The Joel Klatt Show: A College Football Podcast - The Red River Showdown Has Arrived!

Episode Date: October 8, 2020

The Red River Showdown is finally here! Joel Klatt walks you through everything you need to know heading into Saturday's matchup, including the four things Spencer Rattler needs to do to improve as a young quarterback and why this game is a MUST win for Texas. Plus, he ranks his Top 10 college football teams heading into Week 6. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, everybody. Welcome into breaking the huddle. I'm so happy that you're joining us. I'm Joel Clatt, and this show is brought to you by Dr. Pepper. Remember, it is the official drink of Fansville. And we're always thankful for it because it is delicious. I wish I had one right now. Big show today. It's Red River Week. Oh, you in Texas, albeit it's going to look a little bit different, it's going to feel a little bit different. But we'll get to that later in the program. I'm going to break down. what Spencer Rattler needs to do to improve this week. I'm going to break down why Texas has to win this Saturday for Tom Herman and that Longhorn faithful.

I'm also going to get to the clad back segment. We're going to get to all of your feedback in social media. But first, as we always do, this is my brand new top 10 in the country. Let's roll with it because it's got a distinct SEC flavor. And rightly so, the SEC has been absolutely fantastic so far through a couple of weeks. I threw Oklahoma State back in the mix, Oregon back in the mix, as we've seen some teams tumble out of there, namely from the Big 12. Notre Dame is still in there, Penn State. I think they're a really good team.

Miami. I can't wait for that Clemson, Miami Showdown with Deerick King, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Ohio State, and Clemson. Gotten a lot of heat for the Ohio State above Alabama. I get it. Alabama has looked absolutely dominant. That may switch over the next week or so, and I think Clemson, Ohio State, and Alabama could be interchangeable at this point up there. at the top. And that's in large part due to my beliefs that I think Ohio State is one of the top three teams in the country. There's no doubt in my mind. But I really want to focus on four and

five and a sprinkling of three. The SEC folks looks so good, in particular at the top. Alabama has looked absolutely sensational. It should be noted, right, that Nick Saban was never a quarterback-oriented team. He was never a quarterback-driven pro. program. And yet he was still winning national championships. He focused on defense, the run game, and he had serviceable quarterbacks, and they were winning national championship. Then Tua comes along, and it's like, wow, look at Bama with a great quarterback. And they took this next step. And they joined the modern college football in that they could play great defense, and yet they could still win a shootout. And that remains to be true, even as Tua has left. I don't think

Jones is a great player, but he is playing great football. He's got crazy weapons on the outside. Waddle is fantastic. Smith is fantastic. And Steve Sarkesian, the offensive coordinator, has taken it up a notch as far as what they are, explosiveness, down the field, throwing the football, huge plays. Alabama is a force. The defense is flying around Dylan Moses back. I knew that they would be really good on defense, but they're even better than I expected. And Alabama is not going anywhere. And this might be one of the best teams that I've seen at Alabama. And it's been a bit of a quiet Alabama season so far, but they certainly are right there at the top. Then you've got Florida and Georgia. And folks, Florida and Georgia are really good teams. How about the performance from Georgia,

finding their quarterback, Stetson Bennett, the former walk on. Now he's back and he's playing great football against Auburn. And a top 10 showdown, Georgia handed it to the Auburn Tigers. Their defense was sensational. Remember now, Georgia is the top-ranked team in the country when it comes to the composite rankings. How the teams line up is just the overall talent of their roster by where they were recruited and how they were recruited via 24-7. So this is an incredibly talented team that is unbelievable on the defensive side. They're a great running team, and they should be able to overcome their quarterback. Florida is also playing great football. He might be the best player in the country, the tight end for Florida.

It's already got six touchdown catches. Trask has been unbelievable. And I can't wait to see that showdown. Florida and Georgia, that's going to be a great showdown. Winner likely finds themselves in the SEC championship game. Georgia has had the better of Florida, in particular on their defense. They have done a great job of slowing down the potent offense for the Florida Gators. The last two years, Florida only scored 17 points in that game.

The year before that in 2017, only scored seven points against Georgia. So Florida better figure out the Georgia defense if they want to win the East and play for an SEC title. But the SEC, tip of the cap. At the top of the conference, you guys are absolutely phenomenal, phenomenal. Those three teams are great football teams and a big reason why they will continue to be the best conference in college football. I think that the Big Ten is going to be very good. I think Penn State and Ohio State are really good, but I don't think that they're going to be quite as deep. deep at the top as the SEC with Alabama, Florida, and Georgia.

By the way, Tennessee making some noise. Kudos to the Vols. Eight straight wins, second longest win streak in college football. So there's the top 10, and I'm sure I'll get some clap back, some snark on social media about some of those rankings. But as it sits right now, that's where I have them. Going into Red River, Oklahoma State ranked higher than both Texas and OU. Who would have thought it?

Let's focus on these teams. And let's start with Oklahoma, Spencer Rattler, and the Sooners have dropped two straight games. It's the first time they've dropped two straight conference games since the John Blake era. Nobody in Norman wants to hear about the John Blake era. But I think that some of these mistakes and areas of the team are fixable. Now, there are several things you can talk about about Oklahoma. The defense clearly needs to get better. I think that's more of a philosophical change that they need to build on through recruiting.

So that's probably a year or two away. The run game needs to get fixed. Certainly, the offensive line needs to play better. The running backs need to find the holes. But Spencer Rattler also needs to play better. He's an immense talent, but he's young and he's inexperienced. And some of that youth has come to bear in the last couple of weeks. There are four main lessons that every young quarterback has to learn in order to play great in close games and on the road.

And last week against Iowa State, he made a few mistakes in the second half of the third quarter and into the four. quarter that really costs the sooner. So here are the four things that a quarterback has got to learn when they're young. First is you always stay in the pocket unless you're forced to leave the pocket. Right here, he's looking over to his left side and he's got a wide open conversion on a third down to Jeremiah Hall, his Hback on the bottom side. All he's got to do is work his progression, get back to the right side and he's got an easy conversion, but he makes it difficult on himself. He leaves the pocket. Hall probably would have picked up a few more yards. Here, he's going to roll out no reason to.

He's not being flushed out of the pocket. And because of that, he's going to miss a wide open Charleston Rambo down the middle of the field. Now you're saying, well, he's still got a first down. But watch right here, wide open, over the middle. That's a huge play. That's a chunk play that they're missing. It puts them in scoring range as it is.

He subjects himself to a hit, even though he moves the chains, he's dancing around, and it's not a big play for the Sooners. He's going to do it again later in the game, rolls out of the pocket. No pressure. just leaves for no reason. Rambo is going to be wide open across the field and he finds them late. He throws it behind him and they're not able to get the completion. So he's got to fix those things. The second thing is you've got to know your protection as a young player. Right here, the offensive line slides to the left. He's responsible for that linebacker blitzing off the right.

All he's got to do is throw the quick route, whether it's to the left side or to the right side. He holds the football and bang. It's a huge sack. Iowa State creates momentum. Didn't know his protection. It's a cardinal send. That's rule number two. Rule number three, take what the defense gives you. You don't always have to be a hero. This is a third down in scoring territory. He can easily run for a first down, continue the drive, and they could probably go in and score touchdown. As it is, watch this throw he tries to make. Back shoulder to Ovialo in the end zone. That's an incredibly tough play. He's not able to get it done. This is a blitz off the right side. It looks like, oh, he's pressured and he's sacked. But he's got the tight end stogner.

wide open. As soon as that blitz comes off the right side, all he's got to do is plant and throw the ball to the tight end. It's a first down. That was the second to the last drive. They punted it away. Iowa State went down and scored and took the lead. And then this is the last play of the game in the fourth point. You never forced the ball deep over the middle. Look at that middle safety. He's sitting there waiting for the route and it's an easy interception. The tight end's going to come wide open across the middle of the field if all Rattler does is read the safety, which is the read. late in the game, he forced the issue, panicked a little bit, forced it down the field. Young quarterbacks never forced the ball predetermined deep down the middle of the field. Let the Reed play out and take what the defense gives.

So there's the four points. Spencer Rattler is going to get better and largely due to the fact that he will learn from those four things. Number one, stay in the pocket until you're forced to leave. Number two, know your protection at all times. Number three, take what the defense gives you. And number four, never force. the ball over the middle of the field on a predetermined throw, that safety was sitting right there. Rattler will get better, but those things have got to get fixed if OU is going to take the

next step and continue to develop this season. We made it. It's Red River Week. It's finally here. It's one of my favorite games of the college football calendar year and probably one of the most, if not the most unique football game in all of college football in particular when it comes to rivalries. Texas and OU at the state fair, although it'll look a little different this year. in the old Cotton Bowl. And Red River is always important to both of these programs, right? I mean, they desperately want to win every single year. But this year, there's a little added pressure on one of the teams.

Both teams coming off of disappointing losses, but Texas, guys, is desperate for a win here. All of the pressure lies right between the eyes of Texas. Let me explain. There are four key reasons why I think Texas is under the most pressure. And I start with the fact that Texas Texas is built to win this season. All right.

You look at their roster right now, and it's pretty good. It's the fifth best roster in the entire country as it is ranked by the 24-7 composite rankings. That means that when it comes to their recruits, they've got the most four and five-star recruits on their roster in the big 12, the fifth most in the country. 53 of their players are either four or five-star recruits from their recruitment process. They've got a quarterback, folks, that has started 36 games in college football. Sam Ellinger is second in almost every single passing category in the program's history to Colt McCoy. You look at what they've got on defense, and all of those injuries last year led to experience this year. In fact, they've got 30 players on their roster that have starts under their belt in their career.

They hired two very good coordinators. Mike Yersich on the offensive side, Chris Ash, on the defensive side. Ash now reunited with Tom Herman. They were with each other at Iowa State. They were with each other at Ohio State. Now they're with each other at Texas. They had an immense amount of success at Ohio State,

winning a national championship as Herman was the coordinator of the offense, Ash coordinator of the defense under Urban Meyer. This team is built to win right now. This is a team that was seven and six in Herman's first year. They went to that 10-win plateau, his second year. Last year, lots of injuries. They were still an eight-win team. and this was after three straight years of sub-500 teams under Charlie Strong,

this was the year they all pointed to as the year that they were going to take the next step. Remember that wonderful recruiting class of 2018. Now they're all juniors, their third-year players in the program. Texas is built to win this season. That's number one. Number two, OU is in the middle of a reload. We all know it. OU has lost back-to-back games now for the first time in Big 12 play since the John Blake era.

Okay, they've got a bevy of transfer players, opt-out players, suspended players, graduated players from a year ago. Think about what they've got just on the offensive side. This is a team built to run the football, and they lost their four top rushers from a year ago. Jalen Hertz being one of them, Trey Sermon transferred to Ohio State. Kennedy Brooks opted out of the season. Ramadre Stevenson was suspended, and now they're sitting there with young running backs and a young quarterback. everybody knows that this was going to be a little bit more difficult for Oklahoma.

We thought that maybe Lincoln Riley could just power forward. And you know what? They've been within a possession, a play here or there of being 3 and O. But he is breaking in a new quarterback for the first time in his career at OU. Ever since he got to OU, he's had a quarterback that's had significant experience in college football before he got to him at OU. Now you're looking at Rattler making his first start on the road, his first conference start, Loses both of those. Now this is going to be his first start in Red River.

Those things take time. And on the defensive side, they're not built to win this year. Think about their change in philosophy. They're trying to get longer and faster in the secondary, but every one of their starting secondary players is under six foot. If you look at some of the biggest contenders in college football, they average six foot or higher, Alabama, LSU, Clemson, Ohio State. All of them have length in the secondary.

That defense also lost its state. two best pass rushers coming into the season. Ronnie Perkins in the suspension, Jalen Redmond opted out. They lost their best defensive player from a year ago and Kenneth Murray, who happened to be the first first round player that they have had drafted on the defensive side since Gerald McCoy. So again, OU is right in the middle of a reload and they know it. Lincoln Riley is not under an immense amount of pressure because he has been so good there so far in his head coaching tenure. So that's number two. Number three, the losses to unranked teams have to stop. And you might be thinking to yourself, well, what does that have to do with this week? Well, Oklahoma just fell out of the top

25. So they are an unranked team. Did you know since Herman got to Texas that he's 11 and 6 as a ranked team against unranked opponents? Those six losses in such games are the most losses in college football over that time frame. The fan base is tired of the. those type of losses, being a ranked team, losing to unranked teams. And that's the exact situation that they find themselves in. Everybody at Texas wants to get back, right? And that's always the biggest theme of, is Texas back? Is Texas back? Well, to get back, you better be playing at a really elite level. And let me just give you some sense of what that elite level is. From 2001 to 2009, Mac Brown, as the head coach at the University of Texas, lost 16 games total, five of those to unranked opponents.

Since Herman got to Austin, albeit in a much different time and with a much different roster, he's already lost 16 games total, seven of those to unranked opponents. Those are the losses that have to stop. Those are the losses that are frustrating the fan base more than anything else. So this week, against an unranked OU, even in Red River, got to get a win. And the fourth point of why Texas really has to win this game is that at a minimum, they've got to play for a Big 12 championship. With this roster, with where OU is at, with the recruiting cycle, everything, they've got to at least play for a Big 12 championship.

And they lose their own path if they lose this game, right? Then they'll need help. And they're just hoping that they can get to that game. If they beat OU, they still control their own destiny, and they can get there by just continuing to win every single week. So that's why this game is so important, because for Texas, as Sam Ellinger has said, even this week, they deserve better.

Texas was never meant this year to just hope that they can make the Big 12 championship game. They wanted to control their destiny to get to that game, because hoping is not going to cut it for Tom Herman and the Texas Longhorns in 2020. All right, let's get to it. Let's get to all the social media feedback that I get in a little clat back. And let's start with some Georgia fans that are not happy with the fact that I've got Georgia behind Florida in my top 10.

Mailman Stan, Georgia dominant win over number 17. Florida, another lacklustre defensive performance against a cupcake. Yeah, it makes sense to keep them ahead of a Georgia. I don't know what a Georgia is, mailman Stan. I don't think you know what a Georgia is. Do you mean a Georgia team, a Georgia program, a Georgia Bulldog? I'm not quite sure, but this is why I have them behind Florida, because I'm still a wait and see on your quarterback Stetson Bennett.

I know you believe Dog Nation, if you want to call yourselves that, that Stetson Bennett is the second coming because he had a great running game and a great defensive performance and beat Auburn, but I'm not sure he can win a shootout. What happens if your defense doesn't play well against Florida? What happens if you can't run the football for well over 200 yards and control the game on the ground? Can Stetson Bennett go out there in the SEC against a top 10 opponent

and just be the fact? factor for your team, I'm a wait and see. I'm a wait and see. And you know what? I like my position a little bit better. I can't wait for Florida, Georgia. I think Georgia is a great team, but right now, let's just pump the brakes a little bit on Stetson Bennett. Let's move on. The SEC, they got taken by Storm and Death Valley by Mike Leach's offense. And SSECO says Leach has been sent as an angel of death. The air aid offense will seep into the SEC like a cancer. think you'll have it contained and then one day you'll realize the SEC can't play defense. Listen, I broke this down last week.

Yes, he's going to have those amazing moments like he had with Mississippi State against LSU. And guess what? He's going to have amazing down moments because, yes, there's a ceiling on this offense. And there's also a floor on this offense. For me, other teams and other leagues have stopped it at times. TCU has played well against Mike Leach when he was in the Big 12. Clearly, Texas and OU played great against Mike Leach at times. in the Big 12. Washington played great against Mike Leach when he was at Washington State.

So don't tell me that he's just going to roll through the SEC. As evidence, we see Arkansas stopped the air raid last week, Stone Cold. Tennessee fans were also not happy with me. We got some feedback from them. Ashley says, didn't you say two or three years ago that the balls were basically screwed forever? And even more Tennessee feedback comes in as rich, basically just giving me the evil eyes. Listen, Tennessee fans, I don't know how many times I have to go over this. This is very simple. I never said that you couldn't be unhappy with a coaching hire. And this stems from the Greg Shiano, Jeremy Pruitt fiasco from a few years ago. All I've said and all I've ever said is that I felt like it was unethical of you to smear a man's character, this man being

Greg Shianu, based on some third-party hearsay in a civil suit deposition that was later thrown out and uncorroborated, when all you have to do, is just say, I don't want him as my coach. I just thought it was unethical, the way that they went about it. I never said you couldn't be unhappy with it. I never said that you couldn't be up in arms over that higher. And guess what? Jeremy Pruitt has done a great job.

And I've complimented him and Tennessee for the most part this entire season. They've won eight games in a row. They're winning games by a greater margin now, which shows growth. Two of the last three wins for them in SEC play have been over 18 point margins. So good for them. Good for Tennessee, and hopefully that they can get up there and start competing with Georgia and Florida in that East Division. As for me, I'm headed to Dallas. It's Red River this week. Join us, folks. Gus, Jenny and I are going to be in the old Cotton Bowl as Oklahoma takes on Texas and the Red River Showdown. That is Big Noon Saturday, noon on Fox 9 a.m. Pacific. And we will join you then. This show, as always, has been brought to you by Dr. Pepper. It is the official drink of Fansville. I'm Joel Clatt. Thank you for watching, everybody. Enjoy your weekend to college football.

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