Texas-Georgia Deep Dive, HSFB Playoff Updates

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:09):
It's the Craig Wegg Show with the voice of the
Texas Longhorns and Hall of Fame broadcasters.

Speaker 2 (00:16):
Craig it comes as up n see.

Speaker 3 (00:22):
It's all right.

Speaker 4 (00:24):
Well he's the voice of the Texas Longhorns and today
he was up before the sun traveling to Athens, Georgia.
He's Craig Way joining us now live from Georgia. And Craig,
I mean, I know you're used to early morning wake
ups for flights and travel, but this seemed a little extreme,

(00:45):
even by your standards today.

Speaker 5 (00:46):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, you're right, it was. It was quite
quite early. It was kind of necessitated by what we've
seen lately, Jake, with flights being laid canceled. I actually
have a later flight, as did Keith Morland, who will
step in for Roger Wallace on the broadcast to Mars.

Speaker 6 (01:05):
Roger steps in for me on the men's basketball call.

Speaker 5 (01:08):
And Will Matthews, the three of us, we were actually
on the flight that was due to leave later. However,
there was going to be a connection on that airline
and there was concern about a possible cancelation or delay.
In fact, Will Matthews had a hard time getting back
from New York. He was forced to stay there like

(01:29):
an extra couple of days before he could get back
because of flight cancelations. Now hopefully the hows of the
shutdowns ended. The airlines are also of getting back on track.
But in any event, the radio network in the university
thought it might be prudent for me to try to
get on a non stop and get here as early

(01:49):
as I can. So can't get any earlier than the
first flight out of the day. So five point thirty
this morning we were wheels up and without any issues
and landed in Atlanta.

Speaker 6 (02:00):
Now drove about an hour from there to the.

Speaker 5 (02:04):
Team hotel, which is kind of situated between Atlanta, from
between Atlanta and Athens, and so this is where the
team will headquarter and this evening and then get ready
for the game tomorrow.

Speaker 4 (02:17):
Well, hey, nothing wrong with an over abundance of caution.
We've got to get our precious cargo, our Longhorn radio
network crew there on time and well situated. It's another
new venue for you at Sanford Stadium with the Longhorns
joining the SEC and heading there for the first times
as members of the conference. Have you been to the
campus at all or seeing the surrounding area or is

(02:39):
this a complete new experience for you.

Speaker 6 (02:41):
No, I've been to the campus before.

Speaker 5 (02:43):
I've done basketball right, both men's and women's basketball. And
I will also tell you this, Jake Texas was supposed
to play and this was a few years ago a
non conference baseball series in Athens, and I really love
their ballpark, the look at their I've had a chance

(03:03):
to see the ballpark, but having had a chance to
call a game there in Texas isn't playing there this
year in baseball eventually get around to it. But I
love the campus and have been through a couple of
the places around town and around Athenes. It is a
great college town. It's a fabulous college town. So and
I am looking forward to obviously getting between the hedges.

(03:26):
I had our engineer, Greg linger Smith had sent a
picture of what it looks like from the broadcast booth.
Looks like we're gonna have a go advantage point to
call the game. So yeah, it looks pretty cool and
I'm looking forward to it.

Speaker 4 (03:39):
So I know you talked to Sark before the game
and he likes that interview. Kind of as he's finished
his lap around the field, we've discussed that what else
are you doing? Are you walking down on the field
and talking to folks before the game?

Speaker 7 (03:52):
Is?

Speaker 2 (03:52):
What do you do when you go down there on
the field.

Speaker 5 (03:55):
Well, my usual routine is to try to get to
the stadium in the three and a half to four
four hour range before kickoff. And so I says, why
it's the worthy, Well, there's there's a couple of different reasons.
First of all, inside of three hours and what is
it about two forty five prior to kick is when
Roger and I usually pop on with long Orange game

(04:17):
day to do one thing. So that's one thing, and
to set up my materials, my broadcast boards. I'm also
kind I also kind of self produce the broadcast now
since we lost our producer a few years ago, Bill Harwell.
We saw have an outstanding engineering Greg Kling Smithson. But
I pretty much handle the producing end of it in

(04:37):
terms of the formatting, and you know, Terry Kelly are
broadcast operations manager, puts together all the formats and the
drop ins, and then I organize it in a way
that works best for Roger and myself to do that.
So I do all of those things that they're in
the booth and then I go down on the field
about two and a half hours prior to kick and

(04:59):
a to get a feel for it and be Sark
walks on to the field. The team arrives in the
stadium two hours prior to kick, so I want to
be in place when he gets there.

Speaker 6 (05:10):
And then he does his lap. I talked about this yesterday.

Speaker 5 (05:12):
He does his lap around the field, and when he
gets about three quarters the way around or certainly past
halfway point, he stops and he calls his parents and
he visits with him. And then when he when he
completes his visit, he finishes the walk around the field
and comes over and records the pregame interview with me.
And if you know, whatever SEC network or ABC or

(05:33):
somebody else or national radio needs a quick interview with him,
you'll all of that gets you know, put into that
category in that window right then. So that's what I do.
But I like getting a feel for the stadium as well.
And I figured out that I.

Speaker 6 (05:52):
Just want to go down and maybe take a picture
by one of the hedges, or you know, or touch
one of.

Speaker 5 (05:58):
The hedges or something like that. Say, hey finally made
it through a game here in Athens. To call a
football game between the hatches.

Speaker 4 (06:05):
Hey, that's good, you get down there before the fans
start barking at you. Let's let's talk about the game
a little bit, because there's been a lot made about
Georgia's resiliency this year and how they're a team that
has a reputation for being hard to kill, hard to
put away in a ball game. In a way, Texas
has some of that too, with to come from behind

(06:26):
victories on the road in SEC play. So is that
something Texas has in the back of its mind coming
into this game.

Speaker 2 (06:35):
It's it's not as easy to.

Speaker 4 (06:37):
Come from behind against Georgia because hey, they're so good
when they're down late.

Speaker 6 (06:41):
Well, I think that.

Speaker 5 (06:44):
Good tough football teams already know they're tough to kill.

Speaker 6 (06:50):
They know that inside.

Speaker 5 (06:51):
Georgia clearly knows it, and I think this long warrning
team feels the same way given what they've gone through.
I mean, it's it's not easy to rally from down
seventeen on the road and with ten minutes to go
in an SEC venue and.

Speaker 6 (07:05):
Find a way to win.

Speaker 5 (07:06):
And then they do that, and they've they've been on
this role lately, so I think they have that same feeling,
but you have to execut.

Speaker 6 (07:13):
You've got to you've got to know, you know what
you're dealing with, and I think this team knows what
they're dealing with. A. Sart made a really good point.

Speaker 5 (07:23):
Uh we heard it in the media Zoom yesterday, but
he's been saying it throughout the week, and he said
it on Long Run Weekly last night, and you know
that that and he said it in that segment that
we did, the matchup segment, that this team has practiced
really hard and with a lot of ferocity. I'm talking
about Texas getting ready for this game. They understand the drill.

(07:43):
Nobody had to tell them, hey, you got fifth range
Georgia on the road this week. They've been kind of
living on that edge since the Florida game, understanding they
had to take it full tilt the rest of the way,
so regardless of the opponent. I think that mentality has
been there the past few weeks. Now, the fact that

(08:03):
it is on the road in Athens, Georgia, I think
just ramps up everything a little bit more.

Speaker 4 (08:09):
And Texas is coming into this game off of a
buy and we've talked on the show this week about
how that buy was really well timed because Texas comes
into this game with a completely clean student athlete availability report.
I know these things haven't been around that long, but Craig,
have you ever seen something like this this late in
the season.

Speaker 5 (08:29):
Not from Texas that there's been a couple of I
saw last year. I noticed in the Long Orange first
year in the SEC, there were a couple of teams
on a couple of weeks that had what Texas had
this week, and those were the words none to report
or whatever. It was something like that. So it was
all like in lower case letters too, just like, you know,

(08:50):
really downplaying this thing's nothing to see here. Uh, that's
that's really good and and that's been a big part.
I've been asked by a lot of people about, you know,
why is this team better over the past four weeks?

Speaker 6 (09:03):
Start with health. Health is a big part of it.

Speaker 5 (09:05):
And we saw when all four starting regular defensive backs,
the two corners Malie Mohaved and Jalen Gilblo, as well
as Michael taff and Jelani McDonald.

Speaker 6 (09:20):
All out during that fourth quarter.

Speaker 5 (09:23):
At least for chunks of it against Vanderbilt when the
Commodore's made their run.

Speaker 6 (09:27):
Makes a difference.

Speaker 5 (09:28):
It does, and they don't make excuses about it, but
it does test your depth, and it's been tested, and
they understand that staying healthy is a big, big part
of it on both sides of the football, and it'll
be a big key to tomorrow night.

Speaker 4 (09:44):
You know, the defense has had some in season bumps
and bruises. They battled through from injuries. Like you said,
they're getting healthier now. They've been really good when they're
all out there together. The offense had a little bit
of a different story. They had a lot of preseason injuries,
right guys that were held out and so reps that
were missed. Is that maybe a reason now we're seeing

(10:04):
a big learning curve and a big improvement for Archie
Manning and these receivers in the last four weeks.

Speaker 5 (10:09):
Yeah, start first of all with the offensive line. Cole
Hudson was out for a time. During that time, Connor
Robertson moved into the starting spot. There was a learning
curve there for Connor, even though he had started a
couple of games in the past.

Speaker 6 (10:20):
And then when Hudson returned.

Speaker 5 (10:22):
They had enough inconsistent play at left guard to say
let's slide him in here. And he has done well
at that left guard spot. So that's the look that
they're going to have tomorrow night. Emmitt Moseley, who couldn't
practice a lot of the fall camp and certainly couldn't
appear the game until the midway mark of the season,

(10:44):
not only is back and is healthy, but the Stanford
transfers made an impact with three touchdown catches, including that
huge win in overtime in Startgilt.

Speaker 6 (10:53):
I think all of that matters. DeAndre Moore has been clutched.

Speaker 5 (10:58):
They want to get more out of the running game,
don't think there's any doubt about that. With Trey Wisner
and CJ. Baxter have been banged up. They both score
touchdowns in the winter for Vanderbilt.

Speaker 6 (11:06):
They want to get.

Speaker 5 (11:07):
More out of the ground game, however, and I think
Arch Manning has made his own personal strides through this.

Speaker 6 (11:14):
He's taken the easier throw, the layup as.

Speaker 5 (11:18):
Sark calls it, instead of trying to force an issue
sometimes where it doesn't need to be forced. So yeah,
on the offensive side, Yeah, health plays a big factor
in it, but growth plays a big factor in it,
and this is going to be the biggest growth test
of Arch Manning's career Tomorrow.

Speaker 2 (11:35):
Night absolutely agree with you and Craig.

Speaker 4 (11:39):
If you were to pinpoint an offensive key for Texas
outside of the play of Arch Manning, I think you
and I would both agree that's the running game. And
Georgia has been stingy against the run all season long.
Texas can get the running game going in this game.

Speaker 2 (11:55):
If what goes right for the Longhorns.

Speaker 5 (11:58):
Well, I think I'm not one of those people who
necessarily believes you pass to set up the run. I mean,
I'm a little more old school about running to set
up the pass. But if you need hit some quick
hitters like what they give a Ryan wing Goes.

Speaker 6 (12:12):
You know.

Speaker 5 (12:12):
Start mentioned the other night they didn't expect to hit
that play for seventy five yards in a touchdown against Vanderbilt.
Remember they just hit the play against Mississippi State for
a touchdown and then another big gainer late. But they
got the same look and said let's go for it,
and it hit again.

Speaker 6 (12:30):
I'm not expecting to see Georgia throw out that same look.
They're gonna have to find some other ways to attack
through the air, and then yeah, they're gonna have to
run the ball. I mean This is a team that
is fourth in the SEC and twelfth in the nation
against the run. They're a little less so against the pass.
There are fifty eighth in pass defense.

Speaker 5 (12:50):
But they may have to hit some passes early and
have the mobility of Arch manning himself with his legs
to help open the run game. And then when it
gets over and they got to compliment one another, whether
you know Weisner and Baxter primarily those two guys, to
compliment what else they're doing. If they can do those things,
then they stand a chance to keep the Georgia defense

(13:11):
off balance.

Speaker 4 (13:13):
And they stand a chance to combat Georgia's kind of
time of possession advantage that they like to hold on
their SEC opponents. Okay, last one for you, Craig, And
you know, a lot gets talked about in terms of
Sark versus Kirby. Right, two former Saban assistants and Kirby
Smarts teams had the upper hand in the two matchups
last year. All week long, we've heard both coaches kind

(13:34):
of downplay the significance of those matchups are last year.
But you've been around this Texas team and a lot
of Texas teams in the past. How much of this
clean slate is just coach speak, and how much of
that is is valid from these guys perspective.

Speaker 5 (13:49):
You know why they downplay because they're good friends and
they and they don't. They both say very similar things
that the other coach does a fabulous job with the.

Speaker 6 (14:00):
Program, and they kind of leave it at that. They
don't they don't.

Speaker 5 (14:03):
Get into the whole deal about matching the wits and
all that other kind of stuff. Yeah, Kirby nose defense
Stark noose offense, and there is that meeting of the mind,
so to speak. There is that matchup, there is that
chess game, that sort of thing. But in the final analysis,
can players execute plays? Play calling is important, don't get
me wrong. It is on both sides of the football.

(14:25):
But you still have to execute even the best play calls.
And the pass can't be dropped or overthrown, or the
running back hitting the hole has got to hit the
right gap. The offensive lineman can't miss his block. There
are execution elements that are paramount in order for the
play calling work on whatever side of the football you're discussing.

Speaker 4 (14:47):
That's Craig Way, the voice of the Longhorns, and you
can follow him at Horn Voice if you want to
see that picture of our guy between the hedges. Craig,
have an amazing call and an amazing time in Athens.

Speaker 5 (14:57):
Hey, thanks, have a good call tonight for those bast Bears.
Good luck against Burbank and we'll see where it goes
from there.

Speaker 8 (15:04):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (15:04):
Speaking of high school football, we'll talk about some of
the scores from last night and what's coming up in
the by district games still to come. It's gold Ball
season here on Sports Radio AM thirteen hundred Zone much
more coming up, spine got mine, Yes, it's Athens, Athens, Georgia.

Speaker 2 (15:24):
Zone RIM formed in nineteen eighty.

Speaker 4 (15:29):
By four students at the University of Georgia. We'll hear
cuts from some of Georgia's iconic musicians and bands throughout
this edition of The Craig Way Show as we get
you ready for a top ten matchup in the SEC.
Number ten Texas on the road at number five Georgia

(15:52):
and hopefully those wearing Burt Orange and come away with
a win.

Speaker 2 (15:57):
And don't forget we're.

Speaker 4 (16:00):
Giving away tickets to UT men's basketball home game against
Kansas City at noon earlier on Saturday. It gives you
plenty of time to get to the Moody Center, getting
in and out of traffic, and then get situated for
Longhorn football later in the evening. All you got to
do is open the iHeartRadio app leave us a talkback
message saying you're interested in the tickets. First come first

(16:21):
where we've got a few pairs of tickets left to
give away for that Texas men's basketball home matchup. Okay,
as promised, we'll talk to high school football here on
the show a few scores, and wanted a highlight from
last night.

Speaker 2 (16:34):
With the by district rounds underway. A few finals.

Speaker 4 (16:39):
First, Dripping Springs beat Vista Ridge thirty eight to fourteen,
the Tigers backing up their first ever win over Westlake
with a golden ball. They forced seven Vista Ridge turnovers
in this game. It was fourteen to seven at behalf.
It was a good defensive start for both teams, and
then Ridge muffed the punt to start the second half,

(17:02):
so instead of getting the ball down seven with a
chance to tie, the next time their offense touched it,
they were down fourteen and then the snowball just started
rolling Defficks Springs quarterback Chase Aimes apparently got a little
banged up in this one. He's dealing with an ankle injury,
but he still threw for three touchdowns and dripping Springs
with their turnover happy defense gets the win thirty eight fourteen.

(17:25):
They will face San Antonio Harlan at Alamo Stadium next Friday.
It will beat Madison fifty six to twenty four. So
congratulations to Galen Zimmerman's Tigers. Moving on in the high
school football playoffs, in five eight, Liberty Hill took care
of San Antonio Lanier sixty two to nothing.

Speaker 2 (17:47):
The stat comes from Mike Barnes.

Speaker 4 (17:49):
Liberty Hill has won fourteen first round games in a
row now and they have scored fifty or more points
in nine of those fourteen. This was their most life
upsided playoff margin of victory in school history, sixty two
to nothing. And they get the winner of Brenham and
Texas City, so things get a little tougher for David Seaborne.

(18:12):
In his first year as the head coach at Liberty Hill.
He kept the slot to that team so much improved
from an zero to two start.

Speaker 2 (18:19):
They are not a team.

Speaker 4 (18:21):
I don't think many teams want to see Liberty Hill
right now.

Speaker 2 (18:25):
In the postseason.

Speaker 4 (18:27):
And then as we talked about this season, Louis Piseira
and his East Side Panthers made the playoffs for the
first time since they were known as Johnston High School
back in nineteen ninety one, and as many sort of predicted,
they saw their season come to an end at the
hands of an undefeated Davenport team last night. That was
a sixty two to nothing final. But congratulations to coach

(18:51):
Biserra and company. What a season for East Side and
hopefully they can build on that going forward into the future.
Those freshmen when they came into the program, things looked
a lot different than they do right now. So looking
ahead to tonight the six A ranks, we've got an

(19:12):
absolute blockbuster with Westlake taking on Vandergrift. Two quarterbacks that'll
play the next level. Reese Wise, the Old Miss commit
under center for Westlake, and then Miles two Deeci, the
k State pledge at quarterback for Vandergrift. And you know,
these are two teams that went to AT and T
Stadium last year, meeting in the playoffs the first time

(19:35):
since twenty twenty one.

Speaker 2 (19:36):
I remember this game.

Speaker 4 (19:37):
I was a student at the University of Texas at
the time, and that was won by west Lake seventy
to seven. It was a game played at DKR in
a state quarterfinal. I expect this one to be a
lot closer. The computers do too, giving a seven point
edge to Westlake in this big time first round matchup,
maybe the best buy district matchup in six A, maybe

(20:01):
even the state, depending on who you ask. Westlake and
vander Griff team separated by mere minutes facing off. Only
one moves on to the area around and the bracket
could open up for either of these two teams if
they come up with a win. Certainly a nightmare draw
for both. That one will be a lot of fun
to follow. It's six A as well. Lake Travis takes

(20:21):
on Round Rock. Booie is facing Huddo. That's a clash
of styles. Huddle with that passing attack under coach Ryan
hard Bowie who wants to run the ball, pound the
rock with reyes Moreno remember Booie's coming off a bye
in this game.

Speaker 2 (20:36):
They're kind of playing.

Speaker 4 (20:37):
Game was two weeks ago against Austin High and the
Bulldogs came through that one. Austin HI has been a
banana peal for Bowie before and now they're rested and ready.
The computer actually likes Booie, well likes Booe to keep
it close. I should say I misread that huddle a
two point edge. According to the computer, that game could

(20:58):
be very, very close and fun to watch. Who can
control time of possession in that game? That's what I'm
looking out for. San Marcus another good story we followed
on the show this year. They went from zero to
ten to the playoffs, and they're in search of their
first playoff win in nine seasons. Tonight, when they host
Eagle Pass in a by district matchup down to five

(21:18):
A Division one, Cedar Park takes on Tyler at Gupton Stadium.
It'll be the first time those two schools have met
in the playoffs. The Timberwolves come in with some momentum
after grabbing a share of that district title in the
regular season finale. The team they knocked off was Georgetown,
who hosts Burlison Centennial in this by district round. Their

(21:42):
running back jet Walker, committed to Minnesota. Just got an
offer from Texas yesterday, so we'll keep an eye on
jet Walker. That dynamic Georgetown offense. He is a big
ingredient for them between the tackles plenty capable of being
that home run hitter at running back.

Speaker 5 (21:58):
Two.

Speaker 4 (21:59):
So Georgetown the Eagles in action tonight. Another one in
five A division one that I'm looking forward to, Weiss
at Laporte. Now, Weiss actually finished fourth in that district.
But this game is just a heavyweight fight in the

(22:20):
first round. And the computer actually thinks and I just
lost my prediction here. Yeah, the computer thinks that Weiss
is a two point favorite against Laporte according to the
computer predictions. This is a game that Carter Yeates from
Dave Campbell's Texas Football noted could be a mid December

(22:43):
game that's happening here in mid November.

Speaker 2 (22:47):
And he says Greg Temper put it best.

Speaker 4 (22:50):
He said, Laport's either gonna win by three touchdowns or
Weiss is gonna upset them.

Speaker 2 (22:55):
Two offenses that succeed in different ways.

Speaker 4 (23:00):
Think about Laporte and Sean Simon, young running back who
has over two thousand yards already, and then Weiss led
by a super softmore quarterback Jackson Shad who has started
forty two touchdown passes and he's got a great target
on the outside. And Trey Moore with over twelve hundred

(23:22):
yards receiving seventeen receiving touchdowns. It seems like every time
Weiss is in trouble third and long, you can find
Trey Moore to get you out of a lot of
those situations.

Speaker 2 (23:31):
That's gonna be fun.

Speaker 4 (23:32):
Weiss at Laporte tonight, Malcolm Hill's team coming off with
that win over Anderson, and Anderson still won that district
despite losing the opportunity for its first unbeaten regular season
in school history. They'll be at House Park on Saturday
hosting Friends Wood and one thing to look out for

(23:55):
in this game is Caleb Crenshaw.

Speaker 2 (23:56):
He needs thirty eight yards to.

Speaker 4 (24:00):
Become the AISD all time leading rusher for his career.
Two hundred and eighty three yards is the mark to beat.
Cedric Alexander, former LBJ stud now at Vanderbilt, has set
that mark. Of course, Caleb Crenshaw started at LBJ and
at Anderson this season, he has massed over eighteen hundred

(24:20):
yards on the ground. He already has the Austin ISD
career rushing touchdown record, and Crenshaw committed to Stephen F.
Austin last week, So a running back that we should
hear from on Saturdays many times to come trying to
help this Anderson team under coach Donald Hatcher, start its
playoff run with a golden ball Saturday against Friendswood. And

(24:43):
in five A Division one, Eastview is up in the
Metroplex taking on Middle Lothian tonight.

Speaker 2 (24:50):
Down in five A Division.

Speaker 4 (24:51):
Two Flugerville, who kind of backed its way into the
playoffs with losses in three of its final four games
to the likes of Liberty Hill, Bass Drop and then Connolly,
put up fifty six points in that matchup at the Field.

Speaker 2 (25:05):
But Flugerville has been in.

Speaker 4 (25:06):
This spot before, number four seed out of district eleven
to five A D two. Last year they beat the
district champion Burbank sixty three to thirteen. Can they do
the same this year against San Antonio Sam Houston. The
computer likes Flugerville as a favorite against the Hurricanes tonight,

(25:28):
and the margin in that one, as I immediately lose
it the mo well, actually though the margin in that
one is a pickup. I beg your pardon, So the
computer thinks it's going to be very very close between
Flugerville and Sam Houston. Cole Taylor, the senior quarterback started
all four years. Something tells me he and the Panthers
are going to bring their best tonight. After stumbling a

(25:49):
little bit here down the stretch Connolly, who beat Flugerville
to earn perhaps a more favorable matchup against San Antonio Jefferson.
The computer thinks Connolly is a three touchdown advantage in
that one. Of course, the district champion in eleven to
five a D two is Liberty Hill. They already moved
on over San Antonio Lanier, their Highway ninety rival San

(26:12):
Antonio Burbank back in the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year,
they will take on the bass Drop Bears in the
game that I'll be calling tonight at Memorial Stadium in
bas Drop. The Bears are looking to advance back to
the same stage they were a year ago after Fort
Ben Marshall beat them in the area around, and they're

(26:33):
looking to win Golden Balls in back to back seasons
for the first time since two thousand and nine and
twenty ten. It's been a season to remember, particularly in
the offensive side of the ball for bass Drop, but
we'll see how they respond to a forty eight to
fourteen loss suffered at the hands of Liberty Hill last week.
So the Burbank Bulldogs and their somewhat young ascending defense

(26:58):
under first year coach Mitchell Ricker, they'll try and pull
an up set at bass Drop tonight. Another big one
in Region three, I'm looking out. Fort Belton is taking
on Iowa Colony and Fort ben Marshall plays Waco University.
It's around out that region. Of course, Richmond Randall, the
defending state champion, is in that part of the bracket

(27:20):
as well. Certainly a tough region for all involved. And
in four A Division one a couple of local teams
to highlight. LBJ will host Fredericksburg at Nelson Field. It'll
be their third meeting in the last five years in
the playoffs. They met in last year's by district round.
LBJ handled Business forty two to fourteen against the Billies,

(27:41):
and then in the twenty twenty one quarterfinals they met
as well, with LBJ getting the edge. Taylor, the Ducks
take on Canyon Lake. That game is actually in Lockhart
and Taylor is looking for its fourth playoff win in
the last thirty years. So look around the high school
football landscape tonight. Plenty of fun games to follow maybe

(28:06):
some of you on your way out there already, and
we appreciate you joining us here on sports Radio AM
thirteen hundred The Zone. Still to come, We'll get to
some of your comments and questions on the text line
at eight one five three zero. If you want to
be a part of the show, you can text the
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(28:29):
and data rates may apply there. You can also leave
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if you want to win tickets for Texas and Kansas
City the men's basketball game at noon tomorrow, we still
got a couple pairs of those to give away too.

Speaker 2 (28:49):
Stick with us.

Speaker 4 (28:50):
You're listening to the Craig Way Show on sports Radio
AM thirteen hundred The Zone. So after the show concludes
tonight a little later on Longhorn Weekly with Coach Sark
will re air That's Craig's conversation with Sark this week.
Kyle Flood was among the other guests to kind of
join that conversation and talk all things Texas football and

(29:12):
in particular preview the Longhorns matchup with Georgia. If you
missed it, it'll re air at seven o'clock tonight right
here on Sports Radio AM thirty hundred of Zone. Here's
a little preview of that, a segment from Longhorn Weekly
where Craig and coach Stark previewed this matchup with the
Georgia Bulldogs.

Speaker 2 (29:31):
Take a listen.

Speaker 5 (29:32):
What a team and you've seen him pretty recently twice
last year, although there's been some some changes, but this
is still a really, really good Georgia Bulldog team.

Speaker 2 (29:42):
Clearly, it really is.

Speaker 9 (29:44):
You know, it's not very often you play a team
three times in twelve months or less than twelve months.
And you know, a ton of credit to Kirby Smart.
You know what they've done over the past decade. To me,
they've they've been the standard of college football national titles.
I think they've been to four straight SEC championship games.

(30:04):
They've recruited extremely well, they've gotten players drafted and naturally,
you know, kind of a little bit of a head start.
But both of our kind of backgrounds tied to Nick
Saban and our in our time at Alabama, so we're
built very Similarly, that's what makes these games to me
so so fun because it's almost got an NFL field.
It's NFL talent all over the field. Both coaching staffs

(30:27):
are are really good at what we do. And at
the end of the day, you know, I think, you know,
the outside of one bad half here at dk R
the first time around, these things have been down to
the wire and very competitive and and like I said,
ton of respect for them. Looking forward to going to
Sanford Stadium there Saturday night, seven thirty.

Speaker 5 (30:45):
And apparently you and Kirby both favors staying in Tupelo
before you play, right.

Speaker 9 (30:53):
You know, what's what's ironic about Kirby and I. We
knew each other prior to me to us getting into
the SEC. But I think one thing that's happened when
we joined the SEC, We've we've actually grown a lot closer.
We've been on Nike trips together with Phil Knight, We've
been to SEC meetings at different spots. We're in these

(31:13):
group threads where where we listened to.

Speaker 10 (31:15):
Lane talk about god knows what.

Speaker 9 (31:18):
But but also I think he and I have had
some good conversations and in the end, you know, hey,
him being the head coach at Georgia, myself being the
head coach at Texas, and with all the changes happening
in college football right now, we got to make sure
we're aligned on as many issues as we can and
our voices need to be heard and people need.

Speaker 10 (31:36):
To get on board with that. So it's been it's
been great.

Speaker 8 (31:40):
You know.

Speaker 9 (31:40):
I wish we would have beat him once or twice
last year, but we get another opportunity Saturday night.

Speaker 5 (31:44):
Well, and he saw gutter Stockton in the second half
of that SEC championship game. What have you seen from
him this year after seeing him last Year's.

Speaker 10 (31:51):
See a bunch of growth.

Speaker 11 (31:52):
Now.

Speaker 9 (31:52):
I recruited Gunner really hard when we were at Alabama.
I went to Rayburn County more than once. That's where
coach Saban's lake house was. So we had a recruit
Gunner stocked at a high level, but proud of him
and his growth. And he came into our game last
year in the second half and was scrambling around trying
to make plays and how he held on to the
football and overtime I'm still trying to figure out when

(32:13):
when Macouba puts that hit on him. But he's grown
as a player, and they utilize his legs.

Speaker 10 (32:20):
He's been a very accurate passer.

Speaker 9 (32:22):
They do a lot of the screen game on the
perimeter number one branch as a heck of a player.
They utilize the tight ends. But at the end of
the day, the offense goes through him and gunner and
we've got to make sure that we kind of minimize
him in the pocket. Very similar to Povya that way.
You know, he's a scrappy player that can hurt you
a variety of ways.

Speaker 5 (32:38):
And then on the defensive side, I think a lot
of folks like to point out they don't have an
awful lot of quarterback sacks. What they have is offense
is very effective pressure on an offense.

Speaker 9 (32:47):
Well, I think what they do do a great job
of and and Kirby is like coach Saban this way.
They want to they want a cage rush, and they
want to keep that quarterback in the pocket, and they
want to make that pocket shrink on the quarterback, and
they do it.

Speaker 10 (33:01):
A variety of ways.

Speaker 9 (33:02):
They got three outstanding linebackers that can get home and
see JL and Raylan Wilson.

Speaker 10 (33:06):
And Chris Cole.

Speaker 9 (33:08):
A lot of what they do is coverage oriented and
and so hey, there's some new faces, there's some new
names on this defense, but don't kid yourself. This is
still a Georgia defense and they're very good.

Speaker 2 (33:19):
Yeah, coach Sark was right.

Speaker 4 (33:21):
The zach rate for this Georgia defense doesn't exactly jump
off the charts this season. They lost the likes of
Jalen Walker that with be Atlanta Falcons in the NFL,
and Georgia is not a team that's blitzing as much
as they were last year. The linebackers, though, are still
the ones you worry about if you're Texas in terms
of arch Manning, having enough time to throw, being able

(33:42):
to extend plays against a pass rush that's really good
at containing you in the pocket. Cover Spart was asked
about this, the challenge of getting to the quarterback, how
we might approach it against a Texas offensive line that
has found some new combinations this week.

Speaker 3 (33:58):
It's a challenge.

Speaker 7 (33:58):
Every play gaps sometimes seven gaps up there you got
to fill and you can't fill them all, so you
got to, you know, rush intelligently and violently, and those
two don't always mix. So it's hard to do that
and contain the quarterback. You know, We've had some some
opportunities to get sacks that we've capitalized on. We had

(34:22):
a couple of chances on normal down stuff the last
week with the Mississippi State's style of play. But it'll
be key this week for sure because arch is really good.
They're really good at protection. They know what they're doing.
They've got different protections and that's a challenge every week
part of defense to try to affect the quarterback.

Speaker 4 (34:40):
You know, you heard Sark talk about recruiting Gunner Stockton
back when he was at Alabama. Arch Manning, as is
widely known, was recruited to Georgia. He attended there, went
over South Carolina between the hedges in twenty twenty three,
made a brief appearance versus Georgia last year and the
game the Bulldogs won in Austin. Here's what Kirby had

(35:01):
to say and what he's noticed from from arch Manning.

Speaker 7 (35:04):
It really wasn't about the celebrity of nature. The last
name is about the tape. You know, have a good
relationship with their family. I've known his dad for a while,
his uncle for a long time, and his grandfather. They've
got a wonderful family. But it has nothing to do
with his recruitment. His recruitment was based on he's athletic,
he's fast, he's tall, he's intelligent, he's got.

Speaker 3 (35:26):
Composure, he's got armed. Mean, he can do it all.

Speaker 7 (35:29):
He can run the ball, he can throw the ball,
and this day and age, you've got to have a
quarterback that can do both. He can and I think
he's got great composure. You know, he's not really affected
by not man many things. Even the way he's managed
the hype and expectations of what he was supposed to
be this year. None of that was he didn't He
didn't call any of that to come to him, and
it's just what the outside sources did, and it doesn't

(35:52):
seem to have affected him. He knows he's got to
grow and get better, and I think Sarks done a
great job kind of bringing him up and allowing him
to develop and get better.

Speaker 4 (36:02):
How about the development that Kirby talked about, could he
expand on that some of the ways that Arche has
gotten better this season.

Speaker 3 (36:08):
Yeah, he's playing with more confidence.

Speaker 7 (36:10):
I think the morning, he's getting better protection, he's seeing
things well, he's making good decisions, he's getting the ball
out of his hand.

Speaker 3 (36:16):
Quickly. I mean, he's he's maturing.

Speaker 7 (36:19):
You know, he's had an opportunity to play and grow,
and you don't really get that until you get out
there and play.

Speaker 3 (36:25):
He played a good bit last year, but.

Speaker 7 (36:29):
The kind of games he's had to play in this
year just a different stature in terms of the sec
gaallet and just you know, you watch game by game.
I watched yesterday each game throughout the year and watched
him just grow and play and play better. He's he's
extending plays, he's doing really well with scrambles, keeps his
eyes downfield.

Speaker 3 (36:49):
Got to look at the rush.

Speaker 7 (36:51):
He's made some really impressive wow throws, and they're playing
better offensively.

Speaker 4 (36:57):
So and this is something that I'm going to ask
Vogel about who's going to join us in just a
few moments. Will last year's two victories over Texas have
any impact on the game. Could Kirby Smart take anything
from those and apply them again.

Speaker 2 (37:13):
Here's what he had to say.

Speaker 7 (37:14):
Yeah, this team didn't beat Texas. That team and you
know in this Texas hasn't played this team of ours,
so two completely different teams in my opinion, so I
think it has zero effect on it.

Speaker 2 (37:28):
You heard a similar message from Coach Sark and, like
Craig told us earlier in the show, those two have
a lot of respect for one another, a great friendship
that goes back to their time together on Coach Saban
staff at Alabama. A lot's going to be made about
the chess match between those two, but so many different
faces in this year's game that might make it a
completely different story. We'll hear a little bit more from

(37:51):
Kirby Smart later on in the program, but up next, CJ.
Vogel from on Texas Football is.

Speaker 4 (37:57):
Going to join us from Georgia next on Sports Radio
AM thirteen hundred The Zone.

Speaker 8 (38:10):
Back to the Craig Way Show.

Speaker 1 (38:11):
Connect with Craig through the text slot by text team
zone to age one, five three zero, followed.

Speaker 6 (38:17):
By your messages.

Speaker 8 (38:18):
The standard message and data rates may apply.

Speaker 6 (38:20):
Because he was way behind and he was willing to
make a deal, but.

Speaker 5 (38:23):
He came across this young man sewing on the fiddle
and playing it hot, and the devil jumped.

Speaker 6 (38:27):
Up on a hicker's dumps and bought let me tell
you what I guess you didn't know it, but I'm
a fiddle player too, And if.

Speaker 4 (38:34):
You yes, Charlie Daniels bend pretty good. Devil went down
to Georgia against your one of those classics, and we're
coming back with centered around this this game, and it's
a game that hopefully becomes a classic in and of
itself from the Texas perspective. And joining us now to

(38:55):
break it down is is on Texas Football's c J Vogel. Who, CJ,
I understand you're out on the out on the recruiting
trail this weekend as well.

Speaker 12 (39:06):
Yeah, I was. I went out to Grayson, a little
trip out from Atlanta, got to see five star Texas
commit Tyler Atkinson in action, and boy, let me tell you,
the Longhorns got themselves quite a future at the position.

Speaker 4 (39:18):
Well, so when you go to see these recruits, are
you watching them practice? Are you going to a game?
As an already playoff season in the Peach State.

Speaker 12 (39:27):
Yesterday with the practice today will be round one of
the Georgia High School playoffs out here in Atlanta. So
Tyler and Jake Collett, another Texas commit here in the
Georgia area, they will be getting active this evening in
hosts of winning a state championship.

Speaker 4 (39:44):
Hey, some folks in town are are going to watch
high school football tonight, and they know what Georgetown running
back jet Walker can do. He just got an offer
from Texas. What do you think Chad Scott and company
see for him if he's on the forty acres?

Speaker 8 (39:58):
Yeah?

Speaker 11 (39:58):
Absolutely. Jet Walker was actually recruited.

Speaker 12 (40:00):
A little bit by chat Scott and actually earned a
verbal commitment to West Virginia before he ended up taking
the Texas job. He's a six foot two running back
that man, oh man does he have some some wheels
on him. Very very productive in his career over there.

Speaker 11 (40:16):
At Georgetown, ran for over ten and a half yards.

Speaker 12 (40:19):
Per Carrie as a junior last year. He can he
can do just about everything out of the back deal.
He's got size to block, he's got size to run
and be a threat out of the backfield as well.

Speaker 6 (40:30):
A heck of a.

Speaker 12 (40:31):
Talent and offered by the Longhorns kind of gives you
an indication of what they believe in him as well.

Speaker 2 (40:36):
Yeah, and they're playing Brotherson Centennial tonight.

Speaker 4 (40:38):
Like we mentioned in the last segment talking about the
by district round here in the area.

Speaker 2 (40:44):
But let's shift our focus to this game and what
it means.

Speaker 4 (40:49):
We haven't talked about the college football playoff rankings just yet,
you and I see Jay, and ultimately where Texas is
ranked today won't matter unless they win at least two
of these next three games. But I noticed, you know,
you wrote that the committee got it right in terms
of the top ten teams overall and the placement of
the two loss teams, Notre Dame at nine followed by

(41:09):
Texas at ten.

Speaker 2 (41:10):
Why is that?

Speaker 12 (41:13):
I just think Notre Dame has done a better job
this year playing high.

Speaker 11 (41:16):
Level, consistent football.

Speaker 12 (41:18):
And you know, you point to the losses. You know,
both teams have lost the teams you know inside the
top fifteen. Obviously, the Florida lost six out you point
to on the Texas side the two wins in the
top fifteen over Vanderbilt in Oklahoma, and Notre Dame does
not have that. Yet you look at the consistent body
of work. In my opinion, Notre Dame's allowed fourteen points
or more just one time. Going back to Week four,

(41:38):
They've won every single game by double digits.

Speaker 11 (41:40):
In fact, they have a margin of victory at twenty.

Speaker 12 (41:42):
Six and a half points. They've been dominant as of late,
and I think that that should matter, right, Texas has
had to squeak by a few games on the road
in the SEC. And I understand, you know, the schedules
aren't tit for tat right, They're not apples to apples.

Speaker 11 (41:55):
But Texas has been a shaky team, and you know.

Speaker 12 (41:59):
You don't really know what you're gonna get on a
given weekend. Whereas at this point in the season, I
feel like I have a very clear understanding that Notre
Dame's gonna you know, find a way to to be
very you know, to produce on with their running game
and their quarterbacks have been playing very well.

Speaker 2 (42:14):
Yeah, and they get pit this weekend.

Speaker 4 (42:16):
The game that will call That will feature some coverage
from College Game Day coming into this matchup, though, Sark
has told us that Texas is playing its best football
this season in all three phases. Would you kind of
agree with that statement? And if not, you know, where
is there maybe a higher ceiling for Texas still to come?

Speaker 12 (42:34):
Yeah, they're certainly playing their best on on offense right now,
right and that's key going on the road. You know
what kind of uh, you know, how can they play
together right with the you know, that's gonna be really key.
They had issues in Starkville. They had issues in Lexington, Gamesville, you.

Speaker 11 (42:48):
Know Ohio State earlier this year.

Speaker 12 (42:50):
Are they able to play within themselves and not commit
the pre snap penalties. That's gonna be really important on
Saturday afternoon. Defensively, they can certainly improve, and I think
there will be definite improvement with the return of Michael Tapp,
the vocal mouthpiece in that type of secondary Johlan McDonald
returning to the field as well. Those are two guys
at Texas, you know, gravely missed against vant As Vanderbilt

(43:12):
started to come back in that fourth quarter.

Speaker 6 (43:15):
It's gonna be.

Speaker 12 (43:16):
Really interesting to see how they shake out against the
george autense, who can throw the football at just about
anybody in the country. That's been you know, really a
revival of identity in Athens this year with Georgia. They're
no longer that defensive led team. It's been gunderstocked in
that running game leading away.

Speaker 2 (43:33):
Yeah, I was gonna let's start there.

Speaker 4 (43:35):
I mean, Georgia offense versus Texas defense. Is this the
best unit that the other has seen this year when
those two are on the field.

Speaker 8 (43:47):
Yeah, I think so.

Speaker 12 (43:48):
You know, there's a lot of talent of course, and
you know their marquee names come to play. It's gonna
be a big test this weekend. And that's one thing
I know that if you look back at where both
teams stand up the at the point, you know.

Speaker 11 (44:01):
Currently Texas the fider.

Speaker 12 (44:03):
For their playoff lives and Georgia is fighting for their
sec lives. So there's plenty at stake this weekend. And
you know, between Kirby and Sark, I don't know which
one right now has the upper hand going into tomorrow,
but I do know that Kirby's had the upper hand
between the last couple of meetings.

Speaker 4 (44:20):
Yeah, a lot, a lot gets talked about with that,
and I asked Craig about this earlier. Both coaches all
week long have downplayed, right, the impact of last year
for Texas, downplaying the revenge factor for Georgia. Kirby said,
you heard right before the break he said, this team,
this team didn't beat Texas twice and Texas has it
faced this team. How much of that is just coach

(44:42):
speak and motivational tools, and how much of that is
is really a valid thing that this is a clean slate.

Speaker 8 (44:49):
Yeah, I think it is a clean slate.

Speaker 12 (44:50):
And you know, for Kirby Smart, one of the best
motivators in the game. Right now, he's gonna believe or
make the belief of his team that they haven't accomplished
anything against this tex team. They should be just as
hungry as Game one last year, whenever they walked into
DKR as a touchdown underdog in Texas with the number
one team in the country. Obviously things are flips, but
you know, there's there's no more to sign the point

(45:11):
to than Kirby Smart and his team after going back
to back as national champions, getting on the podium and
saying that nobody believed in the Georgia Bulldogs that year,
right they were only the preseason number one, had just
won a national title, and yet that was somehow the
belief and happened. I believe that they're gonna have a
very similar mindset and hunger coming into this game tomorrow.

Speaker 8 (45:30):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (45:31):
Do you ever tell yourself that you were picked to
go six and six when you need a little extra
kick in the pants?

Speaker 12 (45:37):
Yeah, I think that that's exactly what you know. Kirby's
done a great job.

Speaker 4 (45:41):
Of credit to m Yeah, and I mean, look, this
is a game that I think all neutral college football
fans are excited about. People around the SEC were watching
both this and I think the game between Alabama and Oklahoma.
What part of this, as is just a football fan,
are you most looking forward to on Saturday night?

Speaker 12 (46:04):
Well, I think it's the crowd, right, the atmosphere playing
in the SEC at night. You know, it's something that
Texas has had the luxury of doing, you know, a
few times this year. And let me tell you my
trip to the games will to play in the swamp
and as that game got towards the night, boy was
it rocket.

Speaker 8 (46:19):
So I'm excited for that.

Speaker 12 (46:21):
I think two Marquee teams, two Marquie franchises, two teams
have to have been in contention for a national championship. Playing
under the lights is going to be great for not
just the SEC, but for college football. So to add
that atmosphere aspect into it, it's going to be electric.
It's going to be something that I think a lot
of folks are going to tune into from around the country.
And you know, if everything goes well for Texas, you
know that's going to be quite a state you're able

(46:43):
to pull away with it.

Speaker 4 (46:44):
As for this Texas offense, You've got to ask Sark
on Monday about the quick screen game, which is almost
substituted in for the run at times. It's also be
helped Texas get some explosive plays. But against this really
quick athletic front set, I think you pointed out that's
a really interesting matchup for Sark to have to deal with.

Speaker 12 (47:05):
Yeah, it absolutely is, and you try to do it
plice a year ago didn't have much success. Try to
use it against Ohio State a little bit this year
didn't have much success. If you're going to substitute the
run game, you be able to block on the outside
touches has sounded rhythm obviously over the last two weeks,
and it'd be huge if that rhythm carries over to
Athens on Saturday. The big thing for me is, especially

(47:25):
in the running game, Tuxas likes to use utilize that
outside zone game. Right, you're running more east to west
before cutting it up the field to go north to south.
You know, against the team with the speed of Georgia linebacking.

Speaker 8 (47:35):
Unit, that's very difficult.

Speaker 12 (47:37):
So I know Texes has changed around some of it's
starting five on the offensive line.

Speaker 8 (47:42):
We'll see, of course. You know, if that.

Speaker 12 (47:44):
Translates to more success in that.

Speaker 8 (47:46):
State of the game. But I'm really eager.

Speaker 12 (47:49):
To see if they have more success against this herby
smart defense versus what they had two years twice.

Speaker 8 (47:54):
A year ago.

Speaker 4 (47:56):
Yeah, I mean we heard Sark talk with Craig Way
earlier about how this is still a Georgia defense, right,
despite some of the underlying stats maybe not looking the
same as years passed in terms of you know, points
per drive they're giving up. Going into that Mississippi State game,
their stats were identical to Mississippi States. How much do
you read into that and how much do you think
this Georgia defense maybe works a little differently than last year's.

Speaker 12 (48:21):
Well, it's not a Georgia defense that we've come to
know over the last six years. It's it quite simply
is not right. They're in the one hundred and twenties
right now in sax and tackles for the loss. However,
you know, they find ways to bend and not break,
and they've completely revamped what their identity is defensively, right,
it's not giving up the big play, it's not allowing
teams to score early and quickly. You're gonna have to

(48:42):
grind every single yard out. They just don't have the takeaways,
they don't have the turnovers, and they don't have the
big habit plays that create negative losses.

Speaker 8 (48:51):
And they still out athlete a lot of teams.

Speaker 12 (48:53):
And I think that's what folks forget, right. You know,
it's still a Georgia team of Georgia talent on that
side of the ball.

Speaker 8 (48:58):
It's just very young.

Speaker 12 (49:00):
So they're still developing and growing into their own at
the moment. They're just potentially not you know, boasting the
five or six first and second round draft picks on
that side.

Speaker 8 (49:09):
Of the ball this year, however, And I don't.

Speaker 12 (49:11):
Want to sound like I'm, you know, completely saying this
side of the ball.

Speaker 8 (49:15):
Isn't isn't talented.

Speaker 3 (49:16):
It is.

Speaker 12 (49:17):
It just hasn't clicked so far to the level that
we've seen with previous Georgia teams.

Speaker 4 (49:22):
We're talking with CJ. Vogel from on Texas Football.

Speaker 2 (49:25):
Do you do you expect there to be a lot
of points in this game?

Speaker 8 (49:29):
Yeah? I think so.

Speaker 12 (49:30):
I think this is a Texas offense that's clicking right now.
Of course, we'll we'll see how that translates to the
Georgia defense. But defensively, Texas been very shaky in the
back end, and then that's exactly where Gonna stock In.

Speaker 6 (49:43):
That Georgia defense.

Speaker 12 (49:43):
Has been successful. So I'm looking at exactly those two
sides saying, hey, it might be two teams in the thirties,
which is probably not what anybody really expected between a
Kirby Smart led defense and what we've come to know
this Texas defense as over the last two years.

Speaker 4 (50:00):
What do you make of the season Gunner Stockton's had.
He's been He's been ultra efficient. He's taken care of
the ball, but he hasn't exactly hit a ton of
explosive plays through the air right.

Speaker 12 (50:14):
Now, not particularly, but he's done a fine job of
doing what is needed to move the chains. And he's
a gritty quarterback. You don't hear that all too oftense,
but this is a guy that's going to lower his
shoulder and find a way to get three or four
extra yards to make it second in two or third
and one and put the team in a position to
continue drive. And I give Gunner stocked In a lot

(50:34):
of credit. Tech fans thought obviously the latter in the
SEC Championship. Then he can take some hits and board
does he get up quickly ready for the next play.
And I think a lot of what the Georgia offense,
you know, kind of strives off of. Is that exact mentality,
So you know, Gunner's basically the engine that runs the
car that is the Georgia offense, and we Leatova it's
not one going twenty over the speed limit like they

(50:55):
do in Athens very often. But to the point being
is he is a very very impressive quarterback so far
this year and has acceeded a lot of what my
expectations were coming in.

Speaker 4 (51:06):
CJ better be better be careful on your way to
it from the stadium tonight, but we certainly appreciate your
time before you go. Where can we follow you during
the game? Social media pre and post? And also do
you have a prediction you can share?

Speaker 10 (51:23):
Yeah?

Speaker 8 (51:23):
Absolutely.

Speaker 12 (51:24):
You can find me on Twitter at cjog otf or
at on Texas football dot com. And you know I've
stuck with Texas by a field goal. We'll see if
that holds true tomorrow.

Speaker 4 (51:33):
So high scoring Texas by a field goal, that's what
you're going with the Longhorns on the road.

Speaker 11 (51:39):
Yeah, this time Texas makes those field goals.

Speaker 4 (51:42):
We certainly appreciate it, and I appreciate the tough memories
of the SEC championship game there as well. Cjvogel from
on Texas Football. Always fun to catch up enjoy the
games tonight.

Speaker 8 (51:52):
Thanks you very much.

Speaker 2 (51:55):
Up next here on the.

Speaker 4 (51:56):
Craig Ways Show on this Friday afternoon, and trust me,
we will talk much more about this Texas Georgia game.
Pretty much all a lot of Longhorn fans can can
think about, probably when they woke up this morning until
the kickoff at six forty nine tomorrow. By the way,
you can hear that game right here on thirteen hundred
zone and on kveat ninety eight to one FM port

(52:19):
of the Longhorn Radio Network. But we're going to take
a little break from that and have some sports tie
ins with Inconceivable next on the Craigway Show on Sports
Radio AM thirteen hundred zone in the iHeartRadio app One
more hour to go on this last Craigway Show of

(52:42):
the week before we send you to what should be
a very exciting weekend, both in terms of high school
football playoffs, in college football with the Longhorns going between
the Hedges and Athens, and in the NFL as well.
My name is Jay Herman in for Craigway today. The
producer of this show heard from Craig a little bit earlier.

(53:03):
Appreciate his time joining us from Georgia.

Speaker 2 (53:05):
CJ.

Speaker 4 (53:06):
Vogel down to the Peach State as well, from on
Texas Football gave us his thoughts and his predictions on
this Texas Georgia game. We're going to talk to one
more Texas insider, that's Evan Vief from Inside Texas. Coming
up in about fifteen minutes. We want to get to
a question that we had a listener leave on the

(53:26):
talkback line earlier in the program. We were talking about
high school football and buy district playoffs, and I mentioned,
in response to another listener's question slash comment, slash complaint
about third and fourth ranked teams in districts getting into
the by district round and as a result, sometimes you

(53:50):
just get certain games that aren't as competitive. And that's fine,
I mean, that's going to happen in every playoff format.
But here is maybe a different strength on that, different
take on that. Backing up what I said about the
differing strengths of districts and why that's important, Here's what

(54:14):
Caine left us on the talkback message.

Speaker 10 (54:18):
For instance.

Speaker 13 (54:19):
And if you're talking about the streets and districts, look
at the Soto, Duncanville, Cedar Hill, Wausa haschi that district
right there where the number four team Cedar Hill plays
Harker heis to night and wouldn't even be in the
playoffs if it wasn't for that in Cedar Hills, former
state champion and where Joey Florence was.

Speaker 5 (54:37):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (54:37):
Absolutely, I mean that district eleven six A is a
strong one. And Cain, if I'm saying your name right,
thank you for the message. That was a Wauksa Hatchet
team that was third in the district. They they shared
the district title. So if it wasn't for that format,
one of those three teams between Wauksahatchie, De Soto and

(54:58):
Duncanville would have left. So that's not necessarily a solution
to bring up. Obviously, six A does it a little
bit differently with the D one and the D two
brackets that split that way. Walks A Hatche gets to
Waco midway in the postseason. It's one of those It's
one of those games that quarter yates highlighted as one

(55:20):
of the games that is a December quality matchup in
terms of entertainment value and star power title contenders it
but it pops up in the first round, so that
should be a lot of fun to watch this evening
between between those two schools. Who appreciate the comment there,
You can join the show always on the iHeartRadio app
by leaving a talkbag feature sirge AM thirteen hundred zone

(55:42):
and tap the red microphone. We also promise you an
update on where you can find us Tomorrow Longhorns Game
Day with our coverage here on Sports Radio AM thirteen
hundred Zone beginning at two thirty with the third and
Longhorn guys Nick Schuley in company provide a great preview
of this massive matchup. Then we're going to South Austin.

(56:05):
Bolden Acres will host Longhorn's Game Day. It's the South
Austin location of Bolden Acres that's at the corner of
Slaughter Lane and Manchack and there'll be plenty to do outdoors.

Speaker 2 (56:20):
They've got lots of TVs.

Speaker 4 (56:22):
You can watch matchups like Alabama and Oklahoma on at
two thirty. Earlier in today, Oregon excuse me. USC and
Iowa also on at two thirty, so you can you
can have those games on the TV and you can
have us on your speakers.

Speaker 2 (56:36):
You can bring your dog.

Speaker 4 (56:37):
They've got lots of long games out there, a playground,
so lots to do, lots of good things to eat
as well from the food trucks at Bolden Acres in
South Austin with Longhorn, Game Day, Cameron Parker and The
Guy Special guest Derek Johnson on the panel this week,
they will break things down for you at three thirty

(56:59):
PA right here on Sports Radio AM thirteen hundred Zone,
and then at five point thirty we'll send it out
to Sanford Stadium for Craig Keith Morland and Will Matthews,
who will have the network coverage of Texas and Georgia,
which kicks off at six forty nine pm tomorrow evening

(57:19):
on ABC. So we talked earlier in the show about
the quarterback matchup between a much improved arch Manning as
Kirby Smart noted and Gunnar Stockton, who came on in
relief of an injured Carson Beck, playing a big role
in Georgia's SEC championship win over the Longhorns last year,

(57:40):
and Kirby Smart was asked about Stockton's impact this season
and what he sort of brought to the table for
a Georgia offense that's starting to find a really good
rhythm and has had a pretty good rhythm for most
of the season.

Speaker 7 (57:55):
Toughness he's brought, wisdom, he's brought consistency. He's made good
decisions with the ball in terms of keeping us out
of bad situations.

Speaker 3 (58:06):
I mean, you look at it.

Speaker 7 (58:08):
He's avoided quite a bit of sacks, he's avoided catastrophic
things like turnovers, and he's made plays with his legs
and he's made.

Speaker 3 (58:19):
Plays with his arm. So I mean, I think he is.

Speaker 7 (58:23):
He's improved throughout the season and continues to do that,
then it's going to make us very hard to defend
when he plays well.

Speaker 2 (58:33):
And Stockton's been very efficient this season. That's been kind
of his mo.

Speaker 4 (58:39):
He doesn't throw downfield a ton, but when he does,
he completes his downfield passes at seventy nine percent. Well,
how actually, hang on a second. He completes his longer
passes at thirty six percent, and that's a big reason
George is lacking in the big play department.

Speaker 2 (58:57):
But when he does get rid of the ball inside.

Speaker 4 (59:00):
Fifteen yards, he's fifth in the nation at seventy nine percent.
So he's been efficient. He's prevented Georgia from falling behind
the chains by being very, very proficient in the short
passing game or the intermediate passing game. Bill Connolly put
out an article re ranking the Power five or Power
four now with the Pac twelve having been debumped the

(59:21):
Power four quarterbacks two months into the season. Gunner Stockton
checked it at number six. That's up from number twenty.
I think he really impressed a lot of folks with
the performances he's put together this year, particularly on the
road at Tennessee, scrambling to set up a game winning
touchdown drive, dropped in a really nice pass to the pylon,

(59:43):
hit lost and lucky to help Georgia escape at Tennessee,
and then the fourth quarter performance against Ole Miss as well,
a game where Georgia's defense did not get a stop
until the fourth quarter, and Stockton in company helped them
keep pace in that one. It's one of the reason
people have called Georgia team hard to kill. They've been
very good at playing from behind both this season in

(01:00:04):
the last couple of years, and Stockton has been able
to use his legs on key third downs all season long.
Bill Connolly notes that stockton scrambling has helped them be
nearly perfect in the red zone this season. It's a
little bit like the challenge you get with Vanderbilt, just
in the sense that you have a quarterback who extends plays,

(01:00:27):
is willing to take what the defense gives and doesn't
turn it over a ton just two interceptions this year
for Stockton. He's third in the country in quarterback rating
eighty nine point four. So even though Georgia doesn't hit
a ton of explosive plays Gunner Stockton has managed the
game and he's been able to make big plays in

(01:00:50):
big moments. He comes in number six on that quarterback list.
Arch Manning, by the way down at number thirty five.
That's up six spots from when he was last to
number forty one. This was kind of in the middle
of the non conference slate, and one thing that Bill
Connolly wrote about Arch he said, saddled with a surprisingly
poor run game, Texas yet to have one hundred yard

(01:01:11):
rusher this season and a shaky line one hundred and
twenty second in pressure raid allowed. Arch Banding has been
swimming upstream all season. He still holds onto the ball
too long despite throwing tons and behind the line passes.
I thought Vanderbilt. The game plan against Vanderbilt corrected that
pretty well, as did some of the offensive line play.
It's the complimentary nature of football, the coaches always stress.

Speaker 2 (01:01:33):
Connolly writes.

Speaker 4 (01:01:34):
His footwork on downfield passes still betrays him, but he
was good against Vanderbilt two weeks ago, and a great
November would erase a lot of early season stigma. Other
quarterbacks near the top of this list, according to Bill Connley,
Julian Sayan of Ohio State is number one. It's always
hard to greet the guys, he writes, who have the
best supporting cast. He cited Alabama's Mac Jones as an example.

(01:02:00):
Think about that twenty twenty Alabama team. Devonte Smith the
Heisman Trophy winning receiver Jaylen Waddle for the first half
of that year, and he lead offensive line an elite
running game for Alabama in twenty twenty. Number two haydenes
King from Georgia Tech, up from number twenty nine. He's
the biggest riser on this list despite all the injuries.

(01:02:26):
Haydenes King, Connolly writs is doing everything he possibly can
to drag Tech to the ACC title and the CFP,
and he seems to be getting better in the process.
Number three Fernando Mendoza of Indiana, whose Hoosiers were in
a twelve round fight with Penn State on the road.
A Penn State team that's kind of an interesting case

(01:02:48):
for the committee because.

Speaker 2 (01:02:51):
They're full of talent.

Speaker 4 (01:02:52):
Obviously right now without Drew Aller, without James Franklin, they've
lost six in a row. Penn State, they're three and
six football team. How do you evaluate going to Happy
Valley and winning like Oregon did, like Indiana did. Do
you evaluate Penn State strictly from what their record says
they are or for what the challenge is of playing

(01:03:15):
in that environment against a team that does have a
lot of talent, just hasn't put it together with any
kind of consistency this year. Very interesting resume point for
the committee to take a look at. But Mendoza ranks third,
got some major help from his receivers, but stood in
there delivered some fearless throws on a game winning drive

(01:03:37):
for Indiana as they escaped at Penn State number four
Diego Pavia, who helped Vanderbilt beat Auburn last Saturday. They
needed a lot of points to do it. Auburn, with
a change at quarterback DJ Diurkin taking over as the
interim head coach, they gave Vanderbilt a heck of a

(01:03:58):
fight in Nashville last week. Connolly writes, after all he
has done for Vandy in the past couple of years,
Diego Pavia might have played his best game on Saturday.
With the Commodore's defense getting lit up by Auburn. Pavia
threw for three hundred and seventy seven yards and three
touchdowns while rushing for one hundred and fourteen more. Vanderbilt's
playoff hopes were on the line in that game, and

(01:04:19):
Diego Pavia just would not let them lose. Jaden Mayava
from USC is fifth. He was the top right quarterback
according to the rankings a couple of months ago, after
Stockton at six.

Speaker 2 (01:04:32):
CJ.

Speaker 4 (01:04:32):
Carr from Notre Dame is seventh, Trinidad Shambliss from Ole
Miss is eight, Brendan Soorsby at Cincinnati is nine, Arkansas
Taylor Green comes in tenth, and Ty Simpson from the
Albama Crimson Tide comes in at number eleven. Now, Alabama's
offense hasn't looked quite the same over the past few weeks,
and a lot of that is to do with the

(01:04:53):
struggles they've had on the ground. It's a little bit
similar to Texas in that, yes, they've had some injuries
in the running back room, but Alabama has kind of
substituted that quick passing game, the quick screen game for
their running game, and they've gotten by by the skin
of their teeth a couple of times from converting clutch
third downs winning the turnover margin. They get an Oklahoma

(01:05:16):
team at home that might be the best defense that
Alabama has faced this season. Alabama currently favored by six
and a half over John Mattier, Xavier Robinson and the Sooners,
who have really seemed to find something offensively in the
last couple of games, backed up by that thirty three
to twenty seven win at Tennessee. Ou is not going

(01:05:41):
to make life any easier on a struggling Alabama running game.
And yet the game is in Tuscaloosa. And yet it's
a revenge game for Alabama, who saw its playoff hopes
extinguished in a disastrous showing in Norman last year where
Jalen Milro threw the two pick sixes. Alabama had the
touchdown called back on the phantom illegal formation, but that

(01:06:04):
was the loss between the Oklahoma loss and their other
losses to Tennessee and Vanderbilt that kept Alabama out of
the College Football.

Speaker 2 (01:06:12):
Playoff last year.

Speaker 4 (01:06:14):
Despite having multiple top ten wins, Bama's got the one
loss this year to Floria State. Oklahoma is a team
that has two losses already does not have a head
to head over Texas. It's a massive, massive game in
the SEC, and ty Simpson will be a big part

(01:06:36):
of the story.

Speaker 2 (01:06:37):
Other interesting names on the list Texas.

Speaker 4 (01:06:39):
A and M's Marcel Reid comes in at number twelve,
up from number twenty six, and that Aggie offense is
looking legit. Casey Concepcion has been able to really take
the top off of defenses. A and M hasn't exactly
lit teams up through the air, but they're really balanced

(01:07:00):
on offense. They've got two good tight ends that Reed
can count on. Mike Elko's got the Aggies in a
pretty good spot right now, and they went in and
beat up on a Missouri team who had their backup
quarterback last week. They get to host South Carolina at
eleven o'clock on ESPN, kind of the last big chance

(01:07:24):
South Carolina has to make a statement this year. They
have to go three and oh the rest of the
way to be Bowl eligible. They've lost four in a row.
Had Alabama on the ropes, the tide slipped away thanks
to Jeremy Bernard's clutch plays late as well as a
forced fumble by the Tie defense late in that ball game.
Then they had to play Old Miss. Last week South

(01:07:45):
Carolina did lost thirty to fourteen. Never really got to
rid them offensively. They closed with A and M. It's
their final SEC game before facing Coastal Carolina and Clemson.
And if this game, if this game was in Columbia,
I'd say, yeah, maybe this is a trap. Maybe this
is a banana appeal for Texas.

Speaker 8 (01:08:04):
A and M.

Speaker 4 (01:08:05):
Before they see the Long Horns a couple of well
actually two weeks from today, when they see the Long Horns,
but at Kyle Field in College Station. I think A
and M will roll. Other games on the slate, Notre
Dame takes on Pitt eleven AM ABC. Texas fans, your

(01:08:27):
Panther fans in this one today, Pittsburgh gets seven to two,
right number twenty two in the land, Notre Dame ninth
in the CFP rankings. Third loss might make it difficult
for Notre Dame. They just don't have that many more
opportunities to play ranked opponents on their schedule. After this
game against the pitt Panthers, Notre Dame closes with Syracuse

(01:08:49):
and Stanford, who have each really struggled this year, particularly
on offense. Those are not going to be valued as
big wins by the committee. CJ pointed out Notre Dame
on their seven game winning streak, has won games by
an average of twenty six points, and it is that
that game control that he thinks the committee got right

(01:09:13):
in terms of putting Notre Dame up ahead of Texas
in the rankings. And as we mentioned before, USC takes
on Iowa Trojans kind of dark horse playoff Candidacy hinges
on a win against six and three Iowa today, who
dropped only one spot in the rankings after that close

(01:09:33):
loss at home against Oregon. Ole Miss hosts Florida at
six o'clock. Baylor hosts number thirteen Utah, who is seven
and two losses coming to BYU in Texas Tech. BYU
hosts TCU in a late night game in Provo that
one on ESPN, and Miami hosts NC State that was

(01:09:57):
another riser in this week's rankings. A two thirty game
on s NC State already helped dash the hopes of
Georgia Tech for a potential that large bid. With an
upset victory there, might they do the same to Miami,
who just hasn't quite looked like the team they were
at the start of the year. Texas Tech trying to
back up it's big win over BYU, They will host UCF,

(01:10:19):
who just lost at home to Houston two thirty on Fox.
That game in Lubbock just some of the games that
we're keeping an eye on on this weekend's college football slate.
Up next, we'll shift our attention back to the big
matchup in Athens between Texas and Georgia. Evan Veth from
Inside Texas joins the program for his thoughts and his

(01:10:40):
preview right here on Sports Radio AM thirteen hundred Zone
and the iHeartRadio app you on a Friday afternoon on

(01:11:02):
Sports Radio AM thirteen hundred. The Zone joined now by
Evan Veeth of Inside Texas, who will be on his
way to Athens tonight to cover this big time top
ten matchup in the SEC. Evan, will this be your
first trip down between the hedges?

Speaker 1 (01:11:22):
Yeah, that'll be my first one, first trip I've gone
on since Kentucky and then yeah, first time in Athens.

Speaker 8 (01:11:27):
I've not been there yet, so really excited for great things.

Speaker 4 (01:11:30):
Yeah, it's been it's been quite the road schedule, certainly
for Texas this season. And I want to start there
with with the schedule for a moment, which is it's
been a topic of conversation among kind of longhorned circles
this season, a little bit of a quirk with this
being Georgia's last SEC game. Meanwhile, Texas has three more

(01:11:51):
and two are against top five teams. And Sark was
asked about this and yeah, the schedule is the schedule.
Do you think he has a valid and that he's
a little bit uncomfortable with the way it kind of
shook out?

Speaker 8 (01:12:04):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:12:04):
I do think he even claimed that he was kind
of uncomfortable with how it ended up going. And I
think it's something he knew coming into the year, knew
he had to be ready for and gave credit to
his team. They maybe weren't ready for it the start
of the year with having to go right into Columbus
and then you know, that Florida game definitely caught them
off guard, but they battled back and otherwise pretty unfair

(01:12:25):
may not be the word, but just a daunting task
because most of the culch ball world does do those
out of conference games early in the year the way
that Texas does, the way that Stark has said in
the past that he likes to do with starting your
four out of conference and going from there. And you know,
it's not the fall to Georgia over South Carolina. The
teams like that that play out of conference late in
the season. But you know, it seemed like Georgia after

(01:12:45):
this Texas game take they're playing two out of conference games.
They're done with SEC play after Saturday, which is just
such an odd thing to have to to be able
to do, at least for your team, when Texas is
going to have to play two more SEC games, one
of them arguably the most important of the year, or
at least we'll see how that goes with the A
and M game versus this Georgia game.

Speaker 8 (01:13:03):
But the longer.

Speaker 1 (01:13:05):
The only thing that's really unfair about the schedule for them.

Speaker 8 (01:13:07):
You know, they did get that by.

Speaker 1 (01:13:09):
Before Georgia, which I do think is you know, people
critiquing what Starks said, like, yeah, they did get that,
but you know, Georgia got to be fully healthy when
they played Tennessee early in the year. Texas had a
lot of attrition going on before they even got to Oklahoma,
which was kind of their first really big one. I
know they lost to Florida, but teams like Georgia did
get it a little easier this year. I think we'll
miss another example where they just played a lot of

(01:13:29):
early SEC games, so their health was a lot better.
They kind of knew what they were going to come in,
and as a more talented team, it's a little easier
early in the season. Just feed better if you're healthy.
So I do get what Stark was saying about. You know,
this has just been a weird schedule with all the
road games having to end out with three pretty tough ones.

Speaker 8 (01:13:45):
Blade.

Speaker 4 (01:13:46):
Yeah, that month away from home in terms of you know,
those four consecutive games were certainly tough. But on the
other hand, right Texas didn't have to play Old Miss
didn't have to play Alabama. Definitely an interesting topic going forward,
but let's let's dive more into this matchup tomorrow night
in Athens, and starting with the defense. This morning, you

(01:14:06):
wrote a great piece on Colin Simmons, called him an
ever evolving game wrecker, and what do you think it
is that's taken him to another level? Helped him figure
out another gear here in twenty twenty five.

Speaker 1 (01:14:20):
I really think that Florida game helped him a lot.
You know, he had an unfortunate game against Ohio State
because they're playing so much that quick hit or get
the ball out before Simmons can really make an impact
on the game, so he saw no stacks from him
and then kind of was pressing and at a conference
outside of that, those are the three games he was
either kind of taking plays off or doing too much
and getting penalized for it. But then he comes into

(01:14:41):
Florida and it's a tough game for the defense, but
he looked like Texas's best run defender. But it's not
something you've said about Colin Simmons before this season, and
he's really backed that up throughout the season, and I
think that one was a really good branching off point
for him to go from, Hey, I can contribute in
the run game. I can be a force even when
I'm not stacking a pass rusher, and then from there
you you get your Oklahoma games. And I think the

(01:15:02):
Vanderbilt game really was his best one as the Longhorn,
where you saw him both in the run game, and
I'd say that first force fumble is really a run
for fumble, not a strip sack, even though pab was
the one who kept it. And then from there he
was just dominating the tackles on Vanderbilt. And you know
it's gonna be a better offensive line he faces this
week against Georgia, but one that's shown cracks and one
that's using a lot of true freshman as well. So

(01:15:23):
he really has evolved in the way that he has
become a good run stopper. He's not someone that's pressing
to get sacks anymore. And when things are coming to
this guy and he's just playing his game, it's so
hard to stop him. He's one of the three to
five best in the nation at that.

Speaker 4 (01:15:37):
Yeah, there's it's been so much fun to watch Colin
Simmons this year. We're talking to Evan and v the
be inside Texas. I thought you also had a good
note in one of your articles leading up to this matchup.
When this defense is fully healthy, the results have been
pretty darn good.

Speaker 2 (01:15:53):
But that means twenty.

Speaker 4 (01:15:55):
Five different guys might factor in to this game, given
that blank student athlete availability report coming into the week.
So with all these different personnel groups that Texas uses,
I mean, are there any kind of rotational guys you
think might take on a heightened importance in this particular
matchup with Georgia.

Speaker 1 (01:16:14):
Yeah, just about a joke like how happier Texas fans
and just seeing nothing to report there on that availability.
But yeah, to your point, I twenty five is about
the number that I expected. That could be twenty two,
it could be twenty eight. You know, I left out
Kobe Blacks, a cornerback who you thought was gonna have
a big impact this year hasn't really. I think he's
in battling stuff kind of you know, injury, that's something

(01:16:35):
fully kept him out of the game. But he's looked
a little a bit of a step behind. I do
think on the topic of cornerbacks, I've been seeing the
praise of the kid Phillips a lot recently.

Speaker 8 (01:16:44):
He had a really good.

Speaker 1 (01:16:45):
Gaming in Standard Built when they had had to have
him out there. He played twenty snaplings that was the
highest among SEC games.

Speaker 8 (01:16:51):
And he looks the part.

Speaker 1 (01:16:52):
And I know Jialen Bilbo is gonna play a veteran.

Speaker 8 (01:16:55):
They want to keep him on the field, and I'm
not saying that Phillips.

Speaker 1 (01:16:57):
Is going to take over his role, but if that goes,
you know, in eighty twenty to a sixty forty snap
share or something along those lines, I wouldn't be a
really surprised.

Speaker 8 (01:17:05):
I think he's a really good cornerback.

Speaker 1 (01:17:07):
I think they're gonna need to rotate a round cornerbacks
in the game like this to make sure they're healthy,
So i'd expect to see him there.

Speaker 8 (01:17:12):
And then you know, you know, on the.

Speaker 1 (01:17:14):
Defensive line, that's definitely where like Lance Jackson and Brad
Spence aren't going to have maybe the snapcount numbers that
you're seeing when they're playing Missipi State or even Oklahoma,
but they're going to be those two d dressers that
come on when they need a little bit more freshness.
So they need to spark Jackson to get bigger on
the run game, spence on those two third down pass sets,
they're going to read some having. I think those are

(01:17:35):
the kind of guys that will catch Shordia fans by
surprise because they aren't those frontline starters that you're aware of.

Speaker 4 (01:17:40):
Now Flipping sides of the field, where do you think
Texas might be able to exploit the Georgia defense tomorrow.

Speaker 2 (01:17:48):
It's not.

Speaker 4 (01:17:48):
It's not an easy defense to play against, but their
numbers maybe not as as iron clad as they've been
in the past.

Speaker 1 (01:17:57):
Well, I think the big difference between the core of
versus pass rush that you're seeing from this year committed
to last is last season when you were had a
knack to kind of find himself into pressure and get back,
and he was worse when you were bringing five or
six players. So Georgia could rush Galen Walker from his
off ball lineback position, and Walker had his probably the
best game of his career in that first game that

(01:18:17):
they played, because he was just all over the field.
The Texas O line could couldn't handle him. But in
this year's game, I don't think that Georgia has quite
the talent on the D line to win with four players. Often,
you know, Texas o line has its own problems, but
just four man rushers have him in the forte of
Georgia this year. They like to bring their linebackers down.
They like to have Alan or wilsoner Cole come pressure from.

Speaker 8 (01:18:38):
An off ball spot.

Speaker 1 (01:18:39):
But Manning is much better against the blitz than he
is not without blitz. I posted that on Twitter and
made an article about it earlier in the week that like,
that's one wrinkle where Texas may have the advantage because
George is getting you to blitz to get to Manning.
But Manning kind of wants to have them blitz him
because he likes setting to his guys who are one
on one in coverage, and he likes to scramble around
and extend plays.

Speaker 8 (01:18:59):
That's where he that is.

Speaker 1 (01:19:00):
That's I think of the one where he found Wingo
deep in the Mississippi State game where they brought six
players and he's a will just go to his left
and throw a deep off the back, off his back foot,
but off the back of the defense and something. He's
got a seventy yard game to Ryan Wingo. So I
do think that's where the hardest thing for Kurby some
part to deal with is hey, can we win with four?
And if not, like, can we can we trust our

(01:19:20):
cornerbacks to go one on one almost the whole game
if Manny's going to play at the level gads last two.

Speaker 4 (01:19:25):
Yeah, And it's a Georgia defense that's done a good
job in limiting explosives and it's a Texas team that's
been able to kind of create explosives with this quick
screen game. And how much do you think that factors
into two sarks game plan?

Speaker 6 (01:19:40):
Is it?

Speaker 4 (01:19:40):
Is it maybe even more than usual against these great
Georgia linebackers.

Speaker 1 (01:19:45):
Yeah, I think more than maybe they did last year,
because clearly the Texas team isn't gonna win football games
because they're out out rushing and out dominating teams on
the on the line of scrimmage, and George is not
the kind of team you want to test that with.
So I don't know how much Texas is going to
ask the traven wiser at a runner thinks to be
a lot of pass blogging screen game, And yeah, I
wouldn't be surprised if you got another one of those

(01:20:06):
Ryan Wingo bubbles or reverse to nibblet within the first
five plays of the game. I think there need to
set a lot because Georgia struggle at times to tackle
in the open spaces of their cornerbacks, and Tennessee really
exploded this whole missed the same thing. They can either
be taught behind or when they're one on one players
like Ryan Wingo, who are just athletically better than most
college players. I might be able to get some explosives

(01:20:27):
out of that. So I do think Sark would be
Sark would be pretty dumb not to at least try
to get Wingos. Some of those manufacturer touches nibble it
as well, where he's just get him one on one
with a second safety or a cornerback and just see
what happens.

Speaker 8 (01:20:40):
That's a good way to try.

Speaker 1 (01:20:41):
To get your your seven seven yard games that suddenly
turned into seventy yard games.

Speaker 4 (01:20:45):
Yeah, good way to stay ahead of the chains too.
We're talking with Evan v the Inside Texas about this
matchup with Georgia and Evan we talked a couple of
weeks ago about Texas in eleven personnel and how that
you know, one tight set can kind of open up
the rest of the offense in a way that it's
looked better than some other sets this season. But this

(01:21:07):
week we heard from Sarf about his tight ends right so,
and how much they've improved in that room. Do you
think those guys will have a bigger impact in a
game like this.

Speaker 1 (01:21:19):
Yeah, I do think that there's gonna be a little
more that twelve personnel that fans won. I know a
lot of fans would prefer the entire game was played
with eleven and tempo and all of that, but there's
still sets that Stark on the idea of the screen game.
There's some plays that he really likes the screen out
of with twelve personnel and a lot of tight end
screens he does out of there, and I know a

(01:21:40):
way he thinks he can get wiser and more involved
and when they go heavy, But I don't think Texas
with seven big guys is quite as good as Georgia
with seven big guys on the field. When they can
add an extra linebacker, that's what they prefer to do.
So yes, I do think your talentsends and your Washington's
and Shannon's have improved over the year. But me personally,
I'm just throwing jack Enries out there hoping he's a

(01:22:02):
little more involved. A four to four podcast game from
them would be great for the Texas team. I don't
think it's going to be this one eleven personnel switch.
I know Sark likes to operate in twelve and operate
a bit heavily, but I just don't think it's the
best matchup for the Texas long warrant team against Georgia,
who they're at their best and they can be big,
and they're at their best in their linebackers gonna be
running around the field and having these college tight ends

(01:22:25):
locked them who just frankly shouldn't be on them when
they're going to be playing in the NFL next year.

Speaker 4 (01:22:30):
And you know, I know those tight ends can impact
the running game as well. Georgia's been really stingy against
the run this year. Texas has been a kind of
patchy at best in establishing a running game. And you
wrote that Texas can maybe lose the rushing battle this week,
but win the so called war of the football game.
Can you break that down for us, because I know

(01:22:50):
Texas fans are thinking, oh, oh, if we can't run it
on the road in Athens, this is trouble.

Speaker 8 (01:22:56):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:22:56):
I mean, you can separate football into five in individual
ideas in battles where it's your run offense versus their
run defense, vice versa.

Speaker 8 (01:23:06):
Same with the passing game and then special teams.

Speaker 1 (01:23:08):
And if you think back to last year, you know,
in the first game, Georgia just won all of that,
but really in the in the championship game, Texas was
the better passing team probably on both sides of the ball,
but Georgia was far superior on special teams and they
are far better at running the football than Texas was.
But this year, Texas's special teams is better. I do
think that they're going to be able to affect the
game when it comes to the pass rush and stop

(01:23:30):
in the run on Georgia's side of things. So if
Texas is you know, maybe losing that rushing battle, which
I think of all those five that is the biggest
difference Georgia's run.

Speaker 8 (01:23:38):
Defense versus Texas run game.

Speaker 1 (01:23:40):
Even if they aren't the leading rushing team, and why
is there's not.

Speaker 8 (01:23:43):
A four and a half yard per carry runner and
they're not getting backs involved as much.

Speaker 1 (01:23:47):
I still do think that they can, you know, using
the screen game and using those short passes, find ways that,
like you said, day ahead of the six and not
let Georgia pin their years back on third down and
really get at Manning from that just four set a package.
So yeah, they probably won't be the better rushing team
this game. You're probably gonna see more yards than a
better yard per carry from Chounsey Bowens and Nate Frazier

(01:24:08):
than you are, Contraven Wiser. But I do think Texas
can stay solid on special teams and not overly lose
that and let their defense and arch Manning make some
big plays. I do think they can win a game
like that. I just I hope that Sarkakon doesn't kind
of hit his head against the wall trying to get
fifteen carries to Wisner to have one hundred yards rushing,
just to have a hundred yards rushing.

Speaker 4 (01:24:28):
Will be very interested to watch the way that game
plan goes. Okay, before I let you go, Evan, I've
got to ask you a couple of a couple of
mean questions, because I think they're I think they're kind
of trapped questions. But true or false in your opinion
this is a must win game for Texas to make
the College Football Playoff.

Speaker 8 (01:24:46):
I think technically not true. There's definitely a.

Speaker 1 (01:24:49):
World where they lose this in gob DA and M
and it looks good. But I will say, like Texas
losing this game or Georgia comfortable win, where Texas really
is an in it might all but do it for
the long ones. So I do think there's a world
where you know, you lose by three and Athens and
then go and beat A and M looks like the
better team and you're nine and three and they they're

(01:25:09):
between that and a big twelve just general bid. Maybe
Texas can get in that way. But I do think
winning here is like somely your.

Speaker 8 (01:25:18):
Ticket might just be punched unless that A and M.

Speaker 4 (01:25:20):
Game will blow out in favor of the Aggies, right,
and there's always the looming possibility of Arkansas. And then
if you had to predict the outcome of this game,
what kind of decides it? And do you have a
score prediction you're willing to share here? I know it's
a it's a bold step.

Speaker 8 (01:25:38):
I so I did. I do think?

Speaker 1 (01:25:40):
I said Georgia thirty four, Texas thirty over on inside
Texas around So yeah, yeah, I do think. I do
think both these teams can put up numbers. I think
the problem is that in a game that's going to
be high scoring because you know, I do think Texas's
secondary will be better with Tappa McDonald. That doesn't completely
alleviate the problems that they've had. So I do think
Georgia is gonna be able to move the ball on

(01:26:01):
them and score. And I do think that Georgia in
a game like that where it's down to the fourth quarter,
who can get the most points in the last two
possessions each, I do think that's where it favors Georgia
because they've done that this year.

Speaker 8 (01:26:13):
They've done that when they bet Tennessee.

Speaker 1 (01:26:15):
They did that against Ole Miss, you know Ole Miss
and stop them until the fourth quarter, but uh or
they didn't stop will Miss until the fourth quarter, but
Olmost never stopped them. So they won that game because
of that. So I do think that that's going to
be in the favor of Georgia where they're just better.

Speaker 8 (01:26:28):
Suited to win a shootout and just out.

Speaker 1 (01:26:30):
Great and get a few players go their way late
in a game that you know, you play that last
second two minutes of the game one hundred times, that's
the fifty to fifty. But you just catch Georgia on
that one of fifty against them and suddenly they take down.

Speaker 8 (01:26:42):
The long Ones.

Speaker 4 (01:26:43):
Evan, is this Georgia offense the best that Texas has
faced this year?

Speaker 8 (01:26:49):
I'll say both yes and no.

Speaker 1 (01:26:51):
I know that's kind of a cop out, but I
do think it's going to operate better than Ohio State
did because Ohio State was breaking in a new quarterback.
But I do think you just look at the two
offenses Ohio State Georgia right now in Ohio States is better.
So long Ones only do with fourteen Ohio State. But
Ohio State definitely had the right team plan to win
with fourteen. I don't think it's gonna be do low
scoring in Athens.

Speaker 2 (01:27:12):
He's Evan V from inside Texas.

Speaker 4 (01:27:14):
Heavan, where can we follow along with you from Georgia
on game day?

Speaker 1 (01:27:19):
Just at evand for on my Twitter will be tweeting
out some of stuff on the game from the Athens
environment and then over on Inside Texas We're going to
have a game thread going a lot of updates during
and after the game about what's going on with the
long run.

Speaker 8 (01:27:31):
So thanks for checking out me there, Evan.

Speaker 4 (01:27:33):
We always love your your breakdowns, appreciate the time. Thanks,
thanks for making time for us today and enjoy the
game of course, man, have a good one. That is
Evan V from inside Texas. Hey, we want to hear
from you as well. Not too much time left in
the show this afternoon here on sports Radio AM thirteen
hundred The Zone, but it's not too late to get involved.

(01:27:55):
Text the word Texas to eight one five three zero.
That's eight one five five three zero Texas, followed by
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We'll try and get to those as we continue on
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