November 4, 2024 • 16 mins
Head Coach Steve Sarkisian and Co. are ready for Saturday's matchup against the University of Florida.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Sports Radio AM thirteen hundred Zone Andrew Zimmel filling in
for Craig Way and Cameron Parker as they are in
Las Vegas, Nevada. That is right as the Texas men's
basketball season opens up tonight against the Ohio State buck Guys.
That game tips off nine pm, eight to thirty pre
game right here on AM thirteen hundred Zone and on
KVET FM ninety eight one FM in Austin. You also
(00:25):
can listen on the free iHeartRadio app as well. So
updates across the league, updates across college football. We will
start with an update from college station. Texas A and
M head coach Mike Elko announced running back Levon Moss
(00:45):
is out for the season. Moss was having a great
year for the Aggies, rushed for seven hundred and sixty
five yards at about six yards per carry and ten
touchdowns before his injury against South Carolina changed the outcome
of that game.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
As a game.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
Cox got the win at home against number ten Texas
A and M. Huge win for the game Cocks and
changes a lot in the sec A logjam at the
top of the conference. We will start this hour or correction,
we will start hour at number three of the Craigways
Show with more from a head coach Steve Sarkejian. I
(01:21):
want to reset and play his opening statement again because
I think there's a lot that we can take away
from what coach Starks said at the beginning of this thing.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
You know, buys are always nice to get to get healthy,
get refreshed, get recharged to kind of yourself analysis.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
But it's also nice to get back to work.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
You know, we are a you know, routine oriented operation,
so to get back to work. We know the month
of November for us is one that's going to be challenging.
But as we say around here, the games in November
of the ones you remember. So we got to put
in a lot of work. And it starts this Saturday
against the University of Florida, a team that it's very talented,
(02:01):
really well coached. I know a lot of people are
gonna lolick at the record and so on and so forth,
but you can just look at their last three games.
You know, they lose an overtime to Tennessee, they win,
and they're beating Georgia. They got a chance to kick
a field goal to go up late in that ball
game with a kind of muff a snap.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
So they've been playing good football. It's gonna be a
heck of a challenge.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
And so you know, I think we got off to
a good start today from a preparation standpoint, but we're
gonna need a good week of work to get ourselves
ready to.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
Go big things.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
Leading this press conference off for coach start talking about
the month of November for Texas. Now two home games,
two road games at home against Florida, at home against
Kentucky on the road against Arkansas on the road against
number fifteen Texas A and M to end the season.
I don't know if they'll be fifteen at that point,
(02:53):
they might be higher. I want to go through two
other teams. The top three teams in the S currently
according to the AP, pole must get the College Football
Playoff Committee's poll tomorrow evening. For the top three teams
in the SEC now, according to the AP, it's number
two Georgia, it's number five Texas, it's number seven Tennessee.
(03:16):
And I don't think Georgia or Tennessee's final four games
compare to what the long runs are going to be
dealing with. Georgia travels to Oxford to take on Old
miss the Revs. That's going to be a tough game.
Then at home against Tennessee, but then you get the Minutemen. Yeah,
UMass shows up and then Georgia Tech. Those two teams
(03:38):
don't really excite me. And outside of traveling to Oxford,
the Tennessee game is going to be interesting. But let's
go through Tennessee schedule. Mississippi State, a team that has
struggled so far this season, at home against Georgia UTEP
and then going to Nashville against Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt is a
solid team, a top twenty five team, but I go
(03:58):
through that Texas schedule, those final four games might be
the hardest four games in the SEC for a team
that is contending for a title.
Speaker 3 (04:08):
Now.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
News also came out today from Florida, as head coach
Billy Napier explained that DJ Langway's injury prognosis was better
than expected. In fact, it was so good you might
see Langue against the Longhorns this Saturday. There's a lot
of game time leading up to that, which means you
don't really know what the quarterback situation will be. If
(04:32):
you're head coach Steve Starkeesian, so he was asked a question,
how do you prepare for a multiple quarterback game plan?
Especially when you consider that aiden Ware played pretty solid
for the Gators seven of twenty two sixty six yards
an interception, but again against the Georgia defense, it's not
too bad. Here's the coach, Stark's response, how do you
(04:52):
prepare for the Florida quarterback situation?
Speaker 2 (04:54):
Well, I think you prepare for the scheme. You know,
coach Napier has been doing it quite a while, you know,
time at Lafayette and what he's done at Florida. So
they've got a very intricate scheme, a lot of shifts,
a lot of motions, a lot of formation adjustments that
they that's they tax you with, you know.
Speaker 3 (05:11):
So I think that's the first part.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
You know, again, they're they're a little bit of limbo
from a quarterback perspective, But in the end of the day,
I think, you know, they're going to run their offense
and that's what we got to prepare for.
Speaker 3 (05:21):
Now.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
The offense is one thing, but that defense for Florida
is another. The Florida defense did a good job against
Carson Beck. They played very well against the Georgia offense.
And if their quarterback doesn't go down and Langway doesn't
go down, we might have a different outcome in that ballgame.
Georgia struggled and then in the second half they really
(05:44):
put their foot on the gas. But that defense for
Florida is no joke. What is the plan for the
Longhorns this Saturday against that UF defense.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
I'll say this for you guys that will come down
on the field in pregame. This would be arguably one of,
if not the best looking team in our conference.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
They're big, they're long, they're athletic.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
I think they played fourteen guys in their front seven
this this weekend against Georgia, so they've got a great rotation.
Their depth got challenged in the secondary this weekend with
a couple of corners getting nicked up, but they've they've
got versatile guys there. So you know, Billy's done a
great job recruiting that team. They continue to play really
hard for him, which is which is a credit to him.
(06:28):
But they're a good looking football team, and so it's
gonna be challenging because they're physical at the point of attack.
They've got good length, they can they play a multitude
of coverages, and so that's but that's the life in
the Southeastern Conference.
Speaker 3 (06:42):
That's the way it goes.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
That is the way it goes. Head coach Steve Sarkasian
talking during his press conference today about the Florida defense
as the Longhorns play the Gators this Saturday at home
eleven am. Kickoff Long Horn game. They begins eight am.
Gonna have to drink cup of coffee for that one. Now,
the Longhorns through the last three games, quinn Ewers has
(07:04):
played in a huge win against ou at thirty four
three win where he weers look like a Heisman contender
twenty of twenty nine one hundred and ninety nine yards
a touchdown, but also one of those nasty picks. And
then against Georgia, things kind of came off the rails
a little bit, twenty five or forty three to eleven
a touchdown and again one of those pesty interceptions. Then
(07:26):
against Vanderbilt he looked like he was back under control
twenty seven and thirty seven to eighty eight, three touchdowns,
but again two of those interceptions. So the question was
then asked, uh, how does how does quinn look coming
in or coming out of this bye week and how
much confidence do you have with Quinn and this game plan.
Speaker 3 (07:53):
I thought Quinn had a good week.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
He looks fresh, he looks healthy, he's really you know,
he's really delivering the ball well at like his base
that he's operating with. I thought he was really intentional,
you know, with his feet, with his base against Vanderbilt,
and that showed as far as the script, you know,
I want to call stuff that A gives us the
best chance to have some success. B. Maybe gathers a
(08:15):
little bit of information on the opponent on how they're
gonna play us, and see, you know, get some burning
a little bit of chalk on their sidelines too, you know.
So but at the end of the day, I'm always
trying to put our guys in a really good position
to be successful and and I think our offensive staff
and our staff in general tries.
Speaker 3 (08:33):
To do that. And so this week won't be any different.
Speaker 2 (08:36):
We're just gonna try to, you know, put together something
that they believe in, that they have confidence in, that
they show us in practice they know how to operate
at a high level regardless of what defense we get.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
Against Vanderbilt, the Longhorns rushed the ball thirty four times,
now is that enough? Is that something that coach Sarkisian
likes to see? And how has that offensive game plan?
How has the offense looked? And is he is he
happy with the way that the team has run the
(09:07):
ball so far this season. He was asked about overextending
the offense and what he doesn't want them to do.
Speaker 3 (09:16):
Yeah, you know, I mean, it's like anything. It's like
any of us.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
It's I use the basketball shooter reference or the baseball
you know, home run hitter reference, you know, And I
just don't want our guys to press.
Speaker 3 (09:29):
We're plenty good enough.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
And we've we've got good enough players, we have good
enough schemes, we've got enough balance to be a really
electric offensive football team.
Speaker 3 (09:38):
And yeah we didn't have a couple of great weeks.
That's okay.
Speaker 2 (09:41):
We're gonna be all right, you know, and and make
sure that we've got confidence to go do those things.
And so I don't overdo it with them because I
just want them to know I believe in them. And
and here's why I believe in them, And here's what
we're gonna do to ensure opportunities for them to go
make some plays.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
Ensuring the team has opportunities to set them so up
for success. And it's going to be difficult because there
is a log jam at the top of the SEC
with teams like Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, A and M and
now Texas all having a loss. It's going to be
important not to have multiple losses. In that column he
(10:18):
was at coach Sarkisian was asked about the log jam
at the top of the SEC.
Speaker 2 (10:24):
You know, there is a lot of football to be
played here in the month of November, you know, and
how critical all these games are over the next four
weeks for a lot of different teams. The one thing
that I took away from is all we can control
is us and what we're going to do and how
we can try to go.
Speaker 3 (10:39):
Handle our business to the best of our ability.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
I think one thing you learn, not necessarily from A
and M or from it was a bunch of teams
that you know, had had games and tough games, and
some swung in different directions. It's like that mental intensity
I talked about of how challenging that is week to
week in this conference, right, you want to get up
for each week and you just got to fight that
drop off because you got to stay up again and
(11:04):
again and again. And that's what makes our conference very,
very difficult. You have to stay mentally locked in as
well as you have to be physically prepared to play
mentally prepared to play. And I think there's there was
a lot of good teachable lessons from this weekend of
anybody can go play anybody at any time in this
league and it's it's gonna be a heck of a game.
And so you saw it with Vanderbilt their ability to
(11:27):
rebound and get a big win this weekend. We saw
it with Florida playing Georgia the way that they did
even after losing their second string quarterback. We saw it
with South Carolina and their ability to step up and
do what they did. So it's a challenging league, and
that's why we talk about the kind of metal fortitude
you have to have in this league as much as
it is the physical ability.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
Now the SEC has multiple teams in the top ten,
they have multiple teams in the top twenty five. The
question then becomes because there is an expanded playoff, because
the College Football Playoff Comittee puts out their first ratings
tomorrow rankings tomorrow, does winning the SEC matter less because
(12:06):
you potentially could be a one lost team plays in
the SEC title game and then loses, and could you
lose some points in the playoff committee's mind.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
Now.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
We talked to h a Playoff committee member last week
on The Craig Ways Show, and and Starkejian had a
good answer to this, Uh, does it matter winning the SEC?
Speaker 3 (12:26):
Still? Not around here?
Speaker 2 (12:29):
Our goal, our first goal is to go win an
SEC championship, and that's what we're striving for. When that
day comes and goes, then we'll recalibrate and get ourselves
prepared for what the next the next part of the
season could be if we're fortunate enough to get in there.
But it's it's an honor if you're a team that
can hoist that trophy in this conference, knowing the rigors
of the opponents and and how difficult it can be.
(12:51):
I think that's a heck of an honor for our
players and for our staff if we're we're able to
do something like that. And I think you could probably
ask you know, Kirby or or Mike Elko or you know,
you know, now all the guys, all the coaches, all
the teams in our league, like that's a heck of
a challenge, and that's a heck of an honor if
you can achieve it. So I don't think in the
Southeastern Conference it's minimized at all, And everybody knows that's
(13:14):
a heck of an honor if you can if.
Speaker 3 (13:15):
You can do that.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
So it is the most important thing I think for
Longhorned fans to realize that you do not lose any
standing in the playoff Committee's mind by losing your conference
championship game. If you are a top seven team, your
goal is to win your conference, so you get that
home by game, you get a buye. If you're a
top four team, in the top four teams will be
(13:38):
the four highest ranked champions conference champions. That's how it's
going to roll out here. Now. The SEC is cracking
down on fake injuries. The Longhorns haven't dealt with this
a ton, But Sarakisian was asked about what his thoughts
were on the SEC trying to uphold the integrity of
the game.
Speaker 3 (13:57):
No, I haven't.
Speaker 2 (13:57):
We haven't felt it as much as may be some
other teams have. You know, naturally, I think the integrity
of the game of football is vitally important to to.
Speaker 3 (14:07):
To hold in a high regard.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
But again i'd be I'm probably not the best one
to comment on it because we haven't felt the effects
of it.
Speaker 3 (14:14):
You know, it's not something that we can done here.
Speaker 2 (14:18):
But again, I haven't felt it as much from opponents
against us, so it's kind of tough for me to.
Speaker 3 (14:23):
Call on that one.
Speaker 1 (14:24):
And finally, Sarkesian was asked about this game on Saturday
against Florida eleven am kickoff. You can listen to the
pregame show Longhorn Game Day starting at eight am right
here on thirteen hundred of the Zone. He was asked
about it being a veteran's celebration day at the stadium
and what that means for this team, What does that
(14:45):
mean for this program?
Speaker 3 (14:46):
What does that mean for him?
Speaker 2 (14:48):
No, I think I think this is a great opportunity.
You think about this Saturday to eleven am kick First
of all, so Longhorn Nation, we need you, We need
you to get up and and and be up and
at him. It's gonna be a heck a ball game.
But you know, attribute to the veterans is a great
opportunity for us. You know, we're really fortunate for the
opportunities we get to live in this country and to
(15:10):
coach college football, to play college football, and none of
that would be possible without them, and so we always
try to honor them in the best way that we can.
Speaker 3 (15:19):
And this Saturday we get another opportunity to do that.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
Coach Tarkisian feels confident. His team feels confident as they
go into a SEC matchup against a Florida team that
may or may not have their starting quarterback, who may
or may not be the best defense that they face
this year. Either way, is an important game, every game
from here on out for Texas as well as the SEC.
(15:43):
It is the most important to get the job done
if the goal is, of course, to win a national
championship and hoist a SEC championship as well. All Right,
the APE pole came out. The College Football Playoff Committee
puts there polling out tomorrow. We will preview that up next.
Andrew Zimmile filling in for Craig Way on The Craigways
Show on Sports Radio AM thirteen hundred.
Speaker 3 (16:05):
The Zone
Sports Radio AM thirteen hundred Zone Andrew Zimmel filling in
for Craig Way and Cameron Parker as they are in
Las Vegas, Nevada. That is right as the Texas men's
basketball season opens up tonight against the Ohio State buck Guys.
That game tips off nine pm, eight to thirty pre
game right here on AM thirteen hundred Zone and on
KVET FM ninety eight one FM in Austin. You also
(00:25):
can listen on the free iHeartRadio app as well. So
updates across the league, updates across college football. We will
start with an update from college station. Texas A and
M head coach Mike Elko announced running back Levon Moss
(00:45):
is out for the season. Moss was having a great
year for the Aggies, rushed for seven hundred and sixty
five yards at about six yards per carry and ten
touchdowns before his injury against South Carolina changed the outcome
of that game.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
As a game.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
Cox got the win at home against number ten Texas
A and M. Huge win for the game Cocks and
changes a lot in the sec A logjam at the
top of the conference. We will start this hour or correction,
we will start hour at number three of the Craigways
Show with more from a head coach Steve Sarkejian. I
(01:21):
want to reset and play his opening statement again because
I think there's a lot that we can take away
from what coach Starks said at the beginning of this thing.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
You know, buys are always nice to get to get healthy,
get refreshed, get recharged to kind of yourself analysis.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
But it's also nice to get back to work.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
You know, we are a you know, routine oriented operation,
so to get back to work. We know the month
of November for us is one that's going to be challenging.
But as we say around here, the games in November
of the ones you remember. So we got to put
in a lot of work. And it starts this Saturday
against the University of Florida, a team that it's very talented,
(02:01):
really well coached. I know a lot of people are
gonna lolick at the record and so on and so forth,
but you can just look at their last three games.
You know, they lose an overtime to Tennessee, they win,
and they're beating Georgia. They got a chance to kick
a field goal to go up late in that ball
game with a kind of muff a snap.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
So they've been playing good football. It's gonna be a
heck of a challenge.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
And so you know, I think we got off to
a good start today from a preparation standpoint, but we're
gonna need a good week of work to get ourselves
ready to.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
Go big things.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
Leading this press conference off for coach start talking about
the month of November for Texas. Now two home games,
two road games at home against Florida, at home against
Kentucky on the road against Arkansas on the road against
number fifteen Texas A and M to end the season.
I don't know if they'll be fifteen at that point,
(02:53):
they might be higher. I want to go through two
other teams. The top three teams in the S currently
according to the AP, pole must get the College Football
Playoff Committee's poll tomorrow evening. For the top three teams
in the SEC now, according to the AP, it's number
two Georgia, it's number five Texas, it's number seven Tennessee.
(03:16):
And I don't think Georgia or Tennessee's final four games
compare to what the long runs are going to be
dealing with. Georgia travels to Oxford to take on Old
miss the Revs. That's going to be a tough game.
Then at home against Tennessee, but then you get the Minutemen. Yeah,
UMass shows up and then Georgia Tech. Those two teams
(03:38):
don't really excite me. And outside of traveling to Oxford,
the Tennessee game is going to be interesting. But let's
go through Tennessee schedule. Mississippi State, a team that has
struggled so far this season, at home against Georgia UTEP
and then going to Nashville against Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt is a
solid team, a top twenty five team, but I go
(03:58):
through that Texas schedule, those final four games might be
the hardest four games in the SEC for a team
that is contending for a title.
Speaker 3 (04:08):
Now.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
News also came out today from Florida, as head coach
Billy Napier explained that DJ Langway's injury prognosis was better
than expected. In fact, it was so good you might
see Langue against the Longhorns this Saturday. There's a lot
of game time leading up to that, which means you
don't really know what the quarterback situation will be. If
(04:32):
you're head coach Steve Starkeesian, so he was asked a question,
how do you prepare for a multiple quarterback game plan?
Especially when you consider that aiden Ware played pretty solid
for the Gators seven of twenty two sixty six yards
an interception, but again against the Georgia defense, it's not
too bad. Here's the coach, Stark's response, how do you
(04:52):
prepare for the Florida quarterback situation?
Speaker 2 (04:54):
Well, I think you prepare for the scheme. You know,
coach Napier has been doing it quite a while, you know,
time at Lafayette and what he's done at Florida. So
they've got a very intricate scheme, a lot of shifts,
a lot of motions, a lot of formation adjustments that
they that's they tax you with, you know.
Speaker 3 (05:11):
So I think that's the first part.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
You know, again, they're they're a little bit of limbo
from a quarterback perspective, But in the end of the day,
I think, you know, they're going to run their offense
and that's what we got to prepare for.
Speaker 3 (05:21):
Now.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
The offense is one thing, but that defense for Florida
is another. The Florida defense did a good job against
Carson Beck. They played very well against the Georgia offense.
And if their quarterback doesn't go down and Langway doesn't
go down, we might have a different outcome in that ballgame.
Georgia struggled and then in the second half they really
(05:44):
put their foot on the gas. But that defense for
Florida is no joke. What is the plan for the
Longhorns this Saturday against that UF defense.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
I'll say this for you guys that will come down
on the field in pregame. This would be arguably one of,
if not the best looking team in our conference.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
They're big, they're long, they're athletic.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
I think they played fourteen guys in their front seven
this this weekend against Georgia, so they've got a great rotation.
Their depth got challenged in the secondary this weekend with
a couple of corners getting nicked up, but they've they've
got versatile guys there. So you know, Billy's done a
great job recruiting that team. They continue to play really
hard for him, which is which is a credit to him.
(06:28):
But they're a good looking football team, and so it's
gonna be challenging because they're physical at the point of attack.
They've got good length, they can they play a multitude
of coverages, and so that's but that's the life in
the Southeastern Conference.
Speaker 3 (06:42):
That's the way it goes.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
That is the way it goes. Head coach Steve Sarkasian
talking during his press conference today about the Florida defense
as the Longhorns play the Gators this Saturday at home
eleven am. Kickoff Long Horn game. They begins eight am.
Gonna have to drink cup of coffee for that one. Now,
the Longhorns through the last three games, quinn Ewers has
(07:04):
played in a huge win against ou at thirty four
three win where he weers look like a Heisman contender
twenty of twenty nine one hundred and ninety nine yards
a touchdown, but also one of those nasty picks. And
then against Georgia, things kind of came off the rails
a little bit, twenty five or forty three to eleven
a touchdown and again one of those pesty interceptions. Then
(07:26):
against Vanderbilt he looked like he was back under control
twenty seven and thirty seven to eighty eight, three touchdowns,
but again two of those interceptions. So the question was
then asked, uh, how does how does quinn look coming
in or coming out of this bye week and how
much confidence do you have with Quinn and this game plan.
Speaker 3 (07:53):
I thought Quinn had a good week.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
He looks fresh, he looks healthy, he's really you know,
he's really delivering the ball well at like his base
that he's operating with. I thought he was really intentional,
you know, with his feet, with his base against Vanderbilt,
and that showed as far as the script, you know,
I want to call stuff that A gives us the
best chance to have some success. B. Maybe gathers a
(08:15):
little bit of information on the opponent on how they're
gonna play us, and see, you know, get some burning
a little bit of chalk on their sidelines too, you know.
So but at the end of the day, I'm always
trying to put our guys in a really good position
to be successful and and I think our offensive staff
and our staff in general tries.
Speaker 3 (08:33):
To do that. And so this week won't be any different.
Speaker 2 (08:36):
We're just gonna try to, you know, put together something
that they believe in, that they have confidence in, that
they show us in practice they know how to operate
at a high level regardless of what defense we get.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
Against Vanderbilt, the Longhorns rushed the ball thirty four times,
now is that enough? Is that something that coach Sarkisian
likes to see? And how has that offensive game plan?
How has the offense looked? And is he is he
happy with the way that the team has run the
(09:07):
ball so far this season. He was asked about overextending
the offense and what he doesn't want them to do.
Speaker 3 (09:16):
Yeah, you know, I mean, it's like anything. It's like
any of us.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
It's I use the basketball shooter reference or the baseball
you know, home run hitter reference, you know, And I
just don't want our guys to press.
Speaker 3 (09:29):
We're plenty good enough.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
And we've we've got good enough players, we have good
enough schemes, we've got enough balance to be a really
electric offensive football team.
Speaker 3 (09:38):
And yeah we didn't have a couple of great weeks.
That's okay.
Speaker 2 (09:41):
We're gonna be all right, you know, and and make
sure that we've got confidence to go do those things.
And so I don't overdo it with them because I
just want them to know I believe in them. And
and here's why I believe in them, And here's what
we're gonna do to ensure opportunities for them to go
make some plays.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
Ensuring the team has opportunities to set them so up
for success. And it's going to be difficult because there
is a log jam at the top of the SEC
with teams like Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, A and M and
now Texas all having a loss. It's going to be
important not to have multiple losses. In that column he
(10:18):
was at coach Sarkisian was asked about the log jam
at the top of the SEC.
Speaker 2 (10:24):
You know, there is a lot of football to be
played here in the month of November, you know, and
how critical all these games are over the next four
weeks for a lot of different teams. The one thing
that I took away from is all we can control
is us and what we're going to do and how
we can try to go.
Speaker 3 (10:39):
Handle our business to the best of our ability.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
I think one thing you learn, not necessarily from A
and M or from it was a bunch of teams
that you know, had had games and tough games, and
some swung in different directions. It's like that mental intensity
I talked about of how challenging that is week to
week in this conference, right, you want to get up
for each week and you just got to fight that
drop off because you got to stay up again and
(11:04):
again and again. And that's what makes our conference very,
very difficult. You have to stay mentally locked in as
well as you have to be physically prepared to play
mentally prepared to play. And I think there's there was
a lot of good teachable lessons from this weekend of
anybody can go play anybody at any time in this
league and it's it's gonna be a heck of a game.
And so you saw it with Vanderbilt their ability to
(11:27):
rebound and get a big win this weekend. We saw
it with Florida playing Georgia the way that they did
even after losing their second string quarterback. We saw it
with South Carolina and their ability to step up and
do what they did. So it's a challenging league, and
that's why we talk about the kind of metal fortitude
you have to have in this league as much as
it is the physical ability.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
Now the SEC has multiple teams in the top ten,
they have multiple teams in the top twenty five. The
question then becomes because there is an expanded playoff, because
the College Football Playoff Comittee puts out their first ratings
tomorrow rankings tomorrow, does winning the SEC matter less because
(12:06):
you potentially could be a one lost team plays in
the SEC title game and then loses, and could you
lose some points in the playoff committee's mind.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
Now.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
We talked to h a Playoff committee member last week
on The Craig Ways Show, and and Starkejian had a
good answer to this, Uh, does it matter winning the SEC?
Speaker 3 (12:26):
Still? Not around here?
Speaker 2 (12:29):
Our goal, our first goal is to go win an
SEC championship, and that's what we're striving for. When that
day comes and goes, then we'll recalibrate and get ourselves
prepared for what the next the next part of the
season could be if we're fortunate enough to get in there.
But it's it's an honor if you're a team that
can hoist that trophy in this conference, knowing the rigors
of the opponents and and how difficult it can be.
(12:51):
I think that's a heck of an honor for our
players and for our staff if we're we're able to
do something like that. And I think you could probably
ask you know, Kirby or or Mike Elko or you know,
you know, now all the guys, all the coaches, all
the teams in our league, like that's a heck of
a challenge, and that's a heck of an honor if
you can achieve it. So I don't think in the
Southeastern Conference it's minimized at all, And everybody knows that's
(13:14):
a heck of an honor if you can if.
Speaker 3 (13:15):
You can do that.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
So it is the most important thing I think for
Longhorned fans to realize that you do not lose any
standing in the playoff Committee's mind by losing your conference
championship game. If you are a top seven team, your
goal is to win your conference, so you get that
home by game, you get a buye. If you're a
top four team, in the top four teams will be
(13:38):
the four highest ranked champions conference champions. That's how it's
going to roll out here. Now. The SEC is cracking
down on fake injuries. The Longhorns haven't dealt with this
a ton, But Sarakisian was asked about what his thoughts
were on the SEC trying to uphold the integrity of
the game.
Speaker 3 (13:57):
No, I haven't.
Speaker 2 (13:57):
We haven't felt it as much as may be some
other teams have. You know, naturally, I think the integrity
of the game of football is vitally important to to.
Speaker 3 (14:07):
To hold in a high regard.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
But again i'd be I'm probably not the best one
to comment on it because we haven't felt the effects
of it.
Speaker 3 (14:14):
You know, it's not something that we can done here.
Speaker 2 (14:18):
But again, I haven't felt it as much from opponents
against us, so it's kind of tough for me to.
Speaker 3 (14:23):
Call on that one.
Speaker 1 (14:24):
And finally, Sarkesian was asked about this game on Saturday
against Florida eleven am kickoff. You can listen to the
pregame show Longhorn Game Day starting at eight am right
here on thirteen hundred of the Zone. He was asked
about it being a veteran's celebration day at the stadium
and what that means for this team, What does that
(14:45):
mean for this program?
Speaker 3 (14:46):
What does that mean for him?
Speaker 2 (14:48):
No, I think I think this is a great opportunity.
You think about this Saturday to eleven am kick First
of all, so Longhorn Nation, we need you, We need
you to get up and and and be up and
at him. It's gonna be a heck a ball game.
But you know, attribute to the veterans is a great
opportunity for us. You know, we're really fortunate for the
opportunities we get to live in this country and to
(15:10):
coach college football, to play college football, and none of
that would be possible without them, and so we always
try to honor them in the best way that we can.
Speaker 3 (15:19):
And this Saturday we get another opportunity to do that.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
Coach Tarkisian feels confident. His team feels confident as they
go into a SEC matchup against a Florida team that
may or may not have their starting quarterback, who may
or may not be the best defense that they face
this year. Either way, is an important game, every game
from here on out for Texas as well as the SEC.
(15:43):
It is the most important to get the job done
if the goal is, of course, to win a national
championship and hoist a SEC championship as well. All Right,
the APE pole came out. The College Football Playoff Committee
puts there polling out tomorrow. We will preview that up next.
Andrew Zimmile filling in for Craig Way on The Craigways
Show on Sports Radio AM thirteen hundred.
Speaker 3 (16:05):
The Zone
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