Wednesday: UTSA’s 12 Games of Christmas

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
On Friday afternoons, starting at five o'clock, we'll have pregame
coverage of UTSA and Florida International and the kickoff just
after seven o'clock. So look forward to having you all
on board for that is jay Riley, Pat Evans, Edzjuarez,
Stan Wilders and the crew and Shane all join us
get ready for another bowl game, our final football game

(00:24):
of the year.

Speaker 2 (00:25):
You sound a little disappointed. It's been an up and
down season.

Speaker 1 (00:29):
It has well, I mean I get asked the question
a lot, what do I like better football or basketball?
And I like all the sports and the answers golf
well from a participatory standpoint, yes, but I like that.
But football is an event. Football takes a while to
get ready for. It's just like fans playing all week

(00:49):
and all year for twelve days or at twelve games,
and the same thing happens in football. It takes a
while to do all the stuff that we do to
do that, where basketball is more kind of rapid fire
and quicker.

Speaker 3 (01:00):
So they each have different thoughts.

Speaker 1 (01:02):
But yeah, it's the sad part about it is is
that the season lasts three months, and now we're into
the fourth month with a month break basically, and we don't.

Speaker 3 (01:11):
Do this again. For two hundred and fifty two days
after Friday.

Speaker 2 (01:14):
You counted down the exact day.

Speaker 3 (01:15):
I just it was not hard to do.

Speaker 2 (01:17):
If you had to go back in time because you
be used all these games.

Speaker 4 (01:19):
If you could change the outcome of Texas State, Temple
or Army, all three really close games, which one do
you think would you rather have taken back?

Speaker 1 (01:27):
I think the Temple game would would have made the
biggest difference. I thought UTSA and Texas State was really
even and Texas State just happened to make one more play,
and Army basically was the same thing. But I think
the Temple game, Utsa dominated the game and lost. I think,
and they dominated the statistics, they dominated everything. They were

(01:48):
a better football team than Temple and still figured out
a way to lose that game.

Speaker 2 (01:51):
Yeah, I would have.

Speaker 4 (01:52):
Rather taken back the Army game, not just because of
the last game of the year, but because that's now
three years in a row they've lost an Army lost,
the seniors lost their last home game of their of
their careers. And then you also had the factor in that,
like you know that you had that you led that game.
It wasn't till like the last five minutes that Army
really took over in that game. Like that was a
game that that unfortus of the ut kind of gave away.

Speaker 1 (02:11):
A Well, the UTSA got a little bit lucky at
Colorado State. From a number they didn't play great, they
win the game. And then I thought two things happened.
Number One, Colorado State, after getting an off site Spinalty,
decided to go for the win. And I'm not one
to criticize play calling, but I expected their big fallback
to get the ball and run for a yard and
a half and win the game. They hadn't stopped him

(02:32):
the whole game, and I guess they figured, well, they're
they're counting on that.

Speaker 3 (02:35):
They're going to sell out for that.

Speaker 1 (02:37):
And then they ran this bootleg play with the backup
quarterback and that didn't work either.

Speaker 3 (02:42):
And I think if they so the Temple game.

Speaker 1 (02:44):
I think if they win that game, it's springboards themselves
for successes later.

Speaker 3 (02:48):
They don't have the disaster.

Speaker 1 (02:50):
They had at North Texas and and and they maybe
even win those other games. I thought the Temple game
was kind of a turning point.

Speaker 4 (02:55):
Yeah, but also the East Carolina and two lane upset
wins were It wasn't that they weren't just surprising. It
was the matter whish they blew them out because those
were blowouts. You had the bat, you had the third
stringers in by the fourth quarter. That was that was
a Those were one side of affairs, which is crazy
because at the same time UTSA they got blown out
obviously on the road to against a really good USF team.

(03:16):
They lost a really close for it was close for
a while against A and M because like remember the
first two and a half quarters that was a one
score game. And then on Texas State again much better
than they were last year. Last year text A team
bleue Texas Blue UTSA out the water. Now, grant they're
not as good as they were on offense, but I
still feel like you had yourself. You had a chance
to win that game, like you said, if they don't
convert that last third down conversion whoever it was at
the end, so they were.

Speaker 3 (03:39):
In the Army game.

Speaker 1 (03:40):
They they converted two fourth down conversions and that was
in their last drive. That was the killer and one
was just the most. It was just you're not supposed
to win this game.

Speaker 3 (03:48):
Today.

Speaker 1 (03:49):
It was just a really really lucky play by army.
Uh and and uh they got the they got this,
you know, kind of a hail Mary pass and a
shoe string grab to keep a drive a life.

Speaker 4 (04:00):
Yeah, you just say it was like four or five
or six plays combined away from being nine and three.
And they're likely, I mean they're not they're not playing.
They're not playing the dis Bowl game.

Speaker 3 (04:10):
Obviously.

Speaker 1 (04:11):
You look at the North Texas game and it was
fifty six to twenty whatever it was. Yeah, but UTSA
had the lead early in that game, and there was
a moment in that game where they were down I
think it was seventeen to fourteen and Texas there's a
minute to go in the half and North Texas has
second down or whatever, and they're going south, north to

(04:34):
south for what would be a twenty four to fourteen
lead at halftime.

Speaker 3 (04:37):
Right, And you.

Speaker 1 (04:39):
Know, sometimes the home crowd lets you know what they
see as much as you see through not the wrong
colored glasses, because I'm calling this game from the UTSA perspective,
and I didn't see it in real time, but Jay
Riley did. And as they running back for North Texas
is turning the corner and there's a UTSA player about

(05:03):
to make a tackle on him at the twenty yard line.
He gets blocked in the back, and you hear what
I did hear in my headsets is this gasp from
the home fans. So they're cheering theirs, Oh they're going
to call this back. Yeah, and they held their breath.
They held their breath for a second. They all knew
because they all knew that that touchdown happened because of

(05:24):
a block in the back.

Speaker 2 (05:25):
It's similar to when you went to Alabama and they
were all relieved.

Speaker 1 (05:27):
Yeah, and the exactly that they got in the tournament, Yeah,
they shouldn't have it. And then all of a sudden
there's a cheer because they realized that all their referees
missed it. And so situational things dictate what happens next.
So blocking the back at the twenty moves the ball
back to the thirty and it's third down and whatever,

(05:49):
and they're kicking into the wind. Do they even make
a field goal? So if it's seventeen to fourteen at
halftime instead of twenty four to fourteen with North Texas
getting the ball, and then UTSA have three straight turnovers
in the third quarter and them scoring on all three
of those. That's how the game gets lopsided. So sometimes
there is one or two plays in a game that

(06:09):
makes a difference and you say, well you losch fifty
six or whatever, But if you weren't there to watch
the game and see how it unfolded. And honestly, I
think mess to Maker is probably the best quarterback in
the league that I saw this year. I thought he
was better than the South Florida quarterback I think, and
I thought he was and I thought, well, I thought
I thought mess to Maakers.

Speaker 2 (06:27):
The best, arm Barron Brown was the most complete.

Speaker 3 (06:30):
Yeah, I think that.

Speaker 1 (06:31):
I think mess to Maker is going to have a
better NFL opportunity than Brown will uh and and I
don't think And obviously Rats laugh is a good quarterback
at at Temple. He's large laying, but he's not what
we all thought he would be.

Speaker 3 (06:43):
I mean, he probably would have.

Speaker 4 (06:45):
I saw it at b YU, but he was he
was very much like he was very much the same way.
He is a two lane where his running ability dictates
how always.

Speaker 3 (06:51):
Gonna throw it right.

Speaker 1 (06:52):
So so I I understand North Texas won that game
by a lot, and so you kind of scratch it
off as Okay, you lost the game by a bunch,
but do you have to look, it's like there's a
bad call in a game, it goes against you, you
don't score, and immediately the other team scores and you
lose thirty one to fourteen. Well, well, that touchdown wouldn't
have mattered. Well, it did matter, because they probably wouldn't

(07:14):
have scored had they not. The momentum switches and switches
to the team that's winning if they are fortunate enough
to not have a call go against them, as North
Texas was in that game. I'm taking nothing away from
the mean Green. They dominated UTSA in the second half
of that game, but situationally, it comes down to the
one play at the end of the half, and situationally

(07:37):
it comes down to three possessions and three turnovers in
the quarter. So yeah, not only was the UTSA and
Texas A and M could play one hundred times in
UTSA may beat them twice, but the rest of the
schedule and South Florida I thought was just an overwhelmingly
better football team.

Speaker 3 (07:54):
And I don't know a good players.

Speaker 1 (07:56):
I don't know how they beat they lost to Navy,
and I don't know how they lost a Memphis.

Speaker 4 (08:00):
That's the nature of this conference where like we're like,
it's it's a lot one, it's a lot better than
the media wants to once submitted is. But also too
is that there's some real NFL talent on a lot
of these rosters, and that the schemes and we're seeing
them because like all these coaches, all the top coaches
in the American all got poached by Power conference power conferences.

Speaker 2 (08:18):
And a lot of these players are going on to
the portal, are going to go to Power.

Speaker 3 (08:20):
Conference a lot.

Speaker 1 (08:21):
Yeah, you're gonna see a lot of Tulane, Mephis and
South Florida players on other rosters really soon. I guarantee
you there's going to be some TWU lane players that
followed some all to Florida, and Silverfield's going to get
Memphis players to go to Arkansas, and Galition's gonna get
those guys to go to Auburn. And so when when
Saban and fine Baum and all these guys talk about

(08:44):
how the American Conference shouldn't be let in all the
Alabama guys mckilroyd too. The difference between Tulane and Ole
Miss is Tulane's probably got three or four guys that
are going to go to the NFL eventually from all
of their classes, and Ole Miss has fifteen or twenty
and and Georgia's got That meant that the power of
conference schools have more depth and more better players all

(09:07):
across the board.

Speaker 4 (09:07):
They also have more highlighted players though, because a lot
of times.

Speaker 2 (09:10):
You get better players coming out of the American combat.

Speaker 4 (09:12):
I comment you usay coming out of the Mountain West
that you don't hear about as much because I've covered.

Speaker 1 (09:16):
And then you get players that that went to Auburn
or went to Alabama or went to Florida right and
they got behind the curve in terms of playing time,
So they go down a level. They're still good enough
to play at that next level, but now they they're
going to get reps and be noticed more. When they're
playing in a in a spotlight well, they're they're they're

(09:40):
not playing. It's not LSU Alabama. If you're sitting on
the bench in the LSU Alabama game, the scouts aren't
ever going to see you play. But if you're meeting
utsa by a bunch as a South Florida player against
the road Runners, now you're going to get showcase more
and the scouts are going to have video on it.

Speaker 4 (09:55):
It's kind of similar to train more situation from UTSA
to Texas. At UTSA, he was the zac leader at Texas.
He's a rotational guy.

Speaker 1 (10:00):
But here's the thing I would I would say, I
would ask about this. Okay, let's say Trey More does
not transfer, that UTSA pays him whatever Texas was gonna
pay him, and he stays yep, and he's the sack
leader again, right, and he has two or three years
in a row where he's getting thirteen fifteen sacks a year.

Speaker 2 (10:19):
Uh huh?

Speaker 1 (10:19):
Does his draft status go up just based on his
numbers even though he didn't do it against the SEC.

Speaker 4 (10:27):
Yes, And here's why. Last year's sack leader, Mike Green.
You know the school he went to, Marshall, the guy
I forgot his name, Nate Orchard, the sack leader in
twenty twenty one or twenty sorry, twenty nineteen.

Speaker 2 (10:38):
Your school. He went to Utah And this is Utah
back in the Mountain West.

Speaker 4 (10:42):
So a lot of times if you are the sack leader,
and if you have a big enough bill, because what
trade Moore is six four two four or.

Speaker 3 (10:47):
Something like that that range, you're gonna.

Speaker 2 (10:49):
Get benefit of the doubt in that regard.

Speaker 1 (10:52):
So let's say, let's just use this scenario. Trade Moore
plays at UTSA for three years because I think he's
I think this is his last year of So he
plays at Texas for two years. How do you play
the UTSA for two years and led the nation in
sacks two more years in a row, or.

Speaker 3 (11:07):
At least was double digital or or what's doubled or
was in the mix?

Speaker 1 (11:10):
Yep? Does he get higher picked then going to Texas
and now he's just one of a bunch of guys
that's on a really good defense.

Speaker 4 (11:17):
I think scouts have done a good job of in
recentcyal not all scouts, but a lot of scouts has
done a good job of ignoring the helmet that the
player wears and paying more attention to the tape and
pay attention to the interviews and the athleticism is contesting
because an example is like a son Reddick, he went
to Temple as an outside linebacker and played a lot
of middle linebacker. He's becoming All Pro and and like
and then what's the name khil Mack? Another guy Buffalo.

(11:39):
So scouts had done a good job of recognizing it.
Even though this guy dominated against quote unquote lesser talent,
it's still the fact that he did it in a
way that could feel that could be put in an
NFL field, because if it's the scheme, he fits, the size,
he does, all the intangibles the correct way.

Speaker 2 (11:52):
Tray more in that regard.

Speaker 4 (11:53):
If he makes I don't know what thirty five sacks
in three years or something like that, he's getting the
sack reps he develops in that way, they recognized regardless
of the opposition, he's still a.

Speaker 1 (12:03):
But he's not getting sacks at the same rate that
he did at Texas.

Speaker 2 (12:06):
He's not.

Speaker 1 (12:07):
And there was a game that I think it was
the A and M game this year, where they even
played him inside sometimes because of injuries to their inside linebackers.
I don't I can't say that for sure, but I
remember listening to the Aggie's and the Longhorns and I
or maybe it was a piece with was a SoundBite
with Sark or something where so we may have to

(12:27):
play tray insights, yeah, because we've got some some injuries there.

Speaker 3 (12:30):
And it's good that he has that versatility.

Speaker 1 (12:32):
But that's a that's does his does his the He's
known as a guy that can get to the quarterback
and sack the quarterback. So when you can't do it
against SEC competition, is there a Scott that goes well,
glad he did and went to UTSA. Now we can
now and we know he can't do it against the
big boys. He was doing against the inferior competition. I

(12:53):
would hope not, but I wonder if it is.

Speaker 4 (12:55):
And in that regard, I would say, okay, but he
played behind Colin Simmons, who you're not going to pick
the field. And also because since like his his sack
numbers went down, he didn't get as many reps, he
had to play behind a much deeper defensive line and
UTSA he was the guy. So if you're a scout
who does your homework enough, because the scouts are supposed
to do all this homework, they recognize they have to
look at like who he is when he's actually on
the field, versus the fact that he wasn't on the field.

Speaker 3 (13:17):
As much you realize he was. He was not highly recruited.

Speaker 2 (13:21):
What star was he?

Speaker 3 (13:22):
Zero?

Speaker 2 (13:23):
Is a zero star?

Speaker 3 (13:23):
Yeah? Good right?

Speaker 1 (13:24):
Larry Hill taught Jeff Trailer into taking him Okay.

Speaker 3 (13:28):
Larry Hill said, you got to take this guy, and like, yeah.

Speaker 4 (13:31):
But Trailish even said he takes a lot of the
work for the coaches.

Speaker 1 (13:34):
Oh, absolutely he does, because the video didn't show that
he was going to be that what he turned out
to be. Yeah, And I mean Jeff was it was
in the COVID year and he's like, well, I got
three or four scholarships left to get him from him.
And the story I was told is Larry Hill said, man,
you got to take Trade Moore. I know he's not
going to show because he hadn't developed yet. He wasn't

(13:56):
six four and two forty. He was six one and
two oh five maybe, And this guy can play. This
guy's going to be great. This guy's got a high motor,
this guy's motivated. And it was Larry Hill telling Jeff
Trailer you got to take this guy, and within three
years he developed him into the best pass rusher in
the in the country.

Speaker 4 (14:14):
Which is why a lot of times scouts they are
looking for that quote unquote diamond in the rough, the
guys in the group of five, the teams on the FCS,
like those players that obviously fit the fit the build,
fit the scheme that you run, it also fit the
athletic tests, and that despite like the low numbers or
once you transfer, they still realize like, this is the
kind of guy he has at the high end, but
because he played behind these guys and he gives many
reps and Trey Morskiz just because he's the example of

(14:37):
the moment, if they see that this is that his
potential is a guy who can get you ten to
fourteen sacks as long as he gets enough reps. That's
going to depend on the coaching that comes in, because
we've seen a lot of players, talented players come in
that that didn't transition because of improper coach And that's
why I'm a much more a proponent of like the
proper coaching and the proper fit have a big difference
on the player's outcome.

Speaker 1 (14:57):
Well, and as far as the game against Florida International,
it's really hard to figure. I think Utsa is like
a seven or eight point favorite.

Speaker 2 (15:05):
I think seven and a half was a line man.

Speaker 1 (15:07):
And I don't know how to handicap this game because
I got an idea who's not gonna play and who
is gonna play? But I think there's probably ten or
fifteen players. You're not going to tell us, well, it's
gonna you're gonna figure it out on the first snap
of the game. Who's out there? New's not, but there's
I just got an idea, and most of the people
that are in the portal are probably not gonna play.

(15:28):
There's probably one or I haven't even looked at the
portal in two weeks, so I don't know who's in
and who's not. But typically if you're in the portal,
the other team is paying you more. The team that's
promised you money is telling you I don't want you
to get hurt, so please don't play. So and I
think Florida International is probably going to have ten or
fifteen guys that are on there too deep that are
not gonna play.

Speaker 3 (15:49):
So we'll see what happens.

Speaker 1 (15:51):
It's really hard to figure out when you're playing guys
that haven't played as many reps, and the twos are
now the ones, and the threes are now the twos,
and forwards are now the threes, as to what kind
of game you're going to have, Right, and you haven't
played for a month, so are you going to have
false starts? So you're going to have, you know, neutral
zone violations, the little things that that kind of install

(16:13):
drives or give the other team opportunities. But we'll see
on on Friday night when UTSA takes on FIU. All Right, tomorrow,
we not only have the NBA, but we also have
the NFL. Should the NFL play on Sunday, doesn't matter,
They're not going to stop.

Speaker 3 (16:28):
But we'll talk about it next on the Ticket