All Episodes

September 5, 2025 42 mins

In this episode:

The hosts provide a deep dive into the defensive slugfest between Ohio State and Texas, comparing it to the classic 2011 LSU vs. Alabama game and analyzing the immense hype surrounding Arch Manning's first start.

They break down Bill Belichick's rough coaching debut at North Carolina, pointing to schematic issues and predictable defensive calls that TCU's offense easily exploited.

It's declared a "defensive coordinator's weekend," with high praise for the game plans of Ohio State's Matt Patricia, LSU's Blake Baker, and Florida State's Tony White.

Other major Week 1 games are recapped, including LSU's victory over Clemson, Florida State's impressive win, and Miami's defeat of Notre Dame.

The episode concludes with a look ahead to Week 2, highlighting the Michigan vs. Oklahoma game and identifying potential "upset specials" like South Florida vs. Florida.

Timestamps:

00:07 Intro: Ohio State vs. Texas Game of the Year?

00:49 2011 LSU vs. Alabama: A Historical Comparison

01:44 A Defensive Slugfest: Patricia vs. Kwiatkowski

02:54 Analyzing Texas' Offensive Struggles & Game Control

04:43 The Arch Manning Debut: Separating Hype from Reality

06:07 Steve Sarkisian's Red Zone Play-Calling Criticized

08:30 How Matt Patricia's Defense Dominated for Ohio State

10:13 Recap: LSU vs. Clemson

12:49 The Noles Are Back! Florida State Upsets Alabama

15:39 Catholics vs. Convicts: Notre Dame vs. Miami Recap

19:30 LaNorris Sellers Shines for South Carolina

21:07 The "Parcells Test" for Young Quarterbacks

23:49 Bill Belichick's Disastrous UNC Debut vs. TCU

26:54 The "Mickey Mouse" Balloon Incident

28:04 Schematic Breakdown: How TCU's Offense Beat UNC's Defense

32:34 Week 2 Preview

32:46 Top 25 Matchup: Michigan vs. Oklahoma

36:53 Upset Alert? South Florida vs. Florida

37:25 The Border War: Kansas vs. Missouri

40:19 Sicko Game of the Week: Western Kentucky vs. Toledo

41:14 Outro

» Join Felix and me each Wednesday as we dive deep into the game we love!

MatchQuarters is a reader-supported publication. So, make sure to subscribe.

© 2025 MatchQuarters | Cody Alexander | All rights reserved.



This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.matchquarters.com/subscribe
Mark as Played

Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

Stuff You Should Know
The Joe Rogan Experience

The Joe Rogan Experience

The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.

Two Guys, Five Rings: Matt, Bowen & The Olympics

Two Guys, Five Rings: Matt, Bowen & The Olympics

Two Guys (Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers). Five Rings (you know, from the Olympics logo). One essential podcast for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. Bowen Yang (SNL, Wicked) and Matt Rogers (Palm Royale, No Good Deed) of Las Culturistas are back for a second season of Two Guys, Five Rings, a collaboration with NBC Sports and iHeartRadio. In this 15-episode event, Bowen and Matt discuss the top storylines, obsess over Italian culture, and find out what really goes on in the Olympic Village.

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2026 iHeartMedia, Inc.