Station,
• 18:24
  Speaker 2: it is a who's who of contenders there on that side.
• 18:28
  Speaker 2: You're only going to have to play one of them
• 18:30
  Speaker 2: if you get that far, which is, I think, an
• 18:31
  Speaker 2: advantage for them.
• 18:32
  Speaker 1: This could be the year that they get over the hump.
• 18:34
  Speaker 1: I understand you're right.
• 18:35
  Speaker 2: There's PTSD for Lone Star fans, but they've got a
• 18:39
  Speaker 2: heck of a squad, and that win over Melissa last
• 18:41
  Speaker 2: week was a pretty gutty win.
• 18:42
  Speaker 4: You mentioned the Highland Park-Richland game this week, which, by
• 18:46
  Speaker 4: the way, if Victory Plus hadn't gone belly up, that
• 18:49
  Speaker 4: would have been our game this week. But do we
• 18:53
  Speaker 4: learn more about Richland, or do we learn more about
• 18:55
  Speaker 4: Highland Park after the outcome of this game? I think
• 18:59
  Speaker 4: this is the moment for Richland.
• 19:02
  Speaker 2: Like this is the opportunity because, you know, look, Highland
• 19:07
  Speaker 2: park is as, as, as vulnerable as they are. And
• 19:11
  Speaker 2: I think their defense is pretty vulnerable, right? They are
• 19:15
  Speaker 2: still Highland park and they're still Highland park. And they're
• 19:17
  Speaker 2: still in district play where they are really, really, really
• 19:21
  Speaker 2: good in district play.
• 19:24
  Speaker 1: For Richland.
• 19:25
  Speaker 2: And, with Fat Gibson, their running back, the playmakers they've got.
• 19:30
  Speaker 1: This is their moment.
• 19:31
  Speaker 2: This is their opportunity to show the world that they're
• 19:34
  Speaker 2: ready for that next step.
• 19:36
  Speaker 1: I feel like we have a good feeling. I feel
• 19:38
  Speaker 1: like I have a decent read on Highland Park.
• 19:41
  Speaker 2: Now, they can certainly improve, especially on the defensive side,
• 19:43
  Speaker 2: but I feel like I know what Highland Park more
• 19:46
  Speaker 2: or less looks like. For Richland, this is the level up.
• 19:49
  Speaker 2: This is the opportunity to make that statewide statement.
• 19:52
  Speaker 4: He's Greg Tepper, editor-in-chief, Dave Campbell's Texas Football Magazine. Check
• 19:56
  Speaker 4: him out online at texasfootball.com. Appreciate the time, Tepper. Look
• 20:00
  Speaker 4: forward to next week.
• 20:01
  Speaker 2: All righty.
• 20:01
  Speaker 1: Talk to you then.
• 20:02
  Speaker 2: All right.
• 20:03
  Speaker 5: We'll be back to wrap up our number two on
• 20:06
  Speaker 5: 13 Under the Zone.