Andy & Ari On3 - Is Lane Kiffin turning into Nick Saban? | Why Coach Prime took the ball | Notre Dame OT Joe Alt

Episode Date: September 20, 2023

Is Lane Kiffin turning into Nick Saban? | Why Coach Prime took the ball | Notre Dame OT Joe AltToday's show is sponsored by Gametime, the best place to buy last-minute tickets. Download the Gametime App and enter code: STAPLES for $20 off your first purchase, terms apply. Last Minute Tickets, Lowest Prices, Guaranteed.Want to watch the show instead? Head on over to YouTube - Don't forget to subscribe!https://youtube.com/live/vddD8yKBwPsA sharp-eyed fan on X pointed out to Andy that Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin has begun to adopt the same press conference mannerisms as former boss Nick Saban, which is especially hilarious when Kiffin is using those press conferences to troll Saban during the week of the Ole Miss-Alabama game. (0:00-6:52)Deion Sanders explained why Colorado took the ball first in overtime against Colorado State. (6:53-11:25)Mel Tucker has responded to Michigan State's announcement that it plans to fire him for cause next week. The gist of that response? See you in court. (11:26-13:06)Notre Dame offensive tackle Joe Alt joins the show to discuss Saturday's mega matchup with Ohio State. Alt discussed how quickly transfer QB Sam Hartman adjusted to Notre Dame's culture. Alt also defends some of his food takes. (13:07-29:12)Cincinnati defensive tackle Dontay "The Godfather" Corleone joins the show to talk about the Bearcats' Big 12 debut on Saturday against Oklahoma at Nippert Stadium. How big a deal is The Godfather? He's a first-team All-American who has his own signature pizza and his own (fairly well-known) off-menu order at Skyline Chili. (29:13-47:49)Later, On3's Clark Brooks joins to break down the Xs and Os of Ole Miss-Alabama and Auburn-Texas A&M. (47:50-1:05:47)For the extra point, We just can't get enough of how similar the mannerisms of Lane Kiffin and Nick Saban are. (1:05:48-1:08:06)

Oh yes, give me my theme music. And we'll get to Prime in a second. Prime had something interesting to say about a moment in Saturday's game that we were all talking about, but nobody asked him about it until he brought it up on Tuesday. But we got a loaded show for you today. We got Joe Alt, star left tackle at Notre Dame Dame maybe a first round draft pick next year he's going to get against Ohio State this weekend it's going to be one of the better matchups as Joe

against Ohio State's pass rushers cannot wait to hear from him we've also got Cincinnati defensive tackle Dante Corleone the godfather it's one of the best D tackles in the country. Cincinnati making its big 12 debut with Oklahoma coming to Nippert Stadium on Saturday. This is how loaded this Saturday is. We got Clark Brooks, the SEC stat cat from on three. He's going to come in and break down the X's and O's of Ole Miss, Alabama and Auburn, Texas A&M. But let's start with Ole Miss, Alabama, because we had Lane Kiffin and Nick Saban. You heard from them both on yesterday's show. Remember Lane Kiffin on Sunday said, hey, we watched the TV copy of the Alabama USF

game and it sure looked like Traveris Robinson was calling the defense instead of Kevin Steele. Traveris Robinson, the corners coach at Alabama, former defensive coordinator at South Carolina. Kevin Steele, the current defensive coordinator at Alabama, former defensive coordinator pretty much everywhere. Miami, Auburn, LSU, Clemson, you name it. The man's worked a lot of places. But that prompted a response from Nick Saban, who wasn't even asked about it. He just launched right into it at his press conference. He said, no, no, no, Kevin Steele's the DC. And then Lane Kiffin got the follow-up.

You sure about that? And Lane Kiffin's basically like, I saw what I saw. Everybody knows everybody else. That's what happened. And so it is a brilliant troll job, if nothing else. I don't know if it affects the game one bit. I don't know if it helps Ole Miss win, if it makes Alabama waste time, if it causes any sort of consternation inside the Alabama coach's office, but it sure makes it fun. And so on X Tuesday morning, a username, Shawnee Jackson sent me a message and said, it's so funny that Lane does the shoulder shrugging thing with his hands, just like Saban does in his pressers. And I was like, you know

what? That Lane Kiffin answer about what he said about Nick Saban and about what he said about the defensive coordinator, it does look an awful lot physically like Nick Saban at a press conference. So I went back and looked at Nick Saban's discussion in his press conference of who was calling the plays on defense. And you know what? It's uncanny. So we did a side-by-side sync.

Here now are Lane Kiffin and Nick Saban. On this other thing that I hear floating around out there, I'm sure you've seen the same reports I've seen, is Kevin Steele is the defensive coordinator. He has all the defensive coordinator responsibilities. The only thing that I didn't approve on from administrators

was game day administration of getting the signals in quick. Is Lane Kiffin becoming Nick Saban it was uncanny that both of them are gripping the lectern in the same way both of them have the hands flying off the lectern to the side and then ripping it again at almost the same intervals when they get to the meat of their answer each time, they start gesticulating, but not wildly, not all over the place, not, ooh, I'm up above my head or I'm over

my shoulders. No, very much in control around the midsection, basically. So this makes me wonder, as a seasoned Lane Kiffin observer, because I would believe this either way. I would believe it if Lane Kiffin, while working for Nick Saban, simply adopted some of Nick Saban's mannerisms because they were around each other a bunch, or because Lane said, this guy's the best to ever do it. I'm going to try to emulate some of the things he does. Or I would also believe it if you told me that at some point before this week, Lane Kiffin studied some Nick Saban press conference tape and got his mannerisms down pat specifically for this instance. I would believe either one at this point, but it is amazing.

And I'm going to watch it one more time because I just, it's hilarious to watch Nick Saban and Lane Kiffin essentially be the same person. On this other thing that I hear floating around out there, I'm sure you've seen the same reports that I've seen. Kevin Steele is the defensive coordinator. He has all the defensive coordinator responsibilities. The only thing that I don't move on from administration, I was asked the question,

what was like game day administration of getting the signals in court. All right. I could watch it all day. It's mesmerizing. If you are not watching this on YouTube, if you're listening to this in podcast form, go to my ex-account, formerly Twitter. There'll be that clip. You'll be able to see it.

Or go to the YouTube page, On3YouTube. Watch it on YouTube. Hit that thumbs up. Maybe hit subscribe too to the On3Sports YouTube channel. You get all kinds of good stuff there. So I don't know what the answer to this is. Is this the ultimate master troll job by Lane Kiffin or is he becoming Nick Saban? I'll accept either answer. All I know is it makes this game on Saturday even better. Get your popcorn ready, as Lane Kiffin once said before a game that you probably didn't

want a lot of popcorn for. This is going to be spectacular. This is just amazing. And we'll talk more about this game when we talk to Clark Brooks as he breaks down what Alabama's offense did look like with Jalen Milrow running it and what it should look like with Jalen Milrow running it. But first, we're going to talk a little more about Coach Prime because what are the big talking points coming out of Saturday? Which, by the way, the Colorado-Colorado State game drew 9.3 million viewers on ESPN. That shattered any pac-12 after dark record that they once had it was the most watched game of the weekend it's up there with the sec championship

game from last year that that's the level of rating this is colorado colorado state like that is the dion effect colorado colorado state in the middle of the night got almost as many viewers as last year's SEC championship game. It's nuts. So one intriguing aspect of that is it goes to overtime and Colorado took the ball first in overtime. And Dion in his Tuesday press conference explained why. One thing that I think, I haven't gotten this question yet, and I can't believe it, is that overtime, we wanted the ball. Why y'all ain't asking me about that? Why did I want the ball?

I wanted the offense out there. Why? You go, girl. You go, girl. I want to put the darn ball in Shador's hand. Why? Because I know what he's going to do do and he's going to put pressure on them to do something that they're not prepared prepared to do consistently that's why shalom said danny and he called me dad i'm like i'm not your

dad i'm your coach right now he said uh you put the defense out there first i said no your brother's gonna take this and he's gonna do what what he does. That was really the conversation. That answer is not bull junk. If you watch the 98 yard drive that forced overtime, it makes sense to throw Colorado's offense right back out on the field and force a gas Colorado state defense to deal with more shit or Sanders. But it's interesting because conventional college football wisdom says you play defense first in overtime. I actually wrote a story back at my old job at the athletic at the beginning of last season, because Houston, their football staff had decided not to take defense first in overtime. They'd, they had done a study during the pandemic and they basically found that there was no real difference between who won the game based on who played defense first and who played offense first.

So Ryan Dorchester, the director of operations, the one who did the study, and then Dana Holgerson took that information and said, you know what? Let's try it. Not because they thought it would actually create a new paradigm that that's how people would do it. But they just wanted to see what happened. And it actually worked for them in their first game against UTSA. And then they played another overtime game, I believe, against Texas Tech, where it did not work. They ended up losing the game. But there is some method to the madness there.

And that is why Deion took the ball first in overtime, which again makes sense because you've just driven 98 yards on them. They're pretty tired. It's more common sense than anything else. So I don't know if that will happen again. That seems pretty situational. I don't think that's necessarily an overriding theme that he's going to, every time he goes to overtime, he's going to take the ball. But in that particular situation, the reasoning

makes sense. So there you go. They're playing Oregon this week. Very different vibe with Dion this week. They asked him about Dan Lanning's comments about Colorado when Colorado moved to the Big 12. And Dan Lanning said, well, I don moved to the Big 12 and Dan Lanning said, well, I don't know if they've won anything here. Have they done anything in the Pac-12? And this was actually before Oregon moved to the Big 10. But this was not Deion going, he made it personal. It wasn't like with Jay Norvell last week. He basically said, no, no, I respect the man. I respect his program. He's keeping it going. Deion's watched the tape. Oregon's got a bunch of dudes and Deion doesn't have Travis Hunter.

He's going to be out a few weeks with that lacerated liver. So they're going to have the work cut out for him this week. And I think Deion knows that. So very different vibe, but very interesting answer to that question as to why they took the ball first in overtime and when you think about it logically it does make sense so congratulations to Dion for going against conventional football wisdom but also doing the thing that yeah defense just gave up on any yard a yard drive defense is tired quarterbacks Quarterback's hot. Let's go. Wanted the darn ball in Shadur's hands. That's all it is. Also on Tuesday, Mel Tucker responded to Michigan State's announcement that it intends to fire him for cause.

And the gist of the response is basically, we're going to see you in court. One of the lines is, we can't wait for discovery of emails and communications and basically saying we're going to find embarrassing stuff. And one of the other lines is Michigan State knew about the information on which it supposedly relies to end my contract since at least March 2023. In Mel Tucker's letter, it says yet only after Miss Tracy, that's Brenda Tracy, the accuser, and potentially others leaked the confidential information report to the press,

did Michigan State suddenly decide the same information warrants termination. Now, Michigan State leaders have claimed that the athletic director and the interim president did not find out the specifics of the case until it was revealed in the USA Today story earlier this month. So that will be an interesting subplot to watch. Is there evidence that they knew earlier and didn't do anything until it came out? Because

remember, Mel Tucker still has not had his hearing on this sexual harassment claim. So we'll see what happens. He's getting fired. He's not coming back to Michigan State right now. He's fighting for the money that Michigan State would owe him if they had to fire him without cause, which is close to $80 million. So my guess is this will be a very nasty fight over this money as Michigan State tries to not pay it and Mel Tucker tries to get it.

But we shall see. On to the field. It's a loaded weekend, but no game more story than Ohio State coming to South Bend to play Notre Dame. Notre Dame with Sam Hartman, they feel like they've got the missing piece of quarterback. But one thing Notre Dame has had the last few years, an elite offensive line. No different this year. And the guy that makes it go is left tackle Joe Alt. He was nice enough to join us ahead of the Ohio State game.

Here's Joe. You're joined now by Notre Dame offensive tackle Joe Alt little game in South Bend this weekend Joe what what is what is campus like right now as we are getting ready you know a few days away from maybe the biggest game in college football all season coming to your backyard yeah no it's uh it's definitely interesting uh you kind of go out there and you can kind of feel it you know nothing's happening yet but you can see the preparation beginning, you know, right in front of touchdown. Jesus, you know where it's going to be and, you know, what's going to be going on there. So there's a little bit of a kind of a I don't know what the word is, but, you know, you just feel on campus. It's definitely different. You know, come Thursday, people start showing up and I start get busy.

And then, you know, you go to class and you're trying to be distracted. But, you know, I got to stay into it. So after that game Saturday, were you guys like, OK, finally, we can talk about Ohio State. Like we can think about this. I mean, obviously, yeah, it's a big game on the schedule, but you can't never you never get focused on one day at a time. One game at a time, focusing on your opponent and, you know, taking care of business each and every week, playing your fullest potential. And that's what's our goal. So, yeah, now we're officially on Ohio State week and, you know, it's it's time to focus on this game. And, you know, just like big focus this week has just been, you know, win today, win one moment at a time. We're going to get to Saturday and, you know, on Saturday, it's all about reaching our full potential. But right now, let's just stay in the moment, you know, block out the noise and win today. For you, having played them before, do you think back to that game last year? Did you

feel like there was anything you could improve on, you know, show that you're a different guy from the season opener last year? Yeah, no, I definitely, that's one of the first games I watched on film was my game from last year. And, you know, there's definitely things you look at and you're like, okay, you know, I feel like I'm better at that now,

or, you know, that's not what I want to do. I want to, you know, change this. And that's definitely where I started, you know, with the film was watching that game. And, you know, I think it's big, you know, now you're settled into the season. Now, you know, it's come up on for us game five of the season. So there's a little more like, you know, you don't have that first game jitters, you know, you're into the first game. So definitely, you know, started with that game, watching films, seeing things, seeing things that, oh, I did like that.

Maybe that worked or, you know, maybe I got to change that up. So, yeah, I definitely started with that and look back at that game. You've been a starter since your freshman year. If you could go back and give freshman Joe any advice, what would it be right now? Yeah. You know, for for me, I think freshman Joe needed a little bit of a reminder of just the basics, you know, working on technique. You know, I feel like for me, freshman year was a lot of just trying to survive the best, you know, survive out there and get the job done. But, you know, with that process, you know, you can, you got to work on technique, work on fundamentals and, you know, build on that. So I think, you know,

if I could go back with that, it's, you know, start with the little things, start with the footwork, start with the hands, you know, work those things, you know, build those things from the ground up. And that's, you know, very important. So that's probably what I would tell freshman Joe. So this, this group is interesting because Notre Dame usually has a pretty veteran offensive line. Your center, Zeke, is older. But the rest of you all came in the same class.

What is that like? You know, it's definitely interesting. It was funny. You know, as the depth chart, you know, broke down in fall camp, we started to kind of see it take shape. It was like, wow, you know, this is the full, you know, full you know my 21 classes all play you know it's obviously a lot of fun you know you went through recruitment together and you know the guys from you know prior to coming here you know high school guys you watched them on you know you know social media seeing their plays you know you know just when you come off after a friday night game so there's definitely a personal connection there you had that friendship built in you know this is our class and uh it's a lot of fun but then you

got you know your leader in the middle of the seat you know holding on the fort veteran he's you know tough as nails smart guy and he brings a confidence the group start with his communication inside so it's been a lot of fun so far do you guys talk about the joe moore award at all it seems i feel like it's the best trophy in sports because it's the only one that requires a forklift but i mean what would it mean for this unit to be able to do something like that? Yeah, I mean, it'd be an absolute honor. That's, you know, at the end of the day,

we obviously, that's our goal, but you can't really look at, you know, big time things. You can't look at big time goals. You got to focus on, you know, how do we, if we want to achieve that, what do we got to do today? What do we got to work on today? So I think, yeah, that's obviously a huge honor, but, you know, we got to focus on the here and now

and take it one day at a time and just get a little better each and every day and improve on some things that, you know, maybe we're not the strongest in or we want to improve on or just as a group or personally, you know, you take it, break it down, you know, one guy at a time, you know, you take one thing. We do this every week. One thing in the run, one thing in the pass you want to improve on. If every guy does that, you're just getting a little bit better. And if each person's getting a little better, the whole line is getting a little better. And that, you know, transfers to the offense. The offense is getting better is getting better and then you know the whole team's getting better because we bring the bring you know momentum from the offensive side of the ball so that's been our big focus so yeah it's obviously definitely a goal but we try to take take stay in the moment that's interesting so like each week do you write that down to say i i want to do this better in the pass game and this better than run game and then each of you guys focuses on that yeah that's smart yeah in our line room we have our whiteboard,

the front whiteboard. Each and every week, you know, we erase it, and it could be the same thing from last week. If it's something you still want to work on, but we all write it down. You know, one thing to pass, one thing to run, that's what we want to improve on. So it's weekly.

Are we giving away too much if you say what your pass game was this week? Or maybe we go last week. Yeah, no, I mean, for general, for me, it's always you know getting a little bit lower that's always my focus on the run of the pass you know I gotta gotta always get lower get that you know leverage is always important to me and you know footwork and both the pass and the run and you know being able to use your hands at your landmarks and both the run

of the pass is always my focuses we'll be back with more from Notre Dame offensive tackle Joe Alt but first I want to tell you about game time Do you want to see Joe and the Fighting Irish play against Ohio State? I know what you're thinking. That game has been sold out forever. But there is a place you can get tickets. It's game time. You can get tickets in the most stress-free environment possible. You type in Notre Dame football.

You click on it. You click on the Ohio State game. All the available tickets pop up you touch the one you look you like all of a sudden you see the view you'd get at notre dame stadium now perhaps you want to go somewhere else maybe you want to go see dante corleone who you're also going to hear from on this show as the cincinnati bearcats play their first ever Big 12 game against the Oklahoma Sooners at Nippert Stadium. Well, type in Cincinnati football, one click, find the event, find your ticket. And as you can see, when you're looking at those seats, no bad seats in Nippert Stadium.

So use the code STAPLES to get $20 off your first purchase. You go to GameTime.co, download that app, code STAPLES, $20 off your first purchase, you go to GameTime.co, download that app, code Staples, $20 off your first purchase. It's so easy. When you've got that ticket pulled up, you're about two clicks away from being done. And oh, by the way, you want to transfer a ticket to a friend on game day, you can text it right from the app. GameTime is the easiest way to get last minute tickets.

Download the app, use the code Staples for $20 off your first purchase. GameTime is the way to go for last minute tickets. Download the app. Use the code staples for twenty dollars off your first purchase. Game time is the way to go for last minute tickets. So. New quarterback this season and Sam Hartman, how quickly did he assimilate to to this this team's culture? Yeah, it was quick. It was kind of, you know, when we heard he was coming in, you know, you're always kind of like, oh, you know, a new guy in the locker room, you know, it's going to be different. But it was quick it was kind of you know when we heard he was coming in you know you're always kind of like oh you know a new guy in the locker room you know it's gonna be different but it was it was immediate you know he stepped in and he just felt connected to the guy you felt you know a relationship you know begin and grow and you knew that it was going to grow and you know now you know you get to play with them and you know still same guy in the locker room you

know still your buddy your brother in the locker room but then on the field he's such a confident confident person you know because he puts the work in because he studies you know the film so much and prepares and mentally prepares and then there's just a confidence out there with them and uh it's been a lot of fun and that that friendship and that relationship has grown you know literally from day one it's been great i just remember when when your offensive coordinator to Reese left for Alabama Sam puts out an Instagram video and it's just him doing trap bar deadlifts which feels like he's talking more to you guys than he is to to us yeah no for sure you know it's it's all about going to work and you know I think that's what we we try to do is you know stay in the present and you know every week every day it's staying in the moment staying in now how am I gonna you know

capture this opportunity capture this moment you know get better it's staying in the moment, staying in now. How am I going to capture this opportunity, capture this moment, get better at something I'm going to do if that's in the classroom, going to school in the morning, if it's here in the film room, watching film, if it's in meetings, learn the offensive game plan, or if it's on the field, how am I going to win the moment? How am I going to focus on the here and now and just try to get a little better every day? And those are going to grow on top of each other.

So every offensive line we have on we ask the same question so i will i will hit you with this we're keeping a chart somewhere somewhere in the in the office perfect steak how's it cooked which cut oh you know a porterhouse guy because i like okay very nice i like a big piece of meat I like it you know a little fatty I like the flavor um for me it's a between a medium rare and a medium I'm not a full medium rare because I like it to be warm but I also don't want like any like you know gray or brown and then I want to be pink throughout but I don't want it to be too under because then it kind of scares me a little bit so that's my go-to I I love it because everybody has a very specific, like one of the Florida state offensive line was like medium rare plus. And I was like, I don't even know what that is.

I, if I, I would be nervous ordering that because I wouldn't know how to say it, but the way you described it, like you could tell that to the server. Yeah. And you will get your steak cooked perfectly. Right. Exactly. I just, you know, I don't want to be cold.

That always scares me. Don't want to be cold or, you know, I still want, I want to cook a little bit. You got to have a little bit. I don't, I want to save the flavor. I want right in the middle. You know know i don't want to be cold that always scares me don't want to be cold or you know i still want i want to cook a little bit you got to have a little bit i don't i want to save the flavor i want right in the middle you know i don't want i don't want to be cold and i want to have the flavor there too so so you're you're from minnesota so i got to ask this juicy lucy's is that for tourists or do you guys actually eat those too i mean we do but it's more of a tourist thing like it's something like you hit for like for me it was like my first great birthday so i was like my first great birthday. So I was like, all right, we're going there for tonight.

We're going to find some of the Juicy Lucy's and we're going to go there for dinner. And that was kind of the thing. But you know, it's not a regular thing. It's a lot. It's a lot of food. It's a lot of hot cheese. So stay away from it.

But you know, it's definitely more of a tourist thing, but you got to have one once in a while when you're home. Yeah, the exploding cheese coming, because it's a great concept. Yeah. But then you bite in and if you bite in too early, you burn it's a guaranteed mouth burn so you got to be careful when you're doing that but uh no i can i can remember my first grade one i i sat down i ate it started the first bite my mouth was ruined for the next week is that it is hot so you got to be careful

no doubt happy sixth birthday joe exactly exactly all right. We got it. And I know you've, you've talked a lot about this, but, but I watched that food tour. I used to, I used to do a lot of food reviews on the internet and writing food reviews. And so I have a few notes, but I, this scene in particular is you were in New York and you were reviewing some street food. You've got a great, like to the 10th place in the decimal points reviewing system. But you start with the glizzy and we'll start there. I'm going to show it to the camera, a little beautiful hot dog with some ketchup on there. Perfect amount of ketchup.

I love hot dogs. We're starting off hot with a little 7.3 the hot dog it's pretty darn good so that's a message to any defensive lineman you might have to block that says i'm a psychopath right just catch up on my hot dog no there's a reason for that see i'm always like big thing for me i always eat hot dogs when i'm golfing so i always get one brat and one hot dog and the brat is strictly mustard and the hot dog is truly ketchup. That's just how I do it. You can call me a psychopath, but that's how I do it. So that's why you saw that. And I know I got hated for it, but you can't put too many condiments on there. You can't put ketchup and mustard. I felt like, and I always like catching my hot dog

because you lose the flavor. So I had to keep it somewhat legit. Well, mustard on a brat is, I mean, that's nirvana right there. That's perfect. Right. But it's interesting because if you've got one packet of each, that way you've got ketchup on your hot dog and mustard on your brat, and you're good. So that is the golf.

Now, is that like at the turn kind of thing, or is that? The turn. You know, a little Gatorade, a little hot dog, and a brat. That's your go-to in the turn. Refuel your foot on the second nine, and, you know, a little Gatorade, a little hot dog and a brat. That's your go-to in the turn. Refuel your foot on the second nine and, you know, going into it ready to go. I think you know where I'm going next, so we're going to watch this one. This is a baking egg and cheese bagel. Not bagel, bagel.

Whew. I honestly don't know what's better, the bacon and the egg or this chocolate chip bagel. Oh, my goodness. Look at that. A little chocolate chip in there. Adds a little sweetness to this. Ooh.

Best thing I've had yet. Getting a big score from me. I'm going to be an 8.2. Really, really solid. Great, great item i had to come back on here and be truthful with you guys after further review it was not a chocolate chip bagel it was a raisin bagel but it was still great and i think it was cranberry to be exact it was great i i strongly suggest getting the cranberry bagel next time so first it it was chocolate chip. Then it was raisin. And then we land on cranberry ultimately.

Yeah, it was bad. It was a bad performance by me. I got, you know, one excuse. I think I got a little hot out there. It was pretty warm in New York City. It looked like it. You know, I'm sweating. I'm eating food.

And I got something sweet in my mouth right away. I was like, hmm, that's sweet. And I was like, I was looking at it before and it looked like brown. I was like, oh, it must be chocolate chip. And then, you know, after I'd taken a couple more bites, I was like, that's not a chocolate chip. So that's, I know it was bad, but you know, it had to be done. I had to come back on and be truthful. Are you a sweet, savory person? I wouldn't say I'm like sweet over salty. I do like, but it's not for me. It's not like there's one over the other. So you have, have you had like, there's a place in Tampa, Florida called DATS and they do a burger

where the bun, each side of the bun is a donut. And is that too much right there? Yeah, that's not going to be for me. So I like, I like to keep it like it's either, it's either a sweet or, you know, it's not. So like for me, if I'm getting a burger, it's, you know, if you're going to put anything on it, it's meat bacon. Cause you just want to make it more hearty. That's for me. Like I wouldn't, I wouldn't want the donut on there. No, that's not for me. Well, you're, you're going to eventually have your own food network show. I can tell, but it's interesting. Cause you, you were dealing with some of the stuff I had to do. Like I was writing these food reviews and my bosses at the time were like, could you put some

of these on video? I was like, sure. And so you start filming it and you realize people are watching me chew now. And then as I talk, food is projectile toward the camera. Yeah. And it's hot and you're trying to eat it and you're like, burn my mouth, but I got to get it down. So I had to chew the whole time. Yeah. It's, it was not, not, I didn't expect that going into it. It wasn't like, oh, I'm not like chew on camera, but you know, you, you work through it. It wasn't like, oh, I'm going to have to like chew on camera. But, you know, you work through it. It's not fun, but you got it done. A whole new respect for Guy Fieri, right? Oh, 100%.

Huge respect. Yeah. That's why he does the mmm. Yeah. It just gives you a little time. It gives you a little time to chew. It gives you a little time to think. You know, it's a little, what's that word?

A little filibuster. It gives you a little break in there. You know, you can eat it. You can think about it, you can chew it, and then you can go back to what it is, how you feel about it. You were the first and only person on this show who has used the word filibuster. And I appreciate that. No problem. You know, I got it. You got to work, you got to work on there every once in a while.

I don't know. It just came to mind. This is why we bring offensive linemen on this show because we get, we get multi-syllabic responses and I love it yep Joe thank you so much and uh and good luck against the Buckeyes thank you appreciate it that's Joe Alt and what a game this weekend it's going to be so much fun watching him against JT Tuamalau and and Ohio State's other edge rushers. This is – I haven't been this excited for a game in quite some time. I am going.

I cannot wait. Haven't been to South Bend for a big game in a while, and this is going to be good. Might have to get Joe's advice on where to dine in South Bend. Everybody knows about CJ's Pub. I'm a Golden Domer. That's the burger I usually get there. But, you know, let me see if there's anything new.

Although I don't know how much I trust him after the only ketchup on the hot dog thing. I'm still processing that right now. But before we go to our next interview, some bad, sad news out of Hanover, New Hampshire. Buddy Teevens, the Dartmouth coach has passed away. And, uh, those who don't know Buddy Teevens was struck by a pickup truck while riding his bicycle in Florida earlier this year, he had to have a leg amputated. There were spinal injuries and, uh, he has passed away now. And it is so sad because Coach Stevens was just an incredibly cool guy. I got to know him a little bit when he was an assistant at Florida under Steve Spurrier, and just so smart at Dartmouth,

which was his alma mater. He was a quarterback there. He did so much to try to help make the game safer. They pioneered those tackling dummy robots and just all kinds of stuff. He was just trying to make sure that the game would endure and that it could be played safely. And just so sad that this happened the way it happened and just a life cut short. I will say, I do know that Buddy Teevens was a giant parrot head. So Buddy Teevens, Mike Leach, two giant parrot head coaches hanging with Jimmy Buffett up there in the great beyond.

Rest in peace and thoughts to his family because that is incredibly sad and it sucks that this had to happen. But your heart goes out to the folks in the Dartmouth community and hopefully Sammy McCorkle, their coach can get everybody together. They're going to play against Lehigh this weekend and good luck to the big green. So moving on to another big game this weekend, Cincinnati plays its first big 12 game. You saw Houston, they made their big 12 debut with TCU coming in. It did not go that well for Houston. Cincinnati coming off an upset loss to Miami of Ohio. Perhaps it was a look ahead situation

because they've got Oklahoma coming in. This will be the only time they'll play Oklahoma as a conference opponent. We think, you know, barring further realignment, but we think this will be the only time they play Oklahoma as a conference opponent because Oklahoma is obviously headed to the SEC, but it's going to be big at Nippert, big noon Saturday. The Fox crew is going to be there. If you've never been to Nippert Stadium, it's one of the coolest places in college football. I'm so glad that the wider college football world is going to get to see that at noon on Saturday as Oklahoma rolls in there.

But Oklahoma is going to have to deal with a gentleman named Dante Corleone. His nickname is the Godfather. He is a 318-pound defensive tackle, one of the best in the country. And he came on to talk about the Big 12 debut He is a 318-pound defensive tackle, one of the best in the country. And he came on to talk about the Big 12 debut for the Bearcats. We're joined now by the godfather, Cincinnati's Dante Corleone.

And Dante, you got a huge game this week. The first Big 12 game for the Bearcats. Oklahoma's coming to Nippert Stadium. You're Mr. Cincinnati, so I do want to know, for the Oklahoma fans that are coming into town, what should they expect from the city of Cincinnati and from Nippert Stadium? First of all, it's going to be loud,

of course. I don't think... They probably think our stadium is kind of small, but they feel like 100,000 out there, so I think they're probably going to be loud, of course. I don't think – they probably think our stadium is kind of small, but they feel like 100,000 out there. So I think they're probably going to most likely be surprised at how loud it is because it's sink down. So I think that's going to be the biggest surprise for them. It is – it's a cool stadium because it is dug down into the ground like that.

When you were younger and, you know, getting recruited and going to games, did you realize it was going to be that loud before you went there? Or what was the first time that noise really hits you? I think it was UCLA. Then when I first got there, I heard outside, like, just walking in. I'm like, yeah, this is very different than I expected. So since then, I'm like, yeah, this is a very different stadium. So you grew up in Cincinnati. This is, it's very special for you to be there. I know,

I'm sure there were plenty of people who reached out to you before this season and said, hey, Dante, come, you know, come play for us. What kept you in Cincinnati? This loyalty, you know, they gave me an opportunity to play here early in my high school recruiting. So I was like, I just got to return the favor. Then also I trust into John Cunningham, our athletic director. I believe in him. He hired Coach Satt.

And then I met with Coach Satt and he laid down the foundation. And I listened to him. Then he did just that. You know, he got a great coaching staff in. Coach Brown, our D coordinator, a great guy, you know. He teaches me more outside of football than football, but he's also flexible for us as a defense. You know, if we want to tweak something on what our assignment is,

he'll listen and then he'll go from there. So I feel like Coach Satt, I want to give credit to Coach Satt for bringing a great coaching staff in, like, from the running back coach, like, everyone. Like, I'm close to every position coach, and it is fun to show up to work every day. That type of work for me. When you got to Cincinnati, they had a really veteran defensive line. Yes, sir.

How much did you learn from that group now that you're the old guy? I learned everything. And it's not even the defense and the whole – it was like AP who played for the coach. you know, he was just telling me little things. Like, when he was not getting the ball, like, don't be selfish. Just keep playing your role, and then you eventually get the – you eventually get what you want. So I was like, all them things.

And then Des, like, the whole team was just a great leadership for me. Like, just build me up so when my time come, I can make a great example for everybody behind me. Is this, you know, starting this Big 12 journey for the university, how big is it for you guys? Because, you know, sometimes players want to say it's just going to be another game, but I imagine for everybody around you, they're like,

this is huge, Oklahoma's coming. It's a Big 12 game. Yeah, for us, I feel like we wanted this pay due for all the great teams that set us up to get here. But we're also here to compete. You know, we're not going to sit here and just sit back and just say Oklahoma's coming. We're going to compete every game. We're going to try to earn our respect.

You know, that's something Coach Brown preached on every day during the offseason. You know, they picked us 13 out of 14 in the Big 12. So we just out there going to try to earn our respect every week. So that offense they play, for a guy like you, now you are in the best shape of your life we were talking about before. You said you got down from a high of 362. You're 318 right now.

But when you're playing against an offense that moves that fast, how good a shape do you have to be in? Great shape. But I feel like I'm very confident in our ability to stay in there during the tempo. You know, Coach Nico, all of them have gaps in the summer. I feel like it's really going to pay off this game. It's a show how great our coaching, our strength coaches is. So I feel like we's really gonna pay off this uh this game to show how great

our coaching our uh stream coaches is so i feel like we're gonna accept that challenge and head on now i know we talked about you getting in shape but we have to talk about the old days we have to talk about your because again you're mr cincinnati you even have your own off-menu skyline order so i i got a photo of of your order here and so your your your graphic is blocking there we go okay so i see the three-way but the three-way is the side dish so for those who who've never been to skyline chili the three-way is your pasta your chili and your cheese what is the main course in this dish? The Cholito.

So in my Cholito, I'll put habanero cheese. Then I put French fries in there. Then I think that's it, really. Then the chili, obviously. So I started this in high school, and I just kept going on, like to the point that every time I came in, they already knew my order. That's how much I ordered it back in the day. I was reading Justin Williams' great story in The Athletic athletic and your mom said he would ask for 20 to go to skyline and i thought who who takes 20 who needs 20 to go to skyline well a big guy like me you

know i love to eat so i was stressing my mom out at the time well and and let's talk about your mom because i heard you talking about her in another interview. It sounds like she really sacrificed a lot to help you get here. How she would work like 22 hour shifts, basically. Basically, so my normal day in high school, like when I when I wake up, she's already gone from work. And then when I come back, she's already – she's still at work, basically. But she come home, but I'm still going to be at, like, football practice. Then she got to leave home again.

So I rarely see her. Then she, like, missed half of my football games. But sometimes I'd be like, Ma, just go home, because sometimes she want to, like, sacrifice her sleep to come watch me play. But I'd rather see her get sleep before, you know, I don't want her to, like, be sick or anything like that so i told her to go home but like things like that motivate me you know like i can't complain about anything like it made me like think like if she's doing this then i can i can run an extra gas or like things like that a little small thing she taught me like where i'm at today that's that's my big uh motivation every day I wake up now obviously

the the NFL scouts like you a lot that you know you were first team all-american last year what will it be like to be able to help her out once that that day comes it's gonna mean everything I mean I accomplish my goal like um making her you know proud and making her like somewhere she don't gotta work no more you know that's that's really my dream is just to see her to smile and happy every day to not have to wake up and work 16 hours so things like that is where it's gonna keep making me drive so whenever that day come i will be uh uh happy but i'm not really focused on the draft i'm a bear cat so answer that question i'm not really the draft not even in my my mind right now you got oklahoma coming into town it's it you you play well against them all the other stuff sort of takes care of itself but i i know you

also got some nil stuff going on i i i saw the ad for the uh for the the Godfather pizza at Mio's. Now, you and my 14-year-old would get along really well because this would be his order on it. Pepperoni, bacon, beef, and jalapeno. You like the spicy. How about your cheese and your Cholito, jalapeno on your pizza? Yes, sir. It's unique, too.

I don't think a lot of people ever order this, but it's something it's unique too i don't think a lot of people ever order this but it's something different it's also it's good i've been ordered this for like two years in a row like the straight same topping so it's just something i like to eat on a piece of let's see i love this because a lot of these nil deals the guys have never been to the place or they don't know what you know they don't have a real plan for it like this is your order this is what you what you get yes so i think well that's why i think nio should be for like things like that you know and that's something i cherish you know because they didn't have to reach out to me so that's just i think they just did that to see like the loyalty i have for the city like smart n NIL deals I get, it's just like their thank you for me staying.

So I take a good responsibility for it. So when did all this stuff start, like the NIL stuff, the NFL stuff, when did that start to really pile up? Was that early? Did it take a little while to get rolling um i don't know because i don't really look into it so yeah i couldn't answer that question because i'm not really like looking for that right now how do you how do you stay focused how do you keep because that's the thing that could distract anybody. Yeah.

Yeah. I made a tweet a couple months ago about, you know, agents reaching out to me. I told them to really leave me alone sort of because I got to focus on this year. You know, it was a big year for me. So the last thing I worried about was the agent. But I told them, like, if you keep texting, I'm going to block you. That's the type of thing I'm on because I'm going to be blocking him.

That's a good way to thin the crowd out for when you actually have to make that decision. How much are you enjoying this? It sounds like you are laser-focused on this season. Are you trying to cherish each moment? Especially because this game is a brutal game.

You're not going to be out there every week. Injuries pile up. But for me, I'm a Cincinnati guy. There's not a lot of people that say that and play for their own city and actually just stay there and stay loyal to their program no matter what. So I just take that, and I'm excited to show up to work every day. So, all right, tell me, what does Cincinnati mean to you? When you talk about the city, what does it mean?

I just feel like it's a second family to me. It's hardworking people. People that came from the bottom like myself, had hard times when they was growing up, but they worked for everything they got. They're very loyal. You know, they're going to support you no matter what, win, lose, or draw. Like, they're always going to be there for you.

So I just feel like there's people that's – they're just loyal like me. So I just feel like we got a lot of stuff in common. And it's something different. I feel like a lot of people probably overlook Cincinnati all the time. But if you come here, it's a beautiful city. So I feel like a lot of people should visit here. It is. But if you come here, it's a beautiful city. So I feel like a lot of people should visit here. It is. The first time you drive in and you see the bluffs and the Bengals Stadium up there

and then the area where UC is is awesome. That's one of those things that I wonder, like when you host recruits from out of town, are they surprised at how cool that environment is? Well, I don't host nobody. No? But you're the billboard, man. You're Mr. Cincinnati. For me, I'm going to come in to do the Q&A.

We did a little Q&A, and they asked us questions. We did stuff like that, but I don't host no crew. There's no offense, but I just don't do it. But if they need me far as like reaching out to a player or anything else they know i got uh i got their back like jacking them doing a great job in recruiting though since they got here and there and then i love them all so if anything they got anything they need i always got them that is that see i like the honesty i like the brutal honesty is it how does that work work in your daily life?

Because you're just like, nope, I'm focused on this. Leave me alone, agents. I'm not hosting recruits. Like, this is how things are going to be. Yes. Because this is how I've always been. I was always a quiet guy, always to myself outside of football, you know. And Coach Nico and them got me more vocal this year.

I give my hats off to them. Coach Brown and coach sat again. You know, they, they challenged me to be a leader this year. You know, I was always a guy to, uh, I will lead, but like, I will lead in the back sort of like if somebody mess up, I will go to them and explain it. But now I'll be more outside of my, my shell of just talking in general, calling people out. Is that hard to do at first, to speak up, and everybody's looking at you?

Yeah, it was like, it was probably the hardest thing I ever did. And Coach Nego actually, like, opened my eye on me. He was like, you put so much extra work in after practice. Like, they see that, and they respect how hard you work. So they're going to listen. So when I heard that, it just opened my eyes. Like, yeah, they have to listen because I'm leading by example. So when he told me that, it got more easier to me.

Well, and I was thinking about what you said earlier about your mom being the example for you, and now you're an example for other people. How much duty do you feel to those young teammates to show them how it's supposed to look and how you're supposed to work i feel like it's everything to me because i don't want them to go down the wrong path or or uh see somebody leading by the wrong example i want to i want them to be like in a better position than i am right now so i just want to i just want them to be so when they start

playing i want i want them to be selfish i just want them to be a team player like I am. Just put the team first. Nobody bigger than the team. So I try to put that into the youth head. So hopefully they listen. So when I leave, hopefully one day they can just keep the train going. Now, have you ever gotten any of them to order a Cholita with the fries in it? Yeah. See, first it started off with the fans.

They started doing it. I'm like, okay. And then my teammates, they get it on the usual. Like that's something usually a couple of my teammates like usual order when they go to Skyline now. They always take a picture and send it to me. So that's funny you said that. So it was interesting.

So the Chilito, for those who've never been to Skyline, is a chili cheese burrito, basically. And the fries in in it that's like because you think about like you go to chipotle or one of those places they put rice in it so you get you know you get your carbs but the fries as the carb yeah that's the difference yeah there's definitely a difference i see that's that i can't wait to see as you go forward. You need your own line of food. I know Skyline, they have the stuff that they'll put in the grocery store freezer. They just need to have the Godfather as something you can buy and make in their microwave.

Yeah, we got to stay tuned on that. Hopefully, I keep going hard so I can get that opportunity. I think if you keep it up, you will definitely get it. Dante, thank you so much. Yes, sir. Thank you for having me. The Godfather is a fun one. I cannot wait to see him against Oklahoma.

That's an offense that is going to try to run at warp speed. So it's tough on the opposing defensive linemen. But if you can get pressure on Dylan Gabriel and if you can stuff the run, you can slow it down. And it's not been slowed down much this year. So we'll see if Cincinnati can pull that off. Now we move back to the SEC. Clark Brooks, the SEC stat cat.

He works for on three. He charts every play of every SEC game, gets you all the advanced stats, and goes very deep inside these games. He joined us to talk in-depth about Alabama Ole Miss and Auburn Texas A&M. welcome clark brooks the sec stat cat all of your advanced statistics in the conference where it means more so these are adjusted yards for attempt that simply mean more yes are we doing doing pretty good andy you know we've got three weeks under our belt you know i've already i'm already starting to feel the mileage you know one of my jobs for On3 is ranking the 550 most impactful players each week. So, yeah, that requires a little bit of legwork, a little bit of man hours. But I can't complain as we are trying to roll into a very nice week of games here.

So, you know, over the weekend, a little bit of questions across the country, even though it wasn't necessarily a sexy lineup. We still got a lot of narratives and a lot of storylines that I'm just itching to talk about. Well, and the thing is that there's two games in the SEC that I really want to focus on. One we've had a lot of fun with already on the show, yesterday and today. Alabama Ole Miss.

You've got Lane Kiffin clearly trolling Nick Saban with, hey, that looks like T-Rob's defense. You guys notice that? Anybody see that? And I'm like trying to line up the 2019 or, you know, 2020 when Ole Miss played South Carolina. I'm also lining up like the 2019 Auburn-Georgia game, the 2019 South Carolina Georgia game so I

could see a Kevin Steele defense and a Traveris Robinson defense against the same offense like it's crazy but it's it's it's fun and I'm sure it has caused some consternation in in the Alabama football office I think so too I mean um I looking in, it doesn't look like things are really running at 100% efficiency down there in Tuscaloosa, of course, over the weekend. Really sloppy, rocky 17-3 road win against USF. Of course, their quarterback won. Asterix didn't even play that game. And, yeah, it just doesn't look too pretty i mean a lot of people

have said the dynasty is on decline or the the dynasty is decaying and it's really hard to come up with a uh rebuttal to that type of thing right now well you you had a tweet where you're talking about this game and actually about how well the backs played and how many tackles they broke but it started with with Alabama getting no value from the passing game like zero no like it's kind of a common theme if you're a bigger stronger team you and you're playing a lower level opponent you tend to run a little bit more multi-tied in sets you tend to run a little bit more gap seems because why you're bigger than them it's a football it's a physical game you're trying to back. Well, I don't know if it was because out of preference

or just because out of necessity that Alabama turned to running 12 personnel duo after halftime. So they ran that play 14 times. 12 came with two tight ends, and 11 came after halftime. If that wasn't any bit of an evidence, they didn't trust whomever was back there at quarterback and that nothing really was working except for just getting north and south and running between or running behind a double team at the point of attack yeah so for those who don't know duo is you run it to

the tight end side and you basically have the offensive lineman combining on on double team blocks where somebody will then you know shed off to the to the backer. But it starts with a series of double team blocks, which again, like you said, if you're the bigger, stronger team. Not trying to go to the next level, take care of what's there. And if a linebackers come free, well, we're just going to let our awesome backs make a play in space. They do have excellent backs, very keen on making plays after contact, breaking tackles.

Of course, those are stable metrics that just make my heart just throb. So even though there are major concerns with that offensive line, I mean, we're in year three of this thing where the offensive line is not playing at the level that they need to. But because of the backs, they're going to have a shot. Well, and they go back to Jalen Milrow and you've charted them, you know, the first two games with jaylen millrow starting and then obviously with the tyler buckner ty simpson poo-poo platter uh in in the usf game how how are they different with jaylen millrow um well honestly they weren't really letting him decipher things quickly you know they were leaning into the potency the big play aspect that he definitely

does provide so that's a lot more max protection, shot plays, longer developing concepts as opposed to shoot RPOs like they did this past game, things in the flat like they did in this past game, getting the ball out quick, getting your passer on the move, moving the, I guess, the target for the defense to hone in on. So, yeah, they weren't really, I would say, setting him up for the best success, but they still at the same time were providing him plenty of opportunities to make big plays.

Problem is, if you're only having a 30 or so passing success rate and your explosive pass rate is still hovering above the above average range like he was, I mean, within the conference quarterback play, it's not necessarily one of the stronger years. So through the first two weeks, he did pop. He did finish among one of the better quarterbacks in that regard. But still, the inability to erase negative plays is just so apparent. So Alabama has to work on ways to get the ball out of his hands quicker

and to speed up his processing time. Because you can't be, to use Nick Saban's metaphor, baking a cake for that long and expect that many great returns. Well, and it's interesting because what you mentioned about what they used with Tyler Buckner and Ty Simpson, the RPO stuff, the moving the pocket, like with RPOs, you have to account for Jalen Milrow as a runner, which makes the defense have to think about that, which I would think that's a pretty serious thing.

If you were a defensive coordinator, if you're Pete Golding, game planning for Alabama this week, if you're worried about Jalen Milrow as a runner, that's a big concern. Usually, yeah. Like, so in the read option game, you one high versus two high if you run two high coverages usually you're going to have a lighter box count and most teams just say green light hand that sucker off but when you have jalen milrow and you have the ability to attack not only one side of the formation but two with his legs it just really does behoove them but at the same

time it does go back a little bit to the schematics to where over the last couple of years, gap schemes where they pull people just have not been as effective, which means they basically have to rely on zone blocking schemes to get the job done. And, you know, looking at our fan perspective, not too many fans jump up and down when you just want to hone in on running the ball up the middle. You want to see a little bit more splash plays towards the perimeter. You want to see a puller knock someone on their ass and really get the momentum and the juices flowing. Well, that just hasn't been the case. No matter what they've tried on early downs the last three years, they've been a below-average SEC offense.

They've been below average at providing rush yards before contact. So, yes, while Milrow should be able to provide a lot more stress if that primary run threat itself cannot get going and jalen milrow is going to have to be superman and beat teams by himself again that itself is not a great recipe for success so well that go ahead yes i was gonna say and it his his best attribute as a passer is the deep ball yes which this doesn't lend itself to that. But playing off play action does. It's also relying on the offensive line to hold up and do their jobs.

How many times have you heard a coach say that? Just do your job. So, yeah, I mean, there's a lot of questions. We still don't really feel great about what Milrow is in terms of a top five pass within the conference, because that's the goal. If Alabama wants to represent the West and sneak into this playoff, they definitely still can.

But stock is just not training the right way because the most important position is just a quantity right now. Well, Ole Miss is still going to have to be able to score on these guys. What are they going to be able to do against Alabama's defense? So pace and space, that's been the Lane Kiffin approach for many, many years, but they haven't been themselves the best in the trenches. Quenshawn Junkins, who was my running back two in our impact ratings ahead of the season, definitely not being that impactful the first three weeks of the season here.

So if he cannot find some wins, and again, it's Jackson Dart having to be the primary driver of this offense, I don't feel as good as Ole Miss, despite their tendency to be explosive. They've been one of the most explosive offenses in the country to start the season. Jackson Dart, in terms of yards per attempt, he's near 12 yards per passing attempt. So, yes, they are definitely moving the ball fairly effectively through the air, but their style of play, I kind of hinted at earlier with Milrow needing play action.

Well, when we're looking at the super spread scheme, no quarterback over the last three years have had a lower true drop back percentage. So that is excluding screens, RPOs, Utah tap passes, and true play actions than the super spread quarterback. So that's like Hendon Hooker, Jackson Dart, KJ Jackson, those types of quarterbacks. So that should just tell you how the scheme itself doesn't want to put that quarterback behind the gun too often and wants to keep the target moving, wants to keep going fast,

provide a lot of different keys that might look like something else, and then counterpunch you when you're not expecting it. What do you think happens in this game? Whose offense do you think works better against the defense? Whoever's calling the defense. Whatever Lane Kiffin thinks, whoever's calling it, whose offense works better? I think Ole Miss's works better because, look, they returned a lot of returning pieces. We know they knew their strengths and weaknesses from their backfield,

and that cannot be overlooked at the early part in the season. They didn't have to basically reinvent themselves. They didn't have to have a new voice in the room they didn't have to try and you know put duct tape on a broken system well Lane Kiffin's offense last couple of years they've been preeminent in bash counters bash zones so bash looks are where the quarterback and the running back flip responsibilities in the run assignment. So normally the running back is following the blockers and the quarterback will potentially hit the edge on a key. Well, that's swapped on bash design. So not only do you have Jackson Dart potentially being a ball carrier behind two pullers,

but you also have a speedy back who could potentially get an explosive attacking a flat-footed edge. So that meshed in with what they do with their normal flood concept. So again, you've got to imagine, they're running this at lightning speed. A lot of stuff looks a lot alike. So when you're running something like Cross, which is a weak side flood, you're sending your guys over here as opposed to trying to overload the strong side like you'll see on sale but you'll notice kind of how this thing kind of peaks inside well on skipper sale or some people know as thumb thanks to steve sarkeesian you get that bend back action and you just find yourself wide open in a pocket along the sideline so that last year was one of their best looks having them

um applied with power play action, normal play action, and just mixing between the two. Well, the first three weeks, that has definitely solidified itself. Now, the caveat is they usually run this stuff against bad secondaries. And last time I checked, Alabama secondary is at least one of the units they like to puck their chest out about along with those running back. So even though I do think that, you know, this Ole Miss offense does have some vulnerabilities, the scheme at work with the talent level they have at wide receiver and the quarterback position,

I think is definitely going to give them the edge in this matchup. So let's move to college station because this is Hugh freeze's first SEC game as an SEC coach again. Jimbo Fisher, they're worried about him. More specifically, they're worried about DJ Dirk. It's defense. They were not getting any pressure against Miami, and they were not tackling when Miami caught the ball. What can Auburn do to attack this defense?

Same thing. So Auburn. Hugh Freeze, I am not a big fan of this passing offense right now. It's really rudimentary. I've called it a high school offense on Twitter, and they've done very little to try and change that narrative. But I will say I immensely respect their all-in utilizing vertical RPOs. So RPOs, they can be bubble screens, they can be tunnel screens, stuff behind the line of scrimmage. You know, that's nothing new. You're really just trying to stress defense's sideline to sideline that way.

But what Auburn does and has really helped their above-expectation metrics has been utilizing RPO fade. So when you dedicate that extra body into the box to try and clog run lanes, you're leaving that person one-on-one outside the numbers. And if they can win one-on-one with a fade, that is a great way to flip the field and provide chances for themselves. Now, I don't think the offensive line, in terms of running the ball, has necessarily done a fantastic job.

This past weekend, only a 1.5 rush yard before contact clip when excluding Peyton Thorne's designs. They're starting quarterback. So, of course, quarterback runs come a little bit easier than running back runs so when you see that they haven't been able to push people around and they really rely on just winning those i wouldn't say toss-ups but kind of dodgy types of things not having a lot of reliance in the true drop back game if they find themselves in a hole i really don't like their chances to claw out of it unless the defense can make some plays. And a lot of that is because of how Connor Wegman has performed under pressure.

Now, I'm not the biggest fan of his arm talent, but that's only one aspect to quarterback play. A lot of it's cerebral, what's going on between the ears, being able to diagnose things, get people lined up, knowing who's open and being able to decipher ball placement. So yes, while his down-to-down premium accuracy is not sharp, he throws a very catchable ball. He gives his immensely talented wide receivers chances to make plays, whether it is the 6'6 Noah Thomas, whether it is the soon-to-be impact five-star Evan Stewart, whether it be Aniyah Smith, the jack-of-all-trade guys, if he's lining up in the backfield in the slot, just finding matchup opportunities.

He knows he's been very well coached this off season, knowing where to look. And even though, yes, he's been, he's been pressured. He's been beating the crap, but look, he's still back there and he has been, he has not been broken yet. And last time that check, I think he said a completion percentage record for Texas A&M over the weekend. So they might have beaten up on bad defenses at home. And Auburn's definitely going to be a tick up in the degree of difficulty department.

But just because of how he has been a fantastic decision maker and not really throwing the ball into harm's way. Because I'd like to mention, one of his two interceptions against Miami was because one of the guys just fell down on an open cross totally not on him he's definitely impressed me with how he's been able to match a fantastic result even if I am a little bit wary on his process he still isn't throwing interceptables and he's still giving his guys great opportunities to make plays yeah it's it's amazing how it's flipped because last year it was, they just got to fix the offense. If they could just fix the offense, now it's they got to fix the defense. And to your point, if they can pressure Peyton Thorne, they're going to win this game.

Auburn cannot play behind the chance. They're not built for that right now. And again, so over the weekend, weekend 50 of their yards came off a form of an rpo again that usually works when the game is tight when you have a lead when you can keep defense stressing but when you're when you're losing and you become a little bit more uh narrow in your approach that goes out the window completely so we have not seen um this year auburn having to uh effectively move the ball without RPO. So if they find themselves in a hole or in a true passing down situation, it should be a good

advantageous makeup for Durkin and them boys to get back on track. But Shamar Turner, love what he's been able to do at edge, but the secondary hasn't been as strong as you would like of course Josh DeBerry come from Boston College a few other transfers so there was a little bit more wait and see what they would bring to the table but this can be a fantastic matchup for them because last time I checked Auburn they don't really have game breakers at wide receiver either no but that's the thing if it works for Auburn that's when things get real bad in College Station. So we will see what happens. This is one of those kind of,

it's not a loser leaves town because he was in his first year. He's just trying to get everything going. And that's where Hugh can be dangerous. That's where Hugh's very dangerous. Nothing to lose. Yeah. Might as well come out swinging.

I cannot wait to watch these games. Clark, thank you so much. That's Clark Brooks, SEC stat cat, going deep, deep into the Alabama and Auburn games. That Auburn-Texas A&M game, that's how loaded this weekend is. That game would get a lot more hype, a lot more more pub if you didn't have Notre Dame and Ohio State Colorado and Oregon Alabama and Ole Miss but it's it's one of those that I think if Auburn wins it we're going to be talking a lot about the situation in College

Station on Sunday or we talk about how things in college station are calming down. If Texas A&M comes out, gets pressure, tackles well, they need a win in the SEC that looks easy. It's weird that the last one they had was the LSU game at the end of last season, but none of the other ones did. So Texas A&M under pressure this weekend. As Clark said, Auburn has nothing to lose, but it is going to be an incredible weekend. We got the pick show tomorrow. Casey Smith from Barstool Sports will join us as our guest picker. I will try not to get everything wrong, but hey, I make no promises. Although it's very hard to get everything wrong. I really, with that graphic, could have flipped a coin

and would have gotten more right than I did. It's shocking how bad I was last weekend. I don't think I will be that bad again this weekend, but who knows? Now it's time for our extra point. You know what it's going to be? It's going to be Lane Kiffin and Nick Saban side by side one more time. I cannot stop watching.

On this other thing that I hear floating around out there, I'm sure you've seen the same reports I've seen, is Kevin Steele is the defensive coordinator. He has all the defensive coordinator responsibilities. The only thing that I didn't approve on from administrators was game day administration of getting the signals in quick

game's going to be a banger can't wait talk to you tomorrow