December 12, 2025 • 28 mins
Buckeye Weekly: Analyzing Miami's Win Over Pitt and Potential Matchup with Ohio State
In this episode of the Buckeye Weekly Podcast, hosts Tony Gerdeman and Tom Orr dive deep into their rewatch of Miami's emphatic 38-7 victory over Pitt. They discuss standout performances, including freshman receiver Malachi Toney's dominating presence, and examine Miami's formidable defensive line. Tune in as they explore potential keys to an Ohio State vs. Miami playoff game and what the Buckeyes need to do to come out on top. Don't miss this in-depth analysis leading up to the College Football Playoff!
00:00 Introduction and Podcast Welcome
00:11 Rewatching Miami vs. Pitt Game
02:11 Miami's Performance and Key Players
03:25 Focus on Malachi Tony
05:45 Miami's Offensive Strategy
14:13 Miami's Defensive Standouts
16:59 Analyzing Miami's Defense
23:14 Final Thoughts and Wrap-Up
28:08 Closing Remarks and Podcast Info
In this episode of the Buckeye Weekly Podcast, hosts Tony Gerdeman and Tom Orr dive deep into their rewatch of Miami's emphatic 38-7 victory over Pitt. They discuss standout performances, including freshman receiver Malachi Toney's dominating presence, and examine Miami's formidable defensive line. Tune in as they explore potential keys to an Ohio State vs. Miami playoff game and what the Buckeyes need to do to come out on top. Don't miss this in-depth analysis leading up to the College Football Playoff!
00:00 Introduction and Podcast Welcome
00:11 Rewatching Miami vs. Pitt Game
02:11 Miami's Performance and Key Players
03:25 Focus on Malachi Tony
05:45 Miami's Offensive Strategy
14:13 Miami's Defensive Standouts
16:59 Analyzing Miami's Defense
23:14 Final Thoughts and Wrap-Up
28:08 Closing Remarks and Podcast Info
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
Gerdaman here as always with Tom or Tom.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
How's it going, Tony? It is time to do another
rewatch show in preparation for the Buckeyes first college football
playoff game of the season. And this is a weird
year because we don't know who they're going to be
playing in their first game of the playoff, and with
it sounding like it might expand to sixteen next year,
this might be the only time we ever have to
do this where we have to do a Ohio State
(00:32):
versus TVD game prep rewatch. We already watched one of
Texas A and M's games. Now we're watching that, we
watch their most recent game where they played Texas and lost.
Now we're watching Miami's most recent game where they played
Pitt and one. And you know, I don't want to
make any real, real, real from statements, but I'm going
(00:54):
to say, Miami is maybe you going to have a
decent chance to win on the road at Kyle Field
at least based on the one game that we've watched
in both of these teams.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
Yeah, based on and frankly based on the one game
that I saw Texas A and M Before I got
to watch the Miami game. I was thinking, I like
Miami's chances here, and now you know, Kyle Field is
a different environment than what Miami has used to playing.
It's not like going into oh, I don't know, Durham
(01:23):
or wherever. You know, this is going to be something
more legitimate.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
Than that you keep Winston Salem's name out of your mouth, sir.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
Certainly different than you would think. The their last game,
which is the one we're talking about where they went
into Pittsburgh and Akrascher Stadium is yes, look at that.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
Yes, and you know that is not exactly a fiery
cauldron of intensity on a pitt Panthers home football game Saturday.
And I can say that with a great deal of
certain need my voice because I went to one of
the pitt Panthers home games this season against NCC and
it was like, boy, this is a lot of empty seats.
(02:07):
They're excited, those empty seats are excited to be here,
but not the most intense environment. But one thing I
do think we need to start by giving Miami credit
for is it was thirty five degrees and it was sunny,
but it was thirty five degrees and there was a
little bit of a wind, and it's like, this is exactly,
exactly this scenario where you know exactly what you're gonna
(02:27):
get from Miami and they're gonna sort of limp through
to the finish and it's going to look like anytime
Miami played in the Pinstripe Bowl, and they're gonna not
want to be there and they're all gonna be huddled
around the heaters on the sideline. And that wasn't what
we got here at all. Like I looked at this
on the schedule all year, it went, well, if it's
under forty degrees, Miami's gonna absolutely fold there. And they
(02:49):
absolutely didn't.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
Yeah, back in the summer, I was doing season long
predictions and one of my predictions was that pitt would
knock Miami out of the playoffs in this game because
of all of those things that we just talked about.
But no credit them. They stood up and stood out
thirty eight seven with the win. Not sure how many
people were watching it, but it did happen, and it
happened in Pittsburgh and it was emphatic. And I guess
(03:16):
when we do these things and you know, we've done
them for years now. And he starts out with like, basically,
what names are you writing down? And I think the
key name that we need to talk about here is
freshman receiver Melochai Tony, who is everywhere and offensively and
on special teams thirteen catches for one hundred and twenty
(03:38):
six yards one for two passing, and he's also their
wild okay guy through a touchdown, almost through another. He
is their punt returner. He is the guy that o't
highest say is gonna have to be keen on and
like hell like Bill, there was a wheel route they
ran with him out of the backfield where he got
matched up on a linebacker and it's like, well, that's
a terrible matchup for anybody. And so this coming game
(04:04):
with Texas ADM or the game against Ohio State after that,
Lorenzo Styles, Jamaine Matthews Sunny styles, like everybody's gonna be
aware of this guy because they will find ways to
get him the ball where it's like, should you be
putting a five to nine, you know, one hundred and
seventy five pound guy that wildcat, I don't know, and
(04:24):
should you be having him drop back and throw the ball.
I don't know, but apparently you should because it's been working.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
Yeah, he is kind of you know, he is the
why don't they build the whole plane out of the
black box? Like, why don't they build the whole offense
out of Malachai Tony? And for once someone has done it,
he is the you know, he's throwing, he's running, he's passing.
It's like, well, he doesn't make the pats, but if
they go for two, I'm sure that's where the ball's going,
so you can kind of half give him credit there.
(04:52):
He is as as much of a one man band
as anyone I've seen in college football since, like I
keep going back to Antoine Randa lel and I'm sure
there's someone more recent than that, but you know, like
so clearly the best player on the offense by a
million miles, which is remarkable considering they were paying Carson
Beck like the GDP of a mid sized nation this
(05:14):
year in Nil and Malachy Toni is like the engine
that makes the whole thing go, and it's not you know,
he is not a deep receiver. He is a lots
of screens, lots of short stuff, and he's really elusive
and he'll make you miss and he can turn some
of those short plays into big gains. You mentioned the
wheel route where he got got wide open on there
(05:37):
was a little bit of a pick play, but you
know it was also one of those things where if
the pick wasn't there, he probably also was going to
outrun the guy to the to the spot. So you know,
it feels like stopping that Miami offense really goes straight
just straight through. Can you stop Malachy Tony because the
rest of the wide receivers, you know, in this game,
(05:58):
we're only we've only watched one game. Keilon Merion is
a fifth year senior out of transfer from BYU and Yukon,
And boy, let's take a moment to reflect on his
college journey from being a student at BYU to Yukon
to Miami. Okay, okay, all right, from the Book of
Mormon to the seventh floor crew. That is a that
(06:19):
is a a journey and a half right there. CJ.
Daniels the other one sixty year senior wide receiver. He
had a thirty three yard touchdown in like the last
thirty seconds of this game when it was like wildly
over Other than that, one catch seven yards that's it.
That's that's the extent of the production from the other
two wide receivers. I think Marion had two catches for
thirteen yards, so three catches for twenty yards for wide
(06:43):
receivers other than Malakai Tony. So if it was me Tony,
I would be looking at perhaps dedicating most of my
resources in the passing game to either rushing Carson back
or covering Malakai Tony and saying, all right, someone else
beat us.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
Yeah, And and the good news, as you said, he
I think through deep to him maybe once, and I
don't know that I don't recall that it being being successful.
So there's a lot of just make sure you tackle
the guy when he gets it, and he may get
it three yards gamit line of scrimmage, or he make
it six yards downfield. And you know, he averaged under
ten yards per catching this game, but as you said,
(07:20):
he was everywhere. He's thrown the ball six times this year.
Ohih stayed backup quarterback like kN Keno's thrown it fourteen times.
Just to give you an idea of like this is
a part of their authorse and you can't just assume
that he's wildcat. So he's just gonna run the ball.
No he he like it wasn't even like you're not
even talking like trick plays where he's getting these. He
(07:41):
didn't roll out the one time and throw it, but
the first throw he just dropped back and threw it
into the end zone. They throw into the end zone
with him. That's that's the kind of confidence that they
have in this kid, or maybe the lack of confidence
they have Carson back.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
Now that's a cheap shot.
Speaker 1 (07:54):
I'm not doing that. I wouldn't say that, but it is.
It is interesting the way they use him, and they
will continue to do so. What I also liked is
he's fearless in the putt return game as well, because
he failed to put when it was just bouncing and
bouncing and there are like four guys around him like
waiting to down the ball, and rather than let it
go another six or eight yards, he just got into
(08:16):
there and had the confidence like I'm going to field this,
I'll be okay. So certainly a guy that is older
than his eighteen years or whatever in terms of his
football savvy.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
Yeah, and one of the other wide receivers that I
think had one catch in the game with Josiah Trader.
That's the name that Ohio State fans will probably remember
from recruiting from a year or two back. Alex Bowman,
number eighty seven, the tight end. Three catches for fifty
eight yards. He was the only guy who until the
end of the game, when I thought, I don't think
I've thought it or even noticed any of the other
wide receivers, and went back and wrote down the names
(08:49):
of the wide receivers. Alex Bowman was the only other
guy I had in the passing game that I even
really noticed during the course of this game. And the
run game is the run games okay for Miami. I
mean it's it's fine. Mark Fletcher another name that Ohio
State fans will remember from recruiting. Hey, you know he's fine.
He's not. You know, he's been the starter most of
(09:11):
the season and hasn't gotten to a thousand yards yet,
and you know it's it's just okay. He had a
rushing touchdown in this game. He also tried to throw
back to Carson back that was incomplete at one point.
Geord Pringle, number twenty two, true freshman running back. He's
got he's got some good burst. I'm sure you know,
he's someone who I'm guessing if we go back and
(09:32):
watch some earlier games, he's not gonna be on the
field as much as he was in this one. But
he looked impressive to me. He's you know, he's not
gonna run for three hundred yards on you or anything,
but he's he of the two backs like Fletcher. Fletcher
was fine, Pringle was the one that you know, if
someone's going to break one on you, it's probably more.
(09:54):
That's probably more Pringle's game than Fletcher's.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
Yeah, he was. I wrote him down as well. Twenty
two goal and he's got some explosion. You can see it.
He's laterally quick and north south. He's fast as well.
And but unless with just Mirk Fletcher, he's a big guy,
he can fall forward. I'm not blown away by their
(10:17):
run game at this point. I was impressed enough by
their their pass protection. Carson Beck had plenty of time
to throw, didn't seem to really get all all that rattled,
completed a high percentage of his passes in this one
through one interception, which you know was maybe the norm
at this point. If you can just keep it to one,
(10:38):
I'm sure Miami fans will take that and any game
that he plays twenty three or twenty nine for two
hundred and sixty seven yards, three touchdowns, one interception, seventy
nine percent completion percentage, and you know, he seems he
was very comfortable in this one. I don't I didn't
even really have much to say about him because he
is just such a known quantity at this point. You know,
(11:00):
he did miss the nickel blitz on one and got hit,
but other than that, you know, like, I don't know
that there's anything. Certainly you respect him and he can
make all the throws, but I think this is a
Higo States defense is capable of handling what he does
(11:22):
because he's also not necessarily gonna run for sixty yards
over the course of a game. He's he's got some escapability,
but I think Ohio State can handle him in the pocket.
And the bigger concern is what happens after he throws
the ball with some of the weapons, and frankly, there
are number two weapons, maybe their tight end who was
(11:44):
pretty good in this one, and downfield as well. That
was was that Bouman was that yeah, yeah, anything. Then
he can get up, up and down the seam and
make plays there so overall, like what did you think
of Carson Beck?
Speaker 2 (12:00):
As you said, he We've watched him for enough games
and time over the last few years that you kind
of know what you're getting with him, and it's you know,
I think there was a reason that Georgia kind of
went okay when he left. And you know, he's been
you know, he's been good for Miami and he's gotten
(12:21):
them into the playoff, which is good. But he also
he's just he is what he is at this point,
and he's not you know, he's not someone who it's
like this young, dynamic guy and he's about to make
the leap. You know, this is not even like a
cam Ward from last year where it's like, man, if
you have the cam Ward game, you could be in trouble.
Carson Beck is like, he's good, he's solid. He will
(12:43):
you know, if he has the good Carson Beck game,
he will put up you know, solid numbers, will put
up two hundred and fifty yards and two or three
touchdowns in an interception. And if he doesn't have the
Carson good Carson Beck game, you're losing to Louisville. And
that is a thing that they we have seen both
of those things this year, and you know, they put
up his stats for like, oh man, Carson Beck is
(13:06):
coming on strong in the home stretch of this season.
Look at what he's done the last month, and it was,
you know, eight touchdowns and no interceptions and you know,
three hundred yards a game or whatever it was. And
I looked at the graphic, Wow, who did they play
over that span, Tony. Here are the defenses they've played
and where they rank in SP plus in defense. Syracuse
(13:26):
one hundred and twelve, North Carolina State seventy third, Virginia
Tech ninety seventh, Pitt fiftieth end of list, SMU and
Louisville the two teams they lost too, between twenty eighth
and thirty second. Ohio State is I believe first right now?
So you know I don't. I look at those numbers
(13:49):
and I'm like, oh, maybe he's nope, Nope, nope. They've
just played bad teams, So you know, I think they
you know, that's not to say they are doing to
bad teams what a good team should do to bad teams,
but what they did against Virginia Tech or Syracuse or
North Carolina State has literally no bearing on what I
think could happen in a potential matchup with Ohio State
(14:11):
this year.
Speaker 1 (14:13):
So let's move over to the defensive side of the ball,
where that's where most of my notes are. They held
Pit to thirty yards rushing on twenty one attempts, sacking
justin there's like sixty three yards rushing in this one
for them. Mason heih Ol, the freshman quarterback, twenty two
to thirty two or one hundred and ninety nine yards,
one touchdown, one interception. They controlled this game throughout. It
(14:35):
was it was seventeen seven at the half, but this
was Pitt trying to almost come up with some miracles
in order to get down the field and into the
end zone, and they certainly didn't have enough and we're
outscored twenty one nothing in the second half. But my
first note in this is defensive tackle. I'm a mote
(14:56):
in number ninety nine who bursts through and opens up
the game with a sack, and then he's also very
stout against the run and just a big, fast dude
that looks like he's trouble for most interior offensive lines.
So that's somebody that Ohio State fans will want to
keep an eye on. Number ninety nine for Miami.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
Yeah, he had another He had that one, and he
had another one that I think he might have gotten
half a sack four or at least was in on
part of a sack in the second quarter of that
game as well. Yeah, he's he's an issue. Justin Scott
number five, he's the other defensive tackle. This is another
name that Ohio State fans will probably remember from recruiting
from a couple of years ago. He didn't have as
much of an impact, but he you know, you look
(15:38):
at his numbers this year, he's been He's been solid
on the interior that defensive line, and I think the
tackles are the tackles are good. Really though, where you
got to focus with the Miami defense is on the
defensive ends, and they've got a key Messidor who wears
number three. He is the second ranked defensive end in
the twenty twenty six NFL draft class according to mel Kuiper.
(15:58):
The only guy he's behind is Reuben Bain, who's number three.
He wears number four. He is the top ranked defensive
end in the twenty twenty six NFL draft class, according
to bel Kuiper. That to me tells me a couple
of things. Number One, your tackles better have a good
day when they play when you play Miami. And number two,
I'm not sure Mimmy is going to be back in
the playoff next year if they're leading on other defense
(16:18):
and there they're quarterback and they're you know, and all
these guys are going to be off to the NFL.
But you know, Rubin Bain is the name that I
think everyone's kind of heard. And he was the guy
who sort of jumped out when they played Notre Dame
on that game that everyone was watching on Labor Day
weekend because they were the only game on He had
a second sack on the second drive for Pitt. He
had a second another sack on the second quarter. He's
(16:40):
just he is very, very disruptive. And this is a
defense that I look at this defense and I'm like, man,
it is like an A plus plus defensive defensive line.
I could not tell you I watched an entire game.
I could not tell you the name of one Miami linebacker.
I could not tell you. I mean, the secondary was good,
(17:03):
but not amazing. There were there were guys who you
saw all the time and it was like, well that's
a really good play by that guy, and then that
was a really bad play by that guy. And you
know it just it feels like if Miami can get
pressure on you, they can they can really lock you down.
It could it could look potentially like the the Big
(17:24):
Ten Championship game did for Ohio State, where they can
you know, you can get pressure, you can throw your
passing game off, you can you know, you could really
throw your whole you know, keep your offense off schedule,
all that kind of stuff. If they can't get pressure,
I don't know how well this back seven holds up
against a good passing attack. And you know, Pitt's passing attack,
you know, Mason Heinschel and the pit passing attack have
(17:46):
gotten a lot of headlines, but they're still like thirtieth
in the country in offense this year. They're good, you know,
it is a good acc passing offense. That's not you know,
there there are not Mason Heinschel was not in New
York for the Heisman Trophy. None of his wide receivers
are Jeremiah Smith or Carnell Tate. Like I think, I
(18:08):
think the entire game, to me, how much of this,
you know, what does this game look like comes down
to like three things. If it's Ohio State Miami, well,
I'll tell you what don't we get When do we
come back to that? Why don't you go ahead and
share your thoughts on the Miami defense before we do
the like a big final wrap up.
Speaker 1 (18:24):
Yeah, yah, yeah. I think they rotated some corners as well,
because I rode down three different corners and thirteen Bresh
and Sterial got beaten deep but got beaten and the
receiver dropped his drapped to catch, and twenty four is
the other one, and then there's another one later in
the game as well. Number two, Tomary Brown had a
(18:45):
defensive pass interfair and so I believe he actually started
the game. So I think they will rotate some corners
in there, which is generally it's either a sound of
depth or of concern. And you know, being Miami, you
think they'd have corners there. We saw number eight, the safety,
number eight get beaten deep.
Speaker 2 (19:07):
From the Jacoby Thomas Yep, yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:08):
Jacoby Thomas. He got beaten deep. And then Zacharia Poyser
just destroyed Einschel on one of those scrambles, or he
just hit him right in the chest and dropped him
and so that was a big hit and not surprised
that there's a Miami safety that can can throw a
big hit. But yeah, I'm with you. I did not
write a single linebacker down even as I was looking
(19:31):
at the the box score again before getting ready to
record him, like who are the linebackers? And then you
go see and you're looking in the season stats and
they have maybe like three and a half tackles for
lost total combined, and it's like, well, they're just there to,
you know, to pick up what the defensive line doesn't get.
The defensive line does get quite a bit, and you know, shoot,
I think the leading tackler for Miami only has he's
(19:54):
like fifty five tackles or so. And to give you
an idea, they spread, They spread the wealth pretty well.
Oh but yeah, I'm with you. If you can, if
you can limit the defensive ends. And really in this one,
Mesidora only had two tackles, but I run him down
a couple of times like he was creating some pressure.
Number three, he's certainly somebody to watch. Was waiting to
(20:17):
see something from Marquis Slake with number twelve. O. HI
State fans will remember that name. He had two tackles,
but I did write his name down in this one
justin Scott another one that got away from Ohio State commitment.
Defensive tackle number five. He had a tackle for loss.
He had five tackles. Wrote him down a couple of times.
He Ye, this is a very good, very stout defensive
(20:38):
front that can make plays and is talented and can
any one of those four guys can beat their man
on any given play. So you have to be very
very careful with them.
Speaker 2 (20:51):
Yeah, and you know this. As far as the secondary,
you mentioned Zachar Poyser at number seven. He's a red
shirt sophomore. He did have that big hit on Mason
Hinschol in the open field, but he also had a
play right before halftime where he was in really good
coverage where he basically ran the route for the receiver
and the receiver had to more or less tackle him
to avoid it an interception, and I got an offensive
(21:12):
pass interference called Bryce Fitzgerald. He's a freshman safety number thirteen.
You mentioned him. He had a PBu and then a
quarterback hurry on the same set of downs, but then
got beat by on that pass you mentioned, and then
he came in on a blitz off the corner on
like second and twenty two right before halftime. It made
a nice play. So it was just kind of you
(21:33):
noticed him, and sometimes it was for good stuff and
sometimes it was bad stuff. But he was kind of
around the ball a lot. Jacoby Thomas, you mentioned number eight,
fifty year safe CFT. He is a big hitter. He's
another big hitter on the back end of that. He
started his career at Tennessee, then Middle Tennessee and then
to Miami. So and the only other guy was Ethan
O'Connor number twenty four Richard, a sophomore corner. He is
(21:56):
a transfer from Wazoo. That's another one where you start
your career on the police and you end it down
in Coral Gables. So yes, that's that is certainly one
way to do college. He got he looked he looked
like someone who gets grabby a lot of times. Well,
you might might be able to get a flag on
him at some point. Flag on in Miami defensive back
(22:19):
in a game against Ohio State in the postseason that
would be unprecedented in college football history. He also gave
up a deep shot at one point, So yeah, I
think there's the deep, the defensive front. All the conversation
around Miami this year is about mal Chai, Tony, Carson
back and the defensive front. And you watch, you know,
(22:39):
I mean it's just one game, and I mean, should
watch more games to see if you know what the
what they look like against different types of offense and
different types of levels of competition. But yeah, after watching
one game, it's like, yeah, I understand why this is
what people talk about.
Speaker 1 (22:54):
Mm hmm. And the one touchdown was a complete bust
buy in Miami that they gave up, So that was
a little bit maybe could have been a shutout if
if you didn't have that bust in this game. So
go you you wanted to wrap up the defense and
then you wanted to just go off on something.
Speaker 2 (23:12):
Please, well, I just it just feels to me like
this team is Carson Beck is a you know, a
good quarterback. He's a solid quarterback. He's not a dynamic
quarterback where he's going to really hurt you with his legs.
He's not someone whose legs you need a game plan around.
Which that probably changes things a little bit for a
(23:32):
left day because they played a bunch of those quarterbacks
and that sort of locked them into, you know, a
certain approach on defense, and it's worked, but they can
probably do more stuff. He's also, as an older guy,
probably not going to be as easy to fool as
like a Bryce Underwood is in coverage, so they're gonna
He's gonna present some challenges, Tony. What are you going
(23:55):
to do against Malachai? Tony? Can you know if you
make if you can somehow just get him to six
catches for sixty yards, That in and of itself is
probably you've got a very high percentage chance of winning
because I don't know who else on this team is
going to really hurt you in the past game, at
least based on this one game that we watch. And
(24:15):
then if you can protect your quarterback, you can score
points on Miami. If you can't protect your quarterback, you can't.
It just there, it feels like it is. It is
going to be just that simple. If Julian Saying gets
sacked five times, if Ohio State plays Miami, then that's ay.
Ohio State is trying to win a low scoring game.
If Julian Saying gets sacked once, then it is probably
(24:38):
a comfortable win for Ohio state like it feels. It
feels like it, you know, again, just one game and
we'll I'm interested watch more. But based on this one game,
it feels like this is probably going to be a
matchup that comes down to just a couple of things.
Speaker 1 (24:52):
Yeah, And regarding malc I Toni, and generally when we
do these shows or any talk about any game where
you've got the slot receiver that tricky, you know, say,
as long as you keep them around nine ten yards
a catch, it almost doesn't matter, you know, what you do,
you're going to be successful. But that's not necessarily the
case with Malakatni because of the volume of his touches.
(25:13):
He had thirteen catches. You give up nine ten yards
a catch, that's still over one hundred yards, and they're
moving the change because they use him so much. It's
very different if it's seven for seventy you know, and
so and then you factor in his five rushes for
thirty yards and then oh, he threw the ball twice,
you know, for nine yards. One of them was a touchdown.
So he technically touched the ball twenty times in this game.
(25:37):
And when you touch the ball twenty times and you
score two touchdowns, and you a mass you know, one hundred,
you know, fifty or sixty yards for a running back
that does that, you're like, well, that's a controlled, explosive
game and that's a winning performance. So it's hard to
(25:57):
take that away from a receiver who does something very
similar where it's you've got this, you know, twenty touches,
one hundred and fifty hundred and seventy yards, you know,
sixty yards in there. That's that's something that you can't
just you know, well it's only six yards, you know
a touch. It's like, well, if this is running back,
we'd be saying they dominated. So just be aware that
(26:18):
there's a high volume of offense that will come from Malachai Tony.
And I guess if if you can limit the yards, great,
I don't know that you can live with the touches
because it's it's gonna be difficult to do that.
Speaker 2 (26:32):
Yeah, And you just have to be aware that he
can run, he can throw, he can catch, he can do,
he can do anything he wants to do out there.
And yeah, I mean, to your point, twenty touches for
what's seven yards seven and a half eight yards of play?
If you're giving up eight yards of play, you're getting
lit up. And that is just every time he has
the ball, you are getting lit up. That was that
(26:54):
was the game for Pitt. So you get to find
a way to control him. And Ohio State hasn't really
had to play yeah player like that this year, which
is good for Miami in that it's going to be
a you know, potentially a significant challenge for Ohio State
to deal with that, but also it is you know,
Matt Patricia. You know, Matt Patricia has undoubtedly had to
play players like that at various points during his career
(27:16):
in the NFL, so he probably has some idea how
to handle it. And you don't necessarily have a ton
of film to go off of if you're Miami in
terms of okay, what are you expecting? And then you
may have to make some adjustments in game to whatever
Matt Patricia is throwing at you to try and keep
malkay TONI under wraps. And you know, I don't know
what what's the plan B for Miami? Like it just again,
(27:37):
this is just one game, but based on the one game,
I don't I don't you know, they have they have
plan A and if plan A works, boy, howdy, it
is going to be fireworks for three hours. But if
plan A doesn't work, I don't know exactly what the
fallback is.
Speaker 1 (27:50):
Yeah, I don't know what their second option is other
than to try to establish the run. And I don't
know how well that's going to go. I don't think
it'll go very well against Ohio State, may not go
very well against Texas, saying them. But that is something
that will be discovered here in a little over a
week or so, and everybody, I'm sure looking forward to
watching it. So there you go. There's our rewatch was
(28:10):
thirty eight seven win over pit how it applies to
what the matchup might be against Ohio State and all
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(28:31):
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We'd love to see you there, so that will do
it from here. Thank you all for tuning in, and
we will talk to you all later
Hello, everybody, Welcome to the Buckeye Weekly Podcast. I'm Tony
Gerdaman here as always with Tom or Tom.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
How's it going, Tony? It is time to do another
rewatch show in preparation for the Buckeyes first college football
playoff game of the season. And this is a weird
year because we don't know who they're going to be
playing in their first game of the playoff, and with
it sounding like it might expand to sixteen next year,
this might be the only time we ever have to
do this where we have to do a Ohio State
(00:32):
versus TVD game prep rewatch. We already watched one of
Texas A and M's games. Now we're watching that, we
watch their most recent game where they played Texas and lost.
Now we're watching Miami's most recent game where they played
Pitt and one. And you know, I don't want to
make any real, real, real from statements, but I'm going
(00:54):
to say, Miami is maybe you going to have a
decent chance to win on the road at Kyle Field
at least based on the one game that we've watched
in both of these teams.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
Yeah, based on and frankly based on the one game
that I saw Texas A and M Before I got
to watch the Miami game. I was thinking, I like
Miami's chances here, and now you know, Kyle Field is
a different environment than what Miami has used to playing.
It's not like going into oh, I don't know, Durham
(01:23):
or wherever. You know, this is going to be something
more legitimate.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
Than that you keep Winston Salem's name out of your mouth, sir.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
Certainly different than you would think. The their last game,
which is the one we're talking about where they went
into Pittsburgh and Akrascher Stadium is yes, look at that.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
Yes, and you know that is not exactly a fiery
cauldron of intensity on a pitt Panthers home football game Saturday.
And I can say that with a great deal of
certain need my voice because I went to one of
the pitt Panthers home games this season against NCC and
it was like, boy, this is a lot of empty seats.
(02:07):
They're excited, those empty seats are excited to be here,
but not the most intense environment. But one thing I
do think we need to start by giving Miami credit
for is it was thirty five degrees and it was sunny,
but it was thirty five degrees and there was a
little bit of a wind, and it's like, this is exactly,
exactly this scenario where you know exactly what you're gonna
(02:27):
get from Miami and they're gonna sort of limp through
to the finish and it's going to look like anytime
Miami played in the Pinstripe Bowl, and they're gonna not
want to be there and they're all gonna be huddled
around the heaters on the sideline. And that wasn't what
we got here at all. Like I looked at this
on the schedule all year, it went, well, if it's
under forty degrees, Miami's gonna absolutely fold there. And they
(02:49):
absolutely didn't.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
Yeah, back in the summer, I was doing season long
predictions and one of my predictions was that pitt would
knock Miami out of the playoffs in this game because
of all of those things that we just talked about.
But no credit them. They stood up and stood out
thirty eight seven with the win. Not sure how many
people were watching it, but it did happen, and it
happened in Pittsburgh and it was emphatic. And I guess
(03:16):
when we do these things and you know, we've done
them for years now. And he starts out with like, basically,
what names are you writing down? And I think the
key name that we need to talk about here is
freshman receiver Melochai Tony, who is everywhere and offensively and
on special teams thirteen catches for one hundred and twenty
(03:38):
six yards one for two passing, and he's also their
wild okay guy through a touchdown, almost through another. He
is their punt returner. He is the guy that o't
highest say is gonna have to be keen on and
like hell like Bill, there was a wheel route they
ran with him out of the backfield where he got
matched up on a linebacker and it's like, well, that's
a terrible matchup for anybody. And so this coming game
(04:04):
with Texas ADM or the game against Ohio State after that,
Lorenzo Styles, Jamaine Matthews Sunny styles, like everybody's gonna be
aware of this guy because they will find ways to
get him the ball where it's like, should you be
putting a five to nine, you know, one hundred and
seventy five pound guy that wildcat, I don't know, and
(04:24):
should you be having him drop back and throw the ball.
I don't know, but apparently you should because it's been working.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
Yeah, he is kind of you know, he is the
why don't they build the whole plane out of the
black box? Like, why don't they build the whole offense
out of Malachai Tony? And for once someone has done it,
he is the you know, he's throwing, he's running, he's passing.
It's like, well, he doesn't make the pats, but if
they go for two, I'm sure that's where the ball's going,
so you can kind of half give him credit there.
(04:52):
He is as as much of a one man band
as anyone I've seen in college football since, like I
keep going back to Antoine Randa lel and I'm sure
there's someone more recent than that, but you know, like
so clearly the best player on the offense by a
million miles, which is remarkable considering they were paying Carson
Beck like the GDP of a mid sized nation this
(05:14):
year in Nil and Malachy Toni is like the engine
that makes the whole thing go, and it's not you know,
he is not a deep receiver. He is a lots
of screens, lots of short stuff, and he's really elusive
and he'll make you miss and he can turn some
of those short plays into big gains. You mentioned the
wheel route where he got got wide open on there
(05:37):
was a little bit of a pick play, but you
know it was also one of those things where if
the pick wasn't there, he probably also was going to
outrun the guy to the to the spot. So you know,
it feels like stopping that Miami offense really goes straight
just straight through. Can you stop Malachy Tony because the
rest of the wide receivers, you know, in this game,
(05:58):
we're only we've only watched one game. Keilon Merion is
a fifth year senior out of transfer from BYU and Yukon,
And boy, let's take a moment to reflect on his
college journey from being a student at BYU to Yukon
to Miami. Okay, okay, all right, from the Book of
Mormon to the seventh floor crew. That is a that
(06:19):
is a a journey and a half right there. CJ.
Daniels the other one sixty year senior wide receiver. He
had a thirty three yard touchdown in like the last
thirty seconds of this game when it was like wildly
over Other than that, one catch seven yards that's it.
That's that's the extent of the production from the other
two wide receivers. I think Marion had two catches for
thirteen yards, so three catches for twenty yards for wide
(06:43):
receivers other than Malakai Tony. So if it was me Tony,
I would be looking at perhaps dedicating most of my
resources in the passing game to either rushing Carson back
or covering Malakai Tony and saying, all right, someone else
beat us.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
Yeah, And and the good news, as you said, he
I think through deep to him maybe once, and I
don't know that I don't recall that it being being successful.
So there's a lot of just make sure you tackle
the guy when he gets it, and he may get
it three yards gamit line of scrimmage, or he make
it six yards downfield. And you know, he averaged under
ten yards per catching this game, but as you said,
(07:20):
he was everywhere. He's thrown the ball six times this year.
Ohih stayed backup quarterback like kN Keno's thrown it fourteen times.
Just to give you an idea of like this is
a part of their authorse and you can't just assume
that he's wildcat. So he's just gonna run the ball.
No he he like it wasn't even like you're not
even talking like trick plays where he's getting these. He
(07:41):
didn't roll out the one time and throw it, but
the first throw he just dropped back and threw it
into the end zone. They throw into the end zone
with him. That's that's the kind of confidence that they
have in this kid, or maybe the lack of confidence
they have Carson back.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
Now that's a cheap shot.
Speaker 1 (07:54):
I'm not doing that. I wouldn't say that, but it is.
It is interesting the way they use him, and they
will continue to do so. What I also liked is
he's fearless in the putt return game as well, because
he failed to put when it was just bouncing and
bouncing and there are like four guys around him like
waiting to down the ball, and rather than let it
go another six or eight yards, he just got into
(08:16):
there and had the confidence like I'm going to field this,
I'll be okay. So certainly a guy that is older
than his eighteen years or whatever in terms of his
football savvy.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
Yeah, and one of the other wide receivers that I
think had one catch in the game with Josiah Trader.
That's the name that Ohio State fans will probably remember
from recruiting from a year or two back. Alex Bowman,
number eighty seven, the tight end. Three catches for fifty
eight yards. He was the only guy who until the
end of the game, when I thought, I don't think
I've thought it or even noticed any of the other
wide receivers, and went back and wrote down the names
(08:49):
of the wide receivers. Alex Bowman was the only other
guy I had in the passing game that I even
really noticed during the course of this game. And the
run game is the run games okay for Miami. I
mean it's it's fine. Mark Fletcher another name that Ohio
State fans will remember from recruiting. Hey, you know he's fine.
He's not. You know, he's been the starter most of
(09:11):
the season and hasn't gotten to a thousand yards yet,
and you know it's it's just okay. He had a
rushing touchdown in this game. He also tried to throw
back to Carson back that was incomplete at one point.
Geord Pringle, number twenty two, true freshman running back. He's
got he's got some good burst. I'm sure you know,
he's someone who I'm guessing if we go back and
(09:32):
watch some earlier games, he's not gonna be on the
field as much as he was in this one. But
he looked impressive to me. He's you know, he's not
gonna run for three hundred yards on you or anything,
but he's he of the two backs like Fletcher. Fletcher
was fine, Pringle was the one that you know, if
someone's going to break one on you, it's probably more.
(09:54):
That's probably more Pringle's game than Fletcher's.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
Yeah, he was. I wrote him down as well. Twenty
two goal and he's got some explosion. You can see it.
He's laterally quick and north south. He's fast as well.
And but unless with just Mirk Fletcher, he's a big guy,
he can fall forward. I'm not blown away by their
(10:17):
run game at this point. I was impressed enough by
their their pass protection. Carson Beck had plenty of time
to throw, didn't seem to really get all all that rattled,
completed a high percentage of his passes in this one
through one interception, which you know was maybe the norm
at this point. If you can just keep it to one,
(10:38):
I'm sure Miami fans will take that and any game
that he plays twenty three or twenty nine for two
hundred and sixty seven yards, three touchdowns, one interception, seventy
nine percent completion percentage, and you know, he seems he
was very comfortable in this one. I don't I didn't
even really have much to say about him because he
is just such a known quantity at this point. You know,
(11:00):
he did miss the nickel blitz on one and got hit,
but other than that, you know, like, I don't know
that there's anything. Certainly you respect him and he can
make all the throws, but I think this is a
Higo States defense is capable of handling what he does
(11:22):
because he's also not necessarily gonna run for sixty yards
over the course of a game. He's he's got some escapability,
but I think Ohio State can handle him in the pocket.
And the bigger concern is what happens after he throws
the ball with some of the weapons, and frankly, there
are number two weapons, maybe their tight end who was
(11:44):
pretty good in this one, and downfield as well. That
was was that Bouman was that yeah, yeah, anything. Then
he can get up, up and down the seam and
make plays there so overall, like what did you think
of Carson Beck?
Speaker 2 (12:00):
As you said, he We've watched him for enough games
and time over the last few years that you kind
of know what you're getting with him, and it's you know,
I think there was a reason that Georgia kind of
went okay when he left. And you know, he's been
you know, he's been good for Miami and he's gotten
(12:21):
them into the playoff, which is good. But he also
he's just he is what he is at this point,
and he's not you know, he's not someone who it's
like this young, dynamic guy and he's about to make
the leap. You know, this is not even like a
cam Ward from last year where it's like, man, if
you have the cam Ward game, you could be in trouble.
Carson Beck is like, he's good, he's solid. He will
(12:43):
you know, if he has the good Carson Beck game,
he will put up you know, solid numbers, will put
up two hundred and fifty yards and two or three
touchdowns in an interception. And if he doesn't have the
Carson good Carson Beck game, you're losing to Louisville. And
that is a thing that they we have seen both
of those things this year, and you know, they put
up his stats for like, oh man, Carson Beck is
(13:06):
coming on strong in the home stretch of this season.
Look at what he's done the last month, and it was,
you know, eight touchdowns and no interceptions and you know,
three hundred yards a game or whatever it was. And
I looked at the graphic, Wow, who did they play
over that span, Tony. Here are the defenses they've played
and where they rank in SP plus in defense. Syracuse
(13:26):
one hundred and twelve, North Carolina State seventy third, Virginia
Tech ninety seventh, Pitt fiftieth end of list, SMU and
Louisville the two teams they lost too, between twenty eighth
and thirty second. Ohio State is I believe first right now?
So you know I don't. I look at those numbers
(13:49):
and I'm like, oh, maybe he's nope, Nope, nope. They've
just played bad teams, So you know, I think they
you know, that's not to say they are doing to
bad teams what a good team should do to bad teams,
but what they did against Virginia Tech or Syracuse or
North Carolina State has literally no bearing on what I
think could happen in a potential matchup with Ohio State
(14:11):
this year.
Speaker 1 (14:13):
So let's move over to the defensive side of the ball,
where that's where most of my notes are. They held
Pit to thirty yards rushing on twenty one attempts, sacking
justin there's like sixty three yards rushing in this one
for them. Mason heih Ol, the freshman quarterback, twenty two
to thirty two or one hundred and ninety nine yards,
one touchdown, one interception. They controlled this game throughout. It
(14:35):
was it was seventeen seven at the half, but this
was Pitt trying to almost come up with some miracles
in order to get down the field and into the
end zone, and they certainly didn't have enough and we're
outscored twenty one nothing in the second half. But my
first note in this is defensive tackle. I'm a mote
(14:56):
in number ninety nine who bursts through and opens up
the game with a sack, and then he's also very
stout against the run and just a big, fast dude
that looks like he's trouble for most interior offensive lines.
So that's somebody that Ohio State fans will want to
keep an eye on. Number ninety nine for Miami.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
Yeah, he had another He had that one, and he
had another one that I think he might have gotten
half a sack four or at least was in on
part of a sack in the second quarter of that
game as well. Yeah, he's he's an issue. Justin Scott
number five, he's the other defensive tackle. This is another
name that Ohio State fans will probably remember from recruiting
from a couple of years ago. He didn't have as
much of an impact, but he you know, you look
(15:38):
at his numbers this year, he's been He's been solid
on the interior that defensive line, and I think the
tackles are the tackles are good. Really though, where you
got to focus with the Miami defense is on the
defensive ends, and they've got a key Messidor who wears
number three. He is the second ranked defensive end in
the twenty twenty six NFL draft class according to mel Kuiper.
(15:58):
The only guy he's behind is Reuben Bain, who's number three.
He wears number four. He is the top ranked defensive
end in the twenty twenty six NFL draft class, according
to bel Kuiper. That to me tells me a couple
of things. Number One, your tackles better have a good
day when they play when you play Miami. And number two,
I'm not sure Mimmy is going to be back in
the playoff next year if they're leading on other defense
(16:18):
and there they're quarterback and they're you know, and all
these guys are going to be off to the NFL.
But you know, Rubin Bain is the name that I
think everyone's kind of heard. And he was the guy
who sort of jumped out when they played Notre Dame
on that game that everyone was watching on Labor Day
weekend because they were the only game on He had
a second sack on the second drive for Pitt. He
had a second another sack on the second quarter. He's
(16:40):
just he is very, very disruptive. And this is a
defense that I look at this defense and I'm like, man,
it is like an A plus plus defensive defensive line.
I could not tell you I watched an entire game.
I could not tell you the name of one Miami linebacker.
I could not tell you. I mean, the secondary was good,
(17:03):
but not amazing. There were there were guys who you
saw all the time and it was like, well that's
a really good play by that guy, and then that
was a really bad play by that guy. And you
know it just it feels like if Miami can get
pressure on you, they can they can really lock you down.
It could it could look potentially like the the Big
(17:24):
Ten Championship game did for Ohio State, where they can
you know, you can get pressure, you can throw your
passing game off, you can you know, you could really
throw your whole you know, keep your offense off schedule,
all that kind of stuff. If they can't get pressure,
I don't know how well this back seven holds up
against a good passing attack. And you know, Pitt's passing attack,
you know, Mason Heinschel and the pit passing attack have
(17:46):
gotten a lot of headlines, but they're still like thirtieth
in the country in offense this year. They're good, you know,
it is a good acc passing offense. That's not you know,
there there are not Mason Heinschel was not in New
York for the Heisman Trophy. None of his wide receivers
are Jeremiah Smith or Carnell Tate. Like I think, I
(18:08):
think the entire game, to me, how much of this,
you know, what does this game look like comes down
to like three things. If it's Ohio State Miami, well,
I'll tell you what don't we get When do we
come back to that? Why don't you go ahead and
share your thoughts on the Miami defense before we do
the like a big final wrap up.
Speaker 1 (18:24):
Yeah, yah, yeah. I think they rotated some corners as well,
because I rode down three different corners and thirteen Bresh
and Sterial got beaten deep but got beaten and the
receiver dropped his drapped to catch, and twenty four is
the other one, and then there's another one later in
the game as well. Number two, Tomary Brown had a
(18:45):
defensive pass interfair and so I believe he actually started
the game. So I think they will rotate some corners
in there, which is generally it's either a sound of
depth or of concern. And you know, being Miami, you
think they'd have corners there. We saw number eight, the safety,
number eight get beaten deep.
Speaker 2 (19:07):
From the Jacoby Thomas Yep, yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:08):
Jacoby Thomas. He got beaten deep. And then Zacharia Poyser
just destroyed Einschel on one of those scrambles, or he
just hit him right in the chest and dropped him
and so that was a big hit and not surprised
that there's a Miami safety that can can throw a
big hit. But yeah, I'm with you. I did not
write a single linebacker down even as I was looking
(19:31):
at the the box score again before getting ready to
record him, like who are the linebackers? And then you
go see and you're looking in the season stats and
they have maybe like three and a half tackles for
lost total combined, and it's like, well, they're just there to,
you know, to pick up what the defensive line doesn't get.
The defensive line does get quite a bit, and you know, shoot,
I think the leading tackler for Miami only has he's
(19:54):
like fifty five tackles or so. And to give you
an idea, they spread, They spread the wealth pretty well.
Oh but yeah, I'm with you. If you can, if
you can limit the defensive ends. And really in this one,
Mesidora only had two tackles, but I run him down
a couple of times like he was creating some pressure.
Number three, he's certainly somebody to watch. Was waiting to
(20:17):
see something from Marquis Slake with number twelve. O. HI
State fans will remember that name. He had two tackles,
but I did write his name down in this one
justin Scott another one that got away from Ohio State commitment.
Defensive tackle number five. He had a tackle for loss.
He had five tackles. Wrote him down a couple of times.
He Ye, this is a very good, very stout defensive
(20:38):
front that can make plays and is talented and can
any one of those four guys can beat their man
on any given play. So you have to be very
very careful with them.
Speaker 2 (20:51):
Yeah, and you know this. As far as the secondary,
you mentioned Zachar Poyser at number seven. He's a red
shirt sophomore. He did have that big hit on Mason
Hinschol in the open field, but he also had a
play right before halftime where he was in really good
coverage where he basically ran the route for the receiver
and the receiver had to more or less tackle him
to avoid it an interception, and I got an offensive
(21:12):
pass interference called Bryce Fitzgerald. He's a freshman safety number thirteen.
You mentioned him. He had a PBu and then a
quarterback hurry on the same set of downs, but then
got beat by on that pass you mentioned, and then
he came in on a blitz off the corner on
like second and twenty two right before halftime. It made
a nice play. So it was just kind of you
(21:33):
noticed him, and sometimes it was for good stuff and
sometimes it was bad stuff. But he was kind of
around the ball a lot. Jacoby Thomas, you mentioned number eight,
fifty year safe CFT. He is a big hitter. He's
another big hitter on the back end of that. He
started his career at Tennessee, then Middle Tennessee and then
to Miami. So and the only other guy was Ethan
O'Connor number twenty four Richard, a sophomore corner. He is
(21:56):
a transfer from Wazoo. That's another one where you start
your career on the police and you end it down
in Coral Gables. So yes, that's that is certainly one
way to do college. He got he looked he looked
like someone who gets grabby a lot of times. Well,
you might might be able to get a flag on
him at some point. Flag on in Miami defensive back
(22:19):
in a game against Ohio State in the postseason that
would be unprecedented in college football history. He also gave
up a deep shot at one point, So yeah, I
think there's the deep, the defensive front. All the conversation
around Miami this year is about mal Chai, Tony, Carson
back and the defensive front. And you watch, you know,
(22:39):
I mean it's just one game, and I mean, should
watch more games to see if you know what the
what they look like against different types of offense and
different types of levels of competition. But yeah, after watching
one game, it's like, yeah, I understand why this is
what people talk about.
Speaker 1 (22:54):
Mm hmm. And the one touchdown was a complete bust
buy in Miami that they gave up, So that was
a little bit maybe could have been a shutout if
if you didn't have that bust in this game. So
go you you wanted to wrap up the defense and
then you wanted to just go off on something.
Speaker 2 (23:12):
Please, well, I just it just feels to me like
this team is Carson Beck is a you know, a
good quarterback. He's a solid quarterback. He's not a dynamic
quarterback where he's going to really hurt you with his legs.
He's not someone whose legs you need a game plan around.
Which that probably changes things a little bit for a
(23:32):
left day because they played a bunch of those quarterbacks
and that sort of locked them into, you know, a
certain approach on defense, and it's worked, but they can
probably do more stuff. He's also, as an older guy,
probably not going to be as easy to fool as
like a Bryce Underwood is in coverage, so they're gonna
He's gonna present some challenges, Tony. What are you going
(23:55):
to do against Malachai? Tony? Can you know if you
make if you can somehow just get him to six
catches for sixty yards, That in and of itself is
probably you've got a very high percentage chance of winning
because I don't know who else on this team is
going to really hurt you in the past game, at
least based on this one game that we watch. And
(24:15):
then if you can protect your quarterback, you can score
points on Miami. If you can't protect your quarterback, you can't.
It just there, it feels like it is. It is
going to be just that simple. If Julian Saying gets
sacked five times, if Ohio State plays Miami, then that's ay.
Ohio State is trying to win a low scoring game.
If Julian Saying gets sacked once, then it is probably
(24:38):
a comfortable win for Ohio state like it feels. It
feels like it, you know, again, just one game and
we'll I'm interested watch more. But based on this one game,
it feels like this is probably going to be a
matchup that comes down to just a couple of things.
Speaker 1 (24:52):
Yeah, And regarding malc I Toni, and generally when we
do these shows or any talk about any game where
you've got the slot receiver that tricky, you know, say,
as long as you keep them around nine ten yards
a catch, it almost doesn't matter, you know, what you do,
you're going to be successful. But that's not necessarily the
case with Malakatni because of the volume of his touches.
(25:13):
He had thirteen catches. You give up nine ten yards
a catch, that's still over one hundred yards, and they're
moving the change because they use him so much. It's
very different if it's seven for seventy you know, and
so and then you factor in his five rushes for
thirty yards and then oh, he threw the ball twice,
you know, for nine yards. One of them was a touchdown.
So he technically touched the ball twenty times in this game.
(25:37):
And when you touch the ball twenty times and you
score two touchdowns, and you a mass you know, one hundred,
you know, fifty or sixty yards for a running back
that does that, you're like, well, that's a controlled, explosive
game and that's a winning performance. So it's hard to
(25:57):
take that away from a receiver who does something very
similar where it's you've got this, you know, twenty touches,
one hundred and fifty hundred and seventy yards, you know,
sixty yards in there. That's that's something that you can't
just you know, well it's only six yards, you know
a touch. It's like, well, if this is running back,
we'd be saying they dominated. So just be aware that
(26:18):
there's a high volume of offense that will come from Malachai Tony.
And I guess if if you can limit the yards, great,
I don't know that you can live with the touches
because it's it's gonna be difficult to do that.
Speaker 2 (26:32):
Yeah, And you just have to be aware that he
can run, he can throw, he can catch, he can do,
he can do anything he wants to do out there.
And yeah, I mean, to your point, twenty touches for
what's seven yards seven and a half eight yards of play?
If you're giving up eight yards of play, you're getting
lit up. And that is just every time he has
the ball, you are getting lit up. That was that
(26:54):
was the game for Pitt. So you get to find
a way to control him. And Ohio State hasn't really
had to play yeah player like that this year, which
is good for Miami in that it's going to be
a you know, potentially a significant challenge for Ohio State
to deal with that, but also it is you know,
Matt Patricia. You know, Matt Patricia has undoubtedly had to
play players like that at various points during his career
(27:16):
in the NFL, so he probably has some idea how
to handle it. And you don't necessarily have a ton
of film to go off of if you're Miami in
terms of okay, what are you expecting? And then you
may have to make some adjustments in game to whatever
Matt Patricia is throwing at you to try and keep
malkay TONI under wraps. And you know, I don't know
what what's the plan B for Miami? Like it just again,
(27:37):
this is just one game, but based on the one game,
I don't I don't you know, they have they have
plan A and if plan A works, boy, howdy, it
is going to be fireworks for three hours. But if
plan A doesn't work, I don't know exactly what the
fallback is.
Speaker 1 (27:50):
Yeah, I don't know what their second option is other
than to try to establish the run. And I don't
know how well that's going to go. I don't think
it'll go very well against Ohio State, may not go
very well against Texas, saying them. But that is something
that will be discovered here in a little over a
week or so, and everybody, I'm sure looking forward to
watching it. So there you go. There's our rewatch was
(28:10):
thirty eight seven win over pit how it applies to
what the matchup might be against Ohio State and all
of that good stuff. If you're watching on YouTube, point
and throw us some thumbs up, we'd appreciate that. Subscribe
to the channel, hit the bell, We notified all of
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(28:31):
have not yet, and join us over at book. I
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We'd love to see you there, so that will do
it from here. Thank you all for tuning in, and
we will talk to you all later
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