Andy & Ari On3 - Is Matt Rhule STAYING PUT at Nebraska? What’s his status with Penn State open? USF's Alex Golesh Joins | Is Alabama's Swagger Back? Brent Venables Status at OU

Episode Date: October 15, 2025

As Penn State begins its search for a new head coach, one name that immediately came up was Nebraska's head coach Matt Rhule. An alum of Penn State and former employee of the current Nittany Lions ath...letic director Pat Kraft, Rhule's name was one of the first to appear for the vacancy in College Park. Watch here as Matt Rhule provides his answer on the job search in Happy Valley. All that and more on a megaboard Wednesday episode of Andy & Ari On3! (0:00) On Today’s Episode(1:13) BetMGM(3:30) Intro: Penn State’s Job Search(5:39) Megaboard: Matt Rhule staying?(19:20) Previewing USF Coach Alex Golesh(20:08) Huel(21:20) Alex Golesh Joins(35:42) Alex Golesh’s Rules for Life(37:52) Gametime(39:07) Previewing Tennessee-Alabama(40:34) Kalen DeBoer’s Demeanor on Sideline(46:16) Brunt Workwear(47:15) Oklahoma and the Big 12 tweet(49:33) Brent Venables’ at OU(59:32) Conclusion - Dear Andy & Ari tomorrow! Send your mailbag questions in to:andystapleson3@gmail.comari.wasserman@on3.com Next, USF head coach Alex Golesh has had a solid start to his season thus far, and the Bulls are at the top of the American conference standings. Will the winner of this conference represent the G5 in the College Football Playoff? Alex Golesh thinks so. Afterwards, we continue with On3's megaboard and head down to Tuscaloosa to preview the Tennessee-Alabama matchup. As Kalen DeBoer's Crimson Tide sits atop of the SEC standings with an undefeated conference standings, the fans are starting to take notice of the head coach's swagger in his 2nd season in Tuscaloosa. Later, there are some fans that aren't so happy with their head coach. Andy & Ari take a look at the megaboard from Soonerscoop.com regarding head coach Brent Venables. Is the South Carolina game a MUST WIN for Brent Venables? Watch here as Andy & Ari discuss the state of things in Norman. Dear Andy & Ari tomorrow! Send your mailbag questions in to andystapleson3@gmail.com and ari.wasserman@on3.com Our show is presented by BetMGM! If you haven’t signed up for BetMGM yet, use bonus code CFB and you will get up to a $1500 First Bet Offer on your first wager with BetMGM! Here’s how it works: 1. Download the BetMGM app and sign-up using bonus code CFB.2. Deposit at least $10 and place your first wager on any game.3. You will receive up to $1500 in bonus bets if your bet loses! Just make sureyou use bonus code CFB when you sign up! Make this college football season one for the history books. Make it legendary. See BetMGM.com for Terms. 21+ only. US promotional offers not available in New York, Nevada, Ontario, or Puerto Rico. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (Available in the US). Call 877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY). Call 1-800-NEXT-STEP (AZ), 1-800-327-5050 (MA), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA), 1-800-981-0023 (PR). First Bet Offer for new customers only. Subject to eligibility requirements. Rewards are non-withdrawable bonus bets that expire in 7 days. In partnership with Kansas Crossing Casino and Hotel. This show is also brought to you by Gametime! Take the guesswork out of buying college football tickets with Gametime.Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code STAPLES for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Swipe. Tap. Ticket. Go. Download the Gametime app today! Visit Gametime.co. Get Huel today with this exclusive offer for New Customers of 15% OFF with code STAPLES15 at https://huel.com/STAPLES15 (Minimum $75 purchase) BRUNT was tired of the workwear brands out there cutting corners. You work too hard to be stuck in uncomfortable boots that don’t hold up. So they built something better – boots that are insanely comfortable and built for any jobsite. For a limited time, our listeners get $10 off at BRUNT when you use code ON3 at checkout. Just head to bruntworkwear.com, use the code ON3, and you’re good to go. And after you order, they’ll ask where you heard about BRUNT—do us a favor and tell them it was from this show. Join On3 today and get one full year of access to The Athletic included! https://www.on3.com/subscribe/C Watch our show on YouTube! https://youtu.be/A7uZ1_ZynA8 Hosts: Andy Staples, Ari WassermanProducer: River Bailey Interested in partnering with the show? Email advertise@on3.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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Starting point is 00:00:00 On today's episode of Andy and Ari on three, we talk Matt Rule, obviously with Penn State Open. Penn State grad Matt Rule is a potential candidate, but Penn State Grad Matt Rule also happens to be Nebraska head coach Matt Rule. That's a pretty big job, too. We examine his response to a question about the Penn State job, what it means. And of course, it's a megaboard Wednesday, so we will take the temperature of the message boards as that job is open. and Matt Rule continues to coach the Cornhuskers. We're also going to talk to USF coach Alex Golish. His team is having a great year.
Starting point is 00:00:38 They've already got a win against Florida, and now they are into the American Conference play. There's a big game against Memphis coming up, not this weekend, but next weekend they got Florida Atlantic this weekend. The winner of the American probably going to the playoff, that might be the Bulls. You'll hear from Alice Goelish and how he got that program going.
Starting point is 00:00:56 Also, is Kalin DeBoer hitting his stride? at Alabama, and is Brent Venables in danger of being in danger at Oklahoma after a loss of Texas? We'll talk about it all on Andy Arion 3, presented by BetMGM. We are presented by BetMGM. We'll be using BetMGM lines and totals all season long. If you have not signed up for BetMGM yet, use the bonus code CFB. That CFB is in college football, and you'll get up to a $1,500 first bet offer on your first wager with BetMGM.
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Starting point is 00:02:41 See bedmgmgm.com for terms. 21 plus only U.S. promotional offers are not available in New York, Nevada, Ontario, or Puerto Rico. Gambling problem. Call 1-800 gambler in the U.S. call 8778 Hope N.Y or text Hope N. Y. 4673669 in New York. Call 1-800 next step in Arizona. Call 1-800-3-2-0-0-0-0 in Massachusetts. Call 1-800-off in Iowa or 1-8001-9-802 3 in Puerto Rico. First bet offer for new customers only, subject to eligibility requirements, rewards are non-withdrawable bonus bets that expire in seven days in partnership with Kansas Crossing Casino and Hotel. Don't forget, if you haven't signed up for BetMGM yet, use the bonus code CFB and get your $1,500 first bet offer today. Welcome to Annie and Ari on three presented by BetMGM. Ari will be along shortly as we examine the boards on a megaboard Wednesday. It's a big day. There's a lot going on.
Starting point is 00:03:45 There's some juicy topics on the boards. One of the juicier topics, and it crosses multiple. because you've got Blue White Illustrated covering Penn State. You've got Huster Online covering Nebraska is, of course, what happens next at Penn State. Now, if you want to know what just happened at Penn State, there's a great story from our Chris Lowe and Pete Naco said on three. Inside Penn State's decision to fire James Franklin, a year after they went to the college football playoff semifinal, it is a very enlightening story. You will understand better why this decision was made when it was and why Penn State. was willing to pay that big of a buyout.
Starting point is 00:04:24 And of course, the next logical question is who replaces James Franklin at Penn State. The most obvious name is Matt Rule. There are a lot of reasons for that. Obviously, Matt Rule is a Penn State grad, former Penn State linebacker, walk on under Joe Paterno. Also, Pat Kraft, current AD at Penn State, was Matt Rule's boss at Temple. He was the AD at Temple when Matt Rule was the head coach at Temple. They're very good friends. They get along really well.
Starting point is 00:04:52 That, of course, has created a natural connection. And, you know, everybody's got an opinion on it. Matt Rule was asked his opinion on it. So Ari and I went into the boards. We went into the Red Sea Scrolls from Husker Online, found a very interesting thread. And then we also examine Matt Rule's response to that question about Penn State. And I think it's one of the more interesting responses you'll hear from a coach in this situation. and you're going to see more coaches that find themselves in the situation as the year goes on.
Starting point is 00:05:25 You're probably not going to see an answer like Matt Rules because usually it's a little more robotic. But check it out. Here's me and Ari talking Matt Rule and Penn State speculation. All right is a mega board Wednesday. And of course, Huster Online's board has been buzzing ever since Penn State fired James Franklin because naturally, the assumption is that Matt Rule will be a candidate. Matt Rule is a former Penn State linebacker, walked on under Joe Paterno. Also, worked with Penn State AD Pat Kraft at Temple when Pat Kraft was the Temple AD,
Starting point is 00:06:04 and Matt Rule was the head coach there. So it's a natural fit. It's a natural connection. Everybody's making that connection. Literally everybody. On the Huster Online board, they noticed, though, that earlier this week, a Dylan Ryola Instagram story. Raiola just posted this is what Metalhead 88 posted on the Huster Online message board.
Starting point is 00:06:25 And it is an Instagram story of Matt Ruhle hugging Dylan Ryola. And it says Nebraska headball coach. And it's got a lock. Lock. Juicy. A lock. Well, there's so much to unpack here.
Starting point is 00:06:40 Yes. It is unbelievable. And of course, Matt Ruhle got asked about it. So we were going to play you that, but you know we've had some issues. where the program we use to download YouTube clips has been converting them randomly in other languages. And it's never the same language.
Starting point is 00:06:58 So I'm not even sure what language this is. I think it's Japanese, but here's Matt Ruhl talking about the Penn State job. Coach Franklin go to get back. When you think, he's going to my alma matter for what you know, so you know, cariacrums in the time. He's not? My matter, The more I think, maybe that's not Japanese, maybe that's a Southeast Asian language.
Starting point is 00:07:22 I'm really not sure. I think that was specifically for our listener in Singapore. Somebody's going to know. So you tell us what language that is. But here is the actual Matt Rule clip because it is a little bit long, but it's a fascinating answer. And it's probably a little bit different kind of answer than you've heard from coaches in this situation before. It's not a boilerplate response. No, no, no, no.
Starting point is 00:07:47 No, this is not the typical response. So here's what Matt Rulso when asked about the Penn State job. Obviously, your alma mater fired as coach Sunday, and so your name logically becomes the candidate for that role. What would you like to say about not only Coach Franklin, but the opening there and the relationship to the AD there? Yeah, well, I love Penn State. Met my wife there.
Starting point is 00:08:12 It's my alma mater, fan since I was born. I was born. I think probably had a Penn State shirt where I was born. I love Pat Craft. And really sad, really sad to see Coach Franklin go, you know, when you think about what he did for my alma mater, you know, the program was in peril, right? I mean, you know, players, if people remember, like the historic sanctions,
Starting point is 00:08:38 you could transfer out, you could do whatever you want. Bill O'Brien comes in, stabilizes it for two years. James takes over a program in disarray and gives stability, excellence, and to see, you know, see videos of people like yelling at his kids. And I just don't understand why in our country, like, well, now, like, coaches are villains. Like, you know how hard I worked in Carolina and the things that were said to me are, you know, how hard I work here? Some of the things that are set, you know, our coaches work here, how hard work last year. So I just really sad about that part of it. And people say, well, you make a lot of money.
Starting point is 00:09:10 Making a lot of money doesn't make a kids feel good when they're hearing that. You know, make a lot of money. It's nice to make a lot of money. Don't get me wrong, but still people. So I really respect James Franklin. Troy and I are an unbelievable relationship, too. And Troy and I are in constant, constant communication about this program and where we're headed. You know, I came here for two reasons.
Starting point is 00:09:33 I love the community here and wanted to live here, and I love it here. And I wanted to rebuild. Nebraska football. And, you know, Troy and I understand the steps that you need to take to make us Big Ten champions and national champions. This place is elite. And I want to be a great father and I want to be a great college football coach. And so, you know, I'm not going to talk a lot about job openings when they come. This is, maybe it's been a while here, but this is what happens when you win. I've dealt with it. You know, we've won at Temple and I dealt with it all the time. I've dealt with Baylor. I'm not going to talk about those things ever. I'm not going to talk about my contract here. I'm going to talk about the team. But, yeah, I I absolutely love it here. And I just want to, I want us to continue to take the steps needed for us to turn this thing into a beast. And players all across the country want to come here with the best facilities. We have elite fans. And, you know, I'm just looking at the future.
Starting point is 00:10:27 So, but again, I love that place. I love, I love Pat. I love James Franklin. Sad that that came to an end. I wish him the absolute best. But I'm really happy here. I'm excited to get going this week on Minnesota. So Ari, the Boyle League Play Dance.
Starting point is 00:10:40 is i'm not thinking about other jobs i'm the coach here blah blah blah blah blah and you don't even acknowledged it he acknowledged exactly what he feels about penn state what everybody knows he feels about pen state but also explained that he's happy at nebraska he goes on later to talk about his wife's got a business there uh he's worried about club volleyball for his daughters and he also said his wife decides where they live all of that you know if we boil it all down none of it is no none of it is i'm definitely staying here but i don't think it's a slam dunk that if penn state wants matt rule he's going to pen state i'm sitting in andy's lovely office right now and you guys can't see what i see but i'm going to
Starting point is 00:11:25 tell you what i see this beautiful blown up sports illustrated cover that's a piece of art in his office and we know that sports illustrated the magazine that you used to work for doesn't really exist anymore. But if Sports Illustrated the magazine made a huge comeback and figured out a way to, you know, be relevant again in the way that you're nostalgic for probably. And they existed. You can be 100% happy at On 3, excited about what we're building at this site. I mean, what Shannon and the fellows are doing to. It's a Penn State cover, by the way. It's a Penn State cover. It's Miles Sanders scoring in overtime against Applachian State. But what I'm saying is is that you still are never going to be able to rewire or reroute your past.
Starting point is 00:12:12 Like what's special to you and what you remain fond of and what helped mold you is always going to be a part of your DNA. And I think that even if SI still existed, you might not leave, but if there was a job opening there, like, you can't pretend like it wouldn't, it wouldn't like pull you. So like, I thought that this was a great answer. I think that Matt Rule is a genuine person. and I think that it's almost it's not almost, it is refreshing to hear somebody at least acknowledge why people are connecting you to that place.
Starting point is 00:12:42 Yeah. So, you know, and I also agree with him about Nebraska. If he does what James Franklin did at Nebraska, he's a hero. If he goes to Penn State and does what James Franklin did, he's fired. Correct. So like, if he does what Matt rules done at Nebraska at Penn State, he's fired. Yeah. So like there is a
Starting point is 00:13:02 there is a difference there. And obviously, you know, coaches, you know, want to compete at the highest level. But I actually believe that Nebraska could have a similar ceiling in today's game as Penn State knows without all the added pressure of, you know, doing it. Yeah, the runway is longer at Nebraska than it is at Penn State right now. And things are going well. They're going very well. I mean, the win against Maryland was huge for them.
Starting point is 00:13:26 The thing that I've never had to face in my life, and I know it would be powerful. I don't know if you have an experience. but when you are a head coach of a program you are the captain you are an architect of what is happening there and that is a project yeah you know boiling it down to the base nuts of what it is and he has labored over the Nebraska job to a point now where they could conceivably be in the Big Ten championship as soon as this year so even though you have pooled to another place or another place that's special to you is calling in my life life, I've never had to choose what project you're in the middle of right now and is going well
Starting point is 00:14:09 and starting another project. Right. Like when we were at the athletic, you and I both joined the athletic very early on. But I think I both say that we take great pride in helping build what that place eventually became and ultimately sold for. But when I left. But I never was asked to leave in the middle of it. When I left, it was a case of I had a good job, but I was really excited about what we were
Starting point is 00:14:31 doing here. And you might not have loved. left if we were in the middle of building it still. Like that's the thing. Like it was a completed project. Now, it's still a wonderful place and a great place to read stuff. But like the building aspect of it was complete when we left.
Starting point is 00:14:46 I don't know what it would be like to leave in the middle of the building. And where we are now can be an absolute monster. And that's what that was my idea when I came. And it's interesting because you're probably thinking if we're going to connect this to that rule, be the monster. I'm saying Nebraska can be the monster. Yeah, I think Penn State is more like the athletic than on three. Like Nebraska is more like on three. It's right, which is weird because Nebraska, you know, is an old line, you know, old school, highly successful program. But in this
Starting point is 00:15:20 mean in the phase of his life. Right. And in this era, it's they're trying to come back. They're trying to build back up into something where they are nationally relevant again. Penn State is nationally relevant already. Nebraska is trying to get there. Nebraska, by the way, they are a nine and a half point favorite at Minnesota on Friday. I mean, the thing that you could say about Nebraska, too, is that they, you're seeing the improvement in the spreads. It's Friday night. They play at Nebraska or at Minnesota, but they are a, they are a nine and a half point favorite
Starting point is 00:15:53 against the Golden Golfers. And that is a testament to people seeing and believing what Matt Ruhl is doing there. It's a testament to the production of it's already happening. happened. So, you know, we don't know. I'm not saying that he won't leave, but there's reason to believe that he could. So, or maybe well, that he could stay. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I think it's going to be fascinating to watch. And it's not a 100% guarantee that he will be offered the job to, which is another, you know, I'm not saying he won't. The Penn State job is probably going to be the best job this cycle. And I say that as a graduate of the University of Florida. Like, I think if you, if you ask coaches, Florida or Penn State, the Penn State job is, maybe even a little bit more desirable in the Florida job. So I think it's probably going to be the number one job. That's an entire episode though. Yeah. I think into whatever that was. No, I think both
Starting point is 00:16:41 of them can be good, but I think if we're trying to rank them, the Penn State job, maybe the number one job. So... Do you want to just do that for three seconds and explain why you think that? I just think they're further along and there's less resistance in their league because in the SEC
Starting point is 00:16:57 there's so many more teams to climb over. Penn State has to climb over Ohio State and Oregon right now. if you if you hire the right coach you you have to climb over Ohio State and Oregon yeah and Indiana I guess climbing 80% of Mount Everest and then saying you got to do the most difficult part and by the way that bridge yeah but would you rather have that or Alabama Georgia Tennessee LSU Texas Texas A&M honestly I think I would rather do the manageable parts too because you get credit for doing the
Starting point is 00:17:25 manageable but it's not that manageable it's very hard either way so I'll take I'll take the two I got to climb over versus the seven I got to climb over versus the seven I got to Well, just remind me to never climb Mount Everest with you. Yeah, I don't think you'll ever climb Mount Everest. Yeah, I don't understand the appeal of it. I'm not worried about you. You know more people die on the dissent than on the assent. It's electric.
Starting point is 00:17:44 All right. It's not electric. It's terrible. It's terrifying. All right. But like, I don't understand these people. Why they do it? Yeah.
Starting point is 00:17:51 And like, I don't know. To challenge themselves. I don't think I've ever wanted to challenge myself that much, but God bless them if they do. People who do the rock climbing, the free basing with no restraint. It's insane. Why would you? That's not free basing by it. Free basing is a way to take cocaine.
Starting point is 00:18:04 Oh. So what is it called? Free climbing. Free climbing. Well, what is, how do you? It's a free base. Richard Pryor once set himself on fire free basing. Okay.
Starting point is 00:18:15 Well, after this, you'll have to Google and explain to me. I thought there was one way to take cocaine and it involves putting it up your nose. But, you know, so. Sorry, guys. This is the show, everybody. Is this not what you wanted when I got hired? I don't know. This is what you want.
Starting point is 00:18:30 Yeah, as Ari would say. You want me to stop being me? I don't know what you want. What is the process of that? I don't know. Oh, my God. All right. Listen, I'm going to go to another megaboard top of right now.
Starting point is 00:18:42 Why wouldn't you use the rope if it's available? I would use the rope. What do you gain from? Also, like, when you climb out Everest, you hire the Sherpa. Like, that's like, that's like getting the VIP guide at Disney World that allows you to skip all the lines. Like, you're, I guess you're achieving. something by climbing out of hers. But the Sherpa, who's already done it 10 times, like, there's so much better than you at it.
Starting point is 00:19:08 Okay. So the Sherpa's entire existence is to guide people up the most difficult climb in the history of the world? Yeah. And they're just experts at it. Like, they just keep doing it over and over again. That's another job. I don't understand. Next topic.
Starting point is 00:19:18 All right. We'll be back with a few more juicy Megamore topics. But before that, we're going to talk to USF head coach, Alex Golish. Third year coach there, remember, was the offensive coordinator at Tennessee. did a pretty good job the first two years, but this is his best team by far. Brian Brown, the quarterback, has been fantastic. Golish has the Bulls believing.
Starting point is 00:19:43 They just routed North Texas in Denton last week, and they're in a very tough race in the American, but obviously USF has that win against Florida under its belt. They've played against Miami. That one did not go as well. But they have a very, very good chance of competing for the American title, which means they have a very good chance of competing for birth in the college football playoff.
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Starting point is 00:21:06 Use the code Staples 15 for 15% off your first purchase of $75 or more. And now it is time to talk to USF coach Alex Golish, one of the hottest coaches in America. All right, Alex Golish, coming off a big winning. It's North Texas. Having a great season at USF so far. Alex, I want to ask you something about something you said the other night after the North Texas game because you guys had some mistakes. in the first quarter, some fumbles and, you know, turnovers. And you said there was never a here
Starting point is 00:21:38 we go again moment. And, you know, I think about the first couple of years you were there, you know, there were some times when things would happen and a team couldn't recover. And this time the recovery was instant that everybody just kind of moved on to the next play. How do you get your team to understand that mindset? Yeah, I think it just takes time. to be honest with you and this is this is my fifth time being a part or in this case leading it coming in a program that wasn't having recent success i think if i've learned anything through each of those stops is year one i mean they're there are different players they're different places the competition's different but i feel like it's been the same every single time there's this
Starting point is 00:22:27 there's this attitude of man it's going to happen to us again man here we go and I think it takes experience it takes time to go through those moments over and over again to to be able to actually overcome you practice it you you preach and sell and talk and teach this next play mentality but ultimately it is it is something the guys got to believe and The only way that they truly believe it is by going through it. I think it's like anything in life, but until you've done it, you've gone through it, you can teach your kids to learn from other people. And we certainly try, but I think until they've been there before,
Starting point is 00:23:11 it's really, really hard to mimic it in any sort of practice or meeting setting. I think when you truly believe that your process is right, I think when you truly believe that your prep is elite, then you you tend to in tough moments say man the next play is the play that that's going to take us right back into the momentum swing that we're looking for and for the first time at least in my time here it's been consistently that way and we've had some close games and some tough moments through some games early on in the season that I think that that we overcame and now they have this true proof of concept that there is no here we go moment man we just got to go play the next play
Starting point is 00:23:53 and somebody will make something happen. Alex, I'm sure you're aware, going into the North Texas game, that was going to be a pretty tough environment. A lot of people envision that North Texas was going to have a real chance to win the game. But as that game went on, it felt like your team's athletic ability separated in a way that almost felt like a have-and-have-not situation. When you are building a program and you're around the players and in that conference, It's a highly competitive conference with a lot of teams who are vying for a playoff spot.
Starting point is 00:24:27 When does it occur to you that you guys might have an caliber of athlete on your team that separates you from your peers? Yeah, I think we've been kind of building towards this moment. You know, we've got a ton of older guys. We got 31 seniors on the team. Right now, our best players or at least guys that are playing their best, are also the same guys that have worked the hardest are also the same guys that have invested the most and in turn have become our best leaders and when your your best leaders are also your best players you create this this culture of of true real confidence i guess would be ultimately what
Starting point is 00:25:15 what i think these guys are playing with right now uh from a physical standpoint you know it's it's We've recruited, obviously, to a certain system on both sides of the ball. And the continuity within the staff has been awesome in terms of we've been here for three seasons. We've had the same coordinators. For the most part, it's been the same coaches across the board. So you've been able to have consistency in recruiting.
Starting point is 00:25:40 And we've recruited really, really well here. And I think in turn, we've developed even better than we've recruited. And so what's happened is there's real competition at every spot. there's some young guys that are playing and really a ton of young guys keep stepping up every week and and are competing and playing. And these older guys have raised their level of play to where we look like a legitimate football team right now. And that's physically, but to be honest, what we talked
Starting point is 00:26:10 about initially, the mental side of it, these guys think they can play with anybody in the country and there have been games where we've had to. And we've come out on the positive side of that. On the flip, We've also had, we, sitting there at 2 and O and go down to Miami and play well for a half. And then it gets away from us. So you talk about a humbling moment where it's like, man, you feel like you got to a point, but you're playing one of the top teams in the entire country. And you're like, man, we're not there yet. So you continuously are working towards getting to that level.
Starting point is 00:26:45 So when you go to Gainesville and you win a game, how much proof of concept is that? Or do you just have to flush that and say, hey, look, Miami's next. The American is going to bring all these different challenges. Do you get to savor that at all? Does that build confidence? Or is that something that you have to tell your players, hey, let's enjoy it, but it's over? I think we tried to, one, enjoy it.
Starting point is 00:27:12 I think for our program to go to Gainesville, regardless of outcome, The experience of competing at a high, high level all the way through for four quarters was I think what I was proudest of most in terms of the ups and the downs and throughout that game and then the ability to find a way to win was like the bonus part of that. I think we went into that game and our kids truly believed they were going to go win that game. And we've played tough. My first two years here, we played in some really, really tough environments. And we came up short in Tuscaloosa a year ago, down, I want to say
Starting point is 00:27:58 five with six minutes left in the game, in a position to go score again. And it got away from us. And again, I think mature teams, I think teams that have guys that understand and are bought into the program, they learn from those moments. And so we go into the year and play Boise week one and end up going to Gainesville, week two. I think our guys truly believe they were going to win and the ebbs and flows of that game and then being able to go finish it that you walk away from that one you do you enjoy it that night that was a big big win for not just our program but for this university the the alumni base I think so this state is is awesome in terms of the football fandom in the state of Florida is incredible and so split and I think that's what makes these
Starting point is 00:28:45 games so big but there's there's a lot you come back to Tampa and there's certainly a lot of Florida alums here. There's a lot of Florida fans all over the place, but you feel like, all right, we can go in and go continue to recruit the level we need to recruit and say, man, like, we did that. So if that's what you're looking for is to be able to go play high level football, like we did it. We've been there. We've done that. It certainly helps proof of concept-wise as well. But you turn around, and for us that week, I mean, you got back Saturday night and Sunday morning, you're starting on prep for Miami. And so you don't enjoy it just a whole lot. I think it's more of a reflection moment at the end of the year where you kind of look back and you say,
Starting point is 00:29:25 man, like the way this thing started, it certainly gave us the confidence we needed to go through the rest of the year. And I think more important than a week two game in Gainesville is going to be how we go finish this thing. When you are in the national spotlight in a way that the program would have been able to a few years ago just based on the new playoff system, how much easier is to build a program and how much easier is it to get people to lock in and look at the bigger picture well i think i think coming here for me two and a half years ago that was that was probably as big of a piece to to saying all right like this the gap in this group of five and power four thing publicly and in the media and um you know i was at ucf in 2020 so it wasn't that long ago that
Starting point is 00:30:15 that this gap wasn't super wide. But I think the selling point to me and I was convinced that we have a clear path to get to the playoff. I really believe that the champion of this conference should have as good a chance as anybody to go get into the playoff. You know, a year ago, Boise had an incredible year and deservingly so got into the playoff.
Starting point is 00:30:39 And I think as these programs in our conference have elevated their investment into the programs as the coaching in this conference has gotten better and better. Like, there's absolutely no reason because of the way these programs are getting funded in our conference that the winner shouldn't come out of here. And now three years in, I'm more convinced than ever that the champion of this league is gonna get a chance
Starting point is 00:31:04 to go to the playoff. And that comes up a lot. You know, I think Cincinnati kind of set the tone. They made it into a 14 playoff. whatever, however long that was, I guess, five years ago now, but they did it because they played high-end competition early in the year, and it set them up to get ranked, and they were able to work into the top four. Now, it should be an easier path. As long as you're scheduling good teams at the beginning of the season to go through your conference, which now has really high-level
Starting point is 00:31:36 teams in it as well, that if you win this thing, you've got a clear path. So in recruiting, as you look at who we're recruiting against it that's always the the punchline at the end is like man don't you want to play powerful football and we for for the two and a half years we've been here have been able to point to one point to something in this program that's not powerful how our guys live how are guys eat how are guys trained how they sleep who we play non-conference like there's nothing not powerful about this on top of the facilities I mean like and side note you you're in Tampa. So let's keep plugging through it and you get to a point where, well, I want to compete at the highest level. Well, you've got a chance to do that here. And certainly
Starting point is 00:32:23 in that regard, it's not a sales pitch. It's just the truth. You've got as clear a path to get to the playoff as any other league here. So how many people come into your office and see that the framed thing behind you and know that that's the chemical symbol for iron? What? You didn't know that, all right? Look, look behind him. Right there, the F.E. Oh, I thought you were talking with a USF logo. I'm like, what? I would say probably four. Total.
Starting point is 00:32:56 Our director, coach, Coach Jones, who was my high school coach, was also my science teacher in high school. So he's the one that framed that, put that up. But him and probably the other three people in this building that didn't cheat on their camera. And that's just like the most Andy Staples thing to know in the world. Well, yeah. And whether you two are not cheated or actually learned your periodic table of elements or not would be another show. I, well, I have a sophomore in high school who's in chemistry now. So I have no choice.
Starting point is 00:33:29 And I cheated. Oh, I got to ask you about you mentioned some of the older guys, but then you've got young guys coming in getting caught. So I'm going to ask you about one of your freshmen. So Christian Neptune is one of your. your receivers. You had him throw a touchdown pass the other night on a double pass. And you mentioned after the game that you had tryouts during fall camp to see who could throw the double passes. Is that the most fun day of fall camp ever?
Starting point is 00:33:57 It's one of my favorite post-fall camp days because offensive guys, defensive guys can come too, and it's single elimination. And just pitching it out, a tag on the perimeter, and it's a quick catch and throw. and our young coaches are the receivers trying to save legs and so it gets a little workout in and then we move on to jet sweep to a throw then we move on to a backwards toss to a throw and then move on to a bubble target like a target throw or catch to a throw and it truly is single elimination until you get to three and the defensive guys love it because it's like that's their one opportunity to go shine to throw a ball Um, for me, I love it because I can individually go you in, you in. And then you get left with these three guys and, uh, sometimes four. So did Christian, does Christian basically have to go through the NCAA tournament of throwing like he did rounds? He made it all the way through. And I think at that point, he was like, what in the hell is going on right now? But he certainly is glad it worked out for him. Um, but it's, you know what? You never know, uh, you know the guys that play quarterback. in high school, which is a bunch of them, right? There's, shoot, we got a straight end that played quarterback in high school. There's, we got a D. Lyman that played quarterback in high school.
Starting point is 00:35:20 There's a bunch of guys that played quarterback. Playing quarterback in high school doesn't mean you can throw either. So, yeah, it's really, but we kind of have a bag of tricks in that regard. And we kind of pull from it. And those guys know they'll get an opportunity at some point if it works out. So it is, it's super fun, though. Alex, at the end of every guest appearance we ask are wonderful guests, the simple question. We didn't prep you on it, so sorry in advance.
Starting point is 00:35:51 We ask, what is your rule for life? Now, you can do it the football way, which is, you know, a coach-speak term or you can do it the fun way. For instance, my rule for life is never eat at a restaurant that specializes in multiple types of cuisine. Andes is don't skip leg day. What is it? No, no, it's never complain about free food, never complain about. about free beer and never skipped leg day. And Tim Skipper, the UCLA coach, we had him on yesterday, and he said never eat Popeyes outside of Louisiana, which was a new one for me.
Starting point is 00:36:23 And we had one guess once, say, never pick on somebody with a large belt buckle. I don't know if you have a rule for life. It could be serious. It could be playful, but we'd love to hear yours. Yeah, really, really pretty simple. If it's free, give me three. I actually learned that a long time ago from Steve Klink scale who's now the DB coach of the Chargers but Clint and I were together at Toledo and at Illinois and every time it'd be like ordering whatever Chipotle it's free give me three dog I thought man what a what a way to live life and so I guess the context matters there. but I think it's a great way to live life.
Starting point is 00:37:10 If it's free, give me three and just keep taking free stuff until. Yeah. Offensively, the philosophy is exactly the same. I was going to say, the offense you run, the free, you hit a big pass, light box, tempo up, handoff, six free yards every time. That's right. Yeah, coach got me with the Chipotle thing, but, yeah, football. Well, you know, it's free at Chipotle is cilantro.
Starting point is 00:37:35 So three cups of cilantro. Appreciate it, Coach. Thank you so much for being here, coach. I appreciate y'all having me on them. USF has Florida Atlantic this week. If you're in Tampa, you want to catch the Bulls, hop on game time. Type in USF football.
Starting point is 00:37:56 You'll find a ticket right there. Or maybe you want to go to the other big games of the weekend. You could go to Tuscaloosa. for Tennessee, Alabama. You can go up to Vanderbilt. A little LSU Vandy. That's a pretty pricey ticket for a Vandy game because they're very excited about it.
Starting point is 00:38:14 A little more price if you want to go to Tuscaloose City, Tennessee, Alabama, and we're going to talk about the Crimson Tide next. But download that GameTime app. Redeem the code Staples for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply, of course. And they have tickets for everything. You can look and see exactly where you'll be sitting. In most cases, you will see a photo of the...
Starting point is 00:38:35 the stadium from the vantage point of your seat, then you will see a dollar figure. That is the dollar figure you will pay. They will not throw a bunch of hidden charges on it once you hit checkout. The price you see is the price you pay. So go to game time, find the game you want, find the concert you want, find the comedy show you want. It doesn't matter if it's last minute. They have tickets to everything.
Starting point is 00:38:57 Use the code staples for $20 off your first purchase, terms apply. Game time. Swipe, tap, ticket, go. all right let's get back into the boards it is a mega board wednesday and the bama online roundtable some very interesting discussion obviously they're very happy right now in tuscaloosa because Alabama has won three big games in a row Alabama beat Georgia they beat vanderbilt they went on the road and beat missouri now they got tennessee coming to tuscaloosa and the crimson tide fans are feeling great about Kalin Nabor. They obviously were not pleased with him last year when
Starting point is 00:39:38 Alabama lost three games in the regular season and then lost the bowl game. Tennessee was one of those regular season games they lost up at Neeland Stadium. But I think after the Florida State lost this year where, again, there was more concern. I think Alabama fans have settled in and started to like Kalin Nabor a lot more. They obviously liked the way his team is playing. But this is a guy who he's not Nick Sabin. He's never pretended he's Nick Sabin. His personality is very different, but it's a very likable personality once his team starts winning. And I think Alabama fans are starting to really enjoy the way Kail and DeBoer coaches when he's
Starting point is 00:40:14 got a good team and he knows how to get the most out of it. So that provided a very interesting discussion with me and Ari about where Alabama fans are at Kailan Nabor right now, where Kailan Nabor is with Alabama. And everybody's feeling pretty good about it. The Black Hoodie of Death, let's march it on. How about being the guy who replaced Nick Sabin? So, Kaelin DeBore's demeanor, this is a thread from the Bama online message board. Trailer Park Boys is the one who posted it.
Starting point is 00:40:48 Watching him on his press conference, even during games, he's done a complete 180 from last year. This is a completely different dude, and I effing love it. The Black Hoodie of Death makes all the difference, Ari. what's the difference in demeanor he's more fired up on the sideline now it seems like he's just having more fun he's more relaxed i mean is that what happens when you're winning it does and and look i say this fully understanding that if some 19 year old drops a pass and they lose to tennessee that all of this goes away and it's and it's i knew he couldn't replace it it's that again but right
Starting point is 00:41:30 now everything's sunshine and lollipops it is sunshine and lollipops uh his up his attire is great his demeanor is great he's become more handsome somehow uh you know he's a nice guy but he's a killer there's not a single bad thing that you could say about kalen debor right now but if they lose saturday he's a scumbag again it's incredible i don't know this is college football this is this is this is why we love it but it's also psychotic yeah in a good way so like that's what is so great about the megaboard too because you can feel the actual emotions of the people living through it and you understand why they feel the way that they do
Starting point is 00:42:05 because they're so bought in and so hyped about the direction that their team is going in. In that thread, a poster named Fujilaw 3224 with a really insightful comment. Also, I think there's something to being even further removed in time from the Sabin retirement, he writes, or she
Starting point is 00:42:21 writes, he or she. The question is slowly but surely becoming less, is DeBoer living up to the Sabin standard and more how is DeBoer stacking up against his peers. This is a great thought. This is a great way to look at it because DeBoer is stacking up very well against his peers. He's just beaten Kirby Smart. He's just beaten Eli Drinkwitz. Now he's got to go play Josh Heifle. He's beating the coaches we think are really good. Well, the obvious question in response to that is, is do you talk about Nick Sabin next time he loses? Like when do you, when do you let go of
Starting point is 00:42:54 the Sabin comparison? Because it's Alabama. It's going to be a long time. It's going to be a long time. It's going to be a long time. I think you would have to win a national title or two before the Sabin stuff goes away completely. The only way to heal the Sabin stuff completely is to be your own accomplished. And it doesn't even need to be real healed. It's not like Sabin, like anything was taken away or Sabin retired. It happens. The only way to remove yourself from being compared to Sabin is to fall back on the accomplishments that you had at that place. Yeah. In my opinion. Yep. And so like the past few weeks have been pretty incredible. The way they're playing is pretty incredible. If he can keep this up,
Starting point is 00:43:32 he has a really good chance of playing for the SEC title, of playing for the national title. I think we'll see what South Carolina is. We're going to watch them against Oklahoma this weekend. I think this game might be the end of the major slog. I think the Georgia, Vandy, Missouri, Tennessee, like if you go 4 and O in that stretch.
Starting point is 00:43:52 Yeah, not having to play LSU on the road is a big help. That also, and we don't know what LSU is going to be at that point. You know, Garrett Nussmires hobbling around at the, end of that game against South Carolina. You know how it is, though. Even if LHU was hobbling, you don't want to play them on the road at night. Well, they beat it. Caleb-Divore's already beating them on the road at night.
Starting point is 00:44:07 You still don't want to do it. But if you can get through this, you beat Tennessee, get through the stretch 4-0, man, you can beat anybody. You can do anything. So, and I think if they do win this game, like they've got a mulligan, they can lose another one, still make the playoff. I would feel very confident that Alabama is a playoff team will wind up this season as a playoff team as long as they win this game.
Starting point is 00:44:30 Yeah, I feel pretty confident about them making the playoff even if they lose this game, to be honest. Yeah, they can definitely run the table afterward. Because I actually believe I made this offseason comment before the year started that I believe that a nine and three team will make it. And I think that Alabama's, Alabama's resume is going to stack up quite nicely to the one that they had last year. Yeah, if it's who'd you beat.
Starting point is 00:44:53 And they have the who'd you beat. I mean, the three in a row they just got are going to be quite pretty sexy at the end of the year when we're having these discussions. So, you know, beating Tennessee, I think might actually punch their ticket, you know, barring a major fall apart, which, you know, I don't see. But it would be nice to have that mulligan in your pocket. So you get Tennessee at home, but black hoodie of death. I'm assuming it, hold on. Let's check the Tuscaloosa weather for the weekend. I don't think it matters what the weather is. I think he's wearing a black hoodie of death. I also can't anticipate that it's going to be getting much warmer. Yeah. But, you know,
Starting point is 00:45:25 you're wearing the different direction. You're wearing the black hoodie of death no matter what it doesn't matter what the forecast says okay high of 87 low of 62 uh it's a night game so it will not be 87 anymore it will it'll probably be in the the low 80s or the the highest 70s you know what that is already it's hoodie weather hoodie weather baby because it's going to start in the high 70s and go down into the 60s as the game goes on hoodie weather perfect hoodie weather Alabama by a million you picked Tennessee didn't you in to cover i can't remember i think you picked tennessee to cover you know who i pick to cover the tide nothing but the tide i don't give a piss about nothing but the tide perfect black hoodie of death weather means kailin de boar is common for you he's coming for you and they love
Starting point is 00:46:11 you now they love kailin de boar yeah just don't lose again don't ever lose again never never we got one more message board thread to dive into and it involves oklah home but before that i want to talk about brunt workwear durable reliable workwear brunt's founder grew up blue collar had a lot of friends that said hey i don't like where all these boot brands are going everybody's too worried about fashion not worried enough about getting the job done so brunt makes boots that get the job done they're comfortable all day they can survive anything you throw with them, durable, reliable workwear, bruntworkware.com, get $10 off with the code on three. I'm telling you right now, you can wear these boots all day.
Starting point is 00:47:00 Your feet will love you for it. And also, they will hold up to whatever you've got to deal with during your workday. So bruntworkworkware.com, $10 off with the code on three. Now, a guy who's got to go to work this week, Brent Venables, was having a great year. Oklahoma loses its first game of the season to Texas and the Red River rivalry. The way Oklahoma lost is what gave Oklahoma fans a little bit of pause.
Starting point is 00:47:29 And by a little bit of pause, I mean, if you look at the Sooner Scrut message boards, overwhelmingly negative regarding Brent Venables. Now, I will say, they haven't completely abandoned Brent Venables because there was a moment on Tuesday where Brent Venable said in his press conference, he was talking about Oklahoma
Starting point is 00:47:48 you know, in the past, and the way the SEC schedule differs a little bit from when Oklahoma was in the Big 12. And he said something to the tune of, you know, those years in the Big 12 where there was really only one game you were worried about losing. And obviously, the distinction being in the SEC, it feels like every week you've got somebody that you're threatened by. Well, obviously the folks in the Big 12 at the Big 12 office did not take kindly to that statement. and they posted a tweet reminding everyone that Brent Venables was the Oklahoma's head coach in its last two seasons in the Big 12 and that Oklahoma lost eight Big 12 conference games during those two seasons. So it wasn't just one team you had to worry about losing to, Texas being the team. Now, I get the context of why Brent Venable said that.
Starting point is 00:48:36 I get that Oklahoma absolutely dominated the Big 12 for the early part of this century under Bob Stoops and then again under Lincoln Riley. I get that. I get the Brent Venables was the defensive coordinator for a lot of those years under Bob Stoops. That doesn't make the Big 12's response any less funny. That was a sick burn from the Big 12. And look, they're the jilted lover here. Like they got every right to fire back. And so the Oklahoma fans, though, they got really mad that all the rest of us were laughing at this.
Starting point is 00:49:11 And so while they were busy just buried. Brent Venables on their own message boards, they're saying, we can say that about our guy, but you can't say that about our guy. But let's get into what they're saying about their guy. Ari and I talked about one particular threat on the Sooner's Group message board. And again, I'll point out, this is probably the nicest one I could find. Somebody who is on the other end of that spectrum, Ari, is Oklahoma's Brent Venables.
Starting point is 00:49:42 Sooner Scroot message board, here we go. go. This could literally say anything. This is somebody who was probably nominating Steven Shen for the Nobel Peace Prize a few weeks ago. Who replaced Brent Venables? Kurt Signetti is 64, so can't imagine how he's going to work with the new AD coming in until possibly next May or June. Will a new AD want to take the job with Venables halfway out of the door? You can't hire a new coach before the new AD. This may turn into a huge mess.
Starting point is 00:50:08 Who would replace Signetti, Dillingham? Oh, boy. Well, that's Heartbreak Kid, by the way. I don't know if it's actual Sean Michaels that sent that post, but that's a... Here's the... And by the way, I didn't pick the most extreme sooner scoop posts. That's actually one of the tamer ones. I wrote on Monday about what the James Franklin firing needs to do in terms of opening our eyes to what universities and administrators are willing to do in replacing coaches.
Starting point is 00:50:42 And I went down the list of a few guys. who, you know, might not be out of the woods and Brent Venables was on my list. So as negative of a post that is, is that like the feel good, everybody love everybody mentality that Oklahoma was illustrating earlier on in the year, isn't, he's not out of the woods. And if you look at the remaining half of his schedule, which we've noted on the show 9,000 times, it is an absolute murderer's row of there isn't a single team. I don't think they play. This is the easiest. This South Carolina team they're playing this weekend is the easiest team left on the schedule. Ole Miss, Tennessee, Bama, Missouri, LSU, for those listening in podcast form are the games remaining after South Carolina on Saturday.
Starting point is 00:51:27 And, like, I think we should ask each other this right now. How many games does he have to win out of these six to keep his job? Oh, my God. All right. So he's five and one right now. I think you need to be eight and four or better. I agree. I think he needs to win three of them.
Starting point is 00:51:44 and now let me ask you the follow-up question, which is after what you saw against Texas in the Red River rivalry, how many games do you think he will win? I think you win three. I think as John Mateer gets healthier, that offense will get a little bit better. There were some things that John Mateer could have hit and didn't hit in that game. It's not all in the offensive line.
Starting point is 00:52:07 It would be nice if they could run the ball. I still think they have a good defense. So I think they can go three and three in this. stretch. I think it's possible. But you better do that. Like two and four and a seven and five record. It's a very interesting question. And now the AD thing, they're looking for a new AD. Joe, Josicilione is retiring. Randall Stevenson, the former AT&T CEO, is leading the search for the AD. We think it's going to be someone from outside the college sports industry. That's what we've heard, but we don't know exactly who it's going to be. I don't think you have to hire the AD before you hire the coach.
Starting point is 00:52:42 because, again, Randall Stevenson is the guy that Joe Harrah is the president of Oklahoma trusts to find the AD. Guess what? That's who would be looking for the coach, too. So I think if you're worried about alignment, I don't think you have to worry about alignment if they decided to do coach before AD. Sometimes they do coach and AD. I think Ole Miss did that when they hired Hugh Freeze and Ross Bjork in Rapid Succession, and Hugh Freeze was actually first. So it's been done before.
Starting point is 00:53:10 this six game stretch two and four year maybe fired three and three you're okay uh four and two you're in the playoff exactly four and two you could literally be in the playoff uh j dovi 88 by the way already already got a hotboard out this is in this thread i love everything about signetting except for how old he already is and save and retired 71 signetti is 64 i just don't think he's a long term option guys if you get seven good years out of somebody that's way more than you can ask for normally. But here's, here's J. Dovey 88 shortlist
Starting point is 00:53:41 in no particular order. Signetti, Dan Lannning, Kenny Dillingham, Lane Kiffin, Urban Meyer. Wait, wait. He heads one more at the bottom.
Starting point is 00:53:52 Marcus Freeman. Oh, no, two more. Shane Beamer and Marcus Freeman. And Josh Heiple, he has there, too. Oh, Josh Heiple's there too. Sweet. Okay. You lose to Texas.
Starting point is 00:54:03 It just all goes off the rails. Yeah. That fast. Also, is every single hotboard of any team that's made the playoff in the last 10 years, the same seven people? Yes. The same seven people, five of which aren't leaving? Yes. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:54:19 Dan Lanning's not leaving, by the way. Dan Lanning's not leaving. I don't know about Kenny Dillingham. Urban Meyer's not coming. Like Urban Meyer, I think this is probably a different era of the sport that is not designed for Urban Meyer to be successful. Yeah. So I don't think he's. Lane Kiffin, maybe.
Starting point is 00:54:37 don't know but this is the same question is the number one uh yeah he's the number one candidate florida too that hasn't opened yet so yeah uh yeah lane kiffin's gonna be a the shame beber thing's crazy because it reminds me a little bit so bobby bowden told me a story one time about when he was coaching early in his career at florida state they had a stretch where they played at lSU five years in a row and so ls u i think they'd either fire their coach or were gonna fire their coach and essentially threw back channels off for bobby bowden the job And he was about to go play them in Baton Rouge. And he tells his wife, Anne, if we lose to them, we're taking the LSU job because it means we can't win long term here.
Starting point is 00:55:18 If we beat them, I'm staying at Florida State. He beats them. They stay at Florida State. It's a really tragic situation. LSU hires a guy named Bo Ryan. He dies in a plane crash. And just, but that changed the course of college football history, that one game. Could we have a game like that here?
Starting point is 00:55:36 If South Carolina beats Oklahoma, has Shane Beamer just walk across to the other locker room? Well, I don't know. Shane Beamer, by the way, was the backup option when Brent Minnables was hired. How do South Carolina fans feel about Shane Beamer? Is he untouchable to them or are they frustrated? Oh, they're frustrated.
Starting point is 00:55:53 There's rumors that he would go to his alma mater, Virginia Tech, to reset the clock. I don't think that would be a smart idea because South Carolina would owe you so much if they fired you. I would ride it out there, see if I could get better at South Carolina. Carolina or take their money. Yeah, yeah.
Starting point is 00:56:09 So very interesting hotboard. You can just cut and paste that and put it as every other hot board for the five jobs that are going to be opening in the next few months and go from there. But, you know, I think that there's probably a bigger discussion, too, on where Oklahoma belongs on the, because Oklahoma, a better job than Florida. I think that's a fascinating discussion. We'll be ranking these jobs when they start coming over. Yeah, is Oklahoma a better job than Florida, a better job than Auburn?
Starting point is 00:56:34 Where does it stack up to Penn State? Yes. And again, we say this, and we're doing this somewhat tongue in cheek because this is Megaboard Wednesday. So we are going where the boards take us. And this is where the boards took us. Because again, like I said, I didn't pick the most unhinged sooner scoop post. There are more of those. But I think it's a, I think it isn't a pretty reactionary one.
Starting point is 00:56:59 But I don't think that it's separated or from the reality of the situation. Yeah. And the reality of the situation is in two months, Brent Venables could be headed to the playoff as Oklahoma's head coach or out of a job. That is the reality of the situation. And that is how weird the next few weeks to be. Because I think they have gotten better. They definitely have gotten better.
Starting point is 00:57:21 That's the thing. Definitely. Definitely are a better team than they were last year. Yeah. So like how much does that matter? And like I wrote the column at the beginning. You know, here's the thing. I wrote a column at the beginning of the year.
Starting point is 00:57:32 And I shared it with people on Sooner Scoop. And they're like, yeah, this could have been written by AI. And I got all these things of like, yeah, we know that the schedule is hard. AI doesn't think like Ari. I promise you that. The thing that I don't know is that like we are going to be in a situation where you have to weigh at Oklahoma the value and the importance of improvement while also grading it through the appropriate rubric. Like, because you don't know how bad it actually is when you're losing to really good teams against a really hard schedule. Right.
Starting point is 00:58:03 And we also need to see what Texas does the rest of the way. Like a lot of the view of Brent Venables right now is Oklahoma just lost to Texas right after Texas lost to Florida. And I think that colors the discussion quite a bit. Absolutely. So, you know, it's a very complex situation. And my hope for him and Oklahoma fans is that he just wins games. Yeah, just keep winning. And it's not an issue.
Starting point is 00:58:29 But again, the reaction by the boards tells me that this is not a, and out of the wood situation that this meat grinder of a schedule is going to determine what happens next and it is a brutal brutal schedule uh they go to south carolina this weekend that is an early game we could be having a very different discussion saturday afternoon one way or the other like john mature balls out it's like oh everything's fine south carolina does to the to Oklahoma what they did to him last year which seems unlikely, given what we seen from South Carolina this year. But what if they did? Because Williams Rice seems to get like one team a year. Yeah. I don't, I don't know that a 1245 Eastern
Starting point is 00:59:11 kickoff is one of those times when Williams Rice is going to get you. But you never know. Somebody walks into there every year and is just gobsmacked. And I don't know how to explain it. I don't know why it happens that particular way, but that tends to be what happens. So we will find out, is Oklahoma back on track? Or do we have to have further discussions about this? We'll find out on Saturday. We will see what happens when Oklahoma faces South Carolina. South Carolina made a little change on its coaching staff. Fire the offensive line coach, Sean Elliott, former South Carolina offensive line coach under Steve Spurrier, former Georgia State head coach, was working as an analyst there. He's now taken over the offensive line. They've got a bunch of
Starting point is 00:59:58 injuries too. So I don't know exactly how big of a difference that's going to make for South Carolina, but they are trying to do anything they can because they are staring down the barrel of a very difficult end of the schedule, just like Oklahoma is. So something's got to give, somebody's got to win, somebody's got to lose, and we will find out what happens when those two play at Williams-Rice Stadium on Saturday afternoon. It's going to be a fun week. We still have a lot more to talk about. And I want you to help us figure out what we're going to talk about tomorrow is a Thursday. That of course means it's a dear Andy and dear Ari day. We'd love to hear from you. You know how to find us. It's Andy underscore Staples and at Ari Wasserman on
Starting point is 01:00:38 social media. It's also Andy Stapleson3 at gmail.com. If you'd like to send me an email, ari.com, if you'd like to send Ari an email. We've got a couple great questions already, but I am looking for a few more because this is one of the newsiest, juiciest weeks I can remember in college football in the last four or five years and i think there's so many topics that we really sink our teeth into but i want to get your take on i want to get your spin on it if you've been watching and listening the last few few days you know the listeners viewers commenters have been really active and it really helped rie and i figure out our perspective on some of these things and and i think that's a lot of fun i go back to van
Starting point is 01:01:27 in the chat on Saturday night, Vance Williams, explaining, you know, why maybe Penn State can look at Texas A&M and say, we want what Mike Elko's doing now. And that's why we're going to do a big buyout like they did. And it's very interesting when you tweak that perspective just a little bit because it helped me kind of contextualize what was going on with James Franklin. And so, you know, any questions you have about jobs that are open, jobs that may open, there's a lot of coaches on the hot seat. We did the five stages of hot seat grief on Tuesday show. Hit us with an email. Hit us with a comment on social media.
Starting point is 01:02:10 Hit us with a question. And we may answer that question on tomorrow's show. And we will talk to you on Thursday.

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