The McShay Show - 10 Tape Truths From Week 6: Notre Dame’s Playoff Push, Miami’s Case for No. 1, Alabama’s Rise, and More

Episode Date: October 6, 2025

Welcome to The McShay Show! Todd and Steve are back to rewind the tape and give their biggest takeaways from Week 6 of college football. 0:00 Welcome to The McShay Show1:53 10 Truth's from Week 62:11 Tape Truth 1: Miami's Defense is One of the Best in CFB13:52 Tape Truth 2: Miami Should be Ranked #118:45 Tape Truth 3: Kane Wommack's Breakthrough with Alabama's Defense28:19 Tape Truth 4: Jam Miller's Impact on Alabama's Run Game33:58 Tape Truth 5: Florida's Offense was a Liability, Now it's an Asset48:38 Tape Truth 6: Arch Manning and Texas O-Line Struggles49:54 Tape Truth 7: Concerns with Oklahoma QB Michael Hawkins59:05 Tape Truth 8: Notre Dame is Back on Track1:04:50 Tape Truth 9: Big 10 Weapons Revealed 1:11:28 Tape Truth 10: Malachi Toney's Feel for the game 1:14:50 BONUS: Texas EDGE's to Watch Subscribe to The McShay Report for access to all of Todd’s mock drafts, big boards, scouting reports, and more throughout the college football season. The Ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please visit www.rg-help.com to learn more about the resources and helplines available. Host: Todd McShayGuest: Steve MuenchProducers: Tucker Tashjian, Conor Nevins, and Daniel ComerSocial: Jon Roemer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's Monday, and you know what that means. It's tape trues from a wild week six in college football. Alabama and Miami are surging is Florida prime for another resurgence. And what the hell is going on with Penn State? 199 days on the wall, 199 days, just 190 days until the NFL draft. Mitch, you good? I'm good, man. All right, roll that thing, tuck.

This is a jam-pack show. We got no time to waste. The McShay report. Google it. We're going to start doing this every Sunday morning. If you haven't seen it already, it's kind of a recap. It summarizes a little bit of what we did on Saturday night in the reaction show, but dives a little deeper.

Some prospects in there, some thoughts on James Franklin and the leadership issues, State College and all of that. So check that out. We'll have another newsletter this week. We're going to dive deep in some take. This episode is presented by Duluth Trading Company. Ready to give rival tailgates the foam finger. Duluth Trading Company crafts Hall of Fame game day gear

to help you grill hotter, cheer louder, and tailgate longer. Bibs loaded with pockets, gusseted pants so you can crouch without snuffing out your coals, and free swinging shirts tailor-made for Cornhole Tossin. Stay comfortable from preseason to playoffs in the toughest tailgate attire around, only at Duluth Trading Company. did a lot of tape work yesterday, Munch. I know you did as well, right? Sundays are four, man.

Yeah, so we're, that's why we're here. It's Monday. We've had a minute to kind of decompress. We've had a lot of minutes to get into the tape. And let's just share with you. And that's what we try to do here on Mondays with our tape truths. Everything that we saw on tape is we went back and specifically targeted 10 different things that we wanted answers to.

And we're going to share it here. So tape truth one, Mench. Let's get it kicked off. Want me to start or you? You go. All right. You're always deferring to me. My bills off yours, though.

I know my bills off yours. All right. Tape truth number one. Miami's defense is in Ohio states, but it's the closest thing to it in college football. After going back and watching this tape and we had kind of watched tape throughout the season so far, let's start up front.

And there's a lot of things on social media right now. now. You know, Rubin Bain Jr., Akeem Messador, this is the best edge tandem in all of college football. I don't disagree. I don't think they're perfect. I think Rubin Bain might be the closest thing to perfect and certainly in the 2026 edge class. He's the number one edge defender. He is a merged as that. He has been sincere. You know what was interesting, Steve, when I went back and watched the tape. Like, I thought he had a quiet night. Uh-uh. Right. The numbers, he's chaotic, man. The number, numbers don't necessarily reflect it all the time, but he is always making an impact of the game. I went and like, so it's like the sack numbers weren't there.

And so it didn't jump out on the stat line. And watching the game, like I saw him flash and do a couple of things, but it wasn't like, you know, sometimes you watch an edge rusher who's on a heater that night. And he shows up and there's big hits and there's sacks and there's tackles for a lot. There's a force fumble. There's a tomahawk chop, all those things. I didn't get that sense watching. the game. Then I went back and watched a tape. And then I looked at some of like the deeper numbers,

two quarterback hits, 11 quarterback pressures. He had like a 91% pass rush or a 32% win rate is pass rush. So like all those numbers. But what I'm seeing on tape is the same stuff. But we did a whole breakdown last week on Ruben Bain and Carson Beck, right? Trying to, in preparation of the Florida State game. And it's the same thing. It's powerful. It's that quickness. The thing with him is you're not getting elite speed off the edge. And that's about the only part of his game that he's maybe missing compared to some other, like, you know, elite edge rushers. But as I talked about, look at the Bosa brothers.

Look at like some, like a lot of the top sack guys in the NFL were not like four, five, four, six edge rushers. The thing with him that stands out all the time is the bend around the edge. So he's so, he's powerfully built. And he scares the death out of offensive tackles with his ability to get in their pads and drive them back. So then when he gets in the pad and works half a man, meaning like that outside shoulder of a tackle, then hit that body lean at 275 pounds, shaving the edge, advancing the rush while engaged. And then in the run game, it's like you got to block him with two or run away from him or else, or option him or else it's going to be a problem.

Now, Messador on the other side, really good player. I don't want to downplay. The dude is active and the numbers popped and he made some flash plays in the game. He is a really disruptive player. But if you really watch him, like, isolated on an offensive tackle, and this is why I think his grade for NFL scouts is not nearly as high as Bain

and he's not considered one of the top five, seven edge rushers in the, you know, in the 2020. 26th draft. But with Messador, there are times when he gets kind of, you know, if a tackle gets into his pads, it's kind of over. Right. So what he does as a player, I've really, really noticed is he stays active and on the move as much as he can. The downside with that is he leaves the defense vulnerable at time with gap discipline. The upside is he makes a lot of tackles in pursuit on the move and he's highly disrupt. So those are your two edge rushers, right? Yep.

These linebackers, man. Wesley Besant, 31. Muhammad Torre, number one. I love Torre. I was just going to say, I'm glad you pop that in. Yeah. Besant is like, is the veteran.

He's smart. I don't want to say smarter than Toray, but like he'll get Torre lined up. He's the green dot guy. He's like, you know, the communication runs through him. And he's like,

just like what you would think, good with his hands, works off of blocks. He's where he needs to be and fills the gaps and all that stuff. Torre is the guy. He plays kind of, if they, if they spread you out, he's going to, he's going to climb outside the box. He can cover a little bit. He's sideline to sideline.

As long as he's pointing the right to drive, he goes and gets it. So those are your two, and he's faster and he's longer. He's just a more athletic, physically gifted player than Bessaint. And Bessain's a really good player. Okay. So those are your off the ball linebackers and your edge guys. The defensive tackles is kind of the reason why I look at this team and say, this unit and say Miami's outstanding, probably second best defense in the country from what we've seen so far. Okay. And against Florida State, like after the first drive

and a half, they really like more discipline. They locked in. And, and, quite honestly watching it. Gus Malzan, they had a couple big plays on that first drive. Malzan just dialed it up beautifully. They blitz them on the one, they don't blitz a whole lot because they've got caught him. And he caught him, right? And so it was they had in the in their defensive design with a safety blitzing off coming up in the C gap, they had a linebacker that was forced to read, react and then turn and run. And by the time he did all those things, he couldn't get back and make. the play. So they had that throw down the side. And then they followed it up with Castellanos with the chunk run. So it was a great game plan. It was a scripted and they understood what the

tendencies were. They knew in that situation, Miami was likely to blitz, try to get a big play. And they attacked. And it was a perfect play call for the perfect, for the situation. But beyond that, man, this defense was flying around. This defense played fast. They played loose. The defensive were solid. And I think that's what they are. They're solid college football defensive tackles. They're not great. And the depth of that defensive front is not outstanding either. And so if Miami's ever going to run into trouble, it's going to be because their interior's not outstanding. And the depth behind, they're not like rolling in eight, nine guys like Tennessee a year ago. Okay. And I, you know, and I don't want to say like, 99.

nine, Ahmad Moten, the defensive tackle is better than 11. 11's just a guy, right? Interesting. I think 11 flashes. David Blay, I think he flashes, but he's not consistent. There you go. That's the thing. I can rely on Moten more than I can play.

100%. So, but anyway. And so like, and I could give you a whole scouting report I have on them, but I don't want to wear us down. The epiphany to me, this is like, we knew about Bain and everyone's talking about messador we've known about these linebackers for a while the epiphany to me and i think to cori heatherman who's done a sensational job as a defensive coordinator is and and we've seen the progression each and every week the epiphany to me is eight number eight if you watch him on tape

that's your guy oh my gosh jacobo jacobo thomas not high on scouting boards he's bounced around right He was a middle, he's a fifth year player, middle Tennessee to Tennessee for one year, to Miami. And it's like he finally found a home in the right defense, utilized the right way. He is quote unquote a strong safety. He's six foot two, 200 pounds. But my goodness, does this dude snap? He, when they turn him loose on a blitz, he's 200 pounds match against 300 pound offensive linemen. It's whack.

He flies in and he'll jack his ass that offensive lineman and then be able to work off of that. He flies around and makes plays all over the field. And you know what he is? He's really good in coverage. Like he'll get, he's still kind of developing his eyes and every once in a while because he's so aggressive. He'll kind of get like a looped around and all that. But his coverage grade is really good. His blitzing grade, he's highly disruptive.

And he's become that like call him a stalker. call them, you know, whatever you want. X factor, whatever you want to do. Yeah. Yeah, like the way we were talking about Harold Perkins early in the year, I'm not saying they play the exact role because it's not, but there's some similarities in, he's kind of our matchup piece. Right.

So number eight to me, like a flat out epiphany on tape. Jacoby Thomas has become absolutely critical to this Miami defense. And I don't even think they knew coming into the year that he was going to kind of, because each and every week, it's like he gets a little bit. more put on his platter. Okay? And then Keante Scots are really good player too. So their safeties, as much as we talk about the edges and the offball linebackers, we talk about Bain all the time and Messador. We talk about Bessaint and we talk about Tori. But the two like critical pieces to this defense and their ability to be flexible and multiple and to match up and still support the run and to blitz

and catch you off guard every once in a while. The two key pieces are Keante Scott and especially Jacoby Thomas. Keante Scott has the versatility as well. And I'm telling you, Jacoby Thomas is one of the most unheralded stars on the defensive side in college football this year. Both transfers, by the way.

Great guests. Yeah, yeah. He's a six-year player. Started at Snow College. This is Keontay Scott. Six-year players started at Snow. player started at Snow College, went to Auburn, and transferred to Miami. They targeted these two guys to fit what Corey Heatherman wants to do on defense.

And Corey Heatherman found two perfect matchup pieces, and they're making a massive difference. Yeah, there's simulated pressures where they walk up guys and drop guy. They're an absolute nightmare for an offensive line and running backs, whatever, the pass protection, the entire pass protection, even quarterbacks trying to figure out who's going where. is just a nightmare. And they're only bringing four. At the end of the day, it's only four coming.

So it's not like you have these, you know, these gaps or voids in the coverage to exploit. Because, again, they've, they've accounted for all of that. It is a nightmare.

But you need those versatile pieces to pull that off. Especially against a Malzahn defense that has so much, so much eye candy, so many personnel matchup issues, exploit defenses that don't have those kind of pieces that can match up

but also support the run. Those two players, were as critical as any two players on the defensive side in that Florida State game. And I suspect that that will be the case moving forward. Love it. Your right turn? Yes, sir. Well, tape truth one leads into tape truth two.

There is no way Miami shouldn't be number one in the AP this week. There is zero way. And let me be clear about a couple of things. If you were to ask me who is going to win the national championship right now, there's three teams that I think are in it. I think it's Ohio State, Miami and Oregon. they would have to be considered the favorites. If you ask me who I like the most, I would say Ohio State.

I think Ohio State is the favorite to win the national championship. So don't get mad at me, Buckeye fans. But right now, Miami's played the 15th toughest schedule in the country so far. And I know the teams that they play now have like two losses. But look at the wins, man, against a Notre Dame team that I think, you know, barely lost the Texas A&M and is handling everyone since then. So you look at that. Then you look at South Florida who would beat Florida.

and Boise State at the time. You know, they handled Florida State on the road. They beat a Florida team that beat Texas. Miami's resume is too good not to put them at one. And it could matter down the stretch. I think it could matter in terms of seating. We're going to see how these teams play out. I don't think Oregon plays.

I love Oregon. It's well known how much I love Oregon if you listen to this show. They don't play the schedule that Miami's played. They just don't. If they both went out, if Oregon and Miami both went out, I guess the Big Ten championship game would be something you'd have to consider, but you would have to argue that maybe Miami has the better strength of schedule. So when you're looking at this, or even with Ohio State or Ohio State has a blip,

I think Miami should be number one. And the problem for them now is they don't have a lot of games left on their resume where they can make a statement and say, now you should move us ahead. The fact that the AP doesn't have them there now, to me, is just wildly unfair. Where's Miami and the AP? two. And I know there's a lot of football left. I get it. There's a lot to sort out. But here's the problem. You don't know what's going to happen. Here's the problem I have and the problem I would have if I was an AP voter or whatever. I watch too much. And I trust my eyes.

And like I absolutely love Miami. I just went on like a 10 minute rant about Miami's defense. And that wasn't even about Carson Beck and Malachi Tony and all the things on the offensive. side. So I clearly love, but like, I also have watched Ohio State. And I know the level of competition is not as good, but I feel like I trust my eyes. And so I hear you like strength of strength of record, if I was to trust anything as a voter to counteract what I'm seeing on tape. Because I can also tell you that Florida team that I just just watched, like they're a top 20 team in the country. The way, they're playing right now and the way they're ascending and what I think is going to continue to

happen, but do they belong? And that's always the juggling of like if you're actually watching the tape and studying all these teams and really do know what the personnel is and really do know like the why in the beginning of the season versus the why they are, you know, why they are where they are now and where they're headed. It's hard to kind of balance those two things. So I would have Ohio State 1 with the caveat that I would have it would be 2A 2B with Oregon and Miami.

Who have they beaten? Listen, it's not that I don't give them any credit. It's not that I don't give Oregon or Ohio State. Ohio State is now their win is a their signature win is a 14 to 7 win over a Texas team that is now out of the top 25. And I don't even think got any top 25 votes. this week. I'm not saying you're wrong. Like, I would tell you if I thought you were wrong.

I'm not saying you're wrong. And it's a good thing. It's October 6 and we have plenty of time to sort this all out. I hear you, but you don't know. You don't know with the seating. You don't know. And don't tell me, I know Ohio State was six last year mentioned. Ohio State had to run the gauntlet, which they did. What Ohio State did last year? Oh, I don't give a shit about last year. It does not matter. I'm on a 20 year campaign. And I've said this all like stop with the stuff last year. stop. I agree. This is about this year and what I'm seeing.

But you absolutely, Miami absolutely has earned the right to be number one. Yes, absolutely. I don't disagree with that, but I also would argue. And you argued it too. So we're saying the same. That like a neutral site, Miami, Ohio State, I think we're both picking Ohio State. We are. Oh, I want to see it, though.

That'd be a great game. Give me that game. Or Oregon, by the way. No disrespect to Oregon. They're right there. No, no, I know that. And you're a duck through and through. All right, tape truth number three.

Kane Lomack in the Alabama defense had a breakthrough performance against Vanderbilt. And why do I say breakthrough? This was a program win, man. This was an Alabama team that was winning, that stumbled against Florida State, the mobile quarterback, and looked overwhelmed defensively. looked like, look at all the gifts and social media and all the clips and different things. They're not trying. The effort's not that.

Now, they, they, they weren't playing with their eyes. They weren't trusting what they were supposed to do. And they have grown up a whole hell of a lot since week one, man. And it's awesome to watch on tape. Okay. And we can, and trust me, I'm a Ty Simpson guy, love their receivers, love Jam Miller, getting going now in the second week that he's back. So like I see all the things on offense.

But to me, this game, this win against that Vanderbilt team was about Womack and his defense. And I say that because this has been a problem dating back to Nick Saban. The mobile quarterback, some of the misdirection stuff, as disciplined and as like gaps sound up front as Alabama has always been, they've had trouble against these mobile kind of guys. and then you saw Castellanos in week one. And you thought, okay, here we go again.

And then here's the thing. I started getting nervous, man. Remember I came on last week, Steve? And I said, I watched the tape for Vanderbilt. And I went back and watched the tape from Alabama. And it's like not a fair fight. Now, I know Vanderbilt is going to nickel dime. They're going to misdirect.

They're going to do all these things. But this year's different. And then they come out. Diego Pavia, right? They come out. Cedric Alexander's 65-yard touchdown run. And I went back and watched the tip. I actually took a picture just for myself.

And they had bunch form. I know I did. I love it. Just to kind of remind me. And then I took a picture of play like 20 and then 40 to show the difference because I wanted to make sure I was accurate in saying this. Early in the game, like against that bunch when they bring everyone in. And I think it was, it might have been one or two tight ends,

but they kind of bunch formation. It was a third and, I want to say third and four-ish, right, on that 65-yard touch. No, it might have been second. It was second in four or five, something like that. But they came in with that bunch type formation, right?

And Alabama was pinching. You know, like they're all close to the line of scrimmage. 18, Hubbard, Bray Hubbard was the furthest guy back and it was maybe only like eight, nine yards. But my point is they were all bunched in. And so with a quick, direction and all that stuff, everyone kind of, there was no second, third level support and

trust behind you, okay? Yeah. So they hit that big one. But then they come back out on the next drive and it was the very first player of the next drive. And Paviae goes for, for 30, 36. It was a long one. Yeah, yeah. 36. That was looked down my notes. But then Keene, Tim Keene in the third, defensive lineman recovers that fumble later on that second. drive. It could have easily been because remember touchdown, touchdown Vandy, Alabama drives down, misses a field goal. It's like, here we go again. Because remember last year in 2024, it was, it was 15 nothing like they jumped them. Like in the alley. It was like pavia and his whole gang just jumped them in the alley. Fifteen nothing before you get like,

it was like disorienting, right? And so so it's so now that now seven, nothing, miss field goal, get the ball back, first place, Pavia going 36 yards. And it's like, here we go again. This, we could have 14, nothing, right? And so, and so when, when Tim Keenan gets that fumble recovery, it was like, okay, everyone reset, relax, you know, but it's, it's not this, this mad rush. We didn't get jumped in the alley again. And then they come back out defensively the next turn. And you saw, it wasn't a massive difference. And I have like, the pictures taken on my phone. It's not a massive difference. But I saw the linebackers like a yard, yard and a half back.

I saw it was still a lot of single high, but you could see a little bit more depth. And you could tell. And I'm sure it's what they practiced during the week. And I'm sure they got in the game early on. They were all the, the back seven guys were aggressive, like they wanted to make a play. It became a team defense. And Womack did a brilliant. And his staff did a brilliant job of like forcing these back seven guys like don't be a hero right we're not going to win this game because of one defensive lineman this isn't going to be a reuben bain show for miami this isn't going to be one safety coming up like jacobie tom and making a bunch of plays this is an 11 guy defense today the only way we're going to win is 11 guys and how do we

make it 11 guys we're going to back off a little and hold our water that's where the the first it kept going through my mind as I'm watching. The linebackers for Alabama, instead of read, react, react, go. It was, hold your water. Just a quarter count. You could see them literally like, like, and then go, right?

Right. And so by doing that, the play developed. So the misdirection didn't get them one way. They still were waiting for it. And so like that patience for just a quarter count led to a whole different result. And now all of a sudden you look at these guys,

like Kian Sab was a star in coverage, right? But it was the other defensive backs that played this supporting role because of their run support and their eye discipline. And I looked at it, and I'm watching Deshawn Jones, the big nickel, and he's making a lot of plays versus the run. Staying patient, going up, rapping.

DeMani Jackson, highly regarded cornerback for his cover skills. He's involved in the run support. And the most important guy, I mentioned his name already, Bray Hubbard. Bray Hubbard was the single, when they were in single high, which was a high percentage of the game, Bray Hubbard was the guy who was one or two yards deeper than the first couple series. Read, react, hold my water. But when I fill that fucking alley, I'm filling it like gangbusters. Yeah.

Yes. And so he made a lot of plays in the secondary, okay? So it became this team defense. And then after a couple series, they started to trust it. And they started like, then they lived in it. And it was really cool to see because this Bama defense for a long time for as great as the defense has been in all the first round draft picks and all the success under Nick Sab. Like this had been a problem for a long time.

And so when I say it's a breakthrough performance, I want you to hear these numbers, Munch. Vandy had five carries for 113 yards in the first quarter. The second quarter, six carries for 13. yards. Wow. The third quarter, five carries, seven yards. You know what, Vandy had rushing? And I get it. They were playing from behind, but fourth quarter, zero carries, zero yards. Alabama forced Vanderbilt to abandon their run game in the second half. And it wasn't just because of the score. Nobody comes out, even if you're down 21, nobody runs the ball only five times for seven yards in the second half. And it's because of Womel. and that back seven in the way that they game plan and adjusted in game. And it was pretty awesome to see.

Yeah, those are, you know, there's certain stats or numbers that are clear indicators. If you told me about the, in Miami, Florida State that Castellanos was going to have to drop back that much before the game, I would have said that's bad news for Florida State. And if you're telling me that Vanderbilt doesn't run the ball in the fourth quarter, I would have said that's bad news for Vanderbilt. You know what I mean? Those are numbers that just jump out. And the improvement to what, like I typed it up and did.

like paragraph down paragraph. So I'm looking at 113, 13-7-0. You want to talk about like, to be able to statistically see in-game coaching and the effect it has on a defense, it's hard to beat that line right there. Yeah, and sometimes we think of these big-time coordinators and we think about, well, what scheme are they running

and how are the, you know, how are the defending certain things? And sometimes it's a simple game. Sometimes you've got to simplify it for your players. It's a simple game of, Let's back up a yard. Some of it's just a, let's tweak our alignment. Some of it's just reminding players that you, it's, run defense at its core is pretty simple in terms of schematics.

It's, you have to fill your gap. You know, there's got to be a defender for every gap. Make sure you're defending your gap. And if you remind players and you get players to just focus on, and I hate to say this with the old Patriot saying of doing their job, I mean, there's really something to it. It's not overreacting and, oh, we got to get out of this front or we got to go to this.

Sometimes it's just, you know, take a step back. player gap. We're good. Don't panic. It's that kind of thing that can get leads to close wins or big wins. All right, get us to truth four. Tape Truth number four.

I added number two in my list, but number four overall. Alabama's run game is different with Jan Miller, the running back, Jan Miller back in the lineup. He went for 20, he had 22 carries for 136 yards against a Vanderbilt run defense. It's giving up 3.2 yards per carry.

It's a pretty good run defense, man. And it's really simple when you watch the tape. they are inexperienced at running back. They, and without Miller was by far, I think by far their most experienced back. And when you watch the tape, it jumps out immediately how patient he is in allowing blocks to set up and defenders to commit to a gap before he makes a cut and accelerates. He is really helping that offensive line. He's making the most of the blocks that he gets.

Listen, I don't think Jan Miller is an elite running back prospect. I don't think he, I don't know if he has breakaway speed. I don't know if he's going to make a lot of guys miss. But I do know this. He's patient. It makes the most of that blocking. He's got good feet for his size. He's got the size to wear guys down,

where defense is down. He's got the ability to carry a heavy workload, which I think is important for them. You know, you look at that 16 play, 69-yard drive that was eight minutes and 29 seconds. They gave him the ball six times. He got 30 yards. And the very next drive,

they want to ice the game. four plays, four carries for Miller, and he breaks a 20-yard touchdown on fourth down. I mean, they are different with him in the lineup. I will say the interesting thing about this is they're not deep there now. They need those younger running backs to develop so they can get a complimentary guy. Because like I said, Miller already missed the first three games of the season.

It is night and day the way he's reading his blocks versus the other Alabama back. So it's really good for them to get him back. I'm excited to see what he does going forward. I will also say this, and I'll try not to throw out my shoulder, patting myself on the back. Freshman, right tackle, Michael Carroll got a team high. I got a season high 41 snaps yesterday or on Saturday. Yep.

And I am, forgive me, if this sounds weird, I don't know how else to say it. But I don't know if I've been happier than watching him and Wilkin Formby, who's also lining up at right tackle, was slid into right guard. their backside blocking on inside zone in the third quarter last night or third quarter on Saturday was, I was like, I literally before we came on, I said, don't be weird about it,

Steve. Like, don't say weird stuff about it. Like, this is going to be eclips. Like, it was, it was so good when you're talking about angles and you're talking about

working as a tandem and form be making sure to punch the three technique onto Carol's frame so he can square him up. and then Forme working up to the second level. Now, Formby's a pretty good right tackle. He's not bad, but he could be an outstanding right guard. I really think that's going to be the lineup on the right side. It's going to be Carroll at right tackle, Formby at right guard. That offense line's only going to get better.

I'm telling you, I was geeking out about it. And again, not getting into the weeds too much. They were reaching, they were able to get Carol, a right tackle to scoop a two-eye, which from a alignment standpoint is really hard to do and still get that guard up until the, on the linebacker, and they were making it look easy. I mean, it was, I don't know how to put it into words. If you're an offensive line guy and you're watching that tape,

you're sitting there and you're bringing that to high school kids in other colleges and saying, this is what you want to do on inside zone. This is how we work up at the second level. This is how we secure the line of scrimmage. And a running back loves that. Alabama's schedule doesn't get a whole lot easier. But this is a team.

I picked him preseason to win the national championship. I hate that you might be right. I wasn't feeling well and it made me like throw caution to the wind, I think. But I had a feeling that we could get here, but then after week one, I was like, gosh, I'm such an asshole. That offense is a rocket ship, man. That offense is an absolute rocket ship. I totally agree. The McShay Show is brought to you by Fanduel.

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gators offense was a complete liability and now it has become an asset and I think it's here to stay and the reason it stems and there's a lot of individual players and all that stuff it stems from the gators offensive line put together a performance that like was as good as you can expect from the highest level of college football as a group. Okay? And it was, you know, number 71, the right guard moves well and is like, is dominant in the run game. The center we, we love is going to be an NFL draft pick number 66.

It's scrappy, smart. Maybe it won't overpower you, but my goodness, is he consistent from down to down. The left guard 77, a massive mallers, just, just road grading guys. Left tackles got some prick in a man. and I love it. He's got snap at his hands. He moves well. Both tackles look like almost like bigger blocking tight ends of their frames.

So, but it wasn't about the individual. And that's the reason why I didn't go through each guy's name. This group as a collective, and that's what I know like thrills you to no end, they've clicked. They're, they're protecting,

they're making the right calls. They're working in unison. They're get, their zone blocks, they're working together. It just, it looks what, it looks the way it's supposed to look. It's so cool. It's just so cool when it works.

It's like choreography. You know what you mean? Like it's when it comes together or what did our, our guy Joe Douglas call it, the big man ballet? Big man ballet. Yeah. Yeah. It's, it's,

again, if you know what you're looking at in watching these, this is going to turn into a weird podcast, these just massive athletes with great intelligence and the way they work together and the way they support each other. I mean, offensive line play, man, it's just different. It's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's amazing to me. It's, and again, when they work together, when they work together as a group of five,

it's just, there's nothing like it. All right. So now we, we, we, we, mensch is happy so we can move on. Now let's, let's, let's start, start talking about the guys who are making place. Um, the reason I, I, say it's here to stay is because, first of all, I just want like, like, just, just, just nod. Give a quick nod, okay? And I know we saw it last year from Billy Napier and his team,

and I know we'll talk a lot about they don't quit on them and it's a remarkable thing. And the people talk about culture and it's overused and all that. And they clearly have a culture there where they believe and they buy in and they work for one another. And it's it really is a beautiful thing to watch. But what matters is the product on the field at the end of the day, right? Florida absolutely dominated Texas in the trenches on both sides of the ball in this game. And my tape truth is about the offense. But like how many people have been,

how many programs have been able to say that after a game with Texas in the last couple of years? Not many. Like they don't get dominated in the trenches on both sides of the ball. Okay. And so that's what we saw on that game. So a nod to Napier, a nod to that coaching staff. a huge nod to to the to the to the offensive defensive line play but the but in addition to the offensive line and that's part of a major part of why I think it's here to stay because they're

just getting better and better each week it's it's different on offense now man and the wide receiver position and the commitment to the run are different and the third element to it is they figured out a way to keep lagway comfortable and in his comfort zone. own and make him more decisive. So let's start with this. The run game, when you have an offensive line that's winning up front, you can stick with the run and rely on it, right? And when your quarterback's not making massive turnovers and you're not playing from

behind, that helps too. But like Jaden Baugh, he's not the fastest, not the most explosive, but he is so quick in his cuts. Like he's a 231 pound back at six foot. Okay. He had 27 carries in this game. been bitching all season long about, you know, feed him early in, feed him.

Feed this guy. He's talented. And even when he doesn't get big chunk runs or it's not, he, the way he finishes runs at 231 pounds, like he's got this jump, this jump, like, he's got this jump cut, sorry, that if a guy penetrates, he's going to get away from him. I want you to go sometime when you're watching anyone on that offense and just keep track. How many times does one tackler bring?

him down, whether it's that jump cut or quick move or just at the end of the run when he's, when it's over and there's guys converging, he's still picking up two, three at the end. So he's, he, I don't want to say he's special because he's not like Bijan or Sequin or one of, but I'm saying he is a damn good college running back. And by giving him 27 carries, there's only 107 yards, only four yards per carry, but it kept that balance in the offense and it kept Texas respecting that run throughout the game. It wasn't this sporadic thing where it's six carries in the first drive and then it's only 12 carries the rest of the game, which I chronicled earlier in the season. Yeah. But the real difference, honestly, I mean, it's all of it. It's just, it's all of it working

together. But when you, when you have a Dallas Wilson who's healthy now as a true freshman, and he is a grown-ass man, as we talked about on Saturday night. He's awesome. see it on the like he's not polished yet and he's going to keep getting better as a route runner and and he's not in terms of like you try to double move and he's not like he's not the most sudden but it's six foot three 213 13 pounds i looked at he's actually 213 he's listed at 195 he said uh coming in as a high oh you saw that he is up to 213 there was no way he was 195 no he yeah yeah he had six catches 111 for two right first catch by the way get the nerves out kind of caught a break, fumbled.

Yeah. And he went and recovered himself. But then the second catch, like simple stop, but drags defenders for four or five extra yards, two defenders at the end of that run. Then he had a sideline route, 635 second quarter, the catch radius, high-pointing, body control,

feet on the sideline, gets the feet in. Good throw by Lagway, but great catch by Dallas Wilson. Then just a few plays later, breaks off the red zone post, shows some subtleties to it. You know, selling the corner back to the post, touchdown. Nice outside in move, high points and plucks that for a touchdown. They didn't have that guy. And so when Vernel Brown, the third is your number one, it's a misfit.

He's not a number one. And that's okay. He's a great compliment to an ex-receiver like that. And we talked about this on Saturday night, but I'm watching it. And it's not just Brown. They get four receivers. Sturdivant is a good player, man. He's not great or elite or anything like that, but he's a good player.

And then he's number nine, right? And he's a reliable slot receiver for Lagway. And then Aden, Michael, back from injury, hasn't played since LSU. Man, like nifty feet. Micell, I think it is. Yeah, but yes. So Misel. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

There's a typo. Yeah, Misel. Sorry. he's number 11. So you got 11 and 9 working the slot and moving them around and you get your ex-receiver. And then you got, you got Vernel Brown on the reverse he had. Brown had an awesome reverse.

It was a third and four. First drive takes a reverse 15 yards. They got weapons now. But it all, they had to have that ex-go-to guy that brings a safety over to his side. Yeah. The reason why, and they're smart now. The biggest question I have for Florida is,

defenses are going to start pinching. Defenses are start crowding. And they're going to take away a lot of that short stuff. And they're going to take away Baugh. And it's not dissimilar from what I was talking about. Like that's the way to defend Penn State and Drew Aller, right? Now can they can they hit vertically? Are they going to be able to hit vertically?

And that's going to come down to Wilson and protection and all those things. But this, this offense is, I don't think it's going to look back. I don't think it's elite. But I think this is a very functional offense that now. has all the pieces together, starting with that offensive line, to be really good. Wouldn't have said that a week ago. That's what I'm saying. This is like another epiphany on tape.

Right. But also think about it. J. Legway, I think it's a great downfield passer. The deep ball for him is really one of his real strengths. And if you're looking at one of these maybe weaknesses is the intermediate passing. And you're talking about those defenses pinches. Well, now you have with the, you got linebackers playing on the,

their toes and you got Dallas you got safeties on their heels because of Dallas Wilson, that space you're creating in those intermediate passes is kind of taking some pressure off of legway on those. And that's where Vernel Brown the third is going to do all his damage. I think he's awesome, by the way. He's so dangerous with the ball in his hands. But now you're creating these huge windows in that intermediate gap where now legway doesn't have to be as accurate.

He can just, you know, like lay it in there. And I think that's going to be a real positive for him. I think you're going to see like those deep crossers. like they were for Florida last year, are going to start coming into play again for him. Yeah, they run a lot of crossers. They love that cross. A lot of crossers,

but they've been effective. Texas adjusted by doubling the other underneath, like identifying which guy was the cross. Because what they do is they like to send almost like a sale concept, but it's like a layer levels. Two receivers off, clear it out. And then flood,

yeah. They'll flood and then drag underneath this crosser. And typically they get Texas. started identifying who the crosser guy was and double teaming that guy. And that actually led to a lagway. And his interception was exactly that. Texas identified correctly the crosser, doubled him. And then Lagway just like made a really bad decision to throw into double coverage and hope that his guy who's like 511 was going to go up and make a play.

And it's just, it wasn't the deal. Yeah. All right. Moving on. Six, right? Tape truth number six. No one's letting Arch Manning off the hook, but it's time that we hold Texas. his past protection issues accountable for some of the stuff that's going on with that offense.

Look, Arch, on both interceptions that Arch through, he had a fairly clean pocket, which is weird because most of the day he didn't. And I'm not going to get into names here, but they have a real problem at Left Guard. The starting left guard was pulled, is my understanding. I didn't see that he had an injury, but they brought in a freshman at Left Guard. And it's tough when you put in that situation. but he was swimming. He was getting beat clean consistently.

Even the Wingo touchdown down the scene, Arch had to avoid pressure from the left guard getting beat clean. Now, that's, that is a real issue that has to get fixed immediately. They cannot be competitive against Oklahoma unless they do something about that. Unfortunately, for them, that's not the only problem. They are, they're getting beaten other places too. This offensive line that, you know, was rebuilt after they lost all, those guys of the draft is not coming together, is not playing well.

They are having a hard time picking up some of these stunts, some of these blitzes. Guys aren't reacting quick enough. They look a little unsure about who they're supposed to block. On top of that, running backs are, they're competing, but they're giving too much ground or they're not being enough, not being aggressive enough about stepping up. Look, again, no one's letting Arch off the hook, but he's, it's tough to play quarterback. And I actually like the way he's moving around the pocket and climbing. is every time he was around, he's going to get hit in the mouth again.

According to, I think it's burnt orange nation, Westcott Eberts, he was hit five times. I think that number might be low. I think he was hit more than that. And when you look at, I think what, I forget what his dropbacks, but I think it was 29, yeah, 29 dropbacks. He was like consistently pressured, consistently hit. And by the way, now his shoulder is an issue.

After the game start came out and said he had a stinger. So now the, now the shoulder is a problem because he's taking so many hits. And it also, it, there's a waterfall effect here, right? We always give, when we evaluate quarterbacks of the draft, we'll always talk about, well, he's starting to lower his eyes, right? Or he's getting some happy feet in the pocket. True. That's true. But when you get hit that much, how are you not lowering your eyes? When your left guard is getting consistently beat off the snap, how are you not lowering your eyes to see what's going on there? And he missed some throws because of it. He missed some open targets because of it because he just didn't have the time to make the

throw. Look, this is, these are my notes for all the plays that I identified where someone was getting beaten past protection, okay? That's through the first play of the third quarter. That's the first play of the third quarter. That is not the whole game. I stopped, I stopped writing.

I was like, this is a joke. Like, there's almost something on every single play where he's just, it's, bullets are constantly flying at him. And I got news for you. Like, that Florida defense is good. And we've talked about some good defenses today. Ohio State's the best.

I think you're right. Miami 2nd. By the way, Oklahoma is in the conversation. Oklahoma so far. They want to be a part of that conversation. And it doesn't matter who's playing quarterback for Oklahoma if you can't protect. I just saw a thing on Venables taking over play calling, and they're like first or second or third.

That defense is a nightmare. And they're going in, and I'm sure Sark and his staff are looking at that tape and saying, oh boy, like we got to figure out what we're going to do. here. Like there's, there's some things, you know, there's some things they can do in terms of simplifying their past protections. They like to run a lot of, like, they love to run the play action after power, where a center's got a block back and the guards pulling over to pick up this guy. But the problem with that is you end up with tight ends on edges. I'm getting into the weeds here.

I understand that. But there's some things where they can simplify protections and maybe that'll help. But, man, they are in a bad way in terms of taking care of that quarterback. That's interesting. Well, I mean, yeah, it's Red River. And today's about looking back, right? But, but like with all of these. No, no, no, no, no. But with all of these, like, and I failed to mention, like,

I think part of the reason why I'm, I was like excited to get back in, and study the tape yesterday is not only, it's not just some weeks you're reacting. And it's like, well, they got to buy this week. So I'm not doing any work for next week. Like Alabama, who I went into a big rant about the defense. and you went into a long thing about their offense. Like we obviously watched a lot of tape on them last week. Well, guess what?

They're at Missouri this week. So it's applicable to what's next and the continuance of the schedule. Florida just talked about their offense. And I think they're like, I don't think they're elite, but I think they went from a total liability to an asset. Well, they're at A&M. So like we're about to find out if all this tape study, was that a one week deal?

Or is this like we're tracking to one. something, okay? And the Red River now, and you're talking about the past protection for Texas, well, let me transition to tape truth number seven. Taped truth number seven is the quarterback Michael Hawkins for Oklahoma. I have my concerns. It's the best way I can put it. And I know he had the breakthrough during fall camp, and I talked to people there, and I can see like the improvement from a year ago. But there are some fundamental things that are a little, that are, that are, that are concerning when you start to look at Texas's defense and the tight fits in zone and some of the things that you have to do in order to defeat that defense as a passer.

Let me just get into the tape. Let's start with the positives. Like this guy is an absolute threat as a runner. He extends plays. And beyond just that, he is a legitimate extra piece in that run game. He gives you a numbers advantage, okay? He is so damn quick and elusive. He's a ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-f-f-f-y-k-y-k-y-k.

And then you have, like, the zone-read option, the quarterback draws and the powers and the leads, like, that is very much now a, like, Mateer is a scrambler, and Mattier will get involved in Matier. We talked about, like, I say he's a 4-5, maybe he's a 4-6. Every time I talk about Mateer and his running ability, he goes from a 4-6 to a 4-5 to a 4-4.

But at the crux of it, he is a absolute sniper from inside the pocket, right? Agree. This guy's opposite. He is a runner first. And then he is a scrambler, one of his other positives, outside of just the elusiveness and the extending plays and the creativity and the flat out run game with the quarterback is an extra number. he's got a very quick release.

And so that RPO game they do, right, especially with the quarterback like this. You see, I saw a lot of it. The impetus is they just pounded Kent State, right? And I'm like, what am I going to gleam from this? But I also haven't seen Hawkins since last year. And if I'm being honest, I didn't study very much of Hawkins last year. Right.

Like that offense was a train wreck in every way from the offensive line to the five injuries of wide receivers. So like I just, they weren't on the radar of, of important things, whether it is in college football season or for the NFL draft. So this was my first, like, dive into Hawkins. And yes, the level of competition wasn't there, but I wanted a baseline. And the baseline was troubling in that while he has this quick release and they do that RPO thing, right? And then it's great to be able to sling it sidearm because that allows you to come out of it,

get the ball out quickly, turning, turning to as a shortstop, as we always have, middle infielder, get it out, bang. So that part of it's really good. And there were some awesome throws. This kid can, this young man can, I say that so affectionately. It's annoying that people get frustrated by, like, this kid, like this kid, that's a good thing, you know? And he can almost submarine it.

And that, there were a couple plays where, and I've got a, all these notes and certain plays and, you know, um, yeah, whatever. But and that allows him with the defensive linemen to get their hands up, he kind of almost fits it in underneath, okay? Right. The problem here is that that's, there's a difference between having an arm, being able to change your slots of your arm angle as a passer, okay? Yep. And like, coming here.

or even being here, I can't even if I can show being here, but then, you know, being, as you're like primary, you know. Right. But then also, but, and being able to do a little bit of this, right? A little shortstop.

But when you're throwing a deep out that's on time and it's a shotgun, you know, one, two, three back foot sticks in the, in the turf and you, and drive it. And you're still there. it's going to lead to inconsistency. So I saw a lot of throws, man, and Arbuckle did a great job. Now it's Kent State, and it's not going to be to that level.

And now we're playing Texas and their zones and all that stuff. So it's going to be tighter windows and there's going to be like disciplined throws and it's got to be on time and you've got to locate where they're going from one zone to the next. And then there's some recklessness to his game, like that first touchdown pass that he threw. It was a terrible decision. He was like in the grasp. And he, there's 10, 1009 first quarter in the grasp, ball up for grabs, gets away with it.

Right. So that's part of it. And he's first start of the year, all that stuff. But I'm really concerned about can he actually make the throws when receivers get open? Because it's not going to be. He had like, let's call it eight, ten times. Receivers are open.

And that only may be four or five times. that are open like to that extent right and he's still slinging it sideways and his what i notice is and you see this a lot with the elbow dropping balls nose dive and even when they're in a position where receivers can go and kind of dig it out they're tough balls to catch and so there were there were a handful i sent i sent dan because we might like look at some of the stuff but i just i sent dan so he had an understanding of what i was talking about like throws that were really off off the mark. But then there were also some throws that were like within the strike zone, missing within the strike zone. But the receiver couldn't make the catch because it's like,

it's just a hard when the ball's coming in and he goes, you know, those are hard to catch. So it's going to be very, now the upside is Torrey Blaylock and even Jade Nod is out of witness protection. It was nice to see. Combined 26 carries 127. And Hawkins added another nine for 35 from the from the quarterback position. but it's going to be interesting to see Arbuckle what kind of, I was talking about like the bowling alley when you go with your kids and you put up the gutter things,

you know, whatever they called. The what are they called? The bumpers, maybe? The bumpers, thank you. The bumpers. What kind of bumpers are buckles going to be able to put in against this Texas defense to keep Hawkins effective and at his best?

but without having to limit the offense so much that it becomes debilitating. Yeah. I mean, it's going to be fascinating. I mean, I'm excited to see because I know he's a special athlete, and he's going to make some chunk plays, and they're going to be able to run the ball with some effectiveness. But at some point, if they can't throw the ball and hit open receivers down the field, Texas is going to keep creeping and creeping and creeping, you know?

Yeah, you made a very interesting point about how it's always the wounded team coming into this rivalry, but who's more wounded right now? It's tough to tell, which it's tough to identify. I swear. Obviously, Oklahoma's ranked higher, but, you know, they haven't played a, sorry, apologies, Kansas State. They haven't played, you know, a quality opponent since they lost a tear. So I thought, I thought that was, that was one of the lines that stuck with me from

Saturday night. Who's more wounded in this game? I don't know. Are you ready for tape, truth number eight? Yeah, and I just, like, Oklahoma fans. Because you're right. And it's, it's, it's, because you're star player. and John Mateer is not going to be there.

And the quarterback is super talented, but there's some concerning things on the tip. Like, I get it. Like the receivers have been really good. And you've got some run game semblance, and hopefully that keeps getting better with the extra number of the quarter. And the defense has been outstanding.

Invenables has done all the right things and press the right buttons. And I love this Oklahoma team. I was on with Dari the other day, Darinoka. Like, like, I'm a, with, with Meteer here, I absolutely. love this whole team, not just Mateer.

But, and so to say they're wounded, they're undefeated, we just blew out Kent State. I get it. I'm just saying, you're only wounded because you've got a backup quarterback in there. And it's going to be interesting to see now against this defense what it looks like. That's the, that's my only thing here. It's throwing caution in. That's it. Let me ask you this.

If Mateer's healthy right now, do you have that, do you have that Oklahoma team in the same tier as the Oregon, Ohio State and my. I don't know that I'm there yet but I have there like I yeah okay fine I have them on the fringe I have them a bed above Ole Miss yeah no I do too I love that old miss so so yeah so yeah I mean I'd have them at the bottom of that tier or the very top but yeah they're right there they'd be in that like old yeah it would be Oklahoma Ole Miss right there if if if material was healthy coming into this week yeah cool all right go ahead What do you got, eight?

Taped truth number eight. Notre Dame is taking care of business and things are breaking their way for them to get back into the playoff. I mean, you just look at this. They, after week three, they start the season at six, they dropped to nine after that tough loss to Miami,

and then they dropped to 24 after losing two Texas A&M, which, by the way, I think is a wild job considering on how good Texas A&M is. So what's breaking their way? We'll just go with this. This week, they passed Penn State, Texas, Iowa State, Florida State in the rankings.

That's four teams they leapfrog. They're all the way back up to 16 now, okay? Also, in the meantime, Miami's the number two. Should be the number one team in the country. Texas A&M is five. So the only losses and a combined four points are to two top five teams. And by the way, I think you really need to take the Texas A&M loss into context for two reasons. One, they missed an extra point.

That's why they lost that game, which is unbelievable. And two, everyone can yell at me for this. I don't care. There was a blatant holding call at the end of the game that they missed. I mean, blatant, just blatant where the defensive tackle got tackled. And all of a sudden, we're going from the 19 in the country to 24. So then you look at the team. Look, CJ Carr has never been short on confidence.

I was writing my notes and I was like, it seems like C.J. Carr is getting more confident as the season progressed. And I was like, no, that's not the right way of saying that. Because I think C.J. Carr was born confident. I mean, he just seems like a guy who's just that kind of carries himself that way. but he does look like he's getting more comfortable with the passing games. I think it's a better way of saying it. And he's got some weapons.

I think Malachi Fields, the numbers are good and they're not great, but I think he's a nice addition and lets everyone fall into the role and the receiving corps and then Jeremiah Love and Prince and that running game and that offensive line. They seem functional this year, whereas I didn't think until the very end of the year that Notre Dame's wide receiver core was even like all that functional. Is that fair? That's fair.

And you could also say this is a different offense. I don't want to compare the two because it's apples and oranges. What Riley Leonard did last year was awesome. And how much of a just gritty player that Riley Leonard is in the running game. And I don't think CJ Carr gives you that. But I also think he's a more functional passer. I think that's fair to say. The defense looks like it's settling in.

Like, look, they still need some help. But this is a team that really shouldn't have been knocked back that far. They played the eighth toughest schedule on the FBS. And again, those two losses are early in the season, teams that are playing super well right now and are super talented. No, man, if they went out, they're in. I think so too. I think so too.

Everything's breaking their way. And people who say conspiracy and all this stuff, but like there's going to be a bunch. The Luminati is at a game of charge. Yeah, and it's Notre Dame and it's for money and all that stuff. But they were early in the season. It was with the first year starting quarterback. They did have a bunch of injuries, which everyone,

is going to claim. But most importantly, they were against really good opponents and those opponents are continuing to win. And I don't see a total collapse for either of them. And you finish the year, you lose two games and you finish the year on a nine game win streak. And yeah, your Notre Dame. I just, I find it hard to believe that they won't find their way in to the college. I agree. But here's the thing. Florida stuff. Who's left on their schedule? It's not good. They have USC.

No, USC is the only, that's the thing. I actually glad you brought this up because this is the point I wanted to make. I know Navy's playing well, but it's just not enough in last year that kind of helped them out, by the way. But anyways, they have USC, which I'm, that may not be the win that they had hoped it would be at the beginning of the year, what we thought two weeks ago. I think USC's going to get beat up by their schedule. but they have USC and that's by far the best.

It's NC State, Boston College, Navy, Pitt, Syracuse and Stanford outside of that. So they really, you know, they've done everything they need to do. They can't afford the Northern Illinois loss. So that'll be interesting to go to see going forward. But you're right. The strength of schedule is not good.

But let me just bring up this point. Because I've already made the argument that I think it should be a 16 team playoff. Okay. There are some, right now, if we're looking at the landscape, if you go with the 12 model, there's going to be some teams that get left out, okay?

We're not even going... Yeah, like, but if you went with a 16 model, think about this, you would have Ohio State, Miami, Oregon, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Indiana, Alabama, Texas Tech, Georgia, LSU, Tennessee, Georgia Tech, Missouri, Michigan, and Notre Dame in the playoff. Obviously Memphis would block

or whoever else is the at-large would knock one of those out. That playoff sounds freaking awesome to me. That playoff sounds. sounds awesome. And then Illinois is also see, like, like LSU could be, could be a four lost team by the end of the year.

I know. And there may be, like, USC could win out or, you know what I mean? So like, yeah, we'll see what happens,

but I mean, it's really hard to travel from one coast. It's from, from one coast to the other side of the country. And, and, uh, and a win, if you're defending USC,

just ask James Franklin, right? Shot fired. Uh, just snapshot with me, though, just have fun with it. I mean,

that would be an awesome, like, right now where we stand. It would be. And I believe that the powers to be for no other reason, money, and that's fine if that's the motivation, as I think we're headed towards that. I saw a model like it was,

it was, I don't remember the exact number, but it was a, it was a big number. And I was like, that I don't want. I don't need. This doesn't turn into March Madness.

Yeah, it doesn't need to turn into Marsh Madness. All right. Truth number nine. Newsflash. The Big Ten has weapons too. I know I get yelled that. I'm an SEC guy.

I love football in the south and all that stuff. Well, I grew up a Michigan man, young man, baby. And I have some deep rooted love for the big tent. And throw all of that stuff aside, man. Talent is talent. Skill is skill. If there's talent out there, we'll find you, right? Yes.

And I'm telling you there's some, and yes, there's a bunch of them in the South too this year. And I said coming into the year, that's one of the big differences. I'm going to see we're going to see. some like legitimate wide receiver like there were some young pups and last year's wide receiver class wasn't that good in the NFL draft like it's getting better and better again we had like this one year lull and I love seeing it but the big 10 i just like i feel like it's my responsibility to point out like

when when we start to see and you're watching games and then you're studying tape and you're like wait just saying the big like don't overlook the big 10 in some of the weapons don't get lost in like yeah Wisconsin doesn't have anyone who can break a tackle sorry big cat we're texting him out of the other day. I sent him a video of the, remember the special that NFL films did on like some of the awesome athletes in the NFL and where and the, the rabbit chasing in that one county in Florida and they.

Yeah. Like the one time of year that they would burn down all the, all the, all the, from the sugar canes. They would burn it down. And so all the, all the kids would run. It was like, Norris Jenkins and some of those guys. They would chase rabbits in the field.

And that's telling you the quickness and some of that because from when we're children. Another way of training to be honest. So I send him a video of that. I'm like maybe Wisconsin needs to recognize like this county. Let's start getting because I saw a receiver who had like a 40 yard gain if he was and they turned out to be like four. Anyway, I want to rip through this fast. Michigan. I'm watching that game.

And I'm watching McCulley and Marsh, those two wide receivers. Andrew Marsh is a freshman. He only had four for 80. I think it was. But McCulley's a big receiver, six three, the body control he had to set. He came into the year, not a very high grade. We talked about him a lot on Saturday, so I don't need to go into deep depth. But McCulley's a legit, like, number one in college football.

And I think he's going to wind up being an NFL draft pick. So I'm seeing those, seeing things from those two, even though it's been a lot of run. And it's been a lot of Justice Haynes. And it's been Underwood and they're kind of bringing him along. Michigan's got some guys on the outside, okay? The tight end's good, too. The tight end is good, too. Yes.

And he made a really nice plays. Ohio State, we know about Jeremiah Smith. Carnell Tate, I just went back and watched that tape, and I get, I get, it was Minnesota and they're not, but Minnesota's not terrible on defense. No, no. His route running was good last year. He's more refined, man.

Heartline, Brian, and I know he's calling plays now, but he's still working with these receivers. And he's still, and it's like every year when you're at Ohio State, you graduate from 101 to 201 to, 3-01 and that's why guys stick around and Emeka, Buka goes in the league and he's dropping like a hundred and fucking 76 yards like he's unbelievable.

I know. I said he was a second rounder. I didn't say it was like a day three. That actually, that actually wasn't a cut until I saw you smile. I didn't realize what I was doing. I, but my point is, I apologize, I won't make the same mistake again. But Carnell Tate comes out this week and he had like one

of those days that you get used to seeing from these guys who were like number two, number three receiver, Jackson Smith and Jigba. Like, is he talented enough? Is he fast enough? Right. Look at what he just did for, look at what he's doing. Week in and week out for Seattle, one of the best receivers in the NFL.

Ameca of Bucca is having, like, he's on the track for a record-setting rookie year. These guys know, and Tate's next. And this past week, he had 183 against Minnesota, 252 in his first four games. And the reason is Ohio State's starting to open things up. And this, they picked the right opponent. They got out to a lead, and they're like, and our defense is like off the charts, outrageous. But let's get Carnell.

Let's let's let's let's let's let's let's let's let's let's let's show what he can do. And saying was pretty sensational, man. By the way, how about Brian Hartline? First year's a play caller. Yeah. No problem. I got this.

So far. Yeah, yeah. But we'll, we'll, but you know, he's been outstanding. But it, but this was an important game to get the, get the receivers going. Get Carnell Tate involved. most importantly to get the confidence going for Julian St. So that was, so you got McCulley and Marsh at Michigan. You got Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate at Ohio State.

I'm watching it's Illinois cat, right? Hank Beatty was my very first. Your guy, all-time Saturday. He was a monster game. But he got nicked up, and there was like this three-week, fast start. He had 13 for 236 in the first two games. First ever Saturday Spotlight player. Talked about him, like not highly projected.

He's going to be on the rise this year. Could wind up being a top 100 pick. then I say it, and it's like, you know, analyst jinx. Lingering issues, the next, just 66 receiving yards in the next two games. Started to turn the corner against USC, and he's back. So Illinois's got a dude, okay? And then you, like, so I'm watching all these big 10 guys. And that's just what I saw from Saturday as we're watching those games.

Don't forget about what Mackay Lemon did against Illinois. So I'm like, that doesn't even include Mackay Lemon, who's second nationally in receiving yards per game. Denzel Boston, who's going to be a round one pick in the NFL draft. DeCorean Moore, who's a true freshman sensation, Dante Moore's go-to guy for Oregon in that offense. And the overlooked star of all of them, Ian Strong at Rutgers, fifth nationally receiving yards.

I'm going to leave you with this. Dude, Indiana has playmakers on the outside. Indiana. Well, they didn't play this last week. So, not Cooper. So I'm saying there are freaking weapons in the Big Ten. I'll leave you with this. In all, the big.

10 has five of the top 17 in the FBS and receiving yards per game. That's equal to the SEC, ACC, and Big 12 combined. Wow. All right.

Wrap us up. Not our grandfather's Big Ten, man. Tape truth number 10. Yeah. No, I hear you. I love it. It's the way the game is evolving. And the Big Ten had to do that. You can't just, you know, as much as you want to go back to

those old days, Big Cat, you can't just pound the rock all day. Anyways, tape truth number 10. There's a lot to like about Malachi, Tony, the wide receiver from Miami. There's a lot to like about his traits. But the best part of his game is his feel for the game and his intelligence. And it jumped out to me. I'm going to go through a few players with you. Listen, some of the things, you know, after the catch, how explosive he is, you mentioned the touchdown that was called back against Florida State, how ridiculous he was after the catch. He had another 40-yard touchdown catching that game where he pulls away after the catch. He could take the top off. He's not really a big target, but he can take the top off like he did in the

flea flicker. There's a lot to like about Malikai Tony's game. But remember this guy's, and I know we're going to say this. You already know, you already said that we're going to say this all year. I'm going to say. Ryan Williams was 17 last year too. Yeah. And Tony, it's either 17 or 18. I couldn't get an exact game. But he just turned 18. He did just turn 18. Okay. That's what it was. So Tony reclassified should still be in high school, just turned 18. A couple of things that really jumped out to me. Okay. play 20 it's a minute and 34 left of the first quarter against Florida he's lined up it's third and seven he turns and points at the defense to back this is a freshman who's 18 years old turning to the the veteran quarterback and saying are you seeing what I'm seeing he runs a route right to the sticks catches it falls backward first down okay herbie port herbie pointed this one out on the broadcast but it's play three it's 851 first quarter third and five this past week against Florida State. He runs a crosser. Again, a third, yeah, third and five, runs a crosser.

If it's a man coverage, he's got to continue across the formation and run away from the defender. If it's zone, he's got to sit. He sees zone sits right at the sticks. We pick up another third down. He knows exactly where he is on the field. Another one that really kind of jumped out to me, and it's a little thing. Opening night against Notre Dame, he catches a ball down field. Okay, it's a 28-yard touchdown catch it ends up being. He is running along the goal and Beck gets flushed to his left and can't get everything he needs to do on it. A lot of receivers will wait on that ball.

Not Tony. He drifts back to the ball, cuts down the angle, makes it impossible for defenders to jump him, catches it and works himself in the end of him. Look, I love what he's doing for them in terms of visibility. Oh, and this after the game, Cristobal, I wanted some of the things that Mario Cristobal said about him.

I don't like handing out praise, especially for young guys like that. But, man, if everybody deal what Malachi does, their performance levels will go through the roof. He's an early, early, early guy. He is. He'll try to correct it before he even gets to the sideline. So you're talking about a kid who's naturally gifted again.

It doesn't have great size. That's the one fallback for him. But all these natural tools, contact balance after the catch two, by the way, for his size is great. But all these natural tools, and the thing that jumps out to me is he just understands the game, man, at that age,

knows how to get open, knows how to make plays. It really, because when we were texting back before, what we're going to do today you're like do something on malichitone i was like what else are going to say about malichitone and i'm watching the table i'm like damn this kid's smart he just gets it and i'm not sure people enough people are talking about it i love it and i think it's so cute that like christabal and the staff we're like we're going to ease him in we're not sure what we're going to get out of them is and then the first game bright lights right or dame and he's just to the guy the guy

let me give you a little quick bonus one there are a couple pass rushers in the state of texas that i everyone to keep their eyes on as we as we now hit coming up on the midpoint in the um college football sees david bailey who we talked about a lot i know he's not great versus the run and he's got improvement in his game and all that david bayley now leads the fbs with 31 pressures this year the texas tech edge rusher transfer from stanford part of that like 22 red mattador club bringing in money 50 something million spent whatever it was bailey yeah he's a prize possession and he's paying it off uh yeah he's better get some love yeah he's Yeah, there it is.

Cacheus Howell, Cache's Howl, seven sacks this guy's a terror. I'm excited to watch his tape. Three on Saturday, man. I've seen, like, I've seen things where I'm like, whew. So that's interesting. This was awesome. Ten tape trues. Great week.

It's always the weeks you don't expect that, like, have so much going on. Great week this week. Thursday. We've got a big show coming up on Thursday. Chris Fowler, good friend, long time teammate at ESPN. Very good team. teammate. Not a whole. But no, Chris Fowler's going to join us on Thursday. And, and he's just, he's a wealth of knowledge. And I'm excited to actually just talk to him,

pick his brain on what he's seen so far. We've just got coming up on Saturday. And also, we'll, we'll get you ready with the preview for the, for the weekend as we always do. Saturday night, Saturday night. We're going to, what are the primetime games? Let me look. Let's look right now. Oh my gosh. Michigan, USC, Georgia, Auburn, South Carolina, LSU. So we'll be breaking into those late games, but the live show has become the whole deal. It's the best part of our week. It's another big week, man.

It's so good that some of our good friends are stealing the concept and trying to do it at the Worldwide League. All right. I didn't see that. METCH, big five stars for you today. Let's go. You too, brother. Must be 21 plus and present in select states for Kansas in affiliation with Kansas Star Casino or 18 plus and present in D.C., Kentucky or Wyoming. Gambling problem?

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