December 24, 2025 • 20 mins
Buckeye Weekly Podcast: Listener Q&A on Ohio State vs. Miami in the Cotton Bowl
In this episode of the Buckeye Weekly Podcast, hosts Tony Gerdeman and Tom Orr dive into listener questions as they preview Ohio State's upcoming Cotton Bowl matchup against Miami. They discuss the potential defensive strategies, key players like Arvell Reece, and the impact of quarterback mobility on the game. Additionally, they explore how different matchups could unfold and debate which team poses a bigger challenge for Ohio State. Tune in for an in-depth analysis and strategic insights leading up to the big game.
00:00 Introduction and Listener Questions
00:21 Analyzing Ohio State's Defense
02:23 Predictions and Player Performance
06:39 Michael Irvin's Sideline Presence
07:59 Texas vs. Ohio State Debate
15:01 Miami vs. Texas A&M Matchup
19:35 Conclusion and Upcoming Shows
In this episode of the Buckeye Weekly Podcast, hosts Tony Gerdeman and Tom Orr dive into listener questions as they preview Ohio State's upcoming Cotton Bowl matchup against Miami. They discuss the potential defensive strategies, key players like Arvell Reece, and the impact of quarterback mobility on the game. Additionally, they explore how different matchups could unfold and debate which team poses a bigger challenge for Ohio State. Tune in for an in-depth analysis and strategic insights leading up to the big game.
00:00 Introduction and Listener Questions
00:21 Analyzing Ohio State's Defense
02:23 Predictions and Player Performance
06:39 Michael Irvin's Sideline Presence
07:59 Texas vs. Ohio State Debate
15:01 Miami vs. Texas A&M Matchup
19:35 Conclusion and Upcoming Shows
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hello, everybody, Welcome to the Buckeye Weekly Podcast. I'm Tony
Gerdeman here as always with Tom or Tom. How's it going, Tony.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Once the end we're here, we asked the listeners for
questions and great news.
Speaker 3 (00:16):
They were not messing around this week.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
No, they did not mess around. They just got down.
Speaker 3 (00:20):
They did.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Indeed, so first time from at Baseball twenty one, Sam
will Matt Patricia Unleash r vel Reese considering Carson Beck
isn't that mobile? Does feel like they aren't using him
to the fullest of his capabilities. I know I'm being spoiled.
I do think a lot of how they've used rvel
Reese and Sunny styles too, has had to do with
the fact that they've played a number of mobile quarterbacks.
(00:41):
Brando Mendoza was kind of like that Pryce Underwood before
that was kind.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
Of like that UCLA.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
They thought they were going to have that quarterback and
then ended up not having that quarterback. But you've seen
a bunch of mobile quarterbacks in the last games that
have kind of mattered for Ohio State, and so they
have to deploy one kind of defense against that type
of offense. Carson Beck can run but Carson Beck can
run in the way that you know, he's probably a
(01:10):
little more willing of a runner than Julian saying, but
he you know, he's not Michael Vick.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
He's gonna you know, against Notre Dame.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
For example, he had one run that I think he
picked up a first down on third and seven, But
he had one run like that's not you don't need
to game plan around Carson Beck's legs. You need to
gain plan around getting to Carson Beck. I would expect
a more aggressive pass rush because they have been so
concerned about caging is the term that they use, and
just you don't want your defense fence to get too
(01:40):
far upfield because then you can create rush lanes and
all that kind of stuff. You don't have to worry
about that quite as much when you don't have as
much of a running thread at quarterback. And so I
think that may allow Ohio State to be a little
bit more aggressive with all the guys in that sort
of front.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
Seven. Yeah, one hundred percent. I think this is a
game where you can make Rvel Reese more than just
a guy that sets the edge or is watching for
the the scramble, spying no reason to a spy, you
can either attack or just go play linebacker. Will we
actually see him playing some linebacker in this one rather
than just being on the edge, but also what he
(02:14):
is on the edge go after the quarterback. He's not
had a tackle for loss since Purdue. That was November eighth.
It's four games without a tackle for loss.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
I'm going to make a bold prediction Ton't have at
least one tackle for loss.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
I'm gonna have to need to be more than that.
It hasn't had a sack since penn S Day, so
he's gone five games without a sack.
Speaker 3 (02:31):
Tony, I'm going to make a bold prediction.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
Because he went for a straight games one one and
a half, one one that started a Big ten season
with at least a sack, cores sacked and a half,
five straight games without getting to the quarterback. But but
then you look and it's you know, you guess, mobile
guys in there that you're just trying to to contain.
Arvel Reese is just one eleventh of the defense, and
(02:54):
so he's doing his part and allowing others to do theirs.
But also right now you have the opportunity to have
him do more and be more a part of the
disruption of this whole thing. He lines up on the
defensive line a lot. You can allow him to be
in that edge rusher and get after the quarterback. You
(03:15):
don't have to bring five. You can drop somebody else off,
or however you want to do it. Work, go ahead
and bring five because Carson Beck does not like to
be blitzed or rushed, and so I do think that
is a yes, I'm going to say it, Tom a
winning formula to get r vel Reeves a little bit
more aggressive defensively. You've got it. He's done well for
(03:35):
everything that you wanted him to do so far this season,
as evidenced by the fact that nobody has scored more
than sixteen points on you, and that was just one
team holding Indiana to thirteen points. On what you did
with that, it's fantastic. I think you gotta do a
little bit more with him in this one because it's
a different quarterback.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
Yeah, Ohio State had two games this season in which
they did not record a sack.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
Can you name those games?
Speaker 1 (04:01):
Was what?
Speaker 3 (04:02):
No, they had three sacks in that game.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
I will say not Texas. Let's say Purdue in Ula.
Speaker 3 (04:09):
Purdue and UCLA is eventually correct.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
Wow. But first, yes, it's you know you.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
I think part of it is that part of it
is that that they have, you know, in those games,
I think they were playing a little more conservatively and
not oh boy, we're really scared about what Athan Kliacmanas
is going to do with his legs as much as
how much do you need to put out there, Like
those were games that Ohio State had won as soon
as the bus correctly found the stadium, so you don't
(04:37):
need to put that much on film there. But I
think it's the combination of for you know, for Reese,
perhaps in particular, the the fact that they've played quarterbacks
who are running threat, but also this is the time
of year when guys are banged up and no one
is one hundred percent on a football team. It would
not surprise me if after the season we heard, yeah, R.
(04:58):
Valvares was playing through something, you know that that, because
I would imagine his snapcount is probably not quite as high.
Have not gone back and looked at the snap the
game to game snapcounts, but it feels like we've seen
less of him at times in some of these recent weeks.
It wouldn't shock me if he was playing through something
or other.
Speaker 1 (05:17):
But yeah, I.
Speaker 3 (05:18):
Don't think there's anything.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
I don't think that the college football roles has figured
out r vel rees and figured out Matt Patricia and
there's nothing you know, like, oh well they're done, he's cooked.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
There's nothing left there.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
I think it's much more just situational, and this is
a situation where you might see more from him.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
What did you find on the snapcounts?
Speaker 1 (05:37):
Am I correct? Or? No? Well, the same number of
snaps as Sunny styles basically like they're they're playing all
of snaps other than when you know Peyton Pierce is
in there, even though then they're playing free linebackers and
you're not. He's he's he's playing a bunch. But I'm
we've just seen them like just setting the edge yep,
and just containing and it's it's worked. But I think
(06:01):
you'd like to see him use those skills and all
of those talents to make life a bit more miserable
for Carson Beck to know, like, I know he's over there,
but he's not coming after me. Yeah, as opposed to
I know he's over there and he's coming after me. Yeah.
Those are two different things, right, Yeah, And you know, you.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
Could you're doing your one eleventh can look like set
in the edge, don't you know, don't let them, you know,
don't give up leverage, don't give up outside leverage. Or
it can look like, hey, he's eating the quarterback again.
You know that you're a one eleventh. Can look like
either of those things. I think you're going to see
a more aggressive approach with r VL recent a playoff
(06:39):
next one from eighty one? Benny, how many times will
we see Michael Irvin on the sidelines being dramatic?
Speaker 3 (06:44):
I say ten plus.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
I will remind you, Tony, this game is being played
in the home of the Dallas Cowboys.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
Yeah. I was just thinking that my the number I
had in my head is fourteen and a half a setting.
But now it's like, you're gonna have to go over
that because it is the whole Cowboys thing. Now. Is
it just from the kickoff to the end of the
game or is this also because I assume he's gonna
be on some sort of a pregame show. I'm sure,
And does that count as one or is it every
can cut because I were getting into the fifties.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
Well, he says on the sideline, So I assume the
sidelines doesn't include the guest get over ten for sure. Yeah,
this feels like it's going to be a more annoying
version of the Matthew McConaughey thing, where Matthew McConaughey is
just kind of always just sort of standing there with
his thumbs and his belt loops and that's about it.
Speaker 3 (07:29):
And yeah, Michael Irvin is banging trash cans or whatever
he's doing, and it's.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
Like, well, we'll get clips of that, and I'm sure
what we do or rewatch of that game. Like, boy,
it would have been nice to see a replayer, see
a player's reaction as opposed to Michael Irvin's thoughts on
this or his reaction warhap spanking a trash can with
a belt or doing whatever shedan against that he's doing.
(07:54):
You don't see that from the Ohio State forward players.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
I don't think, I don't I don't say next in
format Old Pete, nineteen twenty six. I know you and
Tom think that twenty twenty five loss to Ohio State
did not cost Texas a playoff spot. But the people
here in Austin respectfully disagree. Does the OSU brain trust
agree with you two or the people in Austin. And
has there been any discussion there about trying to cancel
(08:19):
the twenty twenty six matchup. I believe they've affirmatively said yeah,
that's still happening.
Speaker 1 (08:23):
Yeah, Steve Starkkizer said, they have no interest in backing
out of that game. We're buying out of that game.
You've already gone and played at Ohio State, so now
like you want your pound of flesh back. And here's
why I know that the Ohio State loss did not
cost Texas a playoff spot. That was one loss that
was they were and one. Yep, after that game, there
(08:47):
are other games where they were and two, and then
there was a game where they're A and three and
it's the game that was made up and three that
cost them that. Now, did they need to play Ohio State?
Speaker 2 (08:58):
No?
Speaker 1 (08:58):
Do they need to lose to Florida and Texas A right?
Speaker 3 (09:01):
Yeah, no, they'd beat Texas A and M. But they
lost to Florida. They lost to A four four win Florida.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
That's the game because that's the game that kept them
out of the SEC Championship game. And if they made
the SEC Championship game, they would have been in so
you know, yeah, they lost to Ohio State, but just
don't lose two.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
As about thirty five ten to Georgia, and that's the
one that I think that's the one that kicked them
out because that's their third loss, right in terms of well,
you can't possibly have a free loss team in.
Speaker 3 (09:32):
The playoffs unless they're role tiede right, so.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
It's the most recent loss. I think that knocks them
out again. Do you need to play Ohio State? I
think it's okay for college football to play those games.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
Yeah, I mean Alabama lost to a much worse team
in Week one and everyone kind of was willing to
hand wave that because it's just week one, and you know,
I think you get a lot more credit for winning
then you get negative credit for I guess debit for
a losing. You know, that's that's probably you know, I
(10:06):
think those those are games where it's not one team
gets one point zero wins and the other team gets
you know, a negative one. It's really you probably get
you know, you're losing on the road by a touchdown
to the number one team in the country at the
you know, number two team in the country.
Speaker 3 (10:23):
That's a loss that I think a lot of people
are willing to overlook.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
Ohio State went on the road and lost to Oregon,
which ended up the number one team last year, by
one point. And that game didn't hold Ohio State back
at all. It was when Ohio State lost to Michigan
thirteen to ten, and it was a bad Michigan team.
It was not nearly as bad a Michigan team as
Florida was this year. But when you lose that, that's
the one where they really punish you. That you don't
(10:49):
get punished really for losing to good teams. You get
really hammered for losing to bad teams.
Speaker 1 (10:55):
Also, you're Texas, you have you want all this attention,
You've got all of this attention. Arch Manning was the
runaway Heisman favorite coming into the season. Texas. I believe
they never wanted to start the season, and so again
another runaway All eyes on Texas, that's the way they
won it. But the problem is when all eyes are
on you, they see you when you lose to Florida.
(11:15):
They see you when you win at Kentucky by three points,
they see you when you win at Mississippi State by seventh.
They're watching your games they're seeing like Croy this like
even watching the Texas Texas A and M like how
did you lose to Eli Manning? Arch Maning? Why he
was playing? And so they watched a lot of arch Manning.
They saw a lot of arch Manning that was not
very good. And when so much of the team is
(11:37):
tied into how your quarterback looks in terms of how
people think of you, where they're watching a lot of
arch Maning and everybody's watching at a lot of arch
Manning and it doesn't look good, then, like point, I
don't want to give you any benefit of the depth
of doubt, even though they had a very good win
against Oklahoma Alabama. I remember that galling that four game
gaulet against right teams now at the time ranked at
(12:00):
the time, and I think two of them were still ranged.
But that's what people remember in terms of like that
gauntlet versus I watched I watched Texas. I don't think
as many people watched Alabama as watched Texas. Yeah, and
if they watched more Alabama, I don't know that Alabama's
at the playoffs, yeah, maybe not.
Speaker 2 (12:19):
I do have a fun question for you, sixty five
AP voters in the preseason poll sixty five. How many
of the number one preseason voters may the sixty five
preseason voters had their preseason number one team reached the
college football playoffs this year?
Speaker 1 (12:36):
Oh wow, that's an interesting question.
Speaker 2 (12:38):
So will I will give you a hint that one, two, three, four, five,
six of them six teams had a preseason AP number
one vote.
Speaker 1 (12:47):
Okay, I will say.
Speaker 3 (12:50):
Seven thirteen.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
Ohio State had eleven first place votes preseason, Georgia had won,
Oregon had won, So twenty five preseason votes for Texas
who didn't miss by much, twenty three for Penn State
who fired their head coach before Halloween, four for Clemson
whose fans wanted their team to fire their head coach
before Halloween, and then Georgia and Oregon each had one.
Speaker 3 (13:15):
So yeah, it is.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
We do that exercise every year with the Ralph Russo
stat that you know a certain number of AP you know,
like four of the preseason top five are going to
make the playoff and all that. And this year the
answer was that two of the preseason top five made
the playoff and two of the preseason top six made
the playoff, as Notre Dame was in there as well.
Speaker 1 (13:37):
Not the good thing. These people don't write or talk
about college football for a living. Tome two.
Speaker 2 (13:43):
Yeah, only two preseason top ten teams fired their head
coach before the end of the season.
Speaker 3 (13:49):
LSU also in that group.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
So yeah, you go into the every season going, well,
you know this stupid's four it's too predictable.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
No, no, no, even when what the college football video
game comes out every year, people are like, well, do
their dynasties or just some stuff, and it's like the craziest,
stupidest stuff that you've ever seen. It's like, how's that
any different? That's what we saw this year.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
Number one Indiana Hoosiers in the Rose Bowl against big
underdog Alabama with the Heisman Trophy.
Speaker 3 (14:20):
Winner playing for Indiana.
Speaker 1 (14:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:23):
If you put that on the twenty twenty three college
football game and simmed two years for it's like, no,
you need to put a patch on this.
Speaker 3 (14:29):
This is ridiculous.
Speaker 1 (14:30):
Frank Kelly, he won't be anywhere next.
Speaker 4 (14:34):
Year, presumably, Well, Michigan hasn't made a higher yet, and
we know that he has told Michigan I would wouldn't
mind be coaching there, So Michigan said we would.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
The VisiC has stopped there's six tiers still have the
middle all of the room, and nobody's out there at
the room yet. Brian Kelly's just outside the doors.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
Like.
Speaker 3 (14:55):
I know they're gonna any minute now.
Speaker 2 (14:59):
Thanks t from at ol Pete nineteen twenty six. Before
the A and M Miami game, you thought Miami would
be tougher for Ohio State given what you saw on Saturday,
and get tindering it considering that A and M would
have had a home game in the Cotton Bowl, have
you reconsidered I think, matchup wise, I still think Miami
is a tougher matchup. Now if you go from playing
a probably functional road game to playing probably a functional
(15:25):
at least neutral site to maybe slight home game, So
that's worth you know, that's home home field is generally
considered to be worth about three points, So give it
four because you're probably gonna have a little bit of
a crowded batage there.
Speaker 3 (15:38):
So okay, that's four points.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
I know what those point spread said, and the point
spread said that Ohio State was going to be a
one point bigger favorite against Miami than against.
Speaker 3 (15:49):
Texas A and M.
Speaker 2 (15:51):
What about the Texas A and M defense made you
think this defense can stop Ohio State from running the ball.
And if Ohio State can run the ball, what makes
you think that the Highest State's not scoring thirty eight
points on that Texas A and M defense.
Speaker 1 (16:03):
Yeah, I think the only thing is Texas A and
M's defensive line would do more and more stunning and twists,
and it's like this becomes this like oh my gosh,
you know thing with this Ohio State offensive line. But
other than that, like you can run on them, you
can play action them, you can throw on them, as
long as you're protecting the quarterback. And High State's offensive
line seems to be in a better spot. And we've
(16:25):
seen this tex Say M defense give up tons of points.
I haven't really seen that from the Miami side of
the defense giving up a punch of points. So I
also think there's more skill with the Miami offense with
where Celery texastandem quarterback, there's like there's possibilities with them.
(16:45):
But you also know that that last throw could very
well be going to the other team, just as we
saw in the playoff game against Miami where he marched
them down at the final minute. But it was a
bad throw it interception, and that's that was Marcel Reid
in a nutshell and he just you can't necessarily trust him.
(17:06):
Now with Carson Beck, can you trust Carson Beck? You
me there, you know it's like you trust him maybe
a little more. But you also know that he still
has wild throws and he has as we talked about
the previous show, Beta way throws where he throws it
up for grabs. So that's a scary thing as well.
(17:27):
And the fact that he's now a fifth or sixty
year guy still doing that, I think is maybe that's
a bigger concern than he what I Richard Reshmand or
Richard Sophomore and Marcel Reid doing those sorts of things.
But by this point of the year, none of them
should and Julian said should be doing it either.
Speaker 2 (17:43):
Yeah, And just looking at SP plus, Texas A and
M is one tenth of a point ahead of Miami,
But the way Texas A and m is offense ranked seventh,
Miami's offense is ranked sixteenth. Texas A and M's defense
is ranked twenty first. Miami's offense ranked tense. You don't
beat Ohio State with offense this year. You beat Ohio
(18:03):
State by dragging them to hell. Basically, you know, you're
just you're the sea monster trying to reach up and
pull them under and drag them into a thirteen to
ten kind of game. I looked at that Texas A
and M defense and went, you know, if if you're
giving up ten yards of carry to a running back
on a day when the opponent can't throw the ball
because of the wind, I have bad news about what's
(18:25):
going to happen to you up against a better throwing
opponent with better wide receivers on a fast, dry indoor track.
You know, your crowd can't cover Jeremiah Smith and.
Speaker 3 (18:34):
Carnell Tape for you. So that's that's where you sort
of run into a problem.
Speaker 2 (18:38):
And I, you know, I I just I came away
from that game thinking, yeah, I think this was you know,
it was windy. We both said, I think low scoring game.
It was a lower scoring game than expected because of
the conditions, but that was basically the game I was expecting.
Speaker 1 (18:53):
Yeah, I think I talk to you watching First, I
watched the Texas Texas say the M game, and then
we watched the Miami No Miami Pit Pit Pit game
to get the most recent, and I watched the Texas
Texas A and m came first, and I thought, well,
I'm picking Miami just based on how how is Texas
(19:15):
winning this game? Yeah? I was like, my yes, how
is Texas winning this with arch Manning throwing the ball
all over the place not running the ball very well?
It's like this, this doesn't make sense. So clearly Miami
is going to beat these guys. Now did they beat
them clearly? Well, I mean they beat them, beat them
by enough we'll touchdown, yep, So there you go. All right,
(19:35):
then that will do it for this episode. We want
to thank you all. Hit the thumbs up if you
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for so I wouldn't know why you have it at
this point. Thank you all for the questions we are
we are getting through them, and we're not just doing
listener question shows from here to eternity. We will eventually
head to Dallas. We may are shoot Tom, we may
(19:56):
already be there, who knows, But we've got plenty of
different shows for you as well. We're going to look
at all sides of this, as you guys know and
as you guys would expect. So again, subscribe to the
channel so you get all of those that will do
it from here. Thank you all for tuning in, and
we'll talk to you later.
Hello, everybody, Welcome to the Buckeye Weekly Podcast. I'm Tony
Gerdeman here as always with Tom or Tom. How's it going, Tony.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Once the end we're here, we asked the listeners for
questions and great news.
Speaker 3 (00:16):
They were not messing around this week.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
No, they did not mess around. They just got down.
Speaker 3 (00:20):
They did.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Indeed, so first time from at Baseball twenty one, Sam
will Matt Patricia Unleash r vel Reese considering Carson Beck
isn't that mobile? Does feel like they aren't using him
to the fullest of his capabilities. I know I'm being spoiled.
I do think a lot of how they've used rvel
Reese and Sunny styles too, has had to do with
the fact that they've played a number of mobile quarterbacks.
(00:41):
Brando Mendoza was kind of like that Pryce Underwood before
that was kind.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
Of like that UCLA.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
They thought they were going to have that quarterback and
then ended up not having that quarterback. But you've seen
a bunch of mobile quarterbacks in the last games that
have kind of mattered for Ohio State, and so they
have to deploy one kind of defense against that type
of offense. Carson Beck can run but Carson Beck can
run in the way that you know, he's probably a
(01:10):
little more willing of a runner than Julian saying, but
he you know, he's not Michael Vick.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
He's gonna you know, against Notre Dame.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
For example, he had one run that I think he
picked up a first down on third and seven, But
he had one run like that's not you don't need
to game plan around Carson Beck's legs. You need to
gain plan around getting to Carson Beck. I would expect
a more aggressive pass rush because they have been so
concerned about caging is the term that they use, and
just you don't want your defense fence to get too
(01:40):
far upfield because then you can create rush lanes and
all that kind of stuff. You don't have to worry
about that quite as much when you don't have as
much of a running thread at quarterback. And so I
think that may allow Ohio State to be a little
bit more aggressive with all the guys in that sort
of front.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
Seven. Yeah, one hundred percent. I think this is a
game where you can make Rvel Reese more than just
a guy that sets the edge or is watching for
the the scramble, spying no reason to a spy, you
can either attack or just go play linebacker. Will we
actually see him playing some linebacker in this one rather
than just being on the edge, but also what he
(02:14):
is on the edge go after the quarterback. He's not
had a tackle for loss since Purdue. That was November eighth.
It's four games without a tackle for loss.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
I'm going to make a bold prediction Ton't have at
least one tackle for loss.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
I'm gonna have to need to be more than that.
It hasn't had a sack since penn S Day, so
he's gone five games without a sack.
Speaker 3 (02:31):
Tony, I'm going to make a bold prediction.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
Because he went for a straight games one one and
a half, one one that started a Big ten season
with at least a sack, cores sacked and a half,
five straight games without getting to the quarterback. But but
then you look and it's you know, you guess, mobile
guys in there that you're just trying to to contain.
Arvel Reese is just one eleventh of the defense, and
(02:54):
so he's doing his part and allowing others to do theirs.
But also right now you have the opportunity to have
him do more and be more a part of the
disruption of this whole thing. He lines up on the
defensive line a lot. You can allow him to be
in that edge rusher and get after the quarterback. You
(03:15):
don't have to bring five. You can drop somebody else off,
or however you want to do it. Work, go ahead
and bring five because Carson Beck does not like to
be blitzed or rushed, and so I do think that
is a yes, I'm going to say it, Tom a
winning formula to get r vel Reeves a little bit
more aggressive defensively. You've got it. He's done well for
(03:35):
everything that you wanted him to do so far this season,
as evidenced by the fact that nobody has scored more
than sixteen points on you, and that was just one
team holding Indiana to thirteen points. On what you did
with that, it's fantastic. I think you gotta do a
little bit more with him in this one because it's
a different quarterback.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
Yeah, Ohio State had two games this season in which
they did not record a sack.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
Can you name those games?
Speaker 1 (04:01):
Was what?
Speaker 3 (04:02):
No, they had three sacks in that game.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
I will say not Texas. Let's say Purdue in Ula.
Speaker 3 (04:09):
Purdue and UCLA is eventually correct.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
Wow. But first, yes, it's you know you.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
I think part of it is that part of it
is that that they have, you know, in those games,
I think they were playing a little more conservatively and
not oh boy, we're really scared about what Athan Kliacmanas
is going to do with his legs as much as
how much do you need to put out there, Like
those were games that Ohio State had won as soon
as the bus correctly found the stadium, so you don't
(04:37):
need to put that much on film there. But I
think it's the combination of for you know, for Reese,
perhaps in particular, the the fact that they've played quarterbacks
who are running threat, but also this is the time
of year when guys are banged up and no one
is one hundred percent on a football team. It would
not surprise me if after the season we heard, yeah, R.
(04:58):
Valvares was playing through something, you know that that, because
I would imagine his snapcount is probably not quite as high.
Have not gone back and looked at the snap the
game to game snapcounts, but it feels like we've seen
less of him at times in some of these recent weeks.
It wouldn't shock me if he was playing through something
or other.
Speaker 1 (05:17):
But yeah, I.
Speaker 3 (05:18):
Don't think there's anything.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
I don't think that the college football roles has figured
out r vel rees and figured out Matt Patricia and
there's nothing you know, like, oh well they're done, he's cooked.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
There's nothing left there.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
I think it's much more just situational, and this is
a situation where you might see more from him.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
What did you find on the snapcounts?
Speaker 1 (05:37):
Am I correct? Or? No? Well, the same number of
snaps as Sunny styles basically like they're they're playing all
of snaps other than when you know Peyton Pierce is
in there, even though then they're playing free linebackers and
you're not. He's he's he's playing a bunch. But I'm
we've just seen them like just setting the edge yep,
and just containing and it's it's worked. But I think
(06:01):
you'd like to see him use those skills and all
of those talents to make life a bit more miserable
for Carson Beck to know, like, I know he's over there,
but he's not coming after me. Yeah, as opposed to
I know he's over there and he's coming after me. Yeah.
Those are two different things, right, Yeah, And you know, you.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
Could you're doing your one eleventh can look like set
in the edge, don't you know, don't let them, you know,
don't give up leverage, don't give up outside leverage. Or
it can look like, hey, he's eating the quarterback again.
You know that you're a one eleventh. Can look like
either of those things. I think you're going to see
a more aggressive approach with r VL recent a playoff
(06:39):
next one from eighty one? Benny, how many times will
we see Michael Irvin on the sidelines being dramatic?
Speaker 3 (06:44):
I say ten plus.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
I will remind you, Tony, this game is being played
in the home of the Dallas Cowboys.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
Yeah. I was just thinking that my the number I
had in my head is fourteen and a half a setting.
But now it's like, you're gonna have to go over
that because it is the whole Cowboys thing. Now. Is
it just from the kickoff to the end of the
game or is this also because I assume he's gonna
be on some sort of a pregame show. I'm sure,
And does that count as one or is it every
can cut because I were getting into the fifties.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
Well, he says on the sideline, So I assume the
sidelines doesn't include the guest get over ten for sure. Yeah,
this feels like it's going to be a more annoying
version of the Matthew McConaughey thing, where Matthew McConaughey is
just kind of always just sort of standing there with
his thumbs and his belt loops and that's about it.
Speaker 3 (07:29):
And yeah, Michael Irvin is banging trash cans or whatever
he's doing, and it's.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
Like, well, we'll get clips of that, and I'm sure
what we do or rewatch of that game. Like, boy,
it would have been nice to see a replayer, see
a player's reaction as opposed to Michael Irvin's thoughts on
this or his reaction warhap spanking a trash can with
a belt or doing whatever shedan against that he's doing.
(07:54):
You don't see that from the Ohio State forward players.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
I don't think, I don't I don't say next in
format Old Pete, nineteen twenty six. I know you and
Tom think that twenty twenty five loss to Ohio State
did not cost Texas a playoff spot. But the people
here in Austin respectfully disagree. Does the OSU brain trust
agree with you two or the people in Austin. And
has there been any discussion there about trying to cancel
(08:19):
the twenty twenty six matchup. I believe they've affirmatively said yeah,
that's still happening.
Speaker 1 (08:23):
Yeah, Steve Starkkizer said, they have no interest in backing
out of that game. We're buying out of that game.
You've already gone and played at Ohio State, so now
like you want your pound of flesh back. And here's
why I know that the Ohio State loss did not
cost Texas a playoff spot. That was one loss that
was they were and one. Yep, after that game, there
(08:47):
are other games where they were and two, and then
there was a game where they're A and three and
it's the game that was made up and three that
cost them that. Now, did they need to play Ohio State?
Speaker 2 (08:58):
No?
Speaker 1 (08:58):
Do they need to lose to Florida and Texas A right?
Speaker 3 (09:01):
Yeah, no, they'd beat Texas A and M. But they
lost to Florida. They lost to A four four win Florida.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
That's the game because that's the game that kept them
out of the SEC Championship game. And if they made
the SEC Championship game, they would have been in so
you know, yeah, they lost to Ohio State, but just
don't lose two.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
As about thirty five ten to Georgia, and that's the
one that I think that's the one that kicked them
out because that's their third loss, right in terms of well,
you can't possibly have a free loss team in.
Speaker 3 (09:32):
The playoffs unless they're role tiede right, so.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
It's the most recent loss. I think that knocks them
out again. Do you need to play Ohio State? I
think it's okay for college football to play those games.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
Yeah, I mean Alabama lost to a much worse team
in Week one and everyone kind of was willing to
hand wave that because it's just week one, and you know,
I think you get a lot more credit for winning
then you get negative credit for I guess debit for
a losing. You know, that's that's probably you know, I
(10:06):
think those those are games where it's not one team
gets one point zero wins and the other team gets
you know, a negative one. It's really you probably get
you know, you're losing on the road by a touchdown
to the number one team in the country at the
you know, number two team in the country.
Speaker 3 (10:23):
That's a loss that I think a lot of people
are willing to overlook.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
Ohio State went on the road and lost to Oregon,
which ended up the number one team last year, by
one point. And that game didn't hold Ohio State back
at all. It was when Ohio State lost to Michigan
thirteen to ten, and it was a bad Michigan team.
It was not nearly as bad a Michigan team as
Florida was this year. But when you lose that, that's
the one where they really punish you. That you don't
(10:49):
get punished really for losing to good teams. You get
really hammered for losing to bad teams.
Speaker 1 (10:55):
Also, you're Texas, you have you want all this attention,
You've got all of this attention. Arch Manning was the
runaway Heisman favorite coming into the season. Texas. I believe
they never wanted to start the season, and so again
another runaway All eyes on Texas, that's the way they
won it. But the problem is when all eyes are
on you, they see you when you lose to Florida.
(11:15):
They see you when you win at Kentucky by three points,
they see you when you win at Mississippi State by seventh.
They're watching your games they're seeing like Croy this like
even watching the Texas Texas A and M like how
did you lose to Eli Manning? Arch Maning? Why he
was playing? And so they watched a lot of arch Manning.
They saw a lot of arch Manning that was not
very good. And when so much of the team is
(11:37):
tied into how your quarterback looks in terms of how
people think of you, where they're watching a lot of
arch Maning and everybody's watching at a lot of arch
Manning and it doesn't look good, then, like point, I
don't want to give you any benefit of the depth
of doubt, even though they had a very good win
against Oklahoma Alabama. I remember that galling that four game
gaulet against right teams now at the time ranked at
(12:00):
the time, and I think two of them were still ranged.
But that's what people remember in terms of like that
gauntlet versus I watched I watched Texas. I don't think
as many people watched Alabama as watched Texas. Yeah, and
if they watched more Alabama, I don't know that Alabama's
at the playoffs, yeah, maybe not.
Speaker 2 (12:19):
I do have a fun question for you, sixty five
AP voters in the preseason poll sixty five. How many
of the number one preseason voters may the sixty five
preseason voters had their preseason number one team reached the
college football playoffs this year?
Speaker 1 (12:36):
Oh wow, that's an interesting question.
Speaker 2 (12:38):
So will I will give you a hint that one, two, three, four, five,
six of them six teams had a preseason AP number
one vote.
Speaker 1 (12:47):
Okay, I will say.
Speaker 3 (12:50):
Seven thirteen.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
Ohio State had eleven first place votes preseason, Georgia had won,
Oregon had won, So twenty five preseason votes for Texas
who didn't miss by much, twenty three for Penn State
who fired their head coach before Halloween, four for Clemson
whose fans wanted their team to fire their head coach
before Halloween, and then Georgia and Oregon each had one.
Speaker 3 (13:15):
So yeah, it is.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
We do that exercise every year with the Ralph Russo
stat that you know a certain number of AP you know,
like four of the preseason top five are going to
make the playoff and all that. And this year the
answer was that two of the preseason top five made
the playoff and two of the preseason top six made
the playoff, as Notre Dame was in there as well.
Speaker 1 (13:37):
Not the good thing. These people don't write or talk
about college football for a living. Tome two.
Speaker 2 (13:43):
Yeah, only two preseason top ten teams fired their head
coach before the end of the season.
Speaker 3 (13:49):
LSU also in that group.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
So yeah, you go into the every season going, well,
you know this stupid's four it's too predictable.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
No, no, no, even when what the college football video
game comes out every year, people are like, well, do
their dynasties or just some stuff, and it's like the craziest,
stupidest stuff that you've ever seen. It's like, how's that
any different? That's what we saw this year.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
Number one Indiana Hoosiers in the Rose Bowl against big
underdog Alabama with the Heisman Trophy.
Speaker 3 (14:20):
Winner playing for Indiana.
Speaker 1 (14:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:23):
If you put that on the twenty twenty three college
football game and simmed two years for it's like, no,
you need to put a patch on this.
Speaker 3 (14:29):
This is ridiculous.
Speaker 1 (14:30):
Frank Kelly, he won't be anywhere next.
Speaker 4 (14:34):
Year, presumably, Well, Michigan hasn't made a higher yet, and
we know that he has told Michigan I would wouldn't
mind be coaching there, So Michigan said we would.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
The VisiC has stopped there's six tiers still have the
middle all of the room, and nobody's out there at
the room yet. Brian Kelly's just outside the doors.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
Like.
Speaker 3 (14:55):
I know they're gonna any minute now.
Speaker 2 (14:59):
Thanks t from at ol Pete nineteen twenty six. Before
the A and M Miami game, you thought Miami would
be tougher for Ohio State given what you saw on Saturday,
and get tindering it considering that A and M would
have had a home game in the Cotton Bowl, have
you reconsidered I think, matchup wise, I still think Miami
is a tougher matchup. Now if you go from playing
a probably functional road game to playing probably a functional
(15:25):
at least neutral site to maybe slight home game, So
that's worth you know, that's home home field is generally
considered to be worth about three points, So give it
four because you're probably gonna have a little bit of
a crowded batage there.
Speaker 3 (15:38):
So okay, that's four points.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
I know what those point spread said, and the point
spread said that Ohio State was going to be a
one point bigger favorite against Miami than against.
Speaker 3 (15:49):
Texas A and M.
Speaker 2 (15:51):
What about the Texas A and M defense made you
think this defense can stop Ohio State from running the ball.
And if Ohio State can run the ball, what makes
you think that the Highest State's not scoring thirty eight
points on that Texas A and M defense.
Speaker 1 (16:03):
Yeah, I think the only thing is Texas A and
M's defensive line would do more and more stunning and twists,
and it's like this becomes this like oh my gosh,
you know thing with this Ohio State offensive line. But
other than that, like you can run on them, you
can play action them, you can throw on them, as
long as you're protecting the quarterback. And High State's offensive
line seems to be in a better spot. And we've
(16:25):
seen this tex Say M defense give up tons of points.
I haven't really seen that from the Miami side of
the defense giving up a punch of points. So I
also think there's more skill with the Miami offense with
where Celery texastandem quarterback, there's like there's possibilities with them.
(16:45):
But you also know that that last throw could very
well be going to the other team, just as we
saw in the playoff game against Miami where he marched
them down at the final minute. But it was a
bad throw it interception, and that's that was Marcel Reid
in a nutshell and he just you can't necessarily trust him.
(17:06):
Now with Carson Beck, can you trust Carson Beck? You
me there, you know it's like you trust him maybe
a little more. But you also know that he still
has wild throws and he has as we talked about
the previous show, Beta way throws where he throws it
up for grabs. So that's a scary thing as well.
(17:27):
And the fact that he's now a fifth or sixty
year guy still doing that, I think is maybe that's
a bigger concern than he what I Richard Reshmand or
Richard Sophomore and Marcel Reid doing those sorts of things.
But by this point of the year, none of them
should and Julian said should be doing it either.
Speaker 2 (17:43):
Yeah, And just looking at SP plus, Texas A and
M is one tenth of a point ahead of Miami,
But the way Texas A and m is offense ranked seventh,
Miami's offense is ranked sixteenth. Texas A and M's defense
is ranked twenty first. Miami's offense ranked tense. You don't
beat Ohio State with offense this year. You beat Ohio
(18:03):
State by dragging them to hell. Basically, you know, you're
just you're the sea monster trying to reach up and
pull them under and drag them into a thirteen to
ten kind of game. I looked at that Texas A
and M defense and went, you know, if if you're
giving up ten yards of carry to a running back
on a day when the opponent can't throw the ball
because of the wind, I have bad news about what's
(18:25):
going to happen to you up against a better throwing
opponent with better wide receivers on a fast, dry indoor track.
You know, your crowd can't cover Jeremiah Smith and.
Speaker 3 (18:34):
Carnell Tape for you. So that's that's where you sort
of run into a problem.
Speaker 2 (18:38):
And I, you know, I I just I came away
from that game thinking, yeah, I think this was you know,
it was windy. We both said, I think low scoring game.
It was a lower scoring game than expected because of
the conditions, but that was basically the game I was expecting.
Speaker 1 (18:53):
Yeah, I think I talk to you watching First, I
watched the Texas Texas say the M game, and then
we watched the Miami No Miami Pit Pit Pit game
to get the most recent, and I watched the Texas
Texas A and m came first, and I thought, well,
I'm picking Miami just based on how how is Texas
(19:15):
winning this game? Yeah? I was like, my yes, how
is Texas winning this with arch Manning throwing the ball
all over the place not running the ball very well?
It's like this, this doesn't make sense. So clearly Miami
is going to beat these guys. Now did they beat
them clearly? Well, I mean they beat them, beat them
by enough we'll touchdown, yep, So there you go. All right,
(19:35):
then that will do it for this episode. We want
to thank you all. Hit the thumbs up if you
could the bell to be notified. Subscribe to the channel
for so I wouldn't know why you have it at
this point. Thank you all for the questions we are
we are getting through them, and we're not just doing
listener question shows from here to eternity. We will eventually
head to Dallas. We may are shoot Tom, we may
(19:56):
already be there, who knows, But we've got plenty of
different shows for you as well. We're going to look
at all sides of this, as you guys know and
as you guys would expect. So again, subscribe to the
channel so you get all of those that will do
it from here. Thank you all for tuning in, and
we'll talk to you later.
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