November 3, 2025 • 34 mins
Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian fields questions about his team and other stories around college football in his weekly news conference live from campus each Monday morning.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Play here.
Speaker 2 (00:00):
We cherish them and we embrace them. And that wasn't
easy eleven am kick after Halloween for our students, So students,
thank you all right, Longhorn Nation showing up.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
That was big time. It was a really good.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Win for uce Is we knew going in Vanderbilt was
a very good football team, a top ten team in
the country, And the biggest thing about getting that win
is to be four and one in the SEC and
to put ourselves in position to compete for a conference
championship here with three weeks ago, I think is huge
for us. And so you know, when you just look
(00:32):
at the game in general, I think that there was
some some really critical points to.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Be made of how we played.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
You know, we really challenged the players on starting fast,
you know, of really coming out with an attack mindset,
and I think that we did that, you know, you know,
playing the first quarter up seventeen to nothing. We talked
a lot about how efficient Vanderbilt was as an offensive
football team and how could we get them off schedule,
(01:01):
and you know, clearly we did that. I think we
had ten TFLs in the game, six sacks in the game.
And then conversely, offensively, how could we help the defense
that way, but also what it was going to take.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
We knew going in it was going.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
To be about an eight to ten possession game, and
so this wasn't like Mississippi State where we I think
we had sixteen possessions in that game, and so we
had to be good early and we had to be efficient.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
Well.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
We didn't give up any sacks and Vanderbilt I think
he had twenty one sacks coming into the game. We
only had one TfL in the game. Offensively, we were
seven for eleven on third down, but we put ourselves
in manageable third downs. We've talked about this about you know,
who were we going to be in third and one
to six and in this game or third and one
to seven. I think in this game we were six
(01:47):
to seven in those scenarios, and so when you put
yourselves in those situations, then you have to convert them
and we were able to do that, which which was
a huge component for us. And then coming out of halftime,
it was the same to the team, how are we
going to start, how were we going to play the second half?
And to win the thin third quarter ten to nothing
I think was a huge component on that front. I
(02:09):
thought Arch played a fantastic game, you know, going back
and really watching the tape now, numerous times he was
very efficient. I thought he threw the ball extremely accurately.
It's one thing not to throw the ball down the
field all the time, but you got to put players
in position to make plays with the ball in their hands,
and I thought our receivers really did that.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
But the accuracy in which he.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
Threw the ball on some of those throws, going back
to the very first pass to Ryan Wingo, I mean,
Ryan doesn't have to break stride to catch that ball
to go break those tackles, and there were numerous plays
like that in the game. So he's playing at a
high level for us right there. And then you know,
again the run game, I do think there's more meat
(02:52):
on the bone, even now, more so than than after
I watched the tape. So I think there's room for
improvement there for us. But to outrush that team who
leans into the run game I thought was big.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
And and you know, at the end of the day.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
The fourth quarter, there's there's definitely things that that we're
gonna have to improve upon on that front. We should
be better in those scenarios. With the pass rush that
we have, but clearly we were we were banged up
in the secondary and there was a moment in there
where we didn't have either starting corner, we didn't have
either starting safety, and we were holding on a little bit.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
And we've got to play.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
More with the mindset of of going to win the game,
not just holding on holding on not to lose the game.
So that will be something that that we get to
work on.
Speaker 3 (03:36):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
But I think this buy is coming at a great time.
You know.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
We we we we were able to survive that five
game stretch going four and one, and we found ways
to win games different differently week in and week out,
and and now we can get healthy and we can
get fresh, and that's really the biggest point of emphasis
for this week.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
We got to get healthy.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
We've got to get Michael taff, Jolana McDonald, Ryan Wingom
in there. There's a there's enough guys that are banged up,
and they should be banged up. We've been playing a
lot of football in our conference and it's November, so
we got to get healthy. We've got to get fresh,
and we've got to get ready for a very good
Georgia team here in a couple of weeks, and so
that's a good place to be.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
It's good to be four and one in the conference.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
We've got three big games to go here in November,
but none bigger than Georgia, which is which is staring
at us here in a couple of weeks.
Speaker 4 (04:25):
If you have a question, we get here and started
in front with Thomas.
Speaker 5 (04:31):
Well coach first to ask you about Ryan Wingo, but
then Connor Robertson at center, Cole Hudson at guard. I
think they used to room together. How much does that
kind of chemistry translate into past protection specifically.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
Yeah, you know, Ryan, it's what we thought, you know,
I mean he's it's you know again, I'm gonna limit
him probably. I don't know how much he's really gonna
practice this week, quite frankly, I just want him to
get as healthy as we can get him. We don't
think he's gonna miss time, but I don't think he'll
be one hundred percent either, right, and so how close
to one hundred percent can we get him? You know,
(05:07):
he's a receiver, his hands are important, a thumb is important.
So we'll again, you know, we'll minimize him a ton
hope I do walk throughs this week and then try
to get him ready for the ball game next week,
which we think he will be, which is a good sign.
I do think that move. You know, I don't know
if Cole and Connor are the most physically gifted offensive
(05:30):
lineman we have in that room, but what they do
have is experience. What they do have is they're smart,
and what they do have is they're tough, and those
guys exude all three of those things, especially when they're
playing together. And I think there's some confidence in there
of for Connor, if there's any uncertainty, Cole knows the
calls is good.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
Or better than anybody.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
I think there's some confidence in there in Trevor where
he doesn't feel like he has to make every call,
that the guard in there can make those calls. And
so I just think the continuity, which is some than
that we've been fighting for and striving force at the
beginning of the season, is good for us. And again,
I don't know if that's the most physically gifted group
of an offensive line that we can put out there,
(06:10):
but surely they play well together and that showed up Saturday.
Speaker 6 (06:16):
You're talking about the performance of the team. I was
watching a documentary on Longwer Network where you were talking
about human and the products and how they help the
performance on game day. I'm just curious. Do you take
their products and if so, what do you think of
them and how does it help you be a coach
on the field and just in general and life.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
I do take I do take their product, thanks to John,
I do take their product. I just think there's a
lot of benefits to it. There's a lot of science
behind it, whether it's heart related, and clearly I have
some heart issues in my past. And when you think
about just being overall healthy, so ironic you bring this up,
(06:58):
you know. I was talking to the staff.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
You know that.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
We're we've got get get healthy and and and get
fresh on the minds of our players. We need it
as a staff too, you know, And this is you know,
seasons can be a grind, and so we've got to
make sure that we're doing the right things from a
staff perspective of being healthy, getting ourselves fresh for this
month of November, along with we've got to recruit this
(07:21):
week and we've got different things coming.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
I think their products.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
Are are proven and and and they're proven from a
scientific standpoint. Uh, they're good for you, and so yes,
I do take humans products love.
Speaker 7 (07:32):
John uh sark the first offensive play of the game
for y'all each of the past two weeks. I don't
know if it's the exact same call, but it's the
exact same concept. When do you decide how are you're
going to open the game each week? And what made
that target to motion to wingo in space the right
way to open those games?
Speaker 2 (07:52):
Yeah, you know one thing that I usually do those
like Wednesday night. You have a pretty good idea the
stuff that you know, we've we've we've installed our plan,
our base game plan kind of on Monday, we've practiced
it Tuesday and Wednesday mornings and and by Wednesday afternoon
and evening, I got a pretty good idea of the
(08:14):
plays I like, I really like in the plan, and
then the plays that I would want to start in
our openers with. And then it's trying to organize that.
And then it's then you look at what are people
doing to us at the start of games, and what
is their tendencies, you know, looking at their film of
what they what they do, and you know that that
(08:35):
style of play is a good play one to find
rhythm for your quarterback. You anybody likes to throw a
swing pass. But two, can you take advantage of some
situations that might present themselves. Like we've been getting some
field pressure, some nickel star pressures to start games. You know,
people are moving their fronts on an inexperienced offensive line.
Speaker 1 (08:55):
And that's what happened Saturday.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
You know, Vanderbilt had a pressure called they brought their
mics our pressure. It allowed us to get good angles
on blocks on the perimeter, and it allowed Ryan to
be in space with a will linebacker chasing him from behind.
And you I think we'd all take that, you know.
And again there's there's educated guess work going on there
of what you think you might get. But if that wasn't, look,
(09:17):
it's really an RPO. It's really what we would call
an advantage throw.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
It's not truly a read.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
It's do we have advantages in numbers. So we had
a run built in on the backside, which we've had,
you know, is different formation, but same idea, different run scheme,
same idea with a run with an advantage throw that
I thought Arch both times made good decisions on.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
But more importantly, I thought.
Speaker 2 (09:38):
Was really accurate two weeks in a row that allowed
Ryan to make those catches. But all a ton of
credit to you know, to DeAndre Moore on the perimeter
of getting that play started, and then you know, Ryan
trusting his speed and his athleticism to make an exposive play.
Speaker 4 (09:55):
Yeah, coach, after a week of Mississippi State where your
corner's played basically the end tire game there, you rotated
five guys this past week, and is that just an
opportunity to stay fresh coming into the buy or starting
to reopen some of that competition out on the corner.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
I think it's probably a combination of both. You know,
we've been exhausted defensively. You know, I think we played
one hundred and seventy two snaps, you know, in the
last two games with Kentucky and Mississippi State combined.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
That's a lot of football. It's a lot of running.
Speaker 2 (10:24):
I felt like we were a little fatigued on defense,
and that's why we adjusted a little bit of what
we did practice wise. The plan was to play more people,
and then we kind of got forced into play more people.
Manny got banged up. I liked what Cad Phillips was
doing so, we kind of left him in there, you know.
But again, experience is a great thing to have. And
(10:49):
if we can generate a little more experience for Warren,
for Kobe, for for Caid to go along with Manny
and Jalen, I just think it's gonna help us at
some point.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
You never know when injuries rear their ugly head.
Speaker 2 (11:02):
And if there was opportunities to play those guys and
they didn't play perfect, Don't don't get me wrong. There
was a lot of valuable lessons learned in that game
for them. But they are talented people. But we've got it.
We've got to got to get them more opportunities so
that when their numbers called, they're they're a little bit
more comfortable in the arena, you know, when when they're
out there, Hey.
Speaker 3 (11:23):
Steve, are you gonna Are you gonna watch the playoff
rankings tomorrow night? And if you were in the room
with those guys as they kind of established established the baseline,
what would you tell them about Texas?
Speaker 2 (11:33):
I'll probably watch it because I'm gonna buy you know,
if I was game planning for an opponent, I probably
wouldn't watch it. But I I've got a little more
time on my hands this week, so I'll probably watch it. It
always interesting to see, you know, And there's you know,
I say this, I say this wholeheartedly. There's a reason
I don't vote in the coach's pull. I can't see everybody.
(11:55):
I can't watch everybody. All I can base it on
of what we do and who we are and how
we play and and so I think, you know, and
that's no different. I don't know how AP voters watch
every game, you know, because if you just look at scores,
you probably look at the score of our game saying, hey,
that must have been a pretty close game when all reality,
we kind of dominated Saturday.
Speaker 1 (12:14):
And I get the.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
Fourth quarter didn't go the way we wanted to go,
but we really dominated the game.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
So how do people really vote is and to me, the.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
Committee, are they really looking at the resumes of the team,
Are they really watching people play? Are they really watching
head to head matchups and what happened when people played
each other and how did games go?
Speaker 1 (12:33):
And so to me, it's it's interesting.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
It's an interesting process that the College Football Committee has
to go through. I think we got a pretty good team.
We got two top ten you know, beating two top
ten ranked teams so far this year. We play in
the toughest conference in America. You know, we're we you
know or other you know, we've lost on the road
in a difficult environment, lost in the roading. It's a
number one team in the country to start the game
(12:56):
in a one score game, and it starts the season
a one score game. So but I do think we're
we're playing better football now than we have all year,
and we need to continue to do that.
Speaker 1 (13:04):
And there's a lot of football left we played.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
I always laugh at these initial CFP rankings and then
what does it really look like in the end?
Speaker 1 (13:12):
Right? And where?
Speaker 7 (13:13):
Where?
Speaker 1 (13:14):
Where is it in the end because I think.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
The first year, you know, when when we got in
and played Washington, I don't even know if we're in
the initial rankings we might be or where. I don't
think we're in the very high But you got to
play yourself into it. And there's a lot of football
left to be played, and we got some quality opponents
in front of us that we need to be prepared for.
But as a fan, I'll watch it because it can
(13:38):
you know, I got a little more time on my
hands this week.
Speaker 8 (13:42):
Hey, Steve, before the first bye week, you told us
we're going to use that for a lot of self scouting.
So I'm curious do you treat this bie weeks kind
of the same?
Speaker 2 (13:51):
I think, I think to your point, Corey, like, we
we have got to dig deep into who we are
right now. We've got to dig into the things that
are causing us issues in all three phases right now.
We got to look at how people are attacking us
in all three phases right now, and and and and
we got to we gotta be forward thinkers, right and
and and what are people going to do when they
(14:13):
look at our tape? And how are they going to
try to attack us? And we've got to make sure
that we've got enough, you know, tools in our toolbox
to combat that stuff.
Speaker 1 (14:20):
And so as much as it is I had like.
Speaker 2 (14:22):
I want to get a head start on Georgia, we
got to look at ourselves first. And we've got to
make sure that we're buttoned up in all three phases
as much as it is getting ready for our for
our future opponents.
Speaker 9 (14:34):
Hey, Steve, you mentioned orderly gage in the last couple
of weeks. Uh, it's when it comes to the defense.
What's your concern level with with you know, the the
late scores and now you to seeing you guys give
up ninety eight yard drives in the fourth quarter, and
how much is that is is attributed to injuries in
Michael Taff not being back there.
Speaker 2 (14:53):
Yeah, you know, I think there was a couple of
things that were disappointing because of the standard that we've
set defensively. You know, giving up the sixty seven yard
touchdown pass was extremely disappointing when you have a game
really in hand. Giving up a fourth and eighteen from
their own two yard line is disappointing. You know that
(15:15):
we weren't able to get the receiver on the ground
and end the game right there, and so those things
are uncharacteristic to us around here, and so I think
it caught everybody kind of off guard and a little surprised.
Would it be helpful to have Michael Taff and Jelina
McDonald out there?
Speaker 1 (15:32):
Of course it.
Speaker 2 (15:32):
Would, you know, just their experience, their poise and composure
in those moments in game, I think would be extremely
helpful to go along with the communication side of things.
But it's also great those guys have those other guys
them being in that environment, being in that arena, being
in those situations, if we do it right, is going
(15:54):
to really help us down the road. And so sometimes,
you know, you need to have some of those failures
to really learn from to get players attention. Well, I
think we got some of these young DB's attention now
the last couple of weeks and where they need to
grow and where they need to improve. But it's our
job as coaches to get them better in those situations
when they come up again. Hey, I hope, I hope
(16:18):
we're up by twenty something points in the fourth quarter
in the next couple weeks, and I hope we played
better all right in those situations if that does come up.
Speaker 10 (16:27):
Yeah, coach, it seemed like Vanderbilt wanted to keep things
pretty chippy and wanted to be, you know, kind of
talking to your guys.
Speaker 8 (16:33):
Were you pleased with how your team handled themselves and
stay composed.
Speaker 1 (16:37):
Well, I thought we did.
Speaker 2 (16:38):
I thought we really only had one scenario that was
that was probably of disappointing. You know, again, I don't
Some would argue Xavier didn't hit the quarterback out of bounds,
that maybe he got pulled down with him and that
situation there and so, hey, I don't know, it's a
tough play there on their sidelines, and that there weren't
(16:59):
more flags that came out in that situation, credit to him.
Speaker 1 (17:02):
But really the only one that came up.
Speaker 2 (17:03):
Was on the touchdown when their quarterback threw the ball
in Xavier's face. Manny had gotten into a little personal
scuffle on the side and he ended up retal retaliating,
and that was really the one personal foul that we
had in the game. That was a post whistle play,
And so credit to our guys again. You know, emotions
are gonna run high, and they're gonna run high in
(17:24):
November where there's a lot at stake, there's a lot
on the line right now, and we've got to make
sure that we play within the confines of the game,
play within the whistles, play within the white lines to
give ourselves the best chance to be successful.
Speaker 1 (17:37):
Right Danny, I'm Steve.
Speaker 11 (17:39):
You just mentioned Xavier and it also seemed like you
weren't that plays with Lawrence offside, But overall, where how
would you assess these young defensive backs and how they've
played with the extra plan.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
Yeah, I think they're getting better, you know, I mean,
I think there's a lot to there's a lot to
Xavier to be excited about. You know, he's got great speed,
he's got great coverability. It's situational football that we need
to continue to grow on. Same with Warren. You know
that I know he's trying to quick jam the tight end.
It's third and ten. You know he didn't really need
to do it in that moment. And so those experiences
(18:11):
where the growth.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
Needs to come. But I think we're getting better.
Speaker 2 (18:15):
You know, there's some other things that for some other
players that we need to see more out of and
they're going to get challenged and but that's our job
as coaches to do that. And so but I do
think we're making progress and there's gonna be plenty to
learn from and grow from. I'm glad Joanah played the
seven or eight snaps that he played in this game. Again,
him just being out there playing, that's the best practice
(18:37):
he can get is actually getting.
Speaker 1 (18:39):
In the game and having to communicate and do those things.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
And so, but we need to learn from it and
we need to get better from iter.
Speaker 10 (18:46):
Stark the accuracy component with with Arch, what have you
seen over the last few weeks that leads to the improvement.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
Yeah, you know, I think one feels a little less anxious,
feels a.
Speaker 1 (18:58):
Little more calm, feels more poised.
Speaker 2 (19:02):
I think also he feels a little more protected, you know.
I mean when everybody likes to throw the ball when
you're not about to get hit, you know, I mean
that that feels better. But yet there were moments when
he was going to get hit and he delivered beautiful passes,
you know, the touchdown to Emmett in the back.
Speaker 1 (19:15):
Of the end zone.
Speaker 2 (19:16):
He knows he's getting ready to get hit and he
delivers a beautiful ball to Emmett for a touchdown. But
I just think overall, confidence and credit to Arch. You know,
he's worked at this. This has not been a smooth sale,
easy ride, but he stayed committed to his process and
his ability to prepare week in and week out. I
(19:37):
think he's trusting it more. I think rapport with the
receivers has been helpful. He's getting to secondary reads better
than he has and so all in all, you know,
I mean, he had the one scramble Saturday where he
really didn't even need.
Speaker 1 (19:53):
To scramble on that ball.
Speaker 2 (19:54):
He had an ability to check the ball down to
Trey Wisner and he wouldn't even have to scramble that point.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
So minimizing some of the.
Speaker 2 (19:59):
Hits, standing upright, delivering accurate passes and being efficient on
first down, but also being efficient and third and one
to six, third and one to seven, I think is
a way he's learning. Man, that's a little easier way
to play than playing third and twelve third and thirteen football,
where you're having to throw it down the field and
now you're getting all the exotic blitzes, and now it's
(20:21):
tougher on the O line, and now you're taking even
more hits and having to maybe force a few throws.
Speaker 1 (20:26):
There was not a throw Saturday, but it felt forced.
You know.
Speaker 2 (20:29):
Even the ball to Parker over the middle, I thought
was a good really good timing would have been a
hell of a catch, but I thought he threw the
ball on time to the right people.
Speaker 1 (20:36):
Saturday.
Speaker 12 (20:38):
Hey, coach, first, I'll take any Jelani update that you'd
be willing to give. The second thing, Ryan Wingo, the
past couple of games has just really been explosive. What
have you found that works for him? What's going into
his confidence level and what does this offense look like
when he's cooking the way he's been.
Speaker 2 (20:54):
Jilani's in protocol, and just like last week, you know,
that's really out of my hands at that point.
Speaker 1 (21:00):
I'm glad we don't play Saturday.
Speaker 2 (21:02):
A little different protocol for a safety than it is
for a quarterback, you know, of getting cleared to play.
And so the fact that you know, we feel confident
as long as he stays the course of where he's
at this morning from where he was Saturday, all signs
are good there. You know, this offense, historically, we've always
(21:22):
had to have somebody with some juice, with some speed
that can we can force people to play not only
vertically but horizontally to defend us. And the one thing
that we've really challenged not only Ryan but all the
receivers on is to trust their speed.
Speaker 1 (21:39):
And where Ryan is unique is yes.
Speaker 2 (21:42):
He's got speed, but he's got size, and he's running
through tacklers now as opposed to breaking down and trying
to make them miss.
Speaker 1 (21:51):
And I think a lot of other guys are doing
that more.
Speaker 2 (21:53):
We need to continue to play that way. You know,
we're we're probably a faster football team than we give
our elves credit for.
Speaker 1 (22:01):
And he's a living example of trusting his.
Speaker 2 (22:03):
Speed and you're not going to break every ball for
a touchdown, but you can gain extra yards that way.
And I thought there was a great example of Parker
on their far sideline. There was a great example of
Dayala McCutcheon on our sideline near the end zone of
really trusting their speed and getting positive yards.
Speaker 1 (22:21):
But when we do that.
Speaker 2 (22:23):
That forces the defense to play with really good angles,
That forces them to be a little more reactionary to
some of those bubble throws, and that should open some
other things up for us down the field.
Speaker 4 (22:33):
Left a lot of the guys who've played, you know,
eight games, they've played eight games with their handful of
guys who are still under that four game limit, not
just in the freshman class, but ball all over.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
Do you take stock of that? Do you have conversation
with it with guys? Or is that the end of year?
That's more end of the year.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
We're playing this thing one game at a time, and
what do we need to do to win the next game.
And everybody in that locker room knows they have a
role on this team to contribute to our success. It
to those guys, they've been working hard a lot of
guys have been working hard. I'd love to play them all.
Like I've said before, some you know, certain games dictate
who plays who doesn't, Personnel groupings, things of that nature.
(23:11):
But I know they all want to play. They all
want to contribute on game day. But a lot of
guys are contributing on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. That is impacting
our play on Saturdays. And so you know, hopefully we
just keep making progress and we'll get a better assessment
here over the few days that we that we do
get on the grass with our guys to get them,
you know, in position to hopefully contribute more here into
(23:33):
November and.
Speaker 1 (23:34):
What these knixt three games look like.
Speaker 2 (23:35):
Once these three games are done, it's irrelevant, you know,
SEC Championship playoffs, bowl games that that doesn't matter anymore.
So well, as we get closer to the end, maybe
we've got to make a decision. But as of right now,
they're all if they if they can help us win,
they're going to play.
Speaker 10 (23:53):
As far as to see if p Steve a nine
to three SEC team didn't make it last year, do
you think such a team would be worthy this year?
Given how deep this league is. In a second one,
is there a degree of frustration among coaches about the
equality of the officiating this year.
Speaker 1 (24:10):
I don't, I don't, I don't know, you know.
Speaker 2 (24:13):
I know our conference is tough, it really is, man,
and it feels like a playoff game every week, and
and I don't know if it feels that way and
all the other conferences. I just know in our our league,
surely it does, you know. And I'm I got a
chance with it being eleven am kick Saturday, you know,
I gotta. I got a chance to watch Florida Georgia.
I got a chance to watch old Miss South Carolina.
(24:35):
I got a chance to watch Oklahoma Tennessee. And this
is some high level football and from teams that maybe
don't have great records, but man, these teams are good
and and I knew it was going to be that way.
And so I don't know what's gonna happen, you know,
with the CFP and who gets in and who doesn't
and when they really look at this thing. I just
know in our league it's really hard. It's really hard,
(24:56):
and it's it's a credit to people who find a
way to win every Saturda. We're just trying to win
the next one, you know, and and see what happens.
As I said before, we've been in this situation before,
unfortunately but fortunately.
Speaker 1 (25:11):
Where we've had to play this way.
Speaker 2 (25:14):
I've always been a believer of, you know, you know,
handle your business, control what you can control, and try
to take it out of the hands of others. And
we learned that lesson you know, our second last year
in the Big Twelve, where you know, I think we
beat Baylor here and we needed we needed Kansas to
beat Kansas State to get into the Big Twelve championship game,
(25:34):
and and but and they didn't. But but we we
could have controlled some of that on our own earlier.
We handled our business better the last two years of
what that looked like. And so for us, what what
can we control? How the committee handles it, I don't know,
but but I know we got Georgia here in two
weeks and on the road, and it's gonna be a
tough game. So that's where our focus is right now.
(25:56):
And what the Committee does with the teams in our conference,
we'll see.
Speaker 1 (25:59):
But I know our conference is really deep.
Speaker 2 (26:01):
It's really good, probably deserving more than three teams, I
know that much. I think the SEC only got three
teams in last year, which is kind of laughable, quite frankly.
But we'll see what happens this year. Officiating, I don't
I can't speak to everybody. I know we've we've obviously
turned in or turning in a handful of plays some
Saturday to get some clarification on on just how things
(26:23):
are getting officiated, because.
Speaker 1 (26:25):
I don't like, I'll be honest with you, I got
enough on my plate on Saturday.
Speaker 2 (26:29):
I don't like spending time complaining about officiating during the
game because I got bigger things to worry about with
our team. But I felt like I needed to Saturday.
But again, if I get understanding and clarification on how
things are getting officiated, that might reduce reduce some of
my complaining. And I'm sure other coaches probably feel the
same way.
Speaker 13 (26:50):
Right Coach, you had Georgia here last year, then in Atlanta,
what about going to Athens? What's a big difficulty in Athens?
And if you had experience coach a team as an
assistant at at Athens against Georgia.
Speaker 2 (27:03):
I've never I've never coached a game there. I know
they're like thirty seven and one in their last thirty
eight home games.
Speaker 1 (27:10):
So I'm sure it's tough. I'm sure it's hard. I
will say this about Georgia.
Speaker 2 (27:14):
I've got a chance to watch a few of their games,
you know, I got a chance to watch them against
Alabama this year. I got a chance to watch some
of their old miss game, and then obviously got a
chance to watch the second half this past weekend against Florida,
and Kirby said it after the game. They're hard to kill,
you know, they're they're they're gonna play and and it
(27:35):
feels that way even more so at home. Even though
they didn't win the Bama game, they surely wouldn't go
away and and so you're gonna have to play sixty
minutes whether wherever you play them. Could be here, could
be in Athens, could be in Atlanta. But surely he's
the mindset of their team is they're hard to kill,
and so you've got to play all sixty when you
(27:55):
play them. Left.
Speaker 14 (27:59):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 4 (28:00):
See.
Speaker 14 (28:00):
On the business side of college football, another weekend brings
another high profile mid season coach firing and new conversations
about the size of contracts and buyouts. But are those
kinds of deals for coaches the foreseeable the marketplace for
the foreseeable future, in a in a marketplace where job
security can vanish rather quickly in the in the NIL
(28:22):
and the portal area era.
Speaker 2 (28:25):
That should surely mean yes, right, because who wants to
take a job without any you know, the fact that
the amount of pressure that coaches are under, the amount
of scrutiny, they're under, the amount of you know, one
week year hero, the next week year zero mentality that
that fan bases and people want to have. Surely coaches
want some security to what they sign up to go do.
Speaker 1 (28:47):
We work really hard, and I get it.
Speaker 2 (28:49):
We all want to win and we're all busting our
tails to try to win. And sometimes things don't go
your way, especially in our conference.
Speaker 1 (28:56):
It's tough.
Speaker 2 (28:57):
And so uh the idea that he coaches you know,
don't want don't want some security and the jobs that
they take.
Speaker 1 (29:06):
That doesn't that doesn't quite make sense to me.
Speaker 2 (29:08):
You know, it should be like man, somewhere in here,
somebody has got to be willing to say, hey, let's
see if this can work itself out. Not every year,
not all sixteen teams in the SEC are going to
go to the playoffs. It's just not reality. We're talking
about trying to get four or five teams in this year.
Last year we got three. Should we got three teams?
(29:29):
And what do we have three or four in the
top ten in the country right now? And so it's
really difficult and everybody's fighting for it, and I know
we all want to go to.
Speaker 1 (29:36):
The playoffs, but.
Speaker 2 (29:39):
You know, I just think it's it's really hard to
think that a coach is going to bust his tail.
And it's not just about the coach. It's the staff
and it's the players. And I get it, we'ren't. This
is a lucrative industry that we're part of, and the
TV deals and the college football playoff and there's a
lot going into it. Well, sometimes you got to pay
the guy that's the one leading the ship and driving
(30:01):
the ship. And again I would have said that if
I'm as an assistant coach right now.
Speaker 1 (30:05):
It just is what it is. As you guys know,
I'm a fan of college football. I watch what.
Speaker 2 (30:09):
Goes into every one of these games and the exposure
in College Game Day and Big New Kick and all
the things that go into it.
Speaker 1 (30:18):
Well, the coach is doing a.
Speaker 2 (30:19):
Lot of that work to get that done and he's
recruiting well, and we're trying to do all these things,
and so, hey, that's the price you pay. If you
hired a coach and you don't think that he's the
right coach for you, that's part of it.
Speaker 1 (30:31):
You gotta pay him.
Speaker 2 (30:32):
That's just the way it works, unfortunately. But that's the
industry that we're in. And so if you're not willing
to pay a coach of what his contract is, well
maybe you're probably not going to get one of the
coaches you thought you might get. I always find it interesting.
I'm gonna go on a little bit of a soapbox here.
Speaker 1 (30:49):
Everybody wants to fire their coach. Who are you going to hire?
There's all these jobs out there right now. Who's everybody
going to hire?
Speaker 2 (30:59):
I don't know, find out we're gonna somebody's got to
be the head coach. Well, let's find out who they're
gonna hire.
Speaker 1 (31:04):
Now, Sark.
Speaker 15 (31:09):
When you have a game where you out rush them
by forty yards, you get the six sacks of ten
tackles for a loss. How excited are you to see
your team if they can spend winning a line of
scrimmage game for it against a team like Vanderbilt that
prides itself on winning with a line of scrimmage style.
Speaker 1 (31:23):
Yeah, I'm I'm excited because I think we're getting better.
I really do.
Speaker 2 (31:27):
I think we're getting better as a team. And again
that's why I didn't think the score was kind of
indicative of how the game. We got to play better
in the fourth quarter. Don't get me wrong, but we're
playing better football right now.
Speaker 1 (31:37):
We're taking care of the ball.
Speaker 2 (31:38):
We've had one turnover in four games. We're taking care
of the ball better, we're creating turnovers, we're stopping the run.
We're starting to run the ball better. We need to
run it better. We're converting third downs, We're doing a
lot of things really well. We're playing better at the
line of scrimmage now on both sides of the ball.
Speaker 1 (31:54):
So we're getting better.
Speaker 2 (31:57):
And so yeah, to your point, I am excited that
that we were able to play a team in that
style of game and minimize their strengths and make it
a strength of ours. And so there was a lot
of things to point to in that game where it's like, Okay,
we're starting to we're starting to hit our stride a
little bit more, and there's some things to clean up.
We're not a finished product, but we're getting better. And
(32:20):
that's a credit to our players of working at their craft.
That's a credit to the coaches of trying to put
players in the right position to be successful, whether it's
schematically or or personnel grouping wise. But I think there's
a there's a level of confidence right now with our
team of Man, we're getting better. We got to stay
the course because we're gonna need to be better over
the next three.
Speaker 1 (32:39):
Weeks for sure.
Speaker 8 (32:42):
Coach kind of piggybacking off of that, going back to
the first loss in the SEC, did you feel like
this team would could get to this point where maybe
you guys were counted out and what was your confidence
level to be at this point and level of patience
to get the guys here.
Speaker 2 (32:56):
Well, I was definitely disappointed by the way we played
in Gainesville, you know, and in that I felt like
we were better than we played in that game.
Speaker 1 (33:05):
But I also knew.
Speaker 2 (33:05):
Florida was better than people probably gave them credit for
and they probably still don't give them credit for it.
But Florida's got real players. So whoever gets that job
is going to get a pretty good roster. And hopefully
they got enough money.
Speaker 1 (33:17):
To keep it.
Speaker 2 (33:17):
If you want to know the truth, okay, but that
is that's a good football team.
Speaker 1 (33:22):
But I also felt like we could have played better now.
Speaker 2 (33:25):
We had areas and holes on our team at that
time that I knew we needed to improve upon. And
like I said, a credit to the players and the
staff for improving those areas and improving on those things,
and very specific players have gotten better since then. I
think collectively we've gotten better as a team. But I
(33:45):
don't think there was ever a sense of panic. It
was just let's go try to find a way to
win the next game, and then after that game, let's
go try to find a way to win the next
game and the next game and the next game. And
we've done that, and I think that's again a credit
to the culture that we have and the leadership that
we have in that locker room, that these guys do
a tremendous job of focusing on the task at hand,
(34:06):
and that's just the next game, and it's focusing on
the next game, and that's their preparation. I credit our
guys a ton for their ability to manage last week,
of getting their rest, doing their recovery, owning into the
game plan, and playing that game the way we wanted
to play it. And so this next game is going
to be no different. And so I never hit the
(34:27):
panic button, and again, I don't think anybody in an
organization did. I felt like we could be better than
we were in our SEC opener, and we have been,
and we're improving, y'all. There's some throat lozenges by the
front door, and y'all need some rest too.
Speaker 1 (34:43):
You got a bye week this week, too, so get healthy,
get rested. Okay, we got a big November ahead of us,
all right, y'all, we'll
Speaker 4 (34:49):
See it, all right, Logorns head coach Deve Sarkeishan from
the weekly news conference.
Play here.
Speaker 2 (00:00):
We cherish them and we embrace them. And that wasn't
easy eleven am kick after Halloween for our students, So students,
thank you all right, Longhorn Nation showing up.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
That was big time. It was a really good.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Win for uce Is we knew going in Vanderbilt was
a very good football team, a top ten team in
the country, And the biggest thing about getting that win
is to be four and one in the SEC and
to put ourselves in position to compete for a conference
championship here with three weeks ago, I think is huge
for us. And so you know, when you just look
(00:32):
at the game in general, I think that there was
some some really critical points to.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Be made of how we played.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
You know, we really challenged the players on starting fast,
you know, of really coming out with an attack mindset,
and I think that we did that, you know, you know,
playing the first quarter up seventeen to nothing. We talked
a lot about how efficient Vanderbilt was as an offensive
football team and how could we get them off schedule,
(01:01):
and you know, clearly we did that. I think we
had ten TFLs in the game, six sacks in the game.
And then conversely, offensively, how could we help the defense
that way, but also what it was going to take.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
We knew going in it was going.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
To be about an eight to ten possession game, and
so this wasn't like Mississippi State where we I think
we had sixteen possessions in that game, and so we
had to be good early and we had to be efficient.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
Well.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
We didn't give up any sacks and Vanderbilt I think
he had twenty one sacks coming into the game. We
only had one TfL in the game. Offensively, we were
seven for eleven on third down, but we put ourselves
in manageable third downs. We've talked about this about you know,
who were we going to be in third and one
to six and in this game or third and one
to seven. I think in this game we were six
(01:47):
to seven in those scenarios, and so when you put
yourselves in those situations, then you have to convert them
and we were able to do that, which which was
a huge component for us. And then coming out of halftime,
it was the same to the team, how are we
going to start, how were we going to play the second half?
And to win the thin third quarter ten to nothing
I think was a huge component on that front. I
(02:09):
thought Arch played a fantastic game, you know, going back
and really watching the tape now, numerous times he was
very efficient. I thought he threw the ball extremely accurately.
It's one thing not to throw the ball down the
field all the time, but you got to put players
in position to make plays with the ball in their hands,
and I thought our receivers really did that.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
But the accuracy in which he.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
Threw the ball on some of those throws, going back
to the very first pass to Ryan Wingo, I mean,
Ryan doesn't have to break stride to catch that ball
to go break those tackles, and there were numerous plays
like that in the game. So he's playing at a
high level for us right there. And then you know,
again the run game, I do think there's more meat
(02:52):
on the bone, even now, more so than than after
I watched the tape. So I think there's room for
improvement there for us. But to outrush that team who
leans into the run game I thought was big.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
And and you know, at the end of the day.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
The fourth quarter, there's there's definitely things that that we're
gonna have to improve upon on that front. We should
be better in those scenarios. With the pass rush that
we have, but clearly we were we were banged up
in the secondary and there was a moment in there
where we didn't have either starting corner, we didn't have
either starting safety, and we were holding on a little bit.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
And we've got to play.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
More with the mindset of of going to win the game,
not just holding on holding on not to lose the game.
So that will be something that that we get to
work on.
Speaker 3 (03:36):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
But I think this buy is coming at a great time.
You know.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
We we we we were able to survive that five
game stretch going four and one, and we found ways
to win games different differently week in and week out,
and and now we can get healthy and we can
get fresh, and that's really the biggest point of emphasis
for this week.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
We got to get healthy.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
We've got to get Michael taff, Jolana McDonald, Ryan Wingom
in there. There's a there's enough guys that are banged up,
and they should be banged up. We've been playing a
lot of football in our conference and it's November, so
we got to get healthy. We've got to get fresh,
and we've got to get ready for a very good
Georgia team here in a couple of weeks, and so
that's a good place to be.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
It's good to be four and one in the conference.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
We've got three big games to go here in November,
but none bigger than Georgia, which is which is staring
at us here in a couple of weeks.
Speaker 4 (04:25):
If you have a question, we get here and started
in front with Thomas.
Speaker 5 (04:31):
Well coach first to ask you about Ryan Wingo, but
then Connor Robertson at center, Cole Hudson at guard. I
think they used to room together. How much does that
kind of chemistry translate into past protection specifically.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
Yeah, you know, Ryan, it's what we thought, you know,
I mean he's it's you know again, I'm gonna limit
him probably. I don't know how much he's really gonna
practice this week, quite frankly, I just want him to
get as healthy as we can get him. We don't
think he's gonna miss time, but I don't think he'll
be one hundred percent either, right, and so how close
to one hundred percent can we get him? You know,
(05:07):
he's a receiver, his hands are important, a thumb is important.
So we'll again, you know, we'll minimize him a ton
hope I do walk throughs this week and then try
to get him ready for the ball game next week,
which we think he will be, which is a good sign.
I do think that move. You know, I don't know
if Cole and Connor are the most physically gifted offensive
(05:30):
lineman we have in that room, but what they do
have is experience. What they do have is they're smart,
and what they do have is they're tough, and those
guys exude all three of those things, especially when they're
playing together. And I think there's some confidence in there
of for Connor, if there's any uncertainty, Cole knows the
calls is good.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
Or better than anybody.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
I think there's some confidence in there in Trevor where
he doesn't feel like he has to make every call,
that the guard in there can make those calls. And
so I just think the continuity, which is some than
that we've been fighting for and striving force at the
beginning of the season, is good for us. And again,
I don't know if that's the most physically gifted group
of an offensive line that we can put out there,
(06:10):
but surely they play well together and that showed up Saturday.
Speaker 6 (06:16):
You're talking about the performance of the team. I was
watching a documentary on Longwer Network where you were talking
about human and the products and how they help the
performance on game day. I'm just curious. Do you take
their products and if so, what do you think of
them and how does it help you be a coach
on the field and just in general and life.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
I do take I do take their product, thanks to John,
I do take their product. I just think there's a
lot of benefits to it. There's a lot of science
behind it, whether it's heart related, and clearly I have
some heart issues in my past. And when you think
about just being overall healthy, so ironic you bring this up,
(06:58):
you know. I was talking to the staff.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
You know that.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
We're we've got get get healthy and and and get
fresh on the minds of our players. We need it
as a staff too, you know, And this is you know,
seasons can be a grind, and so we've got to
make sure that we're doing the right things from a
staff perspective of being healthy, getting ourselves fresh for this
month of November, along with we've got to recruit this
(07:21):
week and we've got different things coming.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
I think their products.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
Are are proven and and and they're proven from a
scientific standpoint. Uh, they're good for you, and so yes,
I do take humans products love.
Speaker 7 (07:32):
John uh sark the first offensive play of the game
for y'all each of the past two weeks. I don't
know if it's the exact same call, but it's the
exact same concept. When do you decide how are you're
going to open the game each week? And what made
that target to motion to wingo in space the right
way to open those games?
Speaker 2 (07:52):
Yeah, you know one thing that I usually do those
like Wednesday night. You have a pretty good idea the
stuff that you know, we've we've we've installed our plan,
our base game plan kind of on Monday, we've practiced
it Tuesday and Wednesday mornings and and by Wednesday afternoon
and evening, I got a pretty good idea of the
(08:14):
plays I like, I really like in the plan, and
then the plays that I would want to start in
our openers with. And then it's trying to organize that.
And then it's then you look at what are people
doing to us at the start of games, and what
is their tendencies, you know, looking at their film of
what they what they do, and you know that that
(08:35):
style of play is a good play one to find
rhythm for your quarterback. You anybody likes to throw a
swing pass. But two, can you take advantage of some
situations that might present themselves. Like we've been getting some
field pressure, some nickel star pressures to start games. You know,
people are moving their fronts on an inexperienced offensive line.
Speaker 1 (08:55):
And that's what happened Saturday.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
You know, Vanderbilt had a pressure called they brought their
mics our pressure. It allowed us to get good angles
on blocks on the perimeter, and it allowed Ryan to
be in space with a will linebacker chasing him from behind.
And you I think we'd all take that, you know.
And again there's there's educated guess work going on there
of what you think you might get. But if that wasn't, look,
(09:17):
it's really an RPO. It's really what we would call
an advantage throw.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
It's not truly a read.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
It's do we have advantages in numbers. So we had
a run built in on the backside, which we've had,
you know, is different formation, but same idea, different run scheme,
same idea with a run with an advantage throw that
I thought Arch both times made good decisions on.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
But more importantly, I thought.
Speaker 2 (09:38):
Was really accurate two weeks in a row that allowed
Ryan to make those catches. But all a ton of
credit to you know, to DeAndre Moore on the perimeter
of getting that play started, and then you know, Ryan
trusting his speed and his athleticism to make an exposive play.
Speaker 4 (09:55):
Yeah, coach, after a week of Mississippi State where your
corner's played basically the end tire game there, you rotated
five guys this past week, and is that just an
opportunity to stay fresh coming into the buy or starting
to reopen some of that competition out on the corner.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
I think it's probably a combination of both. You know,
we've been exhausted defensively. You know, I think we played
one hundred and seventy two snaps, you know, in the
last two games with Kentucky and Mississippi State combined.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
That's a lot of football. It's a lot of running.
Speaker 2 (10:24):
I felt like we were a little fatigued on defense,
and that's why we adjusted a little bit of what
we did practice wise. The plan was to play more people,
and then we kind of got forced into play more people.
Manny got banged up. I liked what Cad Phillips was
doing so, we kind of left him in there, you know.
But again, experience is a great thing to have. And
(10:49):
if we can generate a little more experience for Warren,
for Kobe, for for Caid to go along with Manny
and Jalen, I just think it's gonna help us at
some point.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
You never know when injuries rear their ugly head.
Speaker 2 (11:02):
And if there was opportunities to play those guys and
they didn't play perfect, Don't don't get me wrong. There
was a lot of valuable lessons learned in that game
for them. But they are talented people. But we've got it.
We've got to got to get them more opportunities so
that when their numbers called, they're they're a little bit
more comfortable in the arena, you know, when when they're
out there, Hey.
Speaker 3 (11:23):
Steve, are you gonna Are you gonna watch the playoff
rankings tomorrow night? And if you were in the room
with those guys as they kind of established established the baseline,
what would you tell them about Texas?
Speaker 2 (11:33):
I'll probably watch it because I'm gonna buy you know,
if I was game planning for an opponent, I probably
wouldn't watch it. But I I've got a little more
time on my hands this week, so I'll probably watch it. It
always interesting to see, you know, And there's you know,
I say this, I say this wholeheartedly. There's a reason
I don't vote in the coach's pull. I can't see everybody.
(11:55):
I can't watch everybody. All I can base it on
of what we do and who we are and how
we play and and so I think, you know, and
that's no different. I don't know how AP voters watch
every game, you know, because if you just look at scores,
you probably look at the score of our game saying, hey,
that must have been a pretty close game when all reality,
we kind of dominated Saturday.
Speaker 1 (12:14):
And I get the.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
Fourth quarter didn't go the way we wanted to go,
but we really dominated the game.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
So how do people really vote is and to me, the.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
Committee, are they really looking at the resumes of the team,
Are they really watching people play? Are they really watching
head to head matchups and what happened when people played
each other and how did games go?
Speaker 1 (12:33):
And so to me, it's it's interesting.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
It's an interesting process that the College Football Committee has
to go through. I think we got a pretty good team.
We got two top ten you know, beating two top
ten ranked teams so far this year. We play in
the toughest conference in America. You know, we're we you
know or other you know, we've lost on the road
in a difficult environment, lost in the roading. It's a
number one team in the country to start the game
(12:56):
in a one score game, and it starts the season
a one score game. So but I do think we're
we're playing better football now than we have all year,
and we need to continue to do that.
Speaker 1 (13:04):
And there's a lot of football left we played.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
I always laugh at these initial CFP rankings and then
what does it really look like in the end?
Speaker 1 (13:12):
Right? And where?
Speaker 7 (13:13):
Where?
Speaker 1 (13:14):
Where is it in the end because I think.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
The first year, you know, when when we got in
and played Washington, I don't even know if we're in
the initial rankings we might be or where. I don't
think we're in the very high But you got to
play yourself into it. And there's a lot of football
left to be played, and we got some quality opponents
in front of us that we need to be prepared for.
But as a fan, I'll watch it because it can
(13:38):
you know, I got a little more time on my
hands this week.
Speaker 8 (13:42):
Hey, Steve, before the first bye week, you told us
we're going to use that for a lot of self scouting.
So I'm curious do you treat this bie weeks kind
of the same?
Speaker 2 (13:51):
I think, I think to your point, Corey, like, we
we have got to dig deep into who we are
right now. We've got to dig into the things that
are causing us issues in all three phases right now.
We got to look at how people are attacking us
in all three phases right now, and and and and
we got to we gotta be forward thinkers, right and
and and what are people going to do when they
(14:13):
look at our tape? And how are they going to
try to attack us? And we've got to make sure
that we've got enough, you know, tools in our toolbox
to combat that stuff.
Speaker 1 (14:20):
And so as much as it is I had like.
Speaker 2 (14:22):
I want to get a head start on Georgia, we
got to look at ourselves first. And we've got to
make sure that we're buttoned up in all three phases
as much as it is getting ready for our for
our future opponents.
Speaker 9 (14:34):
Hey, Steve, you mentioned orderly gage in the last couple
of weeks. Uh, it's when it comes to the defense.
What's your concern level with with you know, the the
late scores and now you to seeing you guys give
up ninety eight yard drives in the fourth quarter, and
how much is that is is attributed to injuries in
Michael Taff not being back there.
Speaker 2 (14:53):
Yeah, you know, I think there was a couple of
things that were disappointing because of the standard that we've
set defensively. You know, giving up the sixty seven yard
touchdown pass was extremely disappointing when you have a game
really in hand. Giving up a fourth and eighteen from
their own two yard line is disappointing. You know that
(15:15):
we weren't able to get the receiver on the ground
and end the game right there, and so those things
are uncharacteristic to us around here, and so I think
it caught everybody kind of off guard and a little surprised.
Would it be helpful to have Michael Taff and Jelina
McDonald out there?
Speaker 1 (15:32):
Of course it.
Speaker 2 (15:32):
Would, you know, just their experience, their poise and composure
in those moments in game, I think would be extremely
helpful to go along with the communication side of things.
But it's also great those guys have those other guys
them being in that environment, being in that arena, being
in those situations, if we do it right, is going
(15:54):
to really help us down the road. And so sometimes,
you know, you need to have some of those failures
to really learn from to get players attention. Well, I
think we got some of these young DB's attention now
the last couple of weeks and where they need to
grow and where they need to improve. But it's our
job as coaches to get them better in those situations
when they come up again. Hey, I hope, I hope
(16:18):
we're up by twenty something points in the fourth quarter
in the next couple weeks, and I hope we played
better all right in those situations if that does come up.
Speaker 10 (16:27):
Yeah, coach, it seemed like Vanderbilt wanted to keep things
pretty chippy and wanted to be, you know, kind of
talking to your guys.
Speaker 8 (16:33):
Were you pleased with how your team handled themselves and
stay composed.
Speaker 1 (16:37):
Well, I thought we did.
Speaker 2 (16:38):
I thought we really only had one scenario that was
that was probably of disappointing. You know, again, I don't
Some would argue Xavier didn't hit the quarterback out of bounds,
that maybe he got pulled down with him and that
situation there and so, hey, I don't know, it's a
tough play there on their sidelines, and that there weren't
(16:59):
more flags that came out in that situation, credit to him.
Speaker 1 (17:02):
But really the only one that came up.
Speaker 2 (17:03):
Was on the touchdown when their quarterback threw the ball
in Xavier's face. Manny had gotten into a little personal
scuffle on the side and he ended up retal retaliating,
and that was really the one personal foul that we
had in the game. That was a post whistle play,
And so credit to our guys again. You know, emotions
are gonna run high, and they're gonna run high in
(17:24):
November where there's a lot at stake, there's a lot
on the line right now, and we've got to make
sure that we play within the confines of the game,
play within the whistles, play within the white lines to
give ourselves the best chance to be successful.
Speaker 1 (17:37):
Right Danny, I'm Steve.
Speaker 11 (17:39):
You just mentioned Xavier and it also seemed like you
weren't that plays with Lawrence offside, But overall, where how
would you assess these young defensive backs and how they've
played with the extra plan.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
Yeah, I think they're getting better, you know, I mean,
I think there's a lot to there's a lot to
Xavier to be excited about. You know, he's got great speed,
he's got great coverability. It's situational football that we need
to continue to grow on. Same with Warren. You know
that I know he's trying to quick jam the tight end.
It's third and ten. You know he didn't really need
to do it in that moment. And so those experiences
(18:11):
where the growth.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
Needs to come. But I think we're getting better.
Speaker 2 (18:15):
You know, there's some other things that for some other
players that we need to see more out of and
they're going to get challenged and but that's our job
as coaches to do that. And so but I do
think we're making progress and there's gonna be plenty to
learn from and grow from. I'm glad Joanah played the
seven or eight snaps that he played in this game. Again,
him just being out there playing, that's the best practice
(18:37):
he can get is actually getting.
Speaker 1 (18:39):
In the game and having to communicate and do those things.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
And so, but we need to learn from it and
we need to get better from iter.
Speaker 10 (18:46):
Stark the accuracy component with with Arch, what have you
seen over the last few weeks that leads to the improvement.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
Yeah, you know, I think one feels a little less anxious,
feels a.
Speaker 1 (18:58):
Little more calm, feels more poised.
Speaker 2 (19:02):
I think also he feels a little more protected, you know.
I mean when everybody likes to throw the ball when
you're not about to get hit, you know, I mean
that that feels better. But yet there were moments when
he was going to get hit and he delivered beautiful passes,
you know, the touchdown to Emmett in the back.
Speaker 1 (19:15):
Of the end zone.
Speaker 2 (19:16):
He knows he's getting ready to get hit and he
delivers a beautiful ball to Emmett for a touchdown. But
I just think overall, confidence and credit to Arch. You know,
he's worked at this. This has not been a smooth sale,
easy ride, but he stayed committed to his process and
his ability to prepare week in and week out. I
(19:37):
think he's trusting it more. I think rapport with the
receivers has been helpful. He's getting to secondary reads better
than he has and so all in all, you know,
I mean, he had the one scramble Saturday where he
really didn't even need.
Speaker 1 (19:53):
To scramble on that ball.
Speaker 2 (19:54):
He had an ability to check the ball down to
Trey Wisner and he wouldn't even have to scramble that point.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
So minimizing some of the.
Speaker 2 (19:59):
Hits, standing upright, delivering accurate passes and being efficient on
first down, but also being efficient and third and one
to six, third and one to seven, I think is
a way he's learning. Man, that's a little easier way
to play than playing third and twelve third and thirteen football,
where you're having to throw it down the field and
now you're getting all the exotic blitzes, and now it's
(20:21):
tougher on the O line, and now you're taking even
more hits and having to maybe force a few throws.
Speaker 1 (20:26):
There was not a throw Saturday, but it felt forced.
You know.
Speaker 2 (20:29):
Even the ball to Parker over the middle, I thought
was a good really good timing would have been a
hell of a catch, but I thought he threw the
ball on time to the right people.
Speaker 1 (20:36):
Saturday.
Speaker 12 (20:38):
Hey, coach, first, I'll take any Jelani update that you'd
be willing to give. The second thing, Ryan Wingo, the
past couple of games has just really been explosive. What
have you found that works for him? What's going into
his confidence level and what does this offense look like
when he's cooking the way he's been.
Speaker 2 (20:54):
Jilani's in protocol, and just like last week, you know,
that's really out of my hands at that point.
Speaker 1 (21:00):
I'm glad we don't play Saturday.
Speaker 2 (21:02):
A little different protocol for a safety than it is
for a quarterback, you know, of getting cleared to play.
And so the fact that you know, we feel confident
as long as he stays the course of where he's
at this morning from where he was Saturday, all signs
are good there. You know, this offense, historically, we've always
(21:22):
had to have somebody with some juice, with some speed
that can we can force people to play not only
vertically but horizontally to defend us. And the one thing
that we've really challenged not only Ryan but all the
receivers on is to trust their speed.
Speaker 1 (21:39):
And where Ryan is unique is yes.
Speaker 2 (21:42):
He's got speed, but he's got size, and he's running
through tacklers now as opposed to breaking down and trying
to make them miss.
Speaker 1 (21:51):
And I think a lot of other guys are doing
that more.
Speaker 2 (21:53):
We need to continue to play that way. You know,
we're we're probably a faster football team than we give
our elves credit for.
Speaker 1 (22:01):
And he's a living example of trusting his.
Speaker 2 (22:03):
Speed and you're not going to break every ball for
a touchdown, but you can gain extra yards that way.
And I thought there was a great example of Parker
on their far sideline. There was a great example of
Dayala McCutcheon on our sideline near the end zone of
really trusting their speed and getting positive yards.
Speaker 1 (22:21):
But when we do that.
Speaker 2 (22:23):
That forces the defense to play with really good angles,
That forces them to be a little more reactionary to
some of those bubble throws, and that should open some
other things up for us down the field.
Speaker 4 (22:33):
Left a lot of the guys who've played, you know,
eight games, they've played eight games with their handful of
guys who are still under that four game limit, not
just in the freshman class, but ball all over.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
Do you take stock of that? Do you have conversation
with it with guys? Or is that the end of year?
That's more end of the year.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
We're playing this thing one game at a time, and
what do we need to do to win the next game.
And everybody in that locker room knows they have a
role on this team to contribute to our success. It
to those guys, they've been working hard a lot of
guys have been working hard. I'd love to play them all.
Like I've said before, some you know, certain games dictate
who plays who doesn't, Personnel groupings, things of that nature.
(23:11):
But I know they all want to play. They all
want to contribute on game day. But a lot of
guys are contributing on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. That is impacting
our play on Saturdays. And so you know, hopefully we
just keep making progress and we'll get a better assessment
here over the few days that we that we do
get on the grass with our guys to get them,
you know, in position to hopefully contribute more here into
(23:33):
November and.
Speaker 1 (23:34):
What these knixt three games look like.
Speaker 2 (23:35):
Once these three games are done, it's irrelevant, you know,
SEC Championship playoffs, bowl games that that doesn't matter anymore.
So well, as we get closer to the end, maybe
we've got to make a decision. But as of right now,
they're all if they if they can help us win,
they're going to play.
Speaker 10 (23:53):
As far as to see if p Steve a nine
to three SEC team didn't make it last year, do
you think such a team would be worthy this year?
Given how deep this league is. In a second one,
is there a degree of frustration among coaches about the
equality of the officiating this year.
Speaker 1 (24:10):
I don't, I don't, I don't know, you know.
Speaker 2 (24:13):
I know our conference is tough, it really is, man,
and it feels like a playoff game every week, and
and I don't know if it feels that way and
all the other conferences. I just know in our our league,
surely it does, you know. And I'm I got a
chance with it being eleven am kick Saturday, you know,
I gotta. I got a chance to watch Florida Georgia.
I got a chance to watch old Miss South Carolina.
(24:35):
I got a chance to watch Oklahoma Tennessee. And this
is some high level football and from teams that maybe
don't have great records, but man, these teams are good
and and I knew it was going to be that way.
And so I don't know what's gonna happen, you know,
with the CFP and who gets in and who doesn't
and when they really look at this thing. I just
know in our league it's really hard. It's really hard,
(24:56):
and it's it's a credit to people who find a
way to win every Saturda. We're just trying to win
the next one, you know, and and see what happens.
As I said before, we've been in this situation before,
unfortunately but fortunately.
Speaker 1 (25:11):
Where we've had to play this way.
Speaker 2 (25:14):
I've always been a believer of, you know, you know,
handle your business, control what you can control, and try
to take it out of the hands of others. And
we learned that lesson you know, our second last year
in the Big Twelve, where you know, I think we
beat Baylor here and we needed we needed Kansas to
beat Kansas State to get into the Big Twelve championship game,
(25:34):
and and but and they didn't. But but we we
could have controlled some of that on our own earlier.
We handled our business better the last two years of
what that looked like. And so for us, what what
can we control? How the committee handles it, I don't know,
but but I know we got Georgia here in two
weeks and on the road, and it's gonna be a
tough game. So that's where our focus is right now.
(25:56):
And what the Committee does with the teams in our conference,
we'll see.
Speaker 1 (25:59):
But I know our conference is really deep.
Speaker 2 (26:01):
It's really good, probably deserving more than three teams, I
know that much. I think the SEC only got three
teams in last year, which is kind of laughable, quite frankly.
But we'll see what happens this year. Officiating, I don't
I can't speak to everybody. I know we've we've obviously
turned in or turning in a handful of plays some
Saturday to get some clarification on on just how things
(26:23):
are getting officiated, because.
Speaker 1 (26:25):
I don't like, I'll be honest with you, I got
enough on my plate on Saturday.
Speaker 2 (26:29):
I don't like spending time complaining about officiating during the
game because I got bigger things to worry about with
our team. But I felt like I needed to Saturday.
But again, if I get understanding and clarification on how
things are getting officiated, that might reduce reduce some of
my complaining. And I'm sure other coaches probably feel the
same way.
Speaker 13 (26:50):
Right Coach, you had Georgia here last year, then in Atlanta,
what about going to Athens? What's a big difficulty in Athens?
And if you had experience coach a team as an
assistant at at Athens against Georgia.
Speaker 2 (27:03):
I've never I've never coached a game there. I know
they're like thirty seven and one in their last thirty
eight home games.
Speaker 1 (27:10):
So I'm sure it's tough. I'm sure it's hard. I
will say this about Georgia.
Speaker 2 (27:14):
I've got a chance to watch a few of their games,
you know, I got a chance to watch them against
Alabama this year. I got a chance to watch some
of their old miss game, and then obviously got a
chance to watch the second half this past weekend against Florida,
and Kirby said it after the game. They're hard to kill,
you know, they're they're they're gonna play and and it
(27:35):
feels that way even more so at home. Even though
they didn't win the Bama game, they surely wouldn't go
away and and so you're gonna have to play sixty
minutes whether wherever you play them. Could be here, could
be in Athens, could be in Atlanta. But surely he's
the mindset of their team is they're hard to kill,
and so you've got to play all sixty when you
(27:55):
play them. Left.
Speaker 14 (27:59):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 4 (28:00):
See.
Speaker 14 (28:00):
On the business side of college football, another weekend brings
another high profile mid season coach firing and new conversations
about the size of contracts and buyouts. But are those
kinds of deals for coaches the foreseeable the marketplace for
the foreseeable future, in a in a marketplace where job
security can vanish rather quickly in the in the NIL
(28:22):
and the portal area era.
Speaker 2 (28:25):
That should surely mean yes, right, because who wants to
take a job without any you know, the fact that
the amount of pressure that coaches are under, the amount
of scrutiny, they're under, the amount of you know, one
week year hero, the next week year zero mentality that
that fan bases and people want to have. Surely coaches
want some security to what they sign up to go do.
Speaker 1 (28:47):
We work really hard, and I get it.
Speaker 2 (28:49):
We all want to win and we're all busting our
tails to try to win. And sometimes things don't go
your way, especially in our conference.
Speaker 1 (28:56):
It's tough.
Speaker 2 (28:57):
And so uh the idea that he coaches you know,
don't want don't want some security and the jobs that
they take.
Speaker 1 (29:06):
That doesn't that doesn't quite make sense to me.
Speaker 2 (29:08):
You know, it should be like man, somewhere in here,
somebody has got to be willing to say, hey, let's
see if this can work itself out. Not every year,
not all sixteen teams in the SEC are going to
go to the playoffs. It's just not reality. We're talking
about trying to get four or five teams in this year.
Last year we got three. Should we got three teams?
(29:29):
And what do we have three or four in the
top ten in the country right now? And so it's
really difficult and everybody's fighting for it, and I know
we all want to go to.
Speaker 1 (29:36):
The playoffs, but.
Speaker 2 (29:39):
You know, I just think it's it's really hard to
think that a coach is going to bust his tail.
And it's not just about the coach. It's the staff
and it's the players. And I get it, we'ren't. This
is a lucrative industry that we're part of, and the
TV deals and the college football playoff and there's a
lot going into it. Well, sometimes you got to pay
the guy that's the one leading the ship and driving
(30:01):
the ship. And again I would have said that if
I'm as an assistant coach right now.
Speaker 1 (30:05):
It just is what it is. As you guys know,
I'm a fan of college football. I watch what.
Speaker 2 (30:09):
Goes into every one of these games and the exposure
in College Game Day and Big New Kick and all
the things that go into it.
Speaker 1 (30:18):
Well, the coach is doing a.
Speaker 2 (30:19):
Lot of that work to get that done and he's
recruiting well, and we're trying to do all these things,
and so, hey, that's the price you pay. If you
hired a coach and you don't think that he's the
right coach for you, that's part of it.
Speaker 1 (30:31):
You gotta pay him.
Speaker 2 (30:32):
That's just the way it works, unfortunately. But that's the
industry that we're in. And so if you're not willing
to pay a coach of what his contract is, well
maybe you're probably not going to get one of the
coaches you thought you might get. I always find it interesting.
I'm gonna go on a little bit of a soapbox here.
Speaker 1 (30:49):
Everybody wants to fire their coach. Who are you going to hire?
There's all these jobs out there right now. Who's everybody
going to hire?
Speaker 2 (30:59):
I don't know, find out we're gonna somebody's got to
be the head coach. Well, let's find out who they're
gonna hire.
Speaker 1 (31:04):
Now, Sark.
Speaker 15 (31:09):
When you have a game where you out rush them
by forty yards, you get the six sacks of ten
tackles for a loss. How excited are you to see
your team if they can spend winning a line of
scrimmage game for it against a team like Vanderbilt that
prides itself on winning with a line of scrimmage style.
Speaker 1 (31:23):
Yeah, I'm I'm excited because I think we're getting better.
I really do.
Speaker 2 (31:27):
I think we're getting better as a team. And again
that's why I didn't think the score was kind of
indicative of how the game. We got to play better
in the fourth quarter. Don't get me wrong, but we're
playing better football right now.
Speaker 1 (31:37):
We're taking care of the ball.
Speaker 2 (31:38):
We've had one turnover in four games. We're taking care
of the ball better, we're creating turnovers, we're stopping the run.
We're starting to run the ball better. We need to
run it better. We're converting third downs, We're doing a
lot of things really well. We're playing better at the
line of scrimmage now on both sides of the ball.
Speaker 1 (31:54):
So we're getting better.
Speaker 2 (31:57):
And so yeah, to your point, I am excited that
that we were able to play a team in that
style of game and minimize their strengths and make it
a strength of ours. And so there was a lot
of things to point to in that game where it's like, Okay,
we're starting to we're starting to hit our stride a
little bit more, and there's some things to clean up.
We're not a finished product, but we're getting better. And
(32:20):
that's a credit to our players of working at their craft.
That's a credit to the coaches of trying to put
players in the right position to be successful, whether it's
schematically or or personnel grouping wise. But I think there's
a there's a level of confidence right now with our
team of Man, we're getting better. We got to stay
the course because we're gonna need to be better over
the next three.
Speaker 1 (32:39):
Weeks for sure.
Speaker 8 (32:42):
Coach kind of piggybacking off of that, going back to
the first loss in the SEC, did you feel like
this team would could get to this point where maybe
you guys were counted out and what was your confidence
level to be at this point and level of patience
to get the guys here.
Speaker 2 (32:56):
Well, I was definitely disappointed by the way we played
in Gainesville, you know, and in that I felt like
we were better than we played in that game.
Speaker 1 (33:05):
But I also knew.
Speaker 2 (33:05):
Florida was better than people probably gave them credit for
and they probably still don't give them credit for it.
But Florida's got real players. So whoever gets that job
is going to get a pretty good roster. And hopefully
they got enough money.
Speaker 1 (33:17):
To keep it.
Speaker 2 (33:17):
If you want to know the truth, okay, but that
is that's a good football team.
Speaker 1 (33:22):
But I also felt like we could have played better now.
Speaker 2 (33:25):
We had areas and holes on our team at that
time that I knew we needed to improve upon. And
like I said, a credit to the players and the
staff for improving those areas and improving on those things,
and very specific players have gotten better since then. I
think collectively we've gotten better as a team. But I
(33:45):
don't think there was ever a sense of panic. It
was just let's go try to find a way to
win the next game, and then after that game, let's
go try to find a way to win the next
game and the next game and the next game. And
we've done that, and I think that's again a credit
to the culture that we have and the leadership that
we have in that locker room, that these guys do
a tremendous job of focusing on the task at hand,
(34:06):
and that's just the next game, and it's focusing on
the next game, and that's their preparation. I credit our
guys a ton for their ability to manage last week,
of getting their rest, doing their recovery, owning into the
game plan, and playing that game the way we wanted
to play it. And so this next game is going
to be no different. And so I never hit the
(34:27):
panic button, and again, I don't think anybody in an
organization did. I felt like we could be better than
we were in our SEC opener, and we have been,
and we're improving, y'all. There's some throat lozenges by the
front door, and y'all need some rest too.
Speaker 1 (34:43):
You got a bye week this week, too, so get healthy,
get rested. Okay, we got a big November ahead of us,
all right, y'all, we'll
Speaker 4 (34:49):
See it, all right, Logorns head coach Deve Sarkeishan from
the weekly news conference.
Popular Podcasts
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.