[upbeat music] Well, Jeremy, it is a big week this week for the Oklahoma Sooners, and i- it's basically a playoff week. It is...
It's not do or die, because I, I think the Sooners theoretically could get in with three losses. But after watching LSU Alabama this past weekend and seeing the result of Texas A&M Missouri, I, I am growing more and more confident that an Alabama victory, or at least showing up and looking pretty decent against the Crimson Tide, could be the ticket to the Sooners getting to the College Football Playoff.
What are you thinking about that game, OU versus Alabama, Saturday at 2:30? Well, I, I'm afraid that I think it is a, a must-win for OU if they wanna keep that hope alive. Uh, a three-loss team, um, if you're on the downhill snide, I think that that is a recipe for disaster. You know, they do look at the more recent play, unfortunately, as opposed to the...
You know, you got the whole season package, but the most recent play. So if they lose this one, if th- I mean, th- they would be teetering, teetering on that borderline. It's gonna be a tough game, but, but, uh, in Alabama, a must-win, your backs are against the wall if you wanna make that, uh, that playoff. Um, what are their chances of making the SEC championship game?
Is there still a path to that? I, I have heard no conversation about that. I would have to presume it is zero. Well, I, and the reason why I ask is you could backdoor your way into the playoffs- Mm-hmm... if you can get to that game and, and, and s- you know, win it and sneak in.
And I think probably because the 12-team playoff now, that's why no one's really talking about it, because conference championships are nice, but in football in particular, you know, everybody wants that, that national title. Winning the SEC, winning the Big 12, those type of things are great, but everybody wants that, that national title.
And so winning the conference is now no longer as important as what it used to be, and so that's why I think that OU, if, if OU wins, I could see them getting in. If OU loses, then I'm telling you, it's gonna come down to those last couple of games and they're gonna have to win big. They're gonna have to put on a show to try and maintain that ranking, because you got teams, uh, you know, you got your teams sliding through.
Indiana survived a tough match up, couple things like that, and there could be some other teams start to sneak in. There could be a Big 12 team sneak in, you know, depending on what happens with BYU. Mm. So. Well, and Notre Dame, greatest team ever? Greatest team ever, Notre Dame, absolutely. I, I mean- Possibly gotten that one. Oh, uh, right, right, right. I think possibly the greatest team ever. Don't need- But the n-...
Knute Rockne. Right, right. We're, I mean, we'll have to run the numbers. Uh, so I'm looking at the SEC standings right now. You got Texas A&M and Alabama atop at 6 and 0. I, you know, don't get me to lying, I don't know how the East and West is divided, whatever. Um, but you got 6 and M- 6 and 0 Texas A&M, 6 and 0 Alabama, 6 and 1 Georgia, 5 and 1 Mississippi, 4 and 1 Texas, 4 and 2 Vandy, 3 and 2 Oklahoma.
Yeah, it's only a couple, couple of losses difference, but there's so many teams in between. I mean, I just, if I'm the Sooners, the thought of an SEC title game, so many things would have to happen for that. So the, the best path for Oklahoma is just win out. Well, right, and, and considering who the losses are to, uh, Mississippi and Texas- Mm...
uh, that, that definitely throws a, a, a much harder path to get to that SEC championship game. But you're right, if you win out, if, if OU wins out, they have an absolute legitimate shot to be in that top 12. Um, and if they can beat Alabama and those remaining teams, I think they should be. Uh, but you're right. You know, win, win and you're in. Basically, win and you're in.
You know, if they win out, they will be one of the hotter teams in the country at that point. Yeah. Oh, absolutely. And y- you mentioned needing to put on a show if they lost to Alabama, needing to put on a show against Missouri and then LSU. For the Sooners, them putting on a show, that's gonna be on defense, and I think it's one of the...
You know, whether or not Oklahoma's the best defensive team in the country, what we saw from R. Mason Thomas holding that guy off with his arm and running that fumble back for a touchdown was pr- What a play... what a play. They need R. Mason Thomas. I saw a report where he was asked about his availability for this weekend and he said, "We'll see." That doesn't encourage me a ton, but I think it's vital for R.
Mason Thomas to be playing in Tuscaloosa Saturday. Well, you have to understand, though, his coaches might have said, "Don't say anything." Mm. Uh, it could be we, you know, this is part of that game, you know, that, that, uh, gamesmanship I guess would be a better way to say it, where, uh, we have a legitimate injury, but we don't have to tell you the, all of the details on that.
And we could, this is questionable, and it's, everybody's questionable almost at this point. A- anyway, really. [laughs] I'm, I'm questionable- So... day, day-to-day. [laughs] Oh, 100% day-to-day. Uh, but I, I mean, so he might have been told, you know, "Don't give away the, give away the goose what's going on here." And so, and that doesn't necessarily mean that he's 100% in or 100% out.
I, you know, we don't know. But what I'm saying is you can't necessarily get a vibe from that because, as we know, coaches play games. They have their student athletes play games along those lines, and the least amount of information you can give your opponent, the better. We have watched sports together since I've known you, since 15, 16 years old, 40 years. Yeah. How much can you read into a 20 to 9 win-How much does that translate to this week?
Because when I see Alabama only scoring 20 points, I'm like, "They scored 20 points on LSU. How are they gonna score 10 on Oklahoma?" Well, un- unfortunately, I don't think, at, at this day and time, I don't think there is translation across. I think there are match-ups, and some match-ups are better than other match-ups, right? Sometimes I've...
You know, in basketball, for example, you know, team A can beat team B every time because of the style. Team B can beat team C every time, but team C always beats team A, and it's just those match-ups, those styles. And so that's what OU has to com- contend with this week is do they have the same style of defense that LSU had to hold them to 20, or can they improve upon that and get it lower than that?
And so I'm not sure you can translate anything from last week to this week. Now, when it come to injuries a- and, and trends maybe, but n- you know, one game encapsu- encapsulation, I don't, I don't think you can. I think you kind of have to look at the, the overall season. And, and again, with OU's defense, with some of the players possibly being out or not, that's gonna play a huge factor on, on...
If the, if he comes back, OU defense is, is significantly improved just by one player. A- and you know that with R. Mason Thomas back, Venables will be more likely to, uh, call blitzes and allow R. Mason Thomas to do his own thing. Uh, because R. Mason Thomas, if you've watched a lot of the Sooners games, likes to line up to the outside when he's coming after you. He's almost always offside.
He's, like, teetering because he wants that, just that edge, but when he comes up there, if you're a quarter- if you're Ty Simpson, y- y- Alabama quarterback, you have to be thinking, "Holy crap, I don't wanna be seeing that for four quarters on Saturday." It's... So it'd be huge to have him back. Well, uh, uh, for OU, absolutely, and if, clearly if you're Alabama, you don't want that 'cause he is just an absolute disrupter.
I mean, i- in the passing game in particular but just an absolute disrupter on that defensive line. Coming off the edge like that, absolutely, that's how he got that incredible play. You know, uh, making that happen, a one-man band on that deal. Um, so if, if you're 'Bama though, you coach around that. You coach like he's going to be there. You prepare like he's going to be there because if it's t- the second team guy, well, you're prepared for the first team guy, so you're better off.
And if the first team guy is there, then clearly you, you've prepared for the best. And so, you know, that's where you're talking about draw plays, little screen plays, uh, maybe some bubble screens to kind of relieve some of that pressure, some, you know, run right at him, uh, sometimes.
You know, the coaches, Alabama coaches know what they're doing [laughs]. They don't need, they don't need my advice, but, but at least- But it makes, it makes... We, we played video games. It, it makes a lot of sense. I mean, that stuff does relieve- We played the coaches in flag football in- [laughs] Well, oh... your junior year of high school. Did we ever. Uh, I, I remember one... You made a preacher cuss once. I did. Yeah.
God bless America. [laughs] Good... Yeah, good times. Good times. So we're not making, we're, we're not making our official picks on this show, but, uh, you know, it's... Alabama's a six-and-a-half point favorite. We'll think about it. I, I do think OU's going to be in this game. Whether they win, we'll get to that in another video. So for right now, let's just wrap a bow on OU versus Alabama. Okay. [upbeat music]