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USF vs. Army: What Is This Offense’s Identity? · 4th AND BULL

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Welcome to 4th and Bowl. My name is Nick Wise
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: and another episode where we cover USF football. And we
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: got a lot to talk about today. Big win over Army.
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: And USF goes up to West Point day after 9-11, 3.5
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: point underdog. And they get a victory. That was a
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: big win on Saturday afternoon. I thought Hartline was a
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: lot more aggressive. We'll talk all about that. Also, Brian Hartline,
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: his comments after the game about the 4th down call.
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: I will have the audio and the video for you,
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: so we'll check that out. And coming up on the show,
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: Wednesday we'll have another player interview. I have requested Joshua Porter.
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: He caught the touchdown there at the end. Hopefully we
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: can have Joshua Porter on and talk about that play
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: and get some of the answers. Was that always going
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: to be the play call to go for it? Did
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: they see cover zero and audible to that play call?
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: So hopefully we can get some answers there. And then
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: Thursday's show, when we preview Delaware State, TJ Reeves reached
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: out to me today. He is the former Buccaneers sideline
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: reporter on the radio. He also does play-by-play. He will
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: be on the call on ESPN Plus for USF and
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: Delaware State. So he will probably join me on the
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: podcast Thursday to talk about that game. So big stuff
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: lined up before we get into today's show, though. A
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: couple other things that I got to get out there.
• 1:20
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  Speaker 1: do together on this show. So thank you so much
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: for doing that. Thank you so much for joining us.
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: I am doing this on a Monday. If you are
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: listening to this on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, or even Friday,
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: all the content should still be relevant. So nothing to
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: worry about there. I know a couple of you already
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: asked me, why is the show not up yet? I
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: am sorry for the late start. I wanted to get
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: this up earlier Sunday. NFL got, you know, caught up
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: with me. Football season is a very busy time for me.
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: Then I had to get ready for my radio show.
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: If you don't know, I also have a radio show, 95.7
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: WDAE and AM620, the Nick Wise show from 12 to 2.
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: And then, so got all that done. And now here
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: we are talking USF football with you guys. And like,
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: it was not a pretty game. I mean, it was
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: pretty unenjoyable for about 58 and a half minutes, right?
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: You know, it felt like Army kind of bullied USF
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: for a little bit, but That first drive, I do
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: got to give credit to the offensive line because on
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: that first drive, I thought they had improved. And I
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: think overall from week one to week two, they did improve.
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: I still think we wanted to see more improvement than
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: what we got because we all know we were just
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: one play away from this being kind of a disappointing,
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: sad episode rather than a happy one. And I think
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: Saturday we walked away happy feeling, couldn't believe it happened.
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: Great win, especially when you win in dramatic fashion like
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: that as an underdog. But now that all the emotions
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: are out of it and we go back and look
• 3:56
  Speaker 1: at the performance as a whole, I think we can
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: get a little bit critical with it and say, ah,
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: they won. But I still think they could be better.
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: That's the same thought we had after FIU. And it's
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: harder to have that thought after a win where you
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: are a three and a half point underdog. But at
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: the same time, even though they went into this game
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: as an underdog, I don't think a lot of USF
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: fans felt they were an underdog going into this game.
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: I think a lot of USF fans felt they should
• 4:24
  Speaker 1: go in and win this game. Now, did last week
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: leave some doubts in your mind about them being able
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: to go in on the road day after 9-11 and
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: get that victory? Probably. And that's okay because there were
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: a lot of things from a week ago that, yeah,
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: they left us very dissatisfied. And the O-line being one
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: of them. And we talked to Thomas Schrader last week.
• 4:44
  Speaker 1: And the one comment that he made that really gave
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: me hope that, All of this stuff was fixable. As
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: I said after the game, when you looked at the tape,
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: did you feel from the O-line perspective these were easy
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: and correctable mistakes that we will see soon? And he
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: said yes. He felt like in week one that the
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: entire offensive line was kind of just trying to kill people.
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: What I took from that comment is they were kind
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: of playing for themselves. Let me go out there and
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: and crush somebody rather than working as a unit. And look,
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: that's always been the question mark with this offensive line.
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: We know individually there is a ton of talent up front.
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: We just have not seen them do it together. Week one,
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: they finally did it together. We thought it could have
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: been better. Week two, I felt like the chemistry had
• 5:38
  Speaker 1: improved working as a unit. And that first drive I
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: thought was excellent by USF and their offensive line. That
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: really was probably the best drive, one of the better
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: drives of the day. I felt like the O-line was
• 5:54
  Speaker 1: really coming together, creating holes. The protection was good overall,
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: and I wanted to give them credit because we were
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: so down on the O-line after week one. I thought
• 6:04
  Speaker 1: overall in the game, the pass blocking was better than
• 6:06
  Speaker 1: the run blocking, and that's a little bit of a
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: concern because I don't know if Brian Hartline and Tim
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: Beck are going to come off of the run-first offense.
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: I think that is something they want to stick with.
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: And at the end of the show, we'll get to
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: the mailbag questions. There were a lot of them. Should
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: they be a passing team or a run team? I
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: have thoughts on that. And when we get into kind
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: of what happened there at the end of the game,
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: we can touch on whether or not they should continue
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: being a passing team like they were at the end
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: of the game or be the running team that they
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: always planned on being in the offseason. And look, I
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: think all offseason long, Brian Hartline's mission was to be
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: a run first team. They want to ground and they
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: want to pound and they want to wear you out
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: and they want to bully people. They want to do
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: to opponents, honestly, what Army did to USF for three quarters.
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: I felt they kind of bullied our guys a little bit. Now, again,
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: they improved. And each week, if they can get better,
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: the way they did from week one to week two,
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: I think by week six, they're a completely different team.
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: Can they continue to make those steps going forward? Now,
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: Brian Hartline did say last week, a team improves the
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: most going from week one or week two. I don't
• 7:18
  Speaker 1: know if I like the sound of that because yeah,
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: they did improve, but if that's the most they're going
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: to improve week over week, well, then I'm a little
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: bit concerned. Now they've got an opportunity this weekend to
• 7:29
  Speaker 1: go out there and play Delaware state. This is one
• 7:32
  Speaker 1: that they should be able to kind of work out
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: all the little kinks and be a confidence builder as
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: the season goes along. And then of course, Bowling Green
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: after that, and then back into a conference play, but
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: Delaware state has to be the, get right game. And
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: we'll talk more about Delaware state later on in the week.
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: Couple of the things on Saturday. I didn't love how
• 7:56
  Speaker 1: many explosive plays army had through the air. I expected
• 7:58
  Speaker 1: them on the ground. I didn't expect them through the air.
• 8:03
  Speaker 1: Nine out of 10 Cal Helms was any through for
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: 91 yards. I thought the secondary could have been better.
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: It more particular. I'm kind of talking about though. It
• 8:14
  Speaker 1: was the final game. It was to end the half.
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: You knew Army was throwing and still struggled to defend it.
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: I didn't love that. When they went down 14-7.5, I'm
• 8:26
  Speaker 1: not going to lie. I had the thought of, oh boy,
• 8:31
  Speaker 1: this is going to be a long season. Because I
• 8:36
  Speaker 1: didn't feel good going into the half. Again, Army, if
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: they're going to dominate you on the ground, it makes
• 8:42
  Speaker 1: total sense. But they were having no trouble through the air.
• 8:46
  Speaker 1: And it wasn't like they were catching you off guard.
• 8:48
  Speaker 1: Like I said, at the end of the half, you
• 8:50
  Speaker 1: knew the pass was coming. The clock was ticking down.
• 8:53
  Speaker 1: They needed a score before halftime, and you still couldn't
• 8:56
  Speaker 1: stop it. I think Army having more passing yards after
• 8:59
  Speaker 1: the first half, that's unacceptable. That can't happen. They have
• 9:04
  Speaker 1: to be better in that aspect. Again, Army, they ran
• 9:07
  Speaker 1: the ball 51 times. They had 219 rushing yards, which really...
• 9:13
  Speaker 1: That's not going to win Army a lot of football games. Overall,
• 9:15
  Speaker 1: the defense did really good against the run, but there
• 9:18
  Speaker 1: were also times where I felt Army could do whatever
• 9:20
  Speaker 1: they wanted with the run because it just looked like
• 9:24
  Speaker 1: they were the more physical team for really three and
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: a half quarters of play. Now, the one improvement I
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: thought Brian Hartline did make from week one to week
• 9:34
  Speaker 1: two is he got aggressive. Because in week one, a
• 9:39
  Speaker 1: couple of the plays that stood out to me early
• 9:40
  Speaker 1: on in that game, fourth down, There was two times
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: where he punted the ball where I thought he could
• 9:46
  Speaker 1: go for it. Now, the one time it did work out,
• 9:49
  Speaker 1: he ended up punting it, pinning him back on the
• 9:51
  Speaker 1: one yard line. And that's where the couch coach, me,
• 9:54
  Speaker 1: should just shut up and let him punt the ball away.
• 9:56
  Speaker 1: But then there was another opportunity, uh fourth and short
• 10:00
  Speaker 1: in plus territory i thought he could have went for
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: it uh and he didn't now that wasn't the case
• 10:04
  Speaker 1: in this game he wasn't afraid to get aggressive uh
• 10:07
  Speaker 1: i do before we even get to the fourth down
• 10:10
  Speaker 1: call he got aggressive on a play call that i
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: i didn't like i didn't really understand the uh the
• 10:18
  Speaker 1: onside kick with three minutes to go. He had all
• 10:20
  Speaker 1: of his timeouts left. I didn't under, when he, when
• 10:23
  Speaker 1: he lined up for the onside kick, I'm, I'm yelling
• 10:26
  Speaker 1: at my TV. Like, what are you doing? You know,
• 10:29
  Speaker 1: army is going to come out and run the ball
• 10:30
  Speaker 1: three times, stop them, force them to punt, get good
• 10:34
  Speaker 1: field position. You had plenty of time with all three timeouts,
• 10:37
  Speaker 1: especially to kick that ball and, and, and go play defense.
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: So I didn't really understand that decision for him to
• 10:45
  Speaker 1: kick the onside kick. And I wonder why, If USF
• 10:49
  Speaker 1: is in a situation similar to that down the line,
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: does he still kick the onside kick or does he
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: kick it downfield? I didn't understand that play. Because an
• 11:00
  Speaker 1: onside kick, especially nowadays, they're impossible to recover. I mean,
• 11:04
  Speaker 1: they're not impossible. And if there's a minute to go
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: in that game, I understand him going for the onside kick.
• 11:11
  Speaker 1: but with three minutes to go, that, that was, that
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: was quite, that one had left me scratching my head
• 11:15
  Speaker 1: a little bit. And I'm thinking, why would you, because
• 11:18
  Speaker 1: then all they got to do is move it a
• 11:20
  Speaker 1: couple of yards on you. And then all of a
• 11:21
  Speaker 1: sudden they're in field goal range. And then it's a
• 11:23
  Speaker 1: seven point lead forcing you to need a touchdown, uh,
• 11:27
  Speaker 1: just to tie it, let alone win. So it all
• 11:31
  Speaker 1: ends up working out. USF gets the stop, but I
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: didn't in the moment, love that play call from coach heartline.
• 11:39
  Speaker 1: I did think that, uh, Drops almost cost this team, again,
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: on the offensive side of things. A lot of drop passes.
• 11:49
  Speaker 1: And this wide receiver room, look, I think coming into
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: this year, we all expected the wide receiver room to
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: be one of the better wide receiver rooms in the G6. And,
• 11:59
  Speaker 1: in fact, I still think on the field they are.
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: But drops almost cost them. Even on that final drive,
• 12:04
  Speaker 1: there was a third down play where, actually, I think
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: it was Joshua Porter dropped it. I thought he should
• 12:10
  Speaker 1: have had it. And I'm thinking like, man, this is
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: not how I saw these guys losing this game. Because
• 12:17
  Speaker 1: if you remember on Thursday's show, I said, I think
• 12:20
  Speaker 1: for USF to win, they need to attack the secondary.
• 12:24
  Speaker 1: I felt the pass rush for Army wasn't going to
• 12:26
  Speaker 1: be able to get home. I thought MVB was going
• 12:29
  Speaker 1: to have plenty of time in the pocket, kind of
• 12:30
  Speaker 1: do what he wants back there. And for the most part,
• 12:35
  Speaker 1: I think the pass blocking was pretty good. And he
• 12:38
  Speaker 1: had more time than he did a week ago. So
• 12:40
  Speaker 1: they did improve there. But the drop passes are very frustrating.
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: And on that fourth down and five play to Joshua Porter,
• 12:48
  Speaker 1: when the ball was up in the air, I know
• 12:51
  Speaker 1: like me, plenty of you are probably going, oh, just
• 12:53
  Speaker 1: catch it, just catch it, just catch it, just catch it. Right?
• 12:57
  Speaker 1: You're like, do not drop it. Don't drop it. Don't
• 12:58
  Speaker 1: drop it. Don't drop it. And then, of course, he
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: caught it. The game was over and like just, you know,
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: incredible feeling to win a game like that. That's why
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: we love sports. Now, with most teams, that play call,
• 13:12
  Speaker 1: because I've heard folks who love the play call. I've
• 13:16
  Speaker 1: heard from folks that thought that was egregious. What is
• 13:19
  Speaker 1: he doing? And I think with pretty much any other
• 13:24
  Speaker 1: football team, it's a no-brainer to go for it in
• 13:27
  Speaker 1: that situation. A lot of coaches don't even have to
• 13:30
  Speaker 1: think about it because it is their only option. But
• 13:33
  Speaker 1: at USF, you have a guy named Nico Gramatica on
• 13:36
  Speaker 1: the sidelines. And so, therefore, Brian Hartline did have to
• 13:40
  Speaker 1: think about it. Do I kick this field goal? My
• 13:42
  Speaker 1: guy can kick at this distance. He's been really good.
• 13:45
  Speaker 1: He's made 11 in a row. He's ripping smelling salts
• 13:49
  Speaker 1: on the sideline. I don't know if I've ever seen
• 13:51
  Speaker 1: a kicker do that. The camera caught that on Saturday.
• 13:56
  Speaker 1: Someone was giving him the salt. He's like, I'm like,
• 14:00
  Speaker 1: all right, Nico. And when I saw that, I'm like,
• 14:02
  Speaker 1: he's totally going to make this. And then the offense
• 14:06
  Speaker 1: comes out on the field. And I'm like, what's he doing?
• 14:08
  Speaker 1: Why has he got the offense on the field? You've
• 14:10
  Speaker 1: got one of the best kickers in college football. He's
• 14:13
  Speaker 1: ripping the sniffing salts. You're going to kick the field goal?
• 14:17
  Speaker 1: What is Brian Hartline doing? I wanted this guy to
• 14:19
  Speaker 1: go for it on fourth and one last week. He wouldn't.
• 14:22
  Speaker 1: All of a sudden, he's going for it on fourth
• 14:24
  Speaker 1: and five with the game on the line. He sends
• 14:26
  Speaker 1: the offense out there. And I still don't know, according
• 14:32
  Speaker 1: to Brian Hartline, and I'll play that audio and video
• 14:35
  Speaker 1: here for you in a second. And I feel like
• 14:38
  Speaker 1: they're not going to tell us whether or not. I
• 14:40
  Speaker 1: do wonder if that was always the play call. And
• 14:43
  Speaker 1: I think it was because of the Holy Buckeye play
• 14:46
  Speaker 1: from 2001 where Ohio State kind of did something very similar. Now,
• 14:50
  Speaker 1: Hartline wasn't on the team yet. He didn't come in
• 14:52
  Speaker 1: until 05. But I think it was 01 or 02.
• 14:55
  Speaker 1: It was against Purdue. It was like a 6-3 game.
• 14:58
  Speaker 1: I think they ended up where Ohio State won 10-6.
• 15:00
  Speaker 1: But on 4th and 1, they did the same thing.
• 15:03
  Speaker 1: They called the Holy Buckeye, Brent Musburger on the call.
• 15:06
  Speaker 1: throw it up to the corner of the end zone.
• 15:07
  Speaker 1: It was on the left side. USF obviously went to
• 15:10
  Speaker 1: the right side, but it was a very similar play that,
• 15:13
  Speaker 1: that Ohio state drew up, which makes me think Brian
• 15:17
  Speaker 1: Hartline had that one in his back pocket. And when
• 15:19
  Speaker 1: they saw cover zero, they knew right from the snap
• 15:23
  Speaker 1: where they were going with that football. And it sounds
• 15:27
  Speaker 1: like that was the play call the entire time. Here's
• 15:30
  Speaker 1: Brian Hartline on that final play.
• 15:32
  Speaker 2: Oh yeah. I thought that, you know, In that situation,
• 15:36
  Speaker 2: I didn't like the length of the kick, frankly, for
• 15:42
  Speaker 2: a game winner. I think to not give our guys
• 15:45
  Speaker 2: an opportunity to go win the game, they've earned it.
• 15:48
  Speaker 2: We're out there because we trust them. Just wanted to
• 15:52
  Speaker 2: come up with the right call. Had an opportunity to
• 15:54
  Speaker 2: coach up on the call for the timeout. The guys executed.
• 15:59
  Speaker 1: So he trusted his offense, and they got the job done. Now,
• 16:03
  Speaker 1: if we go back to the onside kick, does... Is
• 16:06
  Speaker 1: that Brian Hartline telling us he didn't trust the defense?
• 16:09
  Speaker 1: And that's what's kind of confusing. Because, again, the defense
• 16:12
  Speaker 1: ended up coming through. But that offside kick thing, it
• 16:16
  Speaker 1: still just doesn't make sense. All I can think is
• 16:19
  Speaker 1: he didn't trust his defense in the moment. Now, I
• 16:21
  Speaker 1: don't know. I could be completely wrong on that. I'm
• 16:24
  Speaker 1: just still so baffled by that call. But, nonetheless, he
• 16:27
  Speaker 1: trusted the offense to go out there and make that play.
• 16:32
  Speaker 1: I thought it was a ballsy call. Now, he said
• 16:34
  Speaker 1: that he didn't like the distance. for a game winning kick.
• 16:38
  Speaker 1: And don't get me wrong. That is far. When you
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: have a guy like Nico grammatica though, it's very, I
• 16:44
  Speaker 1: think if you send him out there in that moment
• 16:46
  Speaker 1: and he misses, I don't think anybody's criticizing heartline in
• 16:50
  Speaker 1: that moment for trying to kick the field goal, right?
• 16:54
  Speaker 1: Because Nico is coming off of a week where he
• 16:56
  Speaker 1: just went four for four. And like I said, a
• 16:58
  Speaker 1: minute ago, he's made his last 11. I believe he's
• 17:01
  Speaker 1: too shy away from the record. for USF. I believe
• 17:05
  Speaker 1: the record is 13 in a row. Don't quote me
• 17:08
  Speaker 1: on that. I'm like 99% sure I'm right on that stat.
• 17:12
  Speaker 1: But if he sends Nico Gramatica out there to kick
• 17:14
  Speaker 1: that and he misses it, no one is criticizing the call.
• 17:19
  Speaker 1: But you run your offense out there and you don't
• 17:21
  Speaker 1: get that first down. You open the door for criticism.
• 17:25
  Speaker 1: And I like it. Brian Hartline obviously didn't care. He
• 17:28
  Speaker 1: trusted his offense to go get it done. And with
• 17:32
  Speaker 1: 23 seconds to go, Michael Van Buren Jr. snaps that ball.
• 17:36
  Speaker 1: And Joshua Porter caught the 38-yard pass with 19 seconds
• 17:39
  Speaker 1: to go to beat Army. And it was just an
• 17:43
  Speaker 1: incredible play, one of the best plays from Saturday, if
• 17:46
  Speaker 1: not the very best. And then it has raised the question,
• 17:52
  Speaker 1: should this team's identity be the passing game? Because we
• 17:57
  Speaker 1: know they want the identity to be the run game
• 18:01
  Speaker 1: But in fan world, we know the talents the wide
• 18:05
  Speaker 1: receiver room has. Now, there has been a lot of
• 18:08
  Speaker 1: drop passes, but overall, we still believe in this collective
• 18:12
  Speaker 1: bunch of guys. And we thought coming into this year,
• 18:17
  Speaker 1: they were going to sling it around a little bit more.
• 18:19
  Speaker 1: And after seeing those last couple of drives, people want
• 18:22
  Speaker 1: them to become a pass-first team. Now, I don't think
• 18:26
  Speaker 1: that's going to happen. I still think the identity is
• 18:29
  Speaker 1: going to be run-first. And I think this offensive line
• 18:32
  Speaker 1: is going to continue to grow. And if they can
• 18:33
  Speaker 1: get to the full potential, I think being a run-first
• 18:37
  Speaker 1: team is going to be very beneficial for them down
• 18:39
  Speaker 1: the road. Now, the reason why I don't think they're
• 18:41
  Speaker 1: going to turn into this team that we saw at
• 18:44
  Speaker 1: the end of the game. Now, they did have success
• 18:46
  Speaker 1: on those final two drives where they didn't huddle. I
• 18:49
  Speaker 1: wouldn't mind seeing more of the up-tempo offense. Catch the
• 18:53
  Speaker 1: defense off. guard like a little bit more stuff like
• 18:56
  Speaker 1: what we saw a year ago I just I don't
• 18:58
  Speaker 1: think that's what they want to do and that's okay
• 19:00
  Speaker 1: to each their own they don't want to be last
• 19:02
  Speaker 1: year's team I get that I'm not saying that he
• 19:06
  Speaker 1: won't go up tempo just because they did it last
• 19:08
  Speaker 1: year it's not like oh they did it last year
• 19:09
  Speaker 1: I'm not going to do that that's not the mentality
• 19:12
  Speaker 1: I just this is what the offense they've been working
• 19:14
  Speaker 1: on all offseason this is what they know this is
• 19:16
  Speaker 1: what they're going to continue to do but when you
• 19:18
  Speaker 1: see the passing game open up the way it did
• 19:20
  Speaker 1: at the end of the game it's totally normal for
• 19:23
  Speaker 1: you to go That worked. Why aren't we doing that
• 19:26
  Speaker 1: more often? And that was a very common question in
• 19:28
  Speaker 1: the mailbag, which we're going to do here in a minute.
• 19:30
  Speaker 1: I do have the questions ready to roll. The reason
• 19:34
  Speaker 1: why I think what they did at the end of
• 19:36
  Speaker 1: the game worked, and I went back and watched the
• 19:38
  Speaker 1: game right before I hit record on this podcast, because
• 19:43
  Speaker 1: I wanted to know, was Army giving you those plays?
• 19:46
  Speaker 1: And the answer is they were. They were in a
• 19:48
  Speaker 1: very soft zone coverage situation. There were a couple of
• 19:51
  Speaker 1: times on the drive when they lined up in man
• 19:53
  Speaker 1: coverage and they had more success. It's something about when
• 20:00
  Speaker 1: they were lined up in man. And again, that was
• 20:02
  Speaker 1: when the receivers were dropping them. But when they got
• 20:05
  Speaker 1: into that soft zone coverage, which a majority of the
• 20:08
  Speaker 1: final drive was, it oddly enough, the incompletions, I don't
• 20:12
  Speaker 1: know if it was every incompletion, but on a couple
• 20:14
  Speaker 1: of the incompletions on the final drive, they were in
• 20:17
  Speaker 1: man to man, but for a good chunk of that drive,
• 20:21
  Speaker 1: they were in a soft zone coverage and they were
• 20:24
  Speaker 1: giving you those passes. So that to me, it's like,
• 20:28
  Speaker 1: you can't take too much of what you saw there
• 20:29
  Speaker 1: at the end of the game and go, all right,
• 20:31
  Speaker 1: that's us going forward. Cause if you go back and
• 20:33
  Speaker 1: watch this, the corners are a good 10, almost 15
• 20:37
  Speaker 1: yards off the receiver. They're trying to keep everything in
• 20:40
  Speaker 1: front of them. Now, if they would have been right
• 20:43
  Speaker 1: up on the line of scrimmage, hitting you from the
• 20:45
  Speaker 1: get-go and making you earn it, and they were playing man-to-man,
• 20:50
  Speaker 1: and you were throwing it all over them the way
• 20:52
  Speaker 1: you did on the final two drives, I'd be sitting
• 20:54
  Speaker 1: here going, yes, that worked. Give me more up-tempo. Give
• 20:59
  Speaker 1: me more of the passing game. Let's beat everybody and
• 21:02
  Speaker 1: attract me. But that's not exactly what happened. And you
• 21:06
  Speaker 1: are going to face, look, Army's secondary, I thought, It's okay.
• 21:12
  Speaker 1: It's not one of the best you're going to face
• 21:14
  Speaker 1: all year. So I don't think you would be able
• 21:18
  Speaker 1: to have that success week in and week out, going
• 21:21
  Speaker 1: up tempo and throwing it all over the yard, just
• 21:23
  Speaker 1: like you did on those final two drives. I felt
• 21:25
  Speaker 1: Army gave you that. And they were okay with keeping
• 21:28
  Speaker 1: everything in front of them until that final play. And
• 21:33
  Speaker 1: then they went to man with the cover zero. USF
• 21:37
  Speaker 1: recognized it. threw it to the end zone. And of
• 21:40
  Speaker 1: course it ended up with a touchdown and we all
• 21:42
  Speaker 1: love the outcome and it was great. And it got
• 21:45
  Speaker 1: us excited about the past game and it should get
• 21:48
  Speaker 1: you excited about the past game. But the reality of
• 21:51
  Speaker 1: it is if you really go back and watch it,
• 21:54
  Speaker 1: army gave them a lot of that and USF took
• 21:57
  Speaker 1: advantage of it. So credit to them. It's no fault
• 21:59
  Speaker 1: on them. I just, I don't think that you can
• 22:02
  Speaker 1: come away with those final two minutes going.
• 22:04
  Speaker 2: That's us.
• 22:05
  Speaker 1: That's what we've got to be going forward. I just
• 22:08
  Speaker 1: didn't see it that way. Do I like the idea
• 22:11
  Speaker 1: of it? 100%. Because we all like to see the
• 22:15
  Speaker 1: pass game. It's more exciting than the run game. Throw
• 22:17
  Speaker 1: it all over, put up points, and get the offense rolling. Yeah,
• 22:21
  Speaker 1: that makes everything better. I just don't think that's who
• 22:25
  Speaker 1: they are, and I don't think that's the way they
• 22:27
  Speaker 1: want to play. And I'm not sure yet that is
• 22:29
  Speaker 1: the way they can play. Because I... I don't want
• 22:33
  Speaker 1: to take any credit away from USF and the offense
• 22:35
  Speaker 1: on those final drives. I mean, those were tough plays
• 22:37
  Speaker 1: to go out and make. But that's just my observation
• 22:42
  Speaker 1: of really paying attention to what Army was doing on
• 22:45
  Speaker 1: those drives. And I felt like they lined up against
• 22:49
  Speaker 1: you differently in the final two minutes than they did
• 22:51
  Speaker 1: at any other point in the game. They were just
• 22:53
  Speaker 1: trying not to give up the big play. And then
• 22:56
  Speaker 1: oddly enough, they gave up the big play. uh on
• 23:02
  Speaker 1: a cover zero but that was really the only time
• 23:06
  Speaker 1: that they lined up and played man there was only
• 23:09
  Speaker 1: i think on the final drive there were three snaps
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: they played man coverage two of them were incompletions and
• 23:14
  Speaker 1: then there was that but there was no safety help
• 23:17
  Speaker 1: over the top and you took advantage but no i
• 23:21
  Speaker 1: think going forward their their identity is still going to
• 23:23
  Speaker 1: be the run All right, let's get to the mailbag.
• 23:25
  Speaker 1: We'll answer your questions. That's how we answer the show.
• 23:28
  Speaker 1: Tally Bowl, do you think we'll see a 50-burger by
• 23:30
  Speaker 1: this team this season? Is Delaware State the most likely victim?
• 23:34
  Speaker 1: Would love to see the team demonstrate true command of
• 23:36
  Speaker 1: the playbook and unload on an opponent. Or is Hartline
• 23:40
  Speaker 1: the kind of coach who is more likely to take
• 23:42
  Speaker 1: his foot off the gas once he's comfortably ahead to
• 23:45
  Speaker 1: minimize the potential for injury? I don't know if he'll
• 23:48
  Speaker 1: take his foot off the gas. He might get other
• 23:50
  Speaker 1: guys in the game, which I think is is important
• 23:52
  Speaker 1: when you're up big and hopefully against Delaware state. That
• 23:55
  Speaker 1: is a, I think that's an opportunity to do that.
• 23:57
  Speaker 1: And that's something they should be trying to do is
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: get backups in the game and, and rest for the
• 24:03
  Speaker 1: week after for a bowling green, look at the schedule.
• 24:06
  Speaker 1: I would say, yeah, if you're going to put up
• 24:08
  Speaker 1: a 50 spot, it needs to come this weekend against
• 24:10
  Speaker 1: Delaware state, uh, outside of Delaware state. I'm not sure
• 24:14
  Speaker 1: where you're going to, uh, to be able to get
• 24:17
  Speaker 1: 50 points on a team. That's not really easy to do.
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: According to the matchup predictor, USF a 98.9% chance to
• 24:27
  Speaker 1: win on Saturday. So yeah, I think this game this weekend,
• 24:31
  Speaker 1: 7 o'clock kickoff on ESPN +, that has to be
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: the spot you get the 50 burger from. Maybe Bowling
• 24:40
  Speaker 1: Green is the other team you could put 50 on.
• 24:43
  Speaker 1: They are 0-2. They have a game this weekend, obviously,
• 24:47
  Speaker 1: for a chance to get a win. before they play
• 24:50
  Speaker 1: you guys they got iowa state but i don't see
• 24:53
  Speaker 1: them playing uh getting a win against iowa state either
• 24:56
  Speaker 1: iowa state actually impressed me this week against iowa because
• 24:59
  Speaker 1: i think i was good but man they struggle when
• 25:01
  Speaker 1: they play iowa state uh but this is not an
• 25:03
  Speaker 1: iowa podcast uh so back to usf and your questions
• 25:08
  Speaker 1: in the mailbag but uh yeah as far as the
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: 50 spot goes look those kind of things aren't aren't
• 25:13
  Speaker 1: important to me but it's got to happen within the
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: next two weeks. I don't see you putting up 50
• 25:18
  Speaker 1: on a conference opponent. Huncho Heartline says, Hey, Nick, from
• 25:23
  Speaker 1: the very first drive we saw on Saturday, our offense
• 25:25
  Speaker 1: looked dramatically different. Was there some validity to the idea
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: that our staff just didn't open up the playbook in
• 25:31
  Speaker 1: week one? Additionally, how much more do you think the
• 25:33
  Speaker 1: staff let MVB use his arm? I think that I
• 25:39
  Speaker 1: don't think they were holding back anything in week one.
• 25:42
  Speaker 1: And no matter who you're a fan of, you hear
• 25:43
  Speaker 1: that from every team fan base when their team doesn't
• 25:45
  Speaker 1: perform the way they want them to perform in week one.
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: We automatically go to the, oh, they were holding back.
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: They didn't want to put anything on film. I just
• 25:54
  Speaker 1: I don't think that was the case from everybody that
• 25:56
  Speaker 1: I talked to. They didn't hold back anything. They just
• 25:58
  Speaker 1: couldn't execute in week number one. I think they were
• 26:01
  Speaker 1: executing a lot better against Army. And that's why they
• 26:03
  Speaker 1: were able to open up the playbook a little bit.
• 26:05
  Speaker 1: And then, of course, they found themselves in a situation
• 26:07
  Speaker 1: where they had no choice but to open up the
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: playbook or they were going to lose that football game.
• 26:12
  Speaker 1: And luckily it was successful and it led them to victory.
• 26:16
  Speaker 1: David White. I'd like to hear from all involved with
• 26:19
  Speaker 1: the play call to go for the end rather than
• 26:22
  Speaker 1: the tie. What do the analytics say? What were the
• 26:25
  Speaker 1: odds of making that field goal versus the touchdown? And
• 26:28
  Speaker 1: was the play call to go for the win or
• 26:31
  Speaker 1: just a first down? They haven't said. According to the
• 26:35
  Speaker 1: audio I just played of Heartline, it sounded like that
• 26:38
  Speaker 1: was kind of the original play call. I think... When
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: they saw the cover, there were probably other options on
• 26:44
  Speaker 1: that play. But when they saw the way Army lined
• 26:47
  Speaker 1: up on defense and it was cover zero, I think
• 26:50
  Speaker 1: from the moment they were at the line of scrimmage
• 26:52
  Speaker 1: and noticed there was no safety over the top, that's
• 26:55
  Speaker 1: where they were going. And they weren't changing their mind.
• 26:57
  Speaker 1: I don't think they got to the line of scrimmage,
• 26:59
  Speaker 1: called one play, and then changed it to... I guess
• 27:04
  Speaker 1: you want to call the holy Buckeye, as they called
• 27:06
  Speaker 1: it back in the early 2000s for Ohio State. But
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: I think when they lined up, he knew where he
• 27:12
  Speaker 1: was going. He had one read and one read only,
• 27:16
  Speaker 1: and it was to Joshua Porter the entire time. And
• 27:19
  Speaker 1: it was a perfect throw, and it was a perfect catch.
• 27:23
  Speaker 1: As far as the analytics on what they should have
• 27:24
  Speaker 1: done there, my guess is the analytics, when you have
• 27:27
  Speaker 1: a kicker as good as Nico, probably said to kick it.
• 27:30
  Speaker 1: I don't know. I don't have the analytics book. If
• 27:33
  Speaker 1: the analytics said kick it and he didn't, even much
• 27:35
  Speaker 1: more respect to Brian Hartline for going for it. Love it.
• 27:39
  Speaker 1: Because sometimes I want to ignore the analytics. Sometimes they
• 27:42
  Speaker 1: help you. Sometimes they don't. But sometimes I think analytics
• 27:46
  Speaker 1: can ruin some decision making. And if the analytics said
• 27:51
  Speaker 1: kick it there and Brian Hartline ignored it, kudos to him.
• 27:54
  Speaker 1: And again, big balls to call that play. Because if
• 27:57
  Speaker 1: you get Nico out there on the field to go
• 27:58
  Speaker 1: kick that field goal and he misses, it is what
• 28:01
  Speaker 1: it is. It was a 50-some yard field goal. He
• 28:05
  Speaker 1: missed it. Whatever. Nobody's like, oh, you should have went
• 28:08
  Speaker 1: for it. But by going for it, you don't get it.
• 28:12
  Speaker 1: And people are going, how do you not send Nico
• 28:14
  Speaker 1: out in that situation? He's made 11 in a row.
• 28:17
  Speaker 1: He was four for four last game. You know what
• 28:19
  Speaker 1: I mean? So massive balls for Brian Hartline to go
• 28:24
  Speaker 1: for it there. What a victory on Saturday for USF.
• 28:30
  Speaker 1: Let's see. Bobby N on Twitter. D did great. Army
• 28:35
  Speaker 1: tried a few non-Army things, but in the long run,
• 28:38
  Speaker 1: 14 through three quarters. Why did we not kick the
• 28:41
  Speaker 1: field goal to tie? That was risky call. Glad it
• 28:43
  Speaker 1: paid off. Are we back to predictable run, run, run
• 28:46
  Speaker 1: again offense, or do we keep some of the fourth
• 28:48
  Speaker 1: quarter flavor slash style? Just because they run, run, run
• 28:53
  Speaker 1: doesn't mean it's it's going to be predictable. It's just
• 28:57
  Speaker 1: what they want. Look, a lot of teams want to
• 28:59
  Speaker 1: run first. And I know that's what the fan base.
• 29:02
  Speaker 1: That's just not something they everyone nowadays wants to just
• 29:06
  Speaker 1: sling the rock everywhere. But you look at some of
• 29:09
  Speaker 1: these schools that have won championships recently, Michigan and 23.
• 29:14
  Speaker 2: Right.
• 29:15
  Speaker 1: They were a run first team. Ohio State, they could
• 29:18
  Speaker 1: honestly do it all with their defense, but they like
• 29:20
  Speaker 1: to run the ball and control the clock when they can. Indiana,
• 29:23
  Speaker 1: same thing. Yes, they had Fernando Mendoza, but they had
• 29:26
  Speaker 1: a really good run game, too. And that's the kind
• 29:29
  Speaker 1: of football Brian Hartline grew up on and grew up
• 29:33
  Speaker 1: in when it comes to college football. And I think
• 29:36
  Speaker 1: he just wants to establish that culture that he's always
• 29:38
  Speaker 1: had of of being a run first team down here
• 29:41
  Speaker 1: and and just because it hasn't worked yet doesn't mean
• 29:44
  Speaker 1: it can't work I would say the one thing that
• 29:49
  Speaker 1: is interesting about this team is that the run blocking
• 29:52
  Speaker 1: I do think is better than the run block or
• 29:54
  Speaker 1: the uh I think the pass blocking is better than
• 29:56
  Speaker 1: the run blocking and that's something that could ultimately lead
• 29:59
  Speaker 1: them to being a pass-first team. But I think we're
• 30:02
  Speaker 1: still a long ways away from that. David did have
• 30:04
  Speaker 1: another question. Kudos. David White again with another question, I believe. Yeah,
• 30:10
  Speaker 1: I did answer a question from him earlier. Kudos to
• 30:13
  Speaker 1: the team for the week one to two improvement. Why
• 30:16
  Speaker 1: aren't we running the offense for the first and last
• 30:18
  Speaker 1: two drives more often throughout the game? oh, so you're
• 30:22
  Speaker 1: asking why the offense isn't like those final two drives. Well,
• 30:25
  Speaker 1: I guess I kind of hit that already, right? I
• 30:27
  Speaker 1: felt like Army, they played soft zone. And when they're
• 30:30
  Speaker 1: going to play a soft zone, you're going to be
• 30:32
  Speaker 1: able to throw the ball over anybody like that. They
• 30:34
  Speaker 1: were just trying not to give up the big play. Ultimately,
• 30:36
  Speaker 1: they end up giving the big play. But when they're
• 30:39
  Speaker 1: in a soft zone and they're playing 15 yards off
• 30:41
  Speaker 1: of your wide receivers, they were okay pretty much giving
• 30:44
  Speaker 1: you everything. And that's what kept the offense in rhythm.
• 30:47
  Speaker 1: So it's hard to really take what happened on those
• 30:51
  Speaker 1: final two drives and just collectively go, yeah, let's revamp
• 30:56
  Speaker 1: our entire, for the coaches I'm saying, they can't just
• 30:59
  Speaker 1: collectively go, let's revamp our entire plan. Did you see
• 31:04
  Speaker 1: what happened there? Let's keep doing that. Because you're not
• 31:06
  Speaker 1: going to get that look on defense unless you're trailing.
• 31:10
  Speaker 1: You're not going to get that. You know, let's see,
• 31:13
  Speaker 1: you got in a couple weeks, you got UTSA, they're
• 31:15
  Speaker 1: never going to play 15 yards off your wide receivers.
• 31:18
  Speaker 1: That's not going to happen. And by the way, that's
• 31:19
  Speaker 1: Army respecting the wide receiver room. They know what kind
• 31:22
  Speaker 1: of wide receiver room you got. I said that going in.
• 31:26
  Speaker 1: I thought that USF's wide receivers were going to have
• 31:29
  Speaker 1: to be the difference makers. And all in all, I
• 31:31
  Speaker 1: really thought they were. I mean, they got the ball
• 31:34
  Speaker 1: to everybody, which was encouraging. But the wide receivers in
• 31:38
  Speaker 1: particular all had pretty good days when you look at
• 31:42
  Speaker 1: the numbers. Joshua Porter, 5 for 45. Uh, no, I'm sorry.
• 31:49
  Speaker 1: I'm looking at, uh, something else. Uh, three receptions for
• 31:52
  Speaker 1: 67 yards, Bryson Rogers, six catches, 64 yards, uh, Armand branch,
• 31:57
  Speaker 1: five for 53, Cameron Selden, two for 30, uh, Wyatt Sullivan,
• 32:01
  Speaker 1: two for 21. And so DJ caught one out of
• 32:05
  Speaker 1: the bag for four yards. So look, the, the, the
• 32:10
  Speaker 1: wide receivers for this team, they are fantastic. Army respected them.
• 32:15
  Speaker 1: And again, It's the style of defense they were playing.
• 32:20
  Speaker 1: I'm not ready to get away from the run game
• 32:22
  Speaker 1: just yet. Another one here. I think this is... Nope,
• 32:26
  Speaker 1: I got a couple more. CJ Hicks has not notched
• 32:30
  Speaker 1: his first sack yet, but I've seen him get plenty
• 32:32
  Speaker 1: of resources devoted to him, both against FIU and Army,
• 32:35
  Speaker 1: to stop him. How much longer do you think it'll
• 32:38
  Speaker 1: take for him to spring one? I think CJ will
• 32:40
  Speaker 1: get one this week. It's hard to sack Army. They
• 32:42
  Speaker 1: drop back 10 times to pass, and when they do
• 32:45
  Speaker 1: drop back, they get rid of the ball so quick.
• 32:47
  Speaker 1: Army is not a team that you are really, I
• 32:50
  Speaker 1: didn't expect them to get any sacks against Army. So
• 32:53
  Speaker 1: not a surprise that CJ Hicks, I didn't still show
• 32:56
  Speaker 1: up in the sack column because it's just, Army's not
• 32:59
  Speaker 1: that team. Now, Delaware State should be the team that
• 33:03
  Speaker 1: this defensive line should get to feast on. And it
• 33:06
  Speaker 1: should be a game where they should be able to
• 33:08
  Speaker 1: pad their stats a little bit. J-Flow, there was a
• 33:11
  Speaker 1: ton of off-season hype about Kenny Odom transferring in at
• 33:14
  Speaker 1: wide receiver. Why haven't we seen him yet? Well, I
• 33:18
  Speaker 1: think a big part of that is that's how deep
• 33:20
  Speaker 1: this room is. I mean, I just read you off
• 33:22
  Speaker 1: everybody that caught a pass. There's six different players, obviously
• 33:27
  Speaker 1: four of them wide receivers, one tight end and a
• 33:28
  Speaker 1: running back that caught the pass, that caught a pass
• 33:31
  Speaker 1: on Saturday. I just think there's a lot of the
• 33:34
  Speaker 1: wide receiver room is pretty deep. Kenny Odom coming in
• 33:38
  Speaker 1: from UTEP, he just clearly isn't one of the top
• 33:42
  Speaker 1: three guys in the system. And they're not running four
• 33:46
  Speaker 1: wide receiver sets very often. So a lot of guys
• 33:49
  Speaker 1: that you've heard about all offseason might not be getting
• 33:55
  Speaker 1: as much playing time as you once thought because there's
• 33:58
  Speaker 1: three guys that have obviously jumped out in front and
• 34:03
  Speaker 1: are clearly the three lead guys. And I think, again,
• 34:06
  Speaker 1: I think they're playing a lot of tight end sets.
• 34:08
  Speaker 1: And when you're running the ball, they're relying on their
• 34:11
  Speaker 1: tight ends more for the blocking purposes. I just think
• 34:14
  Speaker 1: that wide receiver. Look, when we talked to Grayson Pop
• 34:16
  Speaker 1: Howard a couple weeks ago and we talked about the
• 34:19
  Speaker 1: wide receiver, he named like nine guys. So when you
• 34:23
  Speaker 1: have a wide receiver room that deep, some guys are
• 34:25
  Speaker 1: going to get lost. Last question here. The passing game
• 34:29
  Speaker 1: opened up. MVB looked accurate and dynamic. Do you think
• 34:33
  Speaker 1: the lean on the passing game more going forward? That
• 34:37
  Speaker 1: seems to be the most common question. They're always going
• 34:40
  Speaker 1: to lean on the passing game, but if you're asking
• 34:42
  Speaker 1: if they're going to change their identity, no, I don't
• 34:45
  Speaker 1: think that. I don't think that at all. I would
• 34:48
  Speaker 1: like to see them slinging around a little bit more
• 34:51
  Speaker 1: this weekend because I think they're going to have the
• 34:52
  Speaker 1: opportunity to do so, take advantage of Delaware State. This
• 34:56
  Speaker 1: is what you call a cupcake game, I guess. This
• 35:00
  Speaker 1: is a game where you can kind of work on
• 35:02
  Speaker 1: things that maybe haven't had as much success so far
• 35:05
  Speaker 1: and really get things clicking Before Bowling Green, which is
• 35:09
  Speaker 1: another matchup where I think you can get things kind
• 35:11
  Speaker 1: of clicking. And then, of course, you're going to get
• 35:13
  Speaker 1: back into conference play after Bowling Green. You'll have Temple
• 35:18
  Speaker 1: and then a big matchup on a Thursday night against UTSA.
• 35:21
  Speaker 1: That's going to be a big one. So you've got
• 35:24
  Speaker 1: two get-right games. Then you've got Temple. And then UTSA
• 35:29
  Speaker 1: could be a massive one. And there's a chance USF
• 35:31
  Speaker 1: could go into that game 3-4, 5-0. I do think
• 35:36
  Speaker 1: they get by Delaware State and Bowling Green, then a
• 35:39
  Speaker 1: conference matchup against Temple, and then the UTSA game going
• 35:43
  Speaker 1: to be big. There was one other question on here
• 35:46
  Speaker 1: about should expectations be lowered on this team than what
• 35:53
  Speaker 1: they were at the beginning of the year? I had
• 35:58
  Speaker 1: them winning 10 games, didn't have them in the playoff.
• 36:01
  Speaker 1: If It's hard for me to answer that. Let's get
• 36:05
  Speaker 1: through Delaware State and Bowling Green, right? And maybe get
• 36:08
  Speaker 1: a little confidence going in this team because those are
• 36:10
  Speaker 1: two teams that they should dominate from start to finish.
• 36:13
  Speaker 1: Maybe they can find some stuff there, find some rhythm
• 36:16
  Speaker 1: and come out of those games at 4-0, build a
• 36:19
  Speaker 1: nice confidence booster there. Maybe the expectations change. And maybe
• 36:26
  Speaker 1: they can live up to what you always thought they
• 36:28
  Speaker 1: could be. As of right now, from what we've seen
• 36:31
  Speaker 1: the last two days or two games, if your expectation
• 36:35
  Speaker 1: was playoff, then yeah, that's probably not your expectation anymore.
• 36:39
  Speaker 1: If your expectation was they should win 10 games, I
• 36:42
  Speaker 1: think you're still okay expecting that. But I would say
• 36:47
  Speaker 1: if you're asking me to answer this question today and
• 36:49
  Speaker 1: I had to sit here and bet on how many
• 36:50
  Speaker 1: games they would win, based on how they've played the
• 36:54
  Speaker 1: last two weeks, I could see three or four losses.
• 37:01
  Speaker 1: But again, I still think there's a lot of room
• 37:03
  Speaker 1: for improvement because I just think this roster is so
• 37:06
  Speaker 1: talented overall. And health is going to obviously matter too.
• 37:10
  Speaker 1: Not seeing Grayson Pop Howard out there this weekend, that's
• 37:12
  Speaker 1: not a good sign. I do think the defense is
• 37:14
  Speaker 1: going to need to get their quarterback back. That's going
• 37:17
  Speaker 1: to be important as they get into tougher conference games
• 37:20
  Speaker 1: against teams like UTSA. You can survive the next two,
• 37:23
  Speaker 1: I think, without him. But once you get back into
• 37:25
  Speaker 1: that conference play, he's a guy that's going to be
• 37:28
  Speaker 1: important to this defense. All right, that's going to do
• 37:31
  Speaker 1: it for me on this episode. I hope you enjoyed it.
• 37:33
  Speaker 1: I had fun talking USF Army. Great win for the
• 37:36
  Speaker 1: Bulls on Saturday. That was a lot of fun. This
• 37:40
  Speaker 1: week's game, you know what? I think we've earned it
• 37:42
  Speaker 1: after the last two games kind of being stressful. I
• 37:46
  Speaker 1: think we earned one of those games of where we
• 37:48
  Speaker 1: can just kind of sit back And hopefully the team
• 37:51
  Speaker 1: can kind of get a lead. And maybe let's say
• 37:53
  Speaker 1: by the second quarter, it's, it's done celebratory beers. Wouldn't
• 37:57
  Speaker 1: that be nice? I don't want my blood to be
• 37:59
  Speaker 1: flowing in the fourth quarter. I'm a type of guy
• 38:02
  Speaker 1: that likes the blowouts. I don't like to stress. I
• 38:05
  Speaker 1: think USF owes us one of those games. And I
• 38:08
  Speaker 1: think this weekend might be the weekend that they get it.
• 38:11
  Speaker 1: All right. Thank you so much for watching. Thank you
• 38:13
  Speaker 1: so much for listening. If you're on Apple podcasts or
• 38:16
  Speaker 1: I heart radio, Make sure you subscribe on YouTube at
• 38:20
  Speaker 1: fourth and bull podcast. If you're watching on YouTube, make
• 38:23
  Speaker 1: sure you've subscribed to the YouTube channel and also make
• 38:26
  Speaker 1: sure you subscribe to the audio only channel on I
• 38:29
  Speaker 1: heart radio and Apple podcast. We will talk to, well,
• 38:34
  Speaker 1: not confirmed yet. We'll have a player on Wednesday. I
• 38:38
  Speaker 1: am trying to, let's see if, if there's any update,
• 38:41
  Speaker 1: let me check my email here. I don't have an
• 38:44
  Speaker 1: update yet. But I did request Joshua Porter. They were
• 38:50
  Speaker 1: kind of on the same page. I don't have anything
• 38:52
  Speaker 1: yet confirming it, but they were on the same page
• 38:54
  Speaker 1: when I said. When I said that Joshua Porter's who
• 38:59
  Speaker 1: I would like there, they were like more on the
• 39:01
  Speaker 1: same page. So we'll see what his media availability is.
• 39:05
  Speaker 1: Hopefully he's the player joining us on Wednesday. We can
• 39:06
  Speaker 1: talk more about the fourth downplay. And then Thursday show
• 39:09
  Speaker 1: TJ Reeves should be joining me. He is going to
• 39:13
  Speaker 1: be doing the play-by-play call on ESPN Plus for the
• 39:16
  Speaker 1: game Saturday. So we'll preview that game at the end
• 39:19
  Speaker 1: of the week. As always, thank you so much for
• 39:21
  Speaker 1: your support. Thank you for watching. Make sure you subscribe.
• 39:24
  Speaker 1: And I guess I'll talk to you on Wednesday with
• 39:27
  Speaker 1: a player interview. Until then, go Bulls!