Texas Texas A&M 2

Mark and I chop it up about the Longhorns and Aggies. Where the rivalry is headed and what it’s meant to us as Texans!!!

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
And we're back.

Speaker 2 (00:04):
Fan Poll Sports, a true tech sports podcast for a
true Texas sports fan.

Speaker 1 (00:09):
Once again. I'm your host, Ronnie Langford and.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Back at it, back at It, back at it with
my brother, my main man fifty grand Mark Ramirez Mark
season two. Man about to kick off. Here we go again.
How are you, my friend?

Speaker 3 (00:29):
I am ready.

Speaker 4 (00:30):
And the first thing I gotta say is howdie and
give them.

Speaker 1 (00:34):
I'm gonna start your shit already. I swear to God.
I swear to God.

Speaker 2 (00:38):
Hey man, I wanted to get together because you know,
you started it off the right way. Talk about the rivalry.
The rivalry is back. It's funny that we're doing this
program today. There was a joint press conference. I don't
know where it was exactly, but I know Texas and
Texas A and M did a joint press conference earlier

(01:01):
today and both athletic directors came out and they have
a new sponsor for what they are calling the Lone
Stars Showdown, which it's been called that in the past.
But as I told my son in law, we're from Texas.
We don't do showdowns. We do shootouts. So they can

(01:21):
call it the showdown. They can put up any pretty
logo that they want, they can spray whatever they want
on the field.

Speaker 1 (01:28):
At the end of the day, man, this is going
to be a good old knockdown, drag.

Speaker 2 (01:33):
Out ballroom brawl, so to speak, when the Aggis and
the Longhorns get back on the field in November, as
we begin to prepare for the renewed rivalry, For the
rebirth of this rivalry after twelve long seasons, My friends,

(01:56):
what are your initial thoughts about us getting back together
and having this tradition back in our lives.

Speaker 3 (02:06):
Oh?

Speaker 4 (02:06):
Man, it is awesome, And isn't it funny how it's
number twelve twelve years that we've been waiting. That's not
an accident, that's not just saying something. But when it
comes to Texas D two D twots, when they step
on the field, you and I both know that blood
can boil, women can scream like girls sometimes the men

(02:30):
and we just can't wait, man, I can't wait for
that game.

Speaker 1 (02:33):
Man, it's gonna be It's gonna be fantastic.

Speaker 2 (02:36):
You know, when I met with Cody last week and
we talked about this, Dude, this game has a different
dynamic for us because of the fact that obviously Cody
proud graduate of Texas A and M and now part
of our family. So he was talking about how that's
how that's gonna be different. You know that that Saturday

(02:58):
is going to be different for him because he's never
really he's never really been involved with this environment when
it comes to this rivalry as far as the dedication
of the fan base that we have in my family
in comparison to, you know, the dedication that he has
into the and M family. Like I told him, I said,
you know, it's funny because for years, you know, I'd

(03:20):
get together with you guys, we'd go over to Julian's
house and watch the game and everything, and from time
to time, you know, Guido would invite some of his
buddies in, and you know, a couple of those guys
had the opportunity to watch a couple of those games
with us when he was in college and or after
I I should say, after he was out of college.
And so it was one of those things, dude, that

(03:41):
I always felt like I was surrounded by more Aggies
than I was Longhorns a lot of those times, you know.
And but now now the tables have kind of flipped.
As far as Cody goes in the fact that he's
going to have more Longhorns around him, probably than he
will have Aggi's. But you know, when we look back
on this rivalry, dude, I mean again, it's kind of

(04:02):
what we talked about, we've talked about in the past,
and what it means to A and M and what
it means to Texas fans to have these two teams
back on the field. When you look at the last
twelve seasons, man that they've been apart, neither one of
these programs has really separated themselves in the way that

(04:22):
they had hoped when they separated way back. When where
do you see these two Where do you see these
two teams now? And what are your expectations of the
way the fans are going to react to these two teams?

Speaker 3 (04:40):
Right now? I see the Longhorns.

Speaker 4 (04:42):
Let's just say the game was today, and I'm being
honest with myself, even though I'm a big time Haggie fan,
I think right now they have a slightly better edge
on the game if it was right now.

Speaker 3 (04:54):
But from now till then, you got to think.

Speaker 4 (04:56):
About wins, losses, injuries, what quarterback you know, I don't
even know which long one quarterback is going to start.
I mean, there's just a lot of controversy there. I mean,
I'll let you bout your nails about that. But on
the aggie side, for me, it's I'm very hopeful because

(05:17):
I feel that the coaching that they've had in the
last twelve years.

Speaker 3 (05:20):
I mean, other other than that, a couple of seasons.

Speaker 4 (05:23):
There with Johnny Manziel, I think he erased a lot
of the mistakes and a lot of the flaws that
they had sometimes. And I know you would probably not
agree with that, but he was a talent, you know.

Speaker 3 (05:36):
And you know there's been other players you know.

Speaker 4 (05:38):
You're talking about, like you know, there's dat Wind that
we can remember from the past year before, years before that,
and other players that have just come to mind that
like the roller decks in my head, they're just like spinning.
But for me on the side, I think I'm hopeful
with a new coach, a new philosophy. I've seen some things,
you know, on the Twitter sphere and all that, some

(05:59):
video him talk being and the players and their mentality
and their mindset. Now it's night and day from last
last year. And thankfully it's a different mindset. Knowing that
you have that ut game on the schedule now, and
not only that, on a personal level, for you and
for me, you know, we've been counting the days, we've

(06:20):
been counting the minutes, and it was kind of inevitable.

Speaker 3 (06:22):
You know. It's just not the same. It's just not
a Texas.

Speaker 4 (06:28):
Football celebration or ceremony or anything football related in Texas
unless the Eggs are playing the Longhorns.

Speaker 3 (06:36):
It's just it has to be. And I'm thankful that
it's back.

Speaker 2 (06:40):
You know, we'll touch more on where this rivalry lands
on the all time list, man, but you're right, you know,
Like I told Cody, I said, you know, for various reasons,
the leftovers over the last twelve years on Thanksgiving did
not taste the same, you know what I mean. I mean,

(07:02):
you you knew, you knew you were watching the Cowboys
at three, and if that A and M Texas game
was and was that night, you know, you were excited,
you were ready for it. If it was gonna be
Friday morning, you could you could probably eat a little
more stuff in before you went to bed the night before.

(07:25):
And uh, but when that's taken away, I mean, and
like I told Cody, you know, scoreboard, Trump Saul right, like,
like there's nothing that.

Speaker 1 (07:33):
Can beat scoreboard.

Speaker 2 (07:34):
When scoreboard shows that your side has more points than
the other side, scoreboard wins. And I told him as
much fun as I've had poking and prodding at Aggie
fans about twenty seven to twenty five and that big
walk off field goal by Justin Tucker in twenty eleven,

(07:55):
that those leftover seven tasted the same. Man, it hasn't
been the same feeling, you know. And I know like
Texas tried to bring Texas Tech TCU the last few
years Baylor as their their last game as their rival.

Speaker 1 (08:13):
Uh No, it didn't work. It didn't work.

Speaker 2 (08:16):
I know, Aggie fan and and and some of the
Aggi department athletic department try to say that LSU was there,
was their rival all along, and LSU.

Speaker 1 (08:24):
And them had this hit stop it, stop it. You
did not. You did not have that.

Speaker 2 (08:29):
You know, you're lying to yourself, you know, but I'm
sure it was a hard pill to swallow as as
you saw Tech. Like you said, you know, right now,
if they played right now, Texas would probably have the
better team today than they would down the line later
this season, because it will be interesting to see how
this this season plays out with these two teams.

Speaker 1 (08:49):
How much of a pain in the ass has it
been living with that for twelve years?

Speaker 2 (08:55):
Man, knowing that you didn't get you haven't had this
chance as a as a program, or as a fan
base to get back at Longhorn fan and Longhorn Football
for winning that game in Kyle Field. How does that?
How has that made you feel these last twelve seasons.

Speaker 4 (09:13):
I don't think it's a it was that kind of feelings.
It's just more of a like a disappointment. You know,
you don't want to leave a conference. You don't want
to leave probably one of the most longest standing rivalries
against one of your rival teams and walk off the
field with a loss. I mean, it was kind of
just more disappointment than just taken at me.

Speaker 3 (09:35):
And I was kind of glad that they left.

Speaker 4 (09:37):
And I'm on a personal note because it's just you
get tired of it, man, You get tired of Okay,
everything is Texas, Longhorn is Texas.

Speaker 3 (09:45):
Longharned that to get the Texas Long.

Speaker 4 (09:47):
Horned Channel or whatever in ESPN and all that money,
and then it just looks like the writing on the
wall Is, Hey, man, you really don't care about us anyway,
So we're just gonna up and leave.

Speaker 3 (09:59):
Now, the side of that is, you're you're.

Speaker 4 (10:02):
Going to a conference that's pretty much been dominant for
man as far as we can probably remember in the
last decade or maybe even longer. You know, you want
to go, you know, play the man to beat the man,
you know what I mean, instead of be the man
to beat the man.

Speaker 3 (10:16):
You got to you gotta be there. You got to
be in that mix. You got to be in those.

Speaker 4 (10:22):
In those confrontations, you got to be in those battles.
You got you got to set yourself apart, you know.

Speaker 3 (10:28):
And I hate to say that, I think.

Speaker 4 (10:29):
That Long Horned Network was the last straw. And I
mean I blame the Longhorns for it, because what you're
doing is you're trying to and again I'm not getting
it's about money, and I get it it's about the
getting the airtime. But when it's all just kind of
Texas is a big state. You know, there's other teams,

(10:50):
you know, But at the same time, you and I
both know that the rivalry between oh you and Texas
it's slightly slightly.

Speaker 3 (10:58):
You know, uh, you know a little bit above.

Speaker 4 (11:01):
The A and M Texas ribery, but I think that
was the start of.

Speaker 3 (11:07):
Something great for A and M.

Speaker 4 (11:09):
Because you're trying to separate yourself, you try to get
out of the shadow. You want to create your own
path and you want to do something different. And for
the for the most part, I know that they haven't
won anything, and I know they haven't won a championship,
and I didn't expect that at first, but they did
have make some good moves. You know, there was the
the you know, the Manzel win over Bama, and then
there's you know, there's there's games that you just okay,

(11:32):
this is what this program can be, you know, to
get to the top of the heat.

Speaker 3 (11:36):
But it's a lot a.

Speaker 4 (11:37):
Lot of the times, you know, when you're in the SEC,
A lot of those players are you and I both
know they're at Bama, you know, or they're at LSU,
or they're you know, it's just Georgia, you know, of
late and I mean, those guys just get a lot
of the top tier players. But you know, the good
thing is is an M I think made a I

(11:58):
want to say it's seventy percent impact in my mind
of what they needed to accomplish now, I think.

Speaker 3 (12:03):
Next year or this year having a new coach.

Speaker 4 (12:07):
Man, it's just his mentality and the way he speaks
and the way he commands respect. I hate comparing him
to this, but it kind of reminds me of like
Lou Holst and he was there but Notre Dame, which
is funny because they're playing Notre Dame to open the season.
But I mean that's what it kind of reminds me of.
It's a different kind of feel. It's a different kind
of anxiousness that I have. And I can't wait, man,

(12:32):
I can't wait for the season to start, and then
the way it ends, you know, with these two teams
playing again, it's just, man, it's going to be awesome,
you know.

Speaker 2 (12:39):
To piggyback off of what some of the things that
you just said, man, I mean, I do agree. I
think the Longhorn Network was the final straw, not only
for A and M, but for some of those other teams. Obviously,
Nebraska left, Colorado left, and I think that was stupid
on their part when they left the Big Twelve because
there was no reason for them to leave. It wasn't

(12:59):
like they were anything special. Same thing with Missouri. I mean,
obviously Missouri followed you guys into the SEC and they've
they've become a little more consistent the last few years.
And so Missouri football, I guess you could say, is
kind of on an upswing. So yeah, no, I agree.
I think the Longhorn Network, you know, screwed over primarily

(13:20):
screwed over this rivalry, and they did screw over some
of the teams that.

Speaker 1 (13:23):
Were in that conference and stuff.

Speaker 2 (13:25):
But the flip side to that was you you guys,
And I say this as Aggie fans, but I also
mean this to the Nebraska fans, the Colorado fans, and
the Missouri fans. You guys needed to understand that, whether
you like it or not, Texas is a bigger brand
than your programs are, and they were a bigger brand
at that time than your programs were at that time.

(13:48):
Look at look Nebraska, Colorado and A and M in
my opinion, left for bigger, better conferences. And if yeah
to get better now, are they better than when they
started there? Yeah, I'm sure they are, but they haven't
grown or competed at the level that people thought that

(14:09):
they would. Because those programs have a history of being
great programs, but you didn't elevate to another level. You
didn't supersede anything that you had already done. You still
stayed at the same level for most of the time
that you've been gone.

Speaker 1 (14:25):
Missouri.

Speaker 2 (14:26):
I guess you could say they've improved more sure, because
because they are better than what they were, they have
benefited from the SEC.

Speaker 1 (14:34):
But all of you, I think all of you have
improved in a lot of ways.

Speaker 2 (14:37):
You just haven't had the impact, like you say, those
players at Bama, LSU, Georgia, I mean, even Florida Tennessee.
I mean, it's not like you're playing the little sisters
of the poor when you're playing in the SEC. You know,
It's just that there were so many expectations and the
expectations honestly, that Aggie fan put on themselves after or

(15:00):
the Johnny season, after the Heisman, you know, and I
mean rightfully. So you have a Heisman winning quarterback, you
have the majority of your team coming back after that
first season, you have a dynamic coach who is bringing
something totally different into this conference, and those expectations needed
to raise, those expectations needed to be up there because

(15:22):
you really felt like, hey man, this could be the
thing that kicks us off and puts us in that
next level, that next tier of you know, contenders and
things like that.

Speaker 1 (15:32):
It just didn't work out that way.

Speaker 2 (15:34):
That second season with Johnny was a little more of
a struggle.

Speaker 1 (15:37):
You know, he's admitted to it.

Speaker 2 (15:39):
I don't know if you've seen the Netflix special that
they came out with last season.

Speaker 1 (15:43):
Yeah, he admitted to it.

Speaker 2 (15:45):
Man, Like the pressure, the craziness, the wildness, you know,
all of that was hard on him. I was hard
on the team obviously, and then you know, someone ended
up being not what he seemed to be. You know,
like when he came in, like I said, I mean
I really think he did have a great grasp of
what he could do and what he could be, and

(16:08):
he showed that that first I would say, the first
year and a half that he was there.

Speaker 1 (16:12):
But once teams.

Speaker 2 (16:14):
Figured it out on Once Sabin and Kirby Smart and
some of these other defensive minded coaches in the SEC
started to figure out what they were and what they
needed to do to slow them down or stop them,
it's become a struggle for a and m you know.
So to see some of the things that have happened
over these last twelve years. And like I told Cody,

(16:36):
it's not like Texas did anything to run away from
A and M. I mean, when you look at the
last twelve years, nine of those twelve years, Texas has
been average. They haven't been great, they haven't been good.
They've been average when you look at what Sark has
done these first three seasons. Sure, last year was awesome.
One loss. It sucked that it was to Oklahoma, but

(16:57):
it was only one loss. They made the playoff and
that's great. But at the end of the day, hey, dude,
doing it one time doesn't mean anything. Show me you
can be consistent, Show me you can ktch yourself in
that in that title picture and stay there for periods
of time.

Speaker 1 (17:12):
You know.

Speaker 2 (17:13):
So it's not like Texas has done anything great in
the last twelve years to run away and hide from
A and M either, you know. I think it's like
what we've talked about in the past. Both of these
programs have the money, they have the talent, they have
the facilities. It's just that it factor, whatever that it
factor is. Texas hasn't had it since Vince Young left,

(17:36):
and and A and M hasn't had it since that
heis been winning year with Johnny, So whatever that it
factor is, I think Sark brings some of that and
it's starting to show. I mean, when you look at
the talent and the things that that he's done in
these first three years at Texas, it's pretty impressive.

Speaker 1 (17:54):
Uh.

Speaker 2 (17:54):
But I also hear the same thing about about your coach,
Mike Oko. I hear about how he changing the culture,
He's changing the mindset. He's trying to instill a hardness
about them that hasn't been seen at A and M.

Speaker 1 (18:07):
For a long time.

Speaker 2 (18:09):
And you know, in our lifetimes, we've seen some pretty
good coaches at A and M. Jackie Cheryl RC Slocum
obviously was there for a long time.

Speaker 1 (18:18):
So so A and M had that reputation.

Speaker 2 (18:20):
Man of of of being they were gonna you were
gonna be in a fight. It didn't matter, didn't matter
how good or how bad A and M was, you
were going to be in a fight. And they haven't
had that kind of mentality there for a long time,
you know what I mean.

Speaker 3 (18:35):
So yeah, so so you know, I go.

Speaker 2 (18:40):
Ahead, But I but I but I but again, I agree,
I think I think the Big twelve or the Longhorned
Network hurt more than it helped. I mean, did it
give Texas any more exposure than they were what they
were already getting?

Speaker 1 (18:54):
Maybe, maybe not, I don't know.

Speaker 2 (18:56):
But at the end of the day, man, uh, these
two teams have found their way back to one another,
and for the foreseeable future.

Speaker 1 (19:05):
They're going to be in the same conference.

Speaker 2 (19:07):
There's a lot of a lot of scuttle bud out there,
a lot of rumors that an m may be looking
to leave for the Big Ten in a couple of years.

Speaker 1 (19:14):
Who knows. If they do, they do, If they don't,
they don't. It's fine.

Speaker 2 (19:19):
At the end of the day, one of the best
rivalries in college football is back in our backyard, in
our homes, in and around our area. And I couldn't
be happier. And so when we look at the history
of this rivalry, man, you know, what are some of

(19:40):
your early memories of watching this game Thanksgiving weekend?

Speaker 4 (19:47):
I mean, I really don't remember the game so much
as it was per the teams. I remember it as
it was just a tradition, man. It was like a
Thanksgiving tradition. It was something that we all did. You know,
it was getting together with your family normally you have
that day off, right, and you got together and you

(20:09):
watched the game, and it was almost me. I'm always around.
It's funny you say you're surrounded by a lot of
Aggie fans, but it was me. I was the other
way around, you know. I was always surrounded by long
run fans and da da da da da. I can't
remember when Vince Young won it and you guys won
that championship and you beat USC, and that was something
that was like epic proportion. And I'm not trying to
blow smoke about ut, but that was something that I mean,

(20:32):
I don't think people really realize. Remember you USC had
won like two years in a row, you know what
I mean. And they had all the talent, they had
all the players, they had the coach that you know,
had the NFL pedigree, and I mean I was pulling
for Texas. That's probably one of the first times I
was ever pulling for Texas because, hey, man, just my blood,

(20:54):
you know, it's.

Speaker 3 (20:54):
Where I'm from.

Speaker 4 (20:56):
And I was kind of a US sideways a USC fan.
You already know that, but man, that was something that
was I mean, I could see him running into that
end zone and that play and and it was just
he played his ass off man. That was that was
a Heisman performance and it was gonna take everything that
they had.

Speaker 3 (21:15):
And it wasn't just him.

Speaker 4 (21:15):
Remember, the defense had just stopped, you know usc you know,
in that last drive and you know, for whatever reason,
you know, they just decided to pull their whatever, they
let him know what the play is because they just
thought they were that much better. And that was just
ego and Hubris, you know. But at the same time,
that's what I look back on. Now, I'm gonna flip
the coin and talk about Johnny Manzel and I can

(21:39):
remember when he kind of just turned into who he was.
He was against SMU. I was watching the game and
it was like the first quarter, in the middle of
the second quarter, and it was just like, man, what
is this Who is this guy?

Speaker 3 (21:51):
What are they doing? What kind of offense are they running?

Speaker 4 (21:53):
And then he just from then on he just flipped
the switch and you know, to his to his quarterback,
you know, not detriment, but everything that he did was
just let him be who he was, and he just
started turning into the great Johnny Manziel, throwing the ball,
passing the ball, running with the ball. I mean he

(22:14):
had speed too, you gotta. I was looking at some
stuff earlier and like and I forgot out about these
long runs that he had that were literally for TDS.
You know, he had that much talent and the fact
that you know he was from you know, Kerville, and
just everything that that tied into what he was made
made me kind of all right, this this is what
in him should should be like moving forward, and that's

(22:36):
going to build recruits. I hate what I hate is
I mean he kind of helped him build a new
stadium on all that hype, and you're right, man, it
pisses me off, and I hate talking like that. It
just pisses me off that they didn't build on it,
you know.

Speaker 3 (22:52):
What I mean. They just they just were building.

Speaker 4 (22:54):
This pyramid and they just turned it into they just
built the bottom part of the pyramid.

Speaker 3 (22:59):
And they just going up talking about.

Speaker 4 (23:03):
Texas last year. And I have to throw this in.
I'm gonna be honest with you. When I was at
that game, you know, I had to work that that
that job I had, and I was there and it
was just honestly, I think that that game was run
very poorly man, because they that team was gained to
be Texas, you know.

Speaker 3 (23:22):
And it's it's uh that that.

Speaker 4 (23:25):
Call at the end where they go for the win,
and I'm like thinking, why would they do this? You know,
it's just they almost handed Texas the game in my opinion,
because I mean, you're playing away, you're playing against Texas.

Speaker 3 (23:36):
Their defense is obviously better than yours. It was.

Speaker 4 (23:39):
It was a hard fought game, and I'm sure you
watching that whole game until the last what was it,
how many minutes, four or five minutes?

Speaker 3 (23:48):
Yeah, that they clawed their way back.

Speaker 4 (23:50):
I'm sure you're thinking, man, are our national championship, you know,
hopes are getting dashed, like right here, Not that it
was gonna not that you still couldn't you know, get there.
But I was to me as a kind of a coach,
and I'm not in ut fan, and I think they
almost blew the game. They almost threw it away. And
I thought, wow, man, this they're lucky. They're really lucky.

Speaker 3 (24:11):
And I know you're biased, you'll say, no, no, no, you know,
they they were the better team.

Speaker 4 (24:15):
Yeah, they were the better team, but they were playing
down to the level of that team, man.

Speaker 3 (24:18):
And it's just it was.

Speaker 4 (24:19):
K State, right, So it's just and not only that,
the schedule last year for Texas was kind of just
built for them to get that chance and that opportunity
to get into the playoffs. You know, the sucking thing
is is A and M is in the SEC. So
they're gonna play nothing against Texas, man, but they play

(24:40):
a little bit higher calimber teams. You know, every year
you're gonna win. You're gonna win either the big games
or you're gonna lose the game big games, you lose
two and.

Speaker 3 (24:47):
You kind of don't.

Speaker 4 (24:47):
You're kind of out of the mix. And that's just
comes with the territory. But man, last year, Texas was there. Man,
Texas was right there. I'm really surprised that they love
in the fashion that they did in the playoffs because
I thought they had a really big, a really big
chance to make it all the way and win it

(25:09):
all because they had all the right intangibles and they
had all the right players, they had the right coaching.
They just for one game, I think they just didn't
put it all together.

Speaker 2 (25:20):
No, dude, that that last game was frustrating as hell,
you know, because you're right, they on paper, they probably
had the better team as far as as what you
look at you know, and you're just looking at the
paper side of it. But there's no doubt that that
was a well coached, well prepared Washington team and they,

(25:41):
you know, they made the plays when they needed to
make the plays. Unfortunately, Texas got burned way too many
times with that passing offense. If Texas's secondary could have
held up a little bit better, I mean, we saw it.
We saw it when they played Michigan. Man, they saw
it when we played When they played Michigan, a little
better defense, uh, controlled Penix a little bit more. Uh,

(26:03):
and and it made a difference in that and Michigan
winning that championship.

Speaker 3 (26:07):
Uh.

Speaker 1 (26:07):
But yeah, no, you're right.

Speaker 2 (26:08):
I think I think at times Texas has done that.
They've played down to their competition. They've played less than
what they were supposed to be And I mean they
were lucky against k State they were able to pull
that win out.

Speaker 1 (26:19):
It was a big stop on the goal line. Uh.

Speaker 2 (26:22):
But it was one of those things where they can't
do that anymore. You're right, you're playing in the SEC now, Man,
it's different. It's different. But like I told Cody, here's
the here's the difference between what the SEC was when
A and M was entering it in comparison to what
it is now with with Texas entering it with Oklahoma,

(26:43):
I think there was more balanced teams, better teams overall
when A and M showed up there. What made what
made A and M so successful early was because it
was different. The offense was different, the the tempo, the
speed of the game was different. Like you were talking
about Manziel running around and those long runs. You know,

(27:03):
you didn't have those kind of quarterbacks playing in the
SEC at that time.

Speaker 1 (27:08):
You have to remember, uh, you know, one of the.

Speaker 2 (27:11):
Last great draft picks coming out of the SEC was
Eli Manning.

Speaker 1 (27:15):
Eli didn't run like that. Eli didn't do that.

Speaker 2 (27:17):
He relied it on his He relied on his arm
to make plays. You know, Peyton obviously came out of there.
Peyton Manning wasn't a scrambler by any man many imagination.
So when when you had a dynamic player like Johnny Manziel,
you had a different electricity, different vibe with that team.
With that program, I really think it caught a lot

(27:39):
of the SEC off guard and it really made a
huge difference early on in A and M's success against
the SEC.

Speaker 1 (27:48):
I think you have.

Speaker 2 (27:51):
Yeah, I think now the SEC is a little more
top heavy, you know. I think you have your Alabama,
you have your Georgia. Even though Alabama may be a
little less you know, but we'll see. I mean, they
still have talent. You can't take that away. But you know,
you have Alabama, you have Georgia. Maybe in LSU from
time to time. Uh, you know some of those some

(28:11):
of those types of teams that are that are a
little bit better than others.

Speaker 1 (28:15):
Uh.

Speaker 2 (28:15):
And then you have that middle of the pack. You
don't know what you're getting. In Tennessee. You have a
very good Oklahoma program that's coming. Uh.

Speaker 1 (28:23):
A and m should be right there in the mix.

Speaker 2 (28:25):
I think I think they're gonna be, you know, one
of the top five, maybe six teams in the SEC.

Speaker 1 (28:31):
Uh.

Speaker 2 (28:31):
And then you have teams like Kentucky who might be something.
You have teams like Missouri Arkansas. So you're right, dude,
Like Texas can't just show up and say, well, we're Texas,
we're gonna win this game because we're Texas. No, they're
gonna have to go in there and work their asses
off and and play hard every week because two things.

(28:52):
Number one, it's better competition, and number two, everybody's gonna
take their swing. Everybody's gonna be the one they they
they're gonna want to be the one that knocked off Texas.
They're gonna be the one that that shut up the Longhorns,
uh and welcome them into the SEC. So I think
it's gonna be interesting. I think it's gonna be fun.
I think it's gonna be wild, and it's it's something

(29:14):
that I can't wait to see. When Cody and I
were talking, uh, one of the things that he talked
about was the not only the different style of play
and the teams that that Texas would be facing, but
the crowds, the crowds that Texas would be facing when
they travel throughout the SEC.

Speaker 1 (29:33):
Now, they don't have the.

Speaker 2 (29:34):
Hardest road games, uh this season, They're not going into
some of these big time programs. But what what are
your thoughts on the fans and the crowds that that
that Texas and their fans will be facing out on
the SEC roads.

Speaker 3 (29:55):
I mean, I think they're used to that challenge.

Speaker 4 (29:57):
Man, nothing against an I think A and M has
already had that taste for all these years. Now when
you when you step into the SEC. Man, every game
every week is like, I mean, it's live or die.
It's almost like when you step into the SEC, whether
it's playing against Bama or playing against Georgia or playing

(30:19):
against LSU, you're I mean, you're it's almost like the
playoffs pretty much, right. You get in there and it's
not like, hey, we're we're trying to build something to
get into the playoffs, like kind of.

Speaker 3 (30:33):
Like in the NFL.

Speaker 4 (30:34):
I think the NFL is a little bit different animal.
When you when you have only so many games, you
have limited time, you only have limited plays. And going
back to what you talked about that that Texas Washington game,
I really honestly believe, man, there were two plays away
that if they had just made the play or or
contain panics just.

Speaker 3 (30:55):
Enough, they win that game. It's really like.

Speaker 4 (30:58):
It was almost like two plays that stick out in
my mind. I can I can see them in my head.
And that's that's the sucky part of it. And that's
just it. You're you're every week, you're gonna be playing
against this solid competition, the cream of the crop, and
you're gonna need to be like in your playoff mode
because a loss is is monumental in a conference that

(31:23):
pretty much owns the you know a lot of the
championships in the last decade plus, right, so every game
is gonna matter that and a half. You know, be
ready to play overtime. Like that's the mentality you have
to have. Hey, I'm gonna come in here and I'm
only playing for four quarters, but I'm playing because I
don't want to lose. You know, I don't want to

(31:45):
go I want to go into overtime if I have to,
and be ready and prepared. That's pretty much how you
have to treat it. And I love that. I love
that that challenge. I think Texas is up to the
challenge because it's not like Texas is a slops team now.

Speaker 3 (32:00):
A and M. I think, Man, I'm hoping.

Speaker 4 (32:03):
This coach has the right buttons that he pushes to to.
You know what, I remember we used to talk about
like that little extra percent that of the one percent guys.
I think the A and M has had like the
pieces of the puzzle. They've had the players, and I
think the same goes for Texas. And again, I have
to really throw this out there, and I'm not trying
to throw shade at Texas, But I kind of AM's

(32:25):
I expected more, right, And I'm sure you did too.

Speaker 3 (32:28):
You're like, hey, A and M's gone.

Speaker 4 (32:29):
We don't got to play them anymore because that game,
whether you know, either team could have five wins, either
team could have nine wins, either team could have two wins.

Speaker 3 (32:38):
But when they.

Speaker 4 (32:38):
Played on that day, you and I both know that
was a big fucking deal. It was a big deal
because it's just bragging rights, you know. And you and
I have seen those games, right, We're like, hey, man,
you know, I don't know Texas has got allows the schedule,
has had a lousy season, or a M has that
allows the season. You go into that game and then
the team you think that's gonna win loses, you know, because.

Speaker 3 (32:59):
It's just that's just what it is. And I love that.
And that's what I loved about that rivalry. And that's
the big thing I miss.

Speaker 4 (33:05):
Most about it, because it wasn't like they were playing
spoiler because you know, any other conferences and anything, any
other other conferences, like you said, everybody's gonna try and
give you your best try and give you their best shot.
They're not. They're not trying to be spoiler. I mean,
they're trying to be spoiler. But when it comes to
Texas and the A and M rivalry, it was like, no,
this is different. It's not a spoiler thing. It's a hey,

(33:28):
I want to beat you. I know you want to
beat me. That's just throwing the chips into the middle
of the of the field and let's just go at
it and see who comes out on top. Because it
was always a big deal and I loved.

Speaker 3 (33:39):
It, man.

Speaker 4 (33:39):
I love that that tenacity. I love that that the
two teams not wanting to quit, you know, the you know,
the one that obviously sticks out to me more than anything.
The game that I remember most is is I'm wearing
the shirt obviously that that Bonfire game, and I really
on it.

Speaker 3 (33:55):
Like I said, I honestly at the.

Speaker 4 (33:57):
Time, my emotions and my my mon mindset was I
really honestly don't care who wins, you know, because part
of me didn't.

Speaker 3 (34:04):
I don't know if we should have played the game.
I didn't know if we did or didn't. You know.

Speaker 4 (34:08):
Obviously AM came out on top, and but that was
what was weird was the win was was secondary. The
win was secondary to the just the secondary to what
was going on at the time, you know, because it
was just that much.

Speaker 3 (34:23):
And it tells it tells me two things. Number One,
it tells me you know people you know, Yeah, I mean,
might should talk me and you and m ut.

Speaker 4 (34:33):
But at the end of the day, we're still Texans man,
you know, and we need that, you know, we need
that competition.

Speaker 3 (34:38):
You don't get better unless.

Speaker 4 (34:40):
You're playing against teams that make you better, you know
what I mean, you just can't.

Speaker 3 (34:44):
It just it just has to be there. You got
to have that.

Speaker 4 (34:47):
And to my knowledge from some of the research I did,
I noticed that the rivalry was one of the longest,
you know, storied rivalries, you know, for years, for years
and years and years, and then it just kind of
went away. And and the way that it went away it
was kind of sad. And I hate saying it because
it was it was about money. I mean, let's just
frankly be honest with ourselves, you know, and and it

(35:09):
wanted more money because of the longwer network and under whatever,
you know. But what sucks is you and me as fans,
we get screwed, right, we get screwed out of the
game that that we've known our whole life. We've known
this game our whole life. It's part of our tradition. Like,
it's not even a rivalry, it's a tradition rivalry.

Speaker 3 (35:28):
Kind of a it's just it's it's a it's a.

Speaker 4 (35:30):
Huge animal and an important thing to have for this
state that you and I live in and that we love,
we live and die for. And then you just take
it away. It was like, you know, a carpet being
pulled out from under you. And I hated that. I
hated the fact of how it ended. You know, it's
almost like when you fired Tom Landry. You know, it's
that kind of like what the hell, man, what happened?

Speaker 2 (35:49):
That's a different kind of pain. That was a different
kind of pain.

Speaker 4 (35:54):
I agree, But it felt like that to me because
I'm like, what, you know, it's just because and then
only that it's about money at the end of the day,
and that's what really ticked me off.

Speaker 1 (36:02):
Yeah, it's funny you say that about the rivalry. Man.

Speaker 3 (36:06):
You know.

Speaker 2 (36:07):
I was listening to a podcast a couple of days
ago and they had a former NFL player on there,
and I think he played for Jacksonville, and the guy
asked him, like, who was your biggest rival, you know
who was the one? And you know he talked about
when Jacksonville coming up early on, had to play in
the same division with Pittsburgh and how you know Pittsburgh

(36:27):
was that that team and you know, they always had
that tradition and they were the toughest ones and everything,
and and he talked about like because the guy was
a defensive he was a linebacker, and they asked him, well.

Speaker 1 (36:39):
Who was your who was the one.

Speaker 2 (36:41):
Guy that you you know, you had to battle, you
had to get through every time. And and he says,
my number one rival was their center Demani Dawson. And
you know he was he was talking about what a
rivalry means, and he said, he said some of the
same things you just did.

Speaker 1 (36:59):
You can get better.

Speaker 2 (37:02):
If you don't have something or someone to chase, you
can't get better and know that you've taken that next step.
If you can't beat that one team, that one guy
that's always in your way.

Speaker 1 (37:15):
And that's what this rivalry has been. That's what this
rivalry means to us. Another thing you.

Speaker 2 (37:23):
Just said was that you know this means everything to
us as Texans. I said it when I was talking
to Cody. I've said it before with you guys on
other episodes. I hate Oklahoma. There's nothing about Oklahoma that
I find endearing, nothing right, And I'm sure there's some
good people in Oklahoma. There's a few people that are

(37:45):
friends of mine that root for them and whatever, and
that's fine.

Speaker 1 (37:49):
I hate Oklahoma.

Speaker 2 (37:52):
I can't stand A and M, but I don't hate
them because you're right, we're Texans, you know what I mean.

Speaker 1 (38:01):
So, like you said, you were.

Speaker 2 (38:03):
Kind of pulling for them against against USC. You know
you even though, yeah, maybe USC whatever, but you know
you saw you saw Vince Young go across that goal
line and you were excited because a team from Texas won.

Speaker 1 (38:18):
The national championship.

Speaker 2 (38:20):
It's like, it's kind of like when the Astros won
that first World Series. You know, I said, I don't
like Houston. I hate Houston sports teams. I can't stand
the Astros. But that's a Texas team that's being represented
and they're holding that trophy.

Speaker 1 (38:34):
So it did. It did mean something.

Speaker 2 (38:36):
It was special to have that memory, to have that
moment in our lifetime. That's what this rivalry has meant
to us as fans. That's what this rivalry has meant
to these two programs these two universities. There's a lot
of history, there's a lot of tradition. You're right, it's
I think at the time that it ended, it was
the third longest played rivalry or game in college football.

(39:01):
I don't know where it stands now because they haven't
played in several years.

Speaker 1 (39:05):
I'll have to look it up, but it is.

Speaker 2 (39:09):
It is one of those traditions that the rivalry is
built around, the tradition of playing on Thanksgiving. The tradition
of playing that weekend has meant something to these fan bases.
You know, when I was talking about earlier that they
were out there with a joint press conference, the athletic

(39:29):
director from Texas goes and he's talking, he's doing is,
he's answering whatever question, and he goes one more thing
before I wrap it up.

Speaker 1 (39:36):
He said, I just want to let y'all know.

Speaker 2 (39:39):
We are moving this game after next season to a
neutral site. We'll be going to Dallas one year, and
we'll be going to this other city the following year.
And like the room is just like what and he goes,
I'm kidding. He goes, we would never do that. We
would never take away that rivalry of having each university
host the game, you know, that's what makes it so special. Again,

(40:03):
I agree. I think Texas OU is one of the
best rivalries out there. I think what makes that game
so special is you have fans on either side of
the stadium, and players have said it, there's only one
way and one way in and one way out of
that stadium. You come out of the tunnel on the
OU side as a Texas fan or as a Texas player,

(40:28):
all you hear is booing until you get to the
other side of the fifty and then you hear the
cheering because the Texas side is on the far end
of the field.

Speaker 1 (40:41):
So that's what makes that thing so special.

Speaker 2 (40:44):
I don't know what that would ever be like if
they moved it to the campuses, because it's never happened
in our lifetime. We've never seen an OU Texas game
in Austin or in Norman, Oklahoma. We've seen A and
M Texas at Kyle Field at Daryl K.

Speaker 3 (41:02):
Royal.

Speaker 2 (41:03):
We know what that looks like, we know what that
feels like, we know what that sounds like. That's what
we have missed as fans. That's what we have been
waiting for all these years. Yes, up until that game,
I'll get to laugh and talk shit about the fact
that scoreboard doesn't lie. Twenty seven to twenty five is
something that will live. I mean, it's it's it's it's

(41:25):
a moment in time that will live forever because it happened.
But after November thirtieth of this year, I either get
to keep bragging because my team won, or I get
to keep quiet about an m for a year because
the Aggie's won. And it's gonna be one of the
most electric games I think of the entire year. Even

(41:48):
with US going to a twelve team playoff, even with
US having some different types of games out there this season,
I think this game is going to be as good
or as special. The electricity around it will be as
good as any other game out there. Man, Where do

(42:09):
you rank when you look at some of the top games.
Where do you rank Texas versus Texas, A and M.
When you look at games like OHU Texas, Michigan, Ohio State,
USC Notre Dame, Miami versus Florida State, Alabama versus Auburn,

(42:32):
Georgia versus Florida, even Mississippi State versus Mississippi, Where do
you rank this game amongst those great, great rivalries.

Speaker 4 (42:45):
For me, it's at the top. It's at the top.
It's the big game. It's the big game in town.
It's the two teams that you and I like live
in diaper because we bleed that. We bleed the maroon,
we bleed the orange. You know, we can't wait to
talk and throw, you know, just everything in caution to
the wind, because that's.

Speaker 3 (43:05):
What you want.

Speaker 4 (43:06):
Man, you want that team back. You wanted that why
wud be back. You wanted that tradition back. You wanted
to feel like, Okay, it's like you said, remember when
you said earlier, you kind of we're doing the Thanksgiving thing.
You know, it's like turkey without dressing every Thanksgiving. It's
like mashed potatoes without gravy every Thanksgiving. It's like there's
something missing, there's something empty that's gone. And I hate

(43:29):
throwing food as an analogy, but you know what it's
like when you if you've ever been to a Thanksgiving
dinner and you're like, what, you don't have whatever?

Speaker 3 (43:35):
Blankety blank.

Speaker 4 (43:36):
You know, it's just you know what I mean, it's
just that little missing spice, or it's that.

Speaker 1 (43:44):
My mother in law tried to do that last year.

Speaker 2 (43:47):
So yeah, no, my mother in law tried to do
that last year and not have gravy, Like, how do
you not have gravy?

Speaker 3 (43:52):
You?

Speaker 1 (43:53):
I mean, you have a gravy boat? How do you
not have gravy? What do you? What are you doing?

Speaker 3 (43:58):
You know?

Speaker 2 (43:58):
I love you to death, mother in law, but it's
some damn gravy on the table that's wrong with you.

Speaker 1 (44:03):
Anyways, I digress.

Speaker 4 (44:04):
Go ahead, man, I tell you, I tell you you.

Speaker 3 (44:10):
Dude, you know what I mean. And it's just like
there's a certain dish that we make.

Speaker 4 (44:14):
Every year, and like we've had people come over and like, oh,
you know, I was looking forward to that one thing.

Speaker 3 (44:18):
You didn't make it. We've never had that because we
always make it.

Speaker 4 (44:21):
But at the same time, man, I'm thankful man that
this is happening again.

Speaker 3 (44:25):
You know, from like the bottom.

Speaker 4 (44:26):
Of my heart chest whatever, blood pupping through my veins.

Speaker 3 (44:31):
I know Julian's looking down on us. You know, he's
slapped in his ring down on the table.

Speaker 4 (44:35):
That's what I'm going to be thinking about when the
game kicks off. I'm gonna hear Julian's ring. You know me,
you always do that thing. He was slap his hand
on the tape and you can hear that ring.

Speaker 3 (44:47):
Yeah, dude, you'd hear that, you know, And man, I
can't wait. I can't wait. And one thing I want
to throw in there also, it's.

Speaker 4 (44:56):
Just good then you have this podcast. Because you and
I we've known each other a long time. We've seen
a lot of sports. We've been to a lot of
sporting events. I will say this, man, when I went
to that ute game, I actually felt, for kind of
a moment like a pseudo Texas fan because I was there.
I was there, and I get it, you know. I said, oh, okay,

(45:18):
I get it now, I get it why these people
are Longhrn fans because you think you like I was
going to say, you think you are a Longhorn fan.

Speaker 3 (45:27):
Bro.

Speaker 4 (45:28):
I saw some Longhorn fans there that were just even
the women, dude, down.

Speaker 3 (45:32):
To the little kids. They they were intense.

Speaker 4 (45:37):
They were crazy, and when the game was on, they
did not leave their seats.

Speaker 3 (45:42):
They were invested. Dude.

Speaker 4 (45:43):
They were like, oh wow, man, I thought, all these women,
they're all drinking wine. Because I was in this certain
area that was kind of a posh area, I drinking wine,
drinking beer the guys, and I expected, you know, just
in me and my little kind of I guess circle
of people I've seen, thinking, all these women, they're probably
gonna be just chilling back here, you know, with the
kids and this, and that they ain't watching the games.

Speaker 3 (46:05):
You know, they're just trophy wives or whatever. Dude, No, no,
it was no to the No.

Speaker 4 (46:10):
There was some women there that were about our age,
with their husbands, with their kids, and they were like
like shushing the kids, like hey, shut up, I'm watching
the game.

Speaker 1 (46:20):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (46:21):
Yeah, that really threw me for a loop. Then I
was like, okay, And they would put you to shame, broke,
And that's saying something because you, sir, you your next level,
You're Randy, macho man, savage, next level, you know, rip player,
next level, over the top when it comes to your team.

Speaker 3 (46:40):
But man, I saw some people there that would put
you to shame.

Speaker 2 (46:44):
Well, in fairness, in fairness, you and I have not
sat through a Texas game together in quite some time,
and especially at Texas versus Texas A and M game,
we haven't. We haven't been together. So if the chips
fall where they may and everything lines up like it's
supposed to, man. You know, maybe we'll have that opportunity

(47:07):
this year to get together with our family and other
friends and be able to watch that game together. Yeah,
you're right, dude, some of them Texas fans are intense,
their next level. It's wild, it's crazy to see. It's
a blast to see. But believe me when I tell
you I can be just as crazy, just as wild,

(47:28):
just as stupid with you guys or without you guys.
So you know, it's been a while since you've seen
that side of me. But I mean it could happen,
and there may be some surprises coming with this podcast
when it comes to the fandom and the bullshit that's
going to be be flowing, so to speak, once this
season kicks off. Dude, what what are you hoping to

(47:51):
see for A and M this year?

Speaker 3 (47:53):
Like?

Speaker 1 (47:53):
What realistically?

Speaker 2 (47:54):
I mean, we're not going to do any kind of
real breakdown or anything, man, but if you had to
put a number, put a record together, what do you
realistically see A and M doing this year?

Speaker 4 (48:06):
I honestly can see them winning nine games. That's the
low ball. That's the low ball, because I don't know
what this coach is stirring, right, I don't know what pot,
what he's putting in the pot, but what from what
I'm hearing and.

Speaker 3 (48:22):
I don't know.

Speaker 4 (48:22):
We say this every year, we say the same thing
about oh, well this this player came on to the Cowboys,
or you.

Speaker 3 (48:27):
Know, we say this, this that, whatever. You know.

Speaker 4 (48:30):
But you and I are realists, now, you know, we're older. Now,
we've been around the block. You know, we've seen it.
I honestly see them winning nine games if if they're
on a if there's if this coach can do what
I think he can.

Speaker 3 (48:44):
And here's what I love about him. And I have
to bring this up because this.

Speaker 4 (48:46):
Is the most important thing I wanted to say to
you about the coach. He is going to bring back
that wrecking crew type mentality and that's what AIM has
been lacking.

Speaker 3 (48:57):
You know it, I know it, and I and I
hate saying it. Even Texas is the same.

Speaker 4 (49:01):
The defenses for these well, to these two teams, I
think Longhorns have a little bit of an edge, you know,
because they just recruit better. They got better defenders, you know.
And I think that's what one that case State game obviously, right,
because that game propelled them to have that opportunity, right,
And I think that's what he's gonna bring because that's

(49:22):
all what he was all about it, dude, you know
he was he was like a defensive minded kind of player.
I mean, coach that that gets the players that he wants,
and I think that's what was lacking, you know, as
far as.

Speaker 3 (49:36):
Wigman and what he can do. And man, that's just it.
He's he's great.

Speaker 4 (49:41):
He was great in like first half, and I would
tell you right, oh, he's great in the first half.
Within the second half, they would make adjustments and it
was almost like the other team was the only team
that made adjustments, you know, like just because stuff is rolling,
don't you think they go to the tape and say, hey,
you know this is what A and M is doing well,
so let's shut that down. And once they did, they struggle.
You know, I think this this coach is gonna tweak

(50:05):
those little things that make them propelled to maybe nine,
maybe ten wins. Now, if it's ten, I would be
ecstatic and joyful. The sucky thing is is we're gonna
be playing you guys at the end of the season,
and I hate and I hate and I can see it, dude,
and I can see it. We're both gonna be buying

(50:25):
for something at the end of the season, I guarantee you,
and it's gonna come down to that game, and that
makes it even that much better that defensive mentality, man,
just and I can't wait to see like a newer
type record crew two point zero type thing.

Speaker 2 (50:41):
Well, I agree with you. I think A and M
has a very good chance of winning nine games this year. Again,
we've talked about talent, we've talked about resources, all of
that stuff in the past. The same still holds true now.
So I do believe that they have a very good
chance of winning nine games, could win ten, Yeah, possibly,
just doesn't You don't know how the ball is gonna bounce.

(51:04):
The big thing with this game coming down at the end, dude,
is there might be a shot for both of these
teams if they're playing well enough and both of them
can get into that nine or ten win range, for
both of these teams to be in the College football Playoff.
You know, you figure there's twelve spots in that playoff.

(51:26):
The SEC has a good chance of sending five teams
to the playoffs. You figure three to four coming out
of the Big ten, So that only leaves like three
spots for other teams. I think they have to have
one for the group of five. So so I mean, realistically,
these two teams could not only be playing for pride

(51:47):
and the bragging rights for another year, but they might
be playing for playoff position two.

Speaker 1 (51:53):
You know what I mean.

Speaker 4 (51:58):
Yeah, I'm gonna ask you the same question. I'm gonna
ask you the same question. How do you see or
what do you see.

Speaker 3 (52:04):
With the long orange and the moves they've made and
where they are now?

Speaker 4 (52:08):
Obviously they were knocking on the door last year. Where
are they this year in your opinion? And what you see?

Speaker 2 (52:15):
Well, obviously, first of all, let me just shut the
door on any kind of quarterback controversy that people may
think is out there. And just like the fake news
that goes around around the political talk that's going on
in the world right now, there is no controversy about
who the starting quarterback of Texas is. That's quinn Ewers.

(52:36):
Quinn Ewers has solidified himself as a quarterback QB one,
I should say, of the University of Texas.

Speaker 1 (52:44):
So Arch Manning is in the shadows.

Speaker 2 (52:47):
He's in the weeds, he's lurking, and he could still
be something special. But my money is on Quinn Hewers.
Steve Sarkisian's money is on Quinn Ewers. So that's who
we're with, and I think he's gonna have a big
year as far as the team goes, man, they did
get a little bit weaker upfront. They did lose both
of those big defensive tackles that they had. Those two

(53:09):
guys controlled the line of scrimmage. I mean they held
opponents rushing under thirty six yards last year. So they
will have some guys to have to fill in there
and do some different things. So defensively up front they
will be a little bit, a little bit softer. I
wouldn't say weaker, but they will be softer. Linebacker wise,

(53:30):
They've got plenty of talent, plenty of speed at that
linebacker position, dude, and everything that I've read, everything that
I've seen here lately is talking about how great the
secondary could be. They have some returning guys that played
a lot last year. They have their nickelback, Jaday Barron.
He's going to be an All American. He has a

(53:50):
shot to go in the NFL pretty high next season.
So they do have talent defensively, man, that's going to
do some good. The bulk of this team is gonna
be upfront, dude, and that offensive line. They have four
out of the five starters back from last year, man,
and those dudes are nasty. If the offensive line can
control the line of screamers like they did last year,

(54:11):
if they can give Quinn time to throw the ball
in the pocket, it's gonna be a big thing because
he's got speed. Oh my god, does he have speed
at the receiver position.

Speaker 1 (54:22):
I don't know.

Speaker 2 (54:24):
I don't know that Texas has ever had better wide receivers.

Speaker 1 (54:28):
Than what they have right now.

Speaker 2 (54:29):
And when you think back to Roy Williams and BJ
Johnson and Sloan Thomas out there with Chris Young Chris Simms,
I should say early in his career that that was
a talented group of receivers.

Speaker 1 (54:41):
Man.

Speaker 2 (54:41):
But these guys that they have here, man, they are
on another level. The thing that scares me right now
is their running back position. And what's ironic is that
both Texas and A and M lost their starting running
backs the same week. You know, Baxter from Texas blew
out his knee, Owens from A and M blew out

(55:05):
his achilles. So the running the running game for both
of these teams is gonna hurt. Unfortunately, Texas lost their
what was gonna be considered their third running back about
a week later when he also blew out his knee.
So so they're they've got they've got some talent still.
Don't get me wrong, they do have some talent back there.
They do have some guys who can do some things.

(55:27):
But at the end of the day, that that offense
is not gonna be about the running game. It's gonna
be about the quarterback. And I think Quinn Ewers is
gonna be ready to go and lead this team. Now
as far as record, you know, when you look at
the schedule, they don't have the hardest schedule sec wise,
I'll be the first one to say that. But they
go to Michigan week two, then they play Oklahoma and

(55:52):
Red River and Georgia the following week. How they come
out of those three games, Texas has to be two
to one in those two games to have a realistic
shot at making the playoff. In my opinion, I right now,
if you ask me right now, I say that they
beat Michigan week two in a close game. Because it's

(56:12):
and ann Arbor. It'll be tough the good thing I
guess if you're a Longhorn is the fact that that's
an afternoon game, and so the crowd in ann Arbor's
is gonna be hype. I'm not gonna lie. I wish
I was there, but it may not be as difficult
because it may not be as as loud as it
would have been if those guys would have had a

(56:33):
chance to be drinking and partying all day and then
have a night game. I think they beat Oklahoma. I
think Quinn wants to leave with that. You know, him
being from the Dallas area, he already has one win
against him on his resume. I'm sure he wants to
leave there with another one and to kind of keep
those demons of Oklahoma away from him. So I think

(56:56):
they win that one, and then you know, anything could
happen that next week against Georgia. Is Georgia as good
as they've been the last few years? Maybe maybe not,
But like I said, man, if they go too and
one in those three games, I feel strongly that this
team could not only play for uh the SEC Championship,

(57:16):
but could realistically read right back in that in that
final four, so to speak, to see if they could
play for a national championship. But I think there's a
lot is gonna hinge, man, I think a lot's gonna
hinge on that night in November at Kyle Field, Dude,
I think I think there's gonna be a lot on
the line. There's gonna be a lot on the line
that that Saturday night. You know, I say Saturday night.

(57:39):
We still don't know what time that game is gonna be.
I would I would hope that it would be one
of the primetime games. You know, it's gonna be one
of the bigger games of the day. Obviously you have
Michigan Ohio State that day too, and you know they've
they've only played for spots in the final four of
the last few years, so it's not like that's a
big game or anything like that. But but but it's

(58:00):
gonna be huge, dude, It's gonna be huge. And I
can't wait. Like I told Cody, I can I cannot wait.
I was just as excited, if not more excited than
anybody that I know when it came to the announcement
last season that these two teams are gonna be back
on the field. I know A and M fan and
A and M as a whole weren't thrilled about Texas
joining the sec uh. But you know, like it says

(58:21):
in the Bible, man, iron sharpens iron. So if A
and M wants to get better, if A and M
wants to get better, they're gonna have to beat Texas.
If Texas wants to get better, they're gonna have to
beat A and M. So, you know, you you say
it all the time, and I'll say it again. To
be the man, you gotta beat the man, you know.
And and Texas, Texas for the last twelve years, has

(58:41):
got to hold onto that twenty seven to twenty five victory.
So as it stands right now, we're the man. And so,
like I told Cody Young, Young, come get some because
it's the only way it's gonna be settled is on
the field between those lines, dude. And it'll be a
it'll be a fun night and the college station and
there's either gonna be a lot of partying after that

(59:03):
or there's gonna be a lot of heartache at the
Dixie Chicken once that thing.

Speaker 1 (59:07):
Is over, dude.

Speaker 2 (59:08):
So you know so, But yeah, dude, like I said,
I I can't wait. I think it's gonna be fun.
Hopefully we have, like I said, hopefully we have an
opportunity to be together to watch that game. Man, have
that environment around us. Even though we won't be the game,
you know, even though we won't we will. Yeah, even
though we won't be there in person so to speak,
it'll it'll still mean a lot to us and stuff.

(59:28):
And uh, you know, like you said, man, the memory
of Julian and and the things that we got to
share as a brotherhood over the years, and and you know,
it's gonna be special, dude. It's gonna be special to
to have that game back. And and uh, you know,
we'll probably have a few cold ones in his memory
as as that one kicks off.

Speaker 1 (59:47):
Dude. So but but dude.

Speaker 2 (59:50):
I ain't got nothing else. Man, what do you got?
You got anything else before we wrap this thing up.

Speaker 3 (59:57):
I think that's it then. And the last thing I
want to say is howdy again.

Speaker 2 (01:00:00):
And gig them eggs, hook them horns all day long, man,
keep them horns up all day long. And like I said, dude,
we've got some big things planned for this podcast, some
some more fun stuff down the road. Uh you know,
we'll see how crazy things get, dude, Because I've got
some I've got some things to go over with you
that you're gonna be like, I can't believe you're gonna

(01:00:23):
try something like that, But then again, you know me,
I'm just crazy enough to do it.

Speaker 1 (01:00:26):
So but but dude, this has been fun. This has
been fun. Man.

Speaker 2 (01:00:30):
I'm glad we had a chance to catch up and
get this, get this together, get this recorded.

Speaker 1 (01:00:35):
So well, like I said, well, we'll break it down
a little.

Speaker 2 (01:00:37):
Bit more, you know, maybe next week or whatever, and
kind of give a little more in depth background on
these teams and see see where this thing is gonna
play out. So, uh, that's Mark, I'm Ronnie. We've had
a blast, Texas Texas A and M back at it.
November thirtieth, Kyle Field be there, B Square and uh,

(01:00:59):
We're out fan. Pole Sports Fan Pole Sports a true
tech sports podcast for the true Texas sports fan.

Speaker 1 (01:01:07):
We're out