Welcome to the solid verbal.
I'll that for me. I'm a man, I'm forty. I've heard so many players say, well, I want to be happy, you want to be happy for Dake Edith.
State is that woom woom and Dan and Tie welcome back to the solid verbal, Boys and girls, My name is ty Hilden Brandon, joining me as always over there in fatherly New York City. My man Dan Rubinstein, Sir, how are you? Was just lowering the register usually I take it up.
Yeah, going low. I like that Big twelve after dark.
That's right, that's right. Today we're doing what Big twelve twenty eighteen autopsy rulings? Correct?
Yeah, so listen. Full disclosure is I just got off the horn with I was about to say Jake Tapper, which would would have.
Been even better, have been a different kind of show.
He his insights into the Texas Tech defensive improvements just remarkable. He knew nothing, he knew nothing at all times why it was remarkable, But I kept pressing it.
No.
With Jake Trotter from ESPN, we've had him on before. He's obviously terrific. Has been covering college football for a while for ESPN, as was at the Austin American Statesman, so deep within Big twelve country in I believe the Oklahoma City area. So went through all of the teams with my normal way of doing things of making him select number between one and ten, and that's how he got into things for the most part. But a lot
of quality insights. But before we get to that tie, Yeah, when you look at the Big twelve as it relates to how last season ended, and I would say a relatively fun way. We had the West Virginia Oklahoma blood bath going back and forth. We had Texas surprising Georgia in I believe the Sugar Bowl, and Oklahoma looking like garbage early against Alabama but then coming on somewhat impressively for the duration. As you look at twenty eighteen now going into now in the off season, going into the
twenty nineteen season, what are your general impressions? Where is your brain with the Big twelve?
Well, I think I am drawn first and foremost to the situation at Oklahoma with Jalen Hurts, Yeah, seemingly taking over for Kyler Murray. I'm interested in the Kyler Murray draft angle. I know that doesn't pertain to next season, but that's something of interest to me. I want to reflex on Oklahoma and their future for sure.
Oh my god.
Yeah, I'm very curious to see what the next chapter of Lincoln Riley looks like because first chapter we knew Baker Mayfield was a stud quarterback, and I think we at least some members of the broadcasting duo here had their suspicions that he might be working with another stud in Kyler Murray. Jalen Hurts is really good. I don't think he's as good, nearly as good as either of those two guys, So how Lincoln Riley manages that situation is interesting to me. Texas, I've been waiting for tech
Is to be officially back. It's starting to feel like a fool's errand to sit here waiting for it. But I think Texas, certainly, this class that Tom Herman brought in was pretty good, and yeah, with Murley Klaim, i think Texas will be back quote unquote back before long, and I'm curious to see if they can serve as that counterbalance to Oklahoma. Otherwise, though, looking around the conference, we've got a new coach at West Virginia, which you know,
your boy, Neil Brown, coming up from Troy. My guy, Iowa State always plucky, yep, I would say, we talked about this before. I think you are I think pluckiness sells Iowa State shorts. Oh, for sure, they are full on good. I would agree with OJ. Yeah. The Baylor situation is interesting to me because I feel like they took a step forward. It could have been more of a step forward. They still shot themselves in the foot
too much. Matt will clearly a guy in demand, So if he puts in another season where there is improvement on the field, I'm curious to see how long he stays in Waco. And then looking around the rest of the conference. What we got a new coach at k State, We got a new coach at Texas Tech, we got a new coach at Kansas. The only other two schools are TCU and Oklahoma State, and both of them have to improve this season. I think they have to improve
this coming season. I love when it works out. By the way, because you mentioned new coaches.
I love when it works out that we get like a third of a conference having new coaches. It's like actually a high profile place like the NFL. This year it is we had it with the SEC last year with Florida and Tennessee and Mississippi State old myths, although that was a little bit diceier, not as direct a situation. I do like when we and Jimbo obviously at Texas, A and M. I like when we have mass turnover, even though I don't love coaches losing their jobs love.
I love a good refresh, tie, reboot, reboot. Yeah.
So I look, we're headed to a spot in the Big twelve where I feel like, again it's probably Oklahoma at the top, just given their depth of talent. But outside of Texas, I think probably being a clear second, it's wide open. It's wide open the rest of the way, and generally speaking, that makes for really tricky predictions.
Yeah, I predict we'll be very wrong. That is my prediction about our predictions. No, I think you nailed a lot of it. I think it's the Texas Oklahoma at the top, but I don't think anything is as entrenched on that top tier as perhaps it has been with Oklahoma these past couple of years. And certainly Jalen Hurts has played in huge games, has succeeded in a lot of big games, and has a dynamic adds a dynamic to his to at least what Oklahoma does on offense.
That certainly he's bigger than Kyler Murray. He is a better runner than either Kyler Murray in terms of his size and what he's able to do in the open field than Baker Mayfield or Kyler Murray. So what does a predominantly round based Oklahoma team look like. I think it's fascinating. Texas replaces a lot upfront on both sides of the ball. I almost I won't say I forgot, because that's not true, but I didn't fully remember how good and fun Brock Purty with Hakeem Butler and David
Montgomery were. I think they went six. Sad they went six?
And can I be honest, can I fess something here? As you asked me? And this was not planned. The show's never played. But no, never ever, as we were talking, as I was talking through all the teams in the Big twelve, I could not remember the name of the quarterback for Iowa State, And I know that's tremendous early season disrespect.
Oh my god.
All I kept thinking of was zeb Noland, and I knew that couldn't be right.
But Prety like a brock Star is already.
No, it's the off season from college football. You're building a patio, you have to print on the bran, and all sorts of stuff going on here at Suliverbowl. We have Valley headquarters. And yeah, it does a bit of a disservice to Iowa State to call them plucky. And particularly Brock Purty, who did Purty like a brock Star all year. Was really good. Gave new life to that offense and I'm excited to see his development because he was just a freshman.
And this is all to say, we've gone seven plus minutes without mentioning and putting respect on the Cheese It Bowl champions.
The TCU horn Frogs.
That's your TCU horn Frogs, Your TCU horn frog always in forever, always in forever. So I do think it's a fascinating conference. The conversation went quite well. We obviously talked about food, We talked a little McConaughey, and a lot of Big twelve football. I don't know if there's anything else you want to add before we get to it, but if there is, this is when you should do so tough.
You meant you mentioned McConaughey, and I want to come back to McConaughey, ok, but not until later on in this show.
Okay, fine, I'm with it.
So on that note, as Dan eluded Jake Trotter ESPN talking all things Big twelve, the twenty eighteen Big Twelve Conference autopsy rulings of the school.
With that, we, or rather I am joined by Jake Trotter of ESPN, a man who lives in Big twelve country, who knows Big twelve country, and who is going to be able to answer the following question better than most will be able to. And that question is have you yet filed a Foyer request for the official agenda and responsibilities of Matthew McConaughey as Texas's Minister of Culture.
I thought this was gonna be a food question. I was not ready for that.
No food, Okay, all right.
I have not filed a an open record z act for the details and responsibilities of the Minister of Culture, mister McConaughey, but I would be interested to see, you know what this.
Job evolves into it or in football season, because it has been fascinating during basketball. I envisioned him being like in the press box on the headset come September when the long one stake the field in.
The so a press box rather than field level.
Yeah, I kind of see him more as like an x's and o's guys in football, Like he's more motivation in basketball. I think it's going to translate to, you know, play calling responsibilities by the time we get the football season.
See, in my mind, I had the over under about three and a half of games it will take for Matthew McConaughey to run out onto the field to separate a fight, to celebrate with the player after a big sack, Like I think, especially with Texas's history with what was it, mac Brown's son in law interfering with the play, I think everything's on the table for Matthew McConaughey receiving a penalty during the twenty nineteen season.
You see this more like a strength like a pseudo strength coach. Yes, in other words, Okay, yeah, that makes sense. I can see that.
Yeah, it's sort of a strength of mind coach.
As McConaughey played a coach in a movie.
By the way, Marshall, I feel like.
I need to get his IMBD MDB thing up. But yeah, he was in we are Marshall, that is correct, Yes, you are right. So, yeah, he.
Has the cred, he has the coaching cred. He may receive a penalty.
He's basically qualified.
All right, it's going off in Vegas at plus three point fifty. Matthew McConaughey received some sort of conduct penalty during the twenty nineteen season. And with that, now let's start with Texas. Why not, because they are going to be the team that is probably going to receive the most attention in the way of will they won't they? And this is a Texas team that won actually in different ways. In twenty seventeen it was defense. Twenty eighteen
it was an offensive step forward. They lose a bunch upfront on both sides of the ball, and it's really it's biggest weapons downfield on offense. So given what they return, does a good twenty nineteen Texas team look closer to the best of twenty seventeen or the best of twenty eighteen?
Oh boy, twenty So I think that Texas has got to be at least as good as they were last year in order for twenty nineteen to be considered anything remotely near a success and probably better than they were in twenty eighteen. I don't know if they answered your question or not. I'm trying to think that Texas twenty seventeen.
I guess will they be led by offense or defense this year? If they are successful?
Yeah, I mean I think that when you look at the history the Big Twelve, the teams that win Big tild titles have what they have elite quarterbacks. So unless you have like Tyler Murray, nless, you have Baker Mayfield, unless you have Ben Young, Colt McCoy, these are the quarterbacks that win Big twel titles. And if you don't have a guy like that, there are a couple of outliers, but for the most part, you have very little chance to win the Big tall and history suggests that you're
gonna have a very hard time competing that. When you look at Texas over the last decade, that's been the obvious hole that they have had. They have not had an elite quarterback behind center. They have that it looks like now in Sam Ellinger, and he you know, he had some moments as a true freshman. We remember the
USC game. You know, he scared Oklahoma to death before he left with a head injury, and last year he really took a big step forward and I thought was quietly one of the ten to fifteen best quarterbacks in the country. And I think he's one of the ten bests going into the season this year. So they're going to be I think, you know, you have to be good defensively at times, but you have to be elite
at quarterback all the time in the Big Twelve. So I think for Texas to be a Big Twelve championship team, it's probably no matter what they do defensibly is going to hinge on what Sam Aligher can do at quarterback.
Fair give me a number between two and ten. That way, I will not determine which team we talk about. Texas was the easy transition after the minister of a Minister of culture talk. Give me a number between two and ten, and I have a team associated at random with those numbers.
So just any number.
I'll go with seven, any number between two and ten. Seven, all right? Number seven? Is Kansas State one of the lower profile stories in the Big twelve, I would say, even considering the coaching transition going from Bill Snyder to Chris Cleman. So I mean the question is easy. How has the transition been in a situation that could have been pretty clunky, especially after a disappointing season that really saw Kansas State come within yards of ball eligibility and not get it.
Yeah, I mean I think it's gone. Okay. It was never going to be great just because Bill Snyder. I mean, all Kansas State football is is Bill Snyder. That's all that we've known, at least when Kansas State has been decent to good to great. So I think that the higher they made made a lot of sense given the obstacles that Kansas State spaces, given some of the strengths that they have. There is a lot of similarities between Manhattan and and and Fargo and the type of players
you have to recruit and development and develop. And you know, Chris Climan did a tremendous job, you know, developing those players at North Dakota State. I mean, the they, I mean, they they are beyond what Alabama is at the FBS level, what they've done in the s f C S and I think they had their best team yet this past
season up there. You know, they retained a couple of assistants from uh the Snyder era, including you know, former Heisman contender Colin Klein at quarterback, who's gonna stay on the offensive side of the ball. That will help son Schnyder. Bill Sun He's not going to be in a coaching role like he was under Bilbo. He'll be in the administration.
So there's a little bit of a bridge there between the Snyder and climate eras I think for for Kansas State, though, you know, they they have got to do a little bit better job in uh recruiting and developing talent that that maybe did at the end of the the Snyder era. You know, Kansas State is always going to you know, they're going to get those walk ons. They're going to get the guys in Salina, Kansas that nobody knew about.
They're going to get the guys that maybe were big time wrestlers and uh, you know that translated to football or you know, the guys that might be a step slow or a little bit short, but can really play the game of football. But you know, they always had like you know, Tyler Lockett or or Darren Sproulls and and it didn't feel like they had a lot of that here these last two or three years. And but you know, both those guys were overlooked for a variety
of different reasons. And I'm not saying they've got to go out and sign the five star guys to get you know, underclimbing, but they've got to find some firepower that they have just not had offensively. I mean, you can run clock and you can you know, ball control,
but you still have to make plays. And they just had a hard time keeping up with people these last couple of years, which is why they took a little bit of a step back from you know, twenty fourteen when they had a chance to win the Big Twelve and you know, we're a nine win team during the regular season.
Is he the answer or is it somebody else? If you were asked the question of the new Big twelve coaches, so that's Les Miles, Chris Climban, Neil Brown half the league? Yeah? Is he the answer of who is going to build the most impressive program? You know twenty nineteen on and Matt Wells in Texas Tech.
Yeah, boy, that's tough. I mean I thought that there were a lot of good hires in the Big Twelve this year. You mentioned you mentioned that Wells who had a lot of success at Utah State had ties to the area. I mean you talked to people speaking of Kansas State. I mean their other finalists was Neil Brown, and I think going into the process, they felt like
Climban was going to be their guy. You know, Jean Taylor hired climb In when he was at North Dakota State the ad Kansas State now, but Neil Brown was so impressive during the interview process that they really were torn between the two before ultimately going with the guy that they felt like was going to be their guy all along. And so you know, West Virginia getting Neil Brown, I think has a chance to be a home run higher as well from everything that I've heard about him
and his capacity as a football coach. I thought there were a lot of solid hires in the Big Twelve this year, and I thought that for the most part, everybody made about the best possible hire that they could make. You know, the one question mark I think is less Miles at Kansas just because you know, Kansas has such a long way to go, and can less who's been out of coaching, you know, he's been out of the Big Twelve for a long time. That the league is
completely different than when he was at Oklahoma State. You know, can he you know, turned them around. I think that On the one hand, like I've been the Lawrence which is, you know, beautiful campus, but not a great football stadium facility area, And I'd been there when you could count the number of people in the stands before the game. I remember I was at the Kansas TCU game twenty fourteen.
Trayvon Boykin was a quarterback there at TCU almost made the playoff, and I could count there were like three hundred and like seventeen people in the stands at kickoff. Now it was cold, to be sure, but like I there were so few people I literally counted them. I'm not lying because I was like, I think I can count the number of people in the stands and there were probably more people on the field than there were
in the stadium at kickoff. At least less is going to bring some excitement, some you know, some some buzz that they so desperately need because they've got to get people interested in football game before they do anything else. But once the game start, you know, is he going to be able to you know, make them competitive? Maybe
he will be able to. But I also felt like Kansas maybe had an opportunity to do something you know, against the grain, like I don't know, going and you know, hiring somebody like Jeff Mounkin to run the option or just something different that maybe would speed up the competitive gap that they face because you know, to David Baty's credit, you know, the former coach there at they David strides between uh when he first started and when he was fired.
You know, they were much more competitive and they were better, but they are still so far away just from being the next to last team in the Big twelve.
Is it a talent thing? Is it a just general infrastructure? Obviously you mentioned people not being super interested in Lawrence and football, But what is what is the actual vision, whether it's it's Less Miles or somebody else, what is the vision for making Kansas and Lawrence a destination for competitive football?
Well, facilities is at the top of the list. You know they were, they were, you know, marketing on a capital project up there before they made the switch at eighty to Jeff Long. But you know that's still you know, that's still a priority to pour a lot of money, you know, two hundred and fifty to three hundred million dollars into the football facility, the stadium up there, which I mean it's not even it's not even a glorified
high school stadium. It's basically worse than some high school high school stadiums you'll find in say the state of Texas. So you know, that's up that's up there. They've got to get more bodies. I mean when Charlie Wiss because of the Charlie Weis era there. You know, when Bety took over, they had like fifty two scholarship players. Everybody else is eighty five. Now they gave a bunch of walk on scholarships, so it made it seem like they
had eighty five. But at the end of the day, you know, they still only have I would say, between you know, sixty five and seventy five you know FBS level, you know, scholar caliber players. So that really has hurt their depth. You know, they lose one guy somewhere and the you know, the position group just completely falls apart.
And it's talent. I mean, like you know, they've had some pretty good individual players, you know, particularly on the defensive side of the ball, but you need more than two or three guys in order to compete in the Big twelve, and they just they just haven't had enough, you know, above average players on their teams to to be competitive even with the lower run Big twelve programs.
All right, give me a number ten nine, six, five, four three two four, go four, all right, four We're going to ames Iowa State proof that, right, A pretty down program with a good hire and some investment can turn things around. I think brock Perty went six and one this past year as a starter, and with that, the Clones have had specific breakthrough talent on both sides of the ball. Keem Butler, Joel Landing a couple of years ago, David Montgomery, Who've I mean, these guys have come and
gone these past couple of years. But do you expect Iowa State to go I guess from recruiting. Do do they go from having two, three, four of those types of guys to four, five, six, seven, eight nine of those guys?
I think so, and I would stay quietly. You know, they lose a couple of their headliners, you know, you mentioned Montgomery and Butler, you know, to be sure, but they bring back the bulk of what was the best defense in the Big twelve last year. You know, a bunch of guys that are you know, all Big twelve caliber. Brock Purty, you know, was arguably the freshman of the
year in the Big twelve this past season. I mean, i Was State only lost one game before the ball with him in quarterback, which was the game in Austin. They you know, and I don't know if you saw the Washington State ball game, but I mean they had every opportunity to win. That was a terrific game, and you know, Iowa State showed that, you know, a lot of people felt like until the end, at least Washington State was the class of the Pac twelve, and you know,
they showed they belonged in that game. So I'm very bullish on h you know, Iowa State, especially with Purty and in his development. He was talking about Texas earlier and there the quarterback issues that the problem i the state has had basically since Cineca Wallace, uh you know, years ago, is that it looks like they've got their quarterback in the future and then for whatever reason, it
doesn't carry over. And Joe Lanning was that guy. Then you know, he gets moved to linebacker because of you know, somebody else, and you know, they've had a lot of moment Yeah, they've got a lot of moments with quarterback u you know pile Kip. Yeah, uh, he has the injury.
So now it's rock Party. I think that with Campbell and and that offensive infrastructure that they have, I feel pretty good about Party chances to become a really good player, not only in the Big Twelve but college football in general.
But that is something that they have to That's a question they have to answer that that's really held them back from you know, being an occasional Boll team to like a consistent, you know, eight nine win team, you know every other year that they are kind of knocking on the door of becoming under Matt Campbell.
Are they a beneficiary and this is to their credit for taking advantage? Are they the beneficiary of a lot of inconsistency and unrest in the sort of middle class of the Big twelve with you know, Texas Tech and TCU and Baylor and Kansas State all inexplicably having pretty disappointing last couple of years.
Yeah, although you know, they beat it's not like they have just beaten up on the middle tier teams. Su I was at the game a couple of years ago, when it's one of the most like unforeseen upsets. I think I've ever been at where you know, I was to goes to Norman with their four string quarterback and they beat Baker Mayfield at Oklahoma in Norman, you know, a team that would go to the playoffs and and you know, have an overtime away from playing for the
national championship. So they they've won a lot of those games, you know, against the you know the the the you know the the Oklahoma State, the TCUs kind of the you know, the middle you know, the middle tier of the Big twelve. But they've shown that they can beat the big boys too. You know, they beat TCU uh two years ago too. Maybe the two teams that played for Big Feld championship. They gave Oklahoma all it wanted
basically again last year. So I think that you know, Oklahoma State has maybe taking you know a little bit of a step back. T see a little bit of a step back in the past year. But I'm not so sure that I was States not where they are anyway, just because of how good they've been, and that goes across the board, regardless of the opponent that they have played, and.
You are saying that there is a not zero chance that we are talking about twenty twenty All American linebacker Brock Purty.
Yeah, I know he's He's gonna be the starting side end in the year. I will say I will say this. I think after Oklahoma in Texas, I think Iowa stated is the clear number three team in the Big twelve going into twenty nineteen.
I like it. I like it. I'm with you. Give me a number ten, nine, six, five, three two cow two. We're talking Texas Tech. You mentioned Matt Wells and people being bullish in Lubbock, so both with who is coming back, and I know that I think they lose their best two receivers and the freshman now enrolling. How full was the cupboard left by Cliff Kingsbury and Lubberck and Lubbock excuse me?
Yeah, I mean maybe more than people think. If if Alan Bowman doesn't now suffer a collapse long in that West Virginia game and then have the reoccurrence of it, uh, I think it was late in the second quarter a few weeks later against Oklahoma. Cliff Seinsbury is probably still
a coach at Texas Tech. Yeah, you know, you you think there's a couple of games that they win, you know, because they were actually improved last year, particularly on the defensive side, but really across the board, and Bowman going down just really killed them because they they they just weren't consistent enough at quarterback after him and just another guy, you know, people focusing on you know, Patrick Mahomes and then obviously you know Cliff's brief relationship with Baker Mayfield.
You know, Alan Bowman was uh, you know, you have Trevor Lawrence, you have Adrian Martinez, but like after those guys, yeah, you know, Alan Bowman was right there with anybody, including brock Party.
Yeah.
He you know, he was putting up some monster numbers and they just kind of fell apart when when he got hurt. He's been cleared. You know, he's given me their starter going into the spring again. And I think he is a you know, legit good another legit good quarterback for Texas Tech. I think they've got you know, this is always the time of the year. I have a hard time courting, Like you know, he's a like number of resturning starters and all that. I feel like my
brain just goes dead. In the month of February. But I don't want to say they have like eight starters back, seven starters back. Defensively off a defense that wasn't great, but certainly not the lacking stock to college football that it was three or four years ago. Their offensive line has got I believe three, four or five starters back, so they have a chance to actually be, you know,
pretty good. I don't think they're a big told title contender, but I think they're a bowl team, and especially if Alan Bowman is healthy and plays in you know, eleven twelve games.
What was it that separated Matt Wells from the other candidates, the other reported candidates for the Texas Tech job.
Well, I think that success at Utah State. You and you think of Utah State. I mean, I think Lubbo's remote. Yes, they won, you know, they won ten games a couple of times. And he's actually from Shallasaw, Oklahoma, which is firmly in the Big twelve footprint at East Oklahoma, so he ties to the area. I think him bringing all his coordinators with him was the selling point in Keith Patterson,
you know, ties to the area as well. And then David Yost, who was the the opoice coordinator at Missouri when they were I believe, still in the Big twelve. So I think all that combined and then you know, you know, sort of changing things up a little bit from the air raid, which is something you Kirby Hope cut the ad they clearly wanted to do. I think
all of that made him the guy. Really from the beginning for uh, you know, Kirby and and you were talking about some of these Big twelve programs and all the coaching changes. Pretty much everybody got their guy. Now we'll see, you know, whether any of them or all of them pan out. West Virginia got their number one guy, Kansas State Climban. We talked about him, Matt Wells. Uh that that was that was who they wanted, you know, clearly from the very beginning. And then you know, obviously
with with less in Jeff Long. So everybody the bigto got the coach that they wanted to go get. And and so I think that that that's a positive sign for the league.
Let's stick with new coaches and just talk about West Virginia. So I'm eliminating number ten on my list. But Neil Brown, you've brought up a couple of times as being impressive, as being the guy for West Virginia. What is it about Neil Brown that offers West Virginia that something that's a wrinkle different from Dana Holgerson, who accomplished a lot, relatively speaking in Morgantown with his offenses with defensive improvement.
What is that wrinkle? What is that that addition of Neil that Neil Brown offers that perhaps is a step in not necessarily a better or worse, but a different direction than Dana Holgerson.
You know, I I that that's probably a question I'll be better prepared to answer, you know, after springball or even in August, because I don't know. Uh, you know Neil personally, you know him having been at Troy, but again, you know, you talk to people. We talk to people in Kansas State, people at West Virginia, people at Troy, people coach with him, and they all rave about his organization,
you know, his attention to detail. And I think that for whatever reason, there's just been a lot of tension there between the West Virginia administration and Dana Hogerson. It felt like they weren't completely all in with him being their coach, and he wasn't all in completely at times with being in Morgantown, and there was just this friction that kept kind of resurfacing, you know, every so often. Uh, and it finally came the head when you know West
Virginia with Will Gear David Sills. I mean, you know, for them to not get to the big old title game, I think was a disappointment. You know, they they they had the best quarterback on paper going into the year, and and they had the best, you know, one of the best offices in the country going into the year. And uh, despite having some big wins, you know, them not getting to Arlington, I think has to be considered
a disappointment. And then you know, uh, you know, Holgerson in his side, they wanted an extension and and they want a bigger buyout, and you know West Virginia and Shane Lyons the ad, you know, they wanted to stick to their guns and not you know, attached more dollars to the buyout of the Contry Act. And that's kind of you know, what prompted Dana to leave to go
to Houston. So I think just it was kind of time, I think for both sides to maybe go their separate directions, and you know, I think that is given the program a little bit of rejuvenation that I think that the fans, the administration, the program, you know, probably will all benefit from.
I'll ask you another question about West Virginia that you will probably answer similarly in the like this is what I'm hearing, but I don't know for sure how well regarded as Austin Kendall, now that he has made his transfer and has been allowed to transfer from Oklahoma to West Virginia, Obviously West Virginia sees something in him, obviously Oklahoma saw something in him. How well regarded is the I guess presumptive Mountaineer starter at quarterback.
Well, you know, he's a former ESPN three hundred recruit and he probably is Oklahoma starting quarterback at some point if they don't, you know, take in acted back transfer Heisman Trophy winners, and oh, by the way, maybe a guy who will be in contention to become the third in Jalen Hurts, who was the top free agent quarterback this past year. So he just kept getting over recruited, uh and finally wanted to go get his you know,
opportunity somewhere else. He you know, I think that one thing that that that is going to benefit him and benefit wets Virginia is you just look at the track record of quarterback development at Oklahoma and it's pretty pretty impressive.
And even though Austin didn't play a lot at OU, I just think being being in a room with Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray, you know, guys that are going to be first round you know, Baker already was, and Tyler presumably is gonna be first round pick as well, you know, being when those guys can't hurt, and being with a guy Lincoln Riley, who you know NFL teams were desperate to hire as a quarterback, grew this past offseason,
you know, can't hurt. So I think all of that's gonna benefit you know, Austin kindall his chances of winning the starting job. But you know, I've been on West Virginia Radio and West Virginia a couple of times and they asked me what kind of quarterback he is. It's hard for me to say because he just has not played very much. We have not seen him play very much, so it's a little bit of a question, you know,
how good he can be. The opportunity is definitely there at West Virginia and Jack Allison, you know, former transfer for Miami, probably would have been the projected starter had Kendall not transferred in. You know, West Virginia obviously got drilled in the Bowl game when Will Greer didn't play to focus on the NFL. So I think the opportunity is there, but how effective he's going to be remains to be seen. Now, he does have a connection to Neil Brown, which is sort of what facilitated you know,
him going to West Virginia. Uh, you know, Brown was at Kentucky and they recruited Kendall out of high school. So I think that will help, but we'll see. I mean, I I think West Virginia is pretty fascinating because they really are Blank's lay in a lot of different ways this year.
All right, number three, five six or nine five?
Five?
All right, five is easy, easy transition with Austin Kendall because five is Oklahoma and one of the clear, I guess crossovers between Kyler Murray and Baker Mayfield was they were both fearless downfield, which is not not necessarily what Jalen Hurts looked like the last time we saw him
as a full time QB. So do you believe Oklahoma can reach similar at least heights doing things maybe a bit differently with a different type of quarterback, perhaps leaning on the ground game and maybe, hey, maybe an unpredictable defense that helps them win games. Can they win differently on a huge level?
I think they can. Let's start with the offense. And you know, Baker and Kyler were a little bit different in their quarterbacking style, and I think Lincoln demonstrated pretty you know, impressive acumen for adjusting it and adapting the offense the Taylor the skill set of his quarterback. Now, after Baker left, I said, there's no way Oklahoma's offense is gonna be better. They're gonna they're gonna take a big step back. And so it's been coming on the
defense to improve. Well, the defense got worse and at Oklahoma got back to the playoffs because their offense was even better under Kyler Murray. Now I'm not gonna say that I think they're gonna be better under Jalen Hurts, and I expect them still to take a uh, not not just one step back, but probably two step backs offensively from what they have been. They could prove me wrong again, but I still think they think that they
can be elite offensively because of Jalen Hurts. And you know, he's you know, he's a bigger quarterback than what they've had. You know, he's you know, six to two hundred plus pounds. You know, he is a he is a more physical, you know, physical type quarterback than what they've had, you know, even Baker. Even though Baker could scramble and break tackles, Jalen,
you know, he can run over guys. And so I think they're going to have more of a you know, emphasis on running the quarterback, uh than they probably have had even with Kyler and his you know, as dynamic as he was, you know, a lot of it wasn't design and rhymes. It was just him taking off and and and and basically being unstoppable. But I don't think
it's going to be that different. And that's something Lincoln Riley said, uh, you know a few weeks ago after they landed Jalen, that you know, we're going to run our office and uh So I think that they will be similar in a lot of ways, with a few tweaks here or there. Grant Calcatara, Ceedee Lamb, Creed Humphrey at tight end, wide receiver and center respectively. Could all
be preseason All Americans, two different varying degrees. So they are still pretty loaded offensively, even though they've got to rebuild the offensive line you know, around the center in Humphrey and and they need to probably you know, a
couple more receivers to step up around Lamb. But they have the capability to be like the top three you know who knows even better than that offense Again, now that they've got Jalen Hursts behind center, guy that's playing in a ton of big games and is not going to be rattled when they go down the Cotton Bowl, is not going to be rattled if they get to the bigdeal championship game, and won't be rattled if they get back to the playoffs.
I love the mystery. I love the mystery and his scary potential. Three to six or nine to three, we're going to go to three. We're going to talk about Baylor, who's their offense obviously took an enormous step forward in twenty eighteen, but down the stretch the Bears they struggled. They struggled, moving the ball. I think they averaged thirteen points a game and those four losses in the second half of the season. So is what is the clearest
reason to believe Baylor takes another step forward? Even if the defense is still defense was pretty rough last year and if they're around that, what is the reason to believe in an offensive mo forward?
Well, the offensive line is still still got to get better. You know, I don't know that it was necessarily you know, strength at any point last year. And you know, defensively, you know, they've got to continue to improve their debt because you know, after everything that happened, they they they lost a lot of the debt that they'd really enjoyed in the trenches on both sides of the ball. But
I think the biggest reason is Charlie Brewer. Like, if you're looking at returning quarterbacks in the Big Twelve, you might take Sam Ellinger, you might take Rock Purty. Even after that, I think that returning in the conference, Charlie Brewer is probably the next best quarterback. And for whatever reason they they he was kind of a part time starter player to begin the year, I thought he was clearly their best quarterback. But once he finally was installed
as the guy. You know, he really had some nice moments. You're right, they did struggle to score offensively at times, but I think, you know, with him as the full time quarterback, I think they've got a chance. Listen, you have Oklahoma, you have Texas. I think they're the clear top two. I've said Io was stated to me is the clear top three. There isn't a clear top four. And you can make a very compelling case that Baylor could be right there for that fourth. Start with Charlie
Brewer and Matt Rule. You know who is you know, one of the top coaches, not necessarily just in the Big twelve, but maybe you know college football with what he's done at Temple and the way he's turned around Taylor so quickly.
Six or nine, let's go to nine. Number nine. Well, first of all, I just like to put respect on the cheese at Bowl champions names. That would be the TCU horn Frog.
All. I was the best ball game of the year, wasn't it, By the way, I mean easily for entertainment purposes.
Yeah, it wasn't even a football game. At a certain point, you were just watching a monster truck rally. Go horribly wrong. It had my favorite penalty of the year with the forward pass play. It really had something for everybody.
Forget Clemson, forget Trevor Lawrence. The big winner of the ball season last year I think was cheesy easily.
We are saying we're not saying Wheatan, we are not saying Pepperidge Farm. We are sticking with cheese It, and we are rolling with the Ridges and the various flavors. Yeah, they're the big winner. They have done themselves a lot of favors. Secondly, and less importantly, how much of twenty eighteen's TCU struggles were because of the crazy number of injuries, which there were undeniably and what could actually carry over even if Slash when the Frog's health luck actually bounces back to normal.
I thought that last year was one of the best coaching jobs that Gary Patterson has done, because I thought that they were done about mid October. I thought that they were going to lose out and they lost to Kansas the next week, and I thought, especially after that, I think that they're not going to another game this year. And I think they only lost like one or two
more games the rest of the season. That team somehow won seven games that was not a great team, in part because of the injuries that you reference, which especially hits them hard at the quarterback position. So I think that, you know, I think they're gonna be good defensively next year. It's usually a pretty good, pretty good bet with a
Gary Patterson team. You know, they're gonna get Ross Blacklock, who would have maybe been the best defensive lineman in the entire Big Twelve this past season had he not suffered that season ending injury August, which really hurt him on the defensive interior. You know, if he's back to the guy that you know he was before that, then then you know they're gonna have an impact guy up
front defensively. There might there may be I don't know if there's a team in college football that has like four different guys who could win the quarterback job and I really don't know, like you could probably give them each about a twenty five percent chance to do so. You know, Mike Collins took over for Sean Robinson who was since transferred to Missouri, you know, and had some moments before he got injured. Justin Rogers, who was, uh, you know, one of the top quarterbacks in recruits in
the country. A year ago, you know, had that devastating knee injury, you know, has the foot thing. Now, who knows if he's going to be healthy enough to really compete to the job. They've got Alex Delton from from Kansas State, a grad transfer quarterback who uh you know is is a specialist and that he's you know, he's
a run first guy, but a pretty dynamic runner. So they've got you know, a lot of different options at quarterback without really you know, uh uh any one of them being I think the clear cut guy that's gonna be a big key for them is somebody winning that job. But Jalen Ray is you know, a superstar wide receiver that they couldn't get the ball enough to last year to their quarterback issues. You know, they're gonna be good a running back again. So I think that you know, TCU,
if they can see healthy again. Talking about that number four spot in the Big twelve, they've shown that they you know, they have the pedigree defensively to that can give them a chance to compete in the Big twelve.
All Right, our final team obviously is Oklahoma State, who I believe like maybe seven of their last eight eight of their last and nine it was single digit either way. Everything was close. Everything either came down to them winning something close or losing something close. And they actually seem to be in a pretty great defensive place after the Boise State came and then they just full on warrant for basically the rest of the Big twelve season. What happens.
Do you expect improvement on defense for the Cowboys?
They were a completely schizophrenic team last year. They if you took Clemson in Alabama out of the picture, I think they were pretty much capable of beating anyone in college football and losing anyone college football last year, and they beat West Virginia, maybe Texas. They were a two point conversion away from beating Oklahoma in Norman. Meanwhile, they lose to TCU. They got just steamrolled inexplicably at Kansas State. They had some really bad losses, but they had some
great wins too. You know, they with Tylan Wallason wide receiver and Tuba Hubbard at running back, they have a chance to be electric offensively, as they have been for the most part under Mike Gundy. The question for them, like so many of these big, tall teams, is you know what happens to them at quarterback. They lose Taylor Cornelius, who you know was up and down at some great
moments and bad ones too. Last year he's gone. They signed the top quarterback recruit in the state of Texas a year ago in Spencer Sanders, and they red shirted him last year. Even with the red shirt rule. You know, he didn't step on the field at any point last season. You know, he's got some tools, you know that I've heard people say he throws the tighest spiral of anybody they've had up there since Brandon Whedon. You know. At the same time, you know, does he have the intangibles
the leadership. I think that's gonna be the question is they go through a spring ball and whether he can win the smartest starting job. But if he, you know, plays up to his potential, his recruiting potential with what else they're going to have offensively, they could be you know, a team that could that could bomb away on anybody. And you know, defensively, you know, we'll see it feels like every time you think Oklahoma State is going to
be better defensively, they just aren't. You mentioned the Boys State game but they they have a chance to be pretty special offensively with Tyland Wallace might be the best receiver in college football and Cuba Huffer might be one of the you know, ten best running backs.
What do we know, if anything, really at this point about Sean Gleason, the new offensive coordinator who had a hell of a run at Princeton running the Tiger offense. Another higher from a lower level coming to Stillwater after Mike, You're sick.
We know more about him than we did when Gundi hired Mike. Mike Eerstitch had a Schiffensburg, Pennsylvania. Yes, so, Uh, I've heard a really sharp guy that uh, you know, the guys around him have been really impressed. They're gonna play fast. Uh, you'll be interesting, interesting to see, you know, what innovative things he can bring to the offense. And whether you know I was mentioning Spencer Sanders, maybe a
new coordinator and position coach will be a positive for him. Uh, you know, we'll see with with your sage now at Ohio State. But they're gonna be fun. They were an incredibly fun team last year to watch. No matter what level they were playing at. They basically played up and down to everybody they faced, and I think with the firepower they have, potentially they'll be a fun team again
in twenty nineteen. And if Sanders can take a step forward, maybe a team that you know, challenges I with State or TC or Baylor as the team that can maybe threaten the big boys in Oklahoma Texas.
Final question, because you've given us so much, and I think it would almost be idiotic to challenge Austin as the number one food town in the Big twelve. That would it would have to be such an extraordinary point.
That would be idiotic.
I agree, what is number two? And support your claim with evidence or with places that people should go wherever your number two is.
Well, so I'm based on Oaklham City, and so I think it's a little bit unfair for me to count Norman because a lot of places I enjoy in Oaklham City, you know they are in Norman as well.
And so you're recruising, you're accusing yourself from Oklahoma City.
Normally that's a great word for it. It's a total refusal there. So after that, boy, you know, and and and I feel bad putting Fort Worth, uh fort Worth in the mix because it's a big city. They're just gonna have more options than you know, Aims or Manhattan.
But there are a lot of big cities with not great food.
That is true. I would not put fort Worth in that category. That they've done a lot of great spots in Fort Worth as well. So you can hear I'm equivocatie. So I can't say this is what I'll say. It could be fair. Every spot is known for something different that I really enjoyed. So like some of the best pizza you'll ever eat the world is in Stillwater Hideaway Pizza, right, I love the best. The best Greek restaurant of any big twelve city, uh to me is in Lawrence, Kansas,
the Mad Greek on the mass Mats Avenue. There obviously the uh you know you go down to to Lubbock. Uh they you know, Spanky's is They've got the uh the cheese things that are fantastic. And then I always go to you know, Blue Skyberger across the street from the stadium there and Cagles is fun too, if you know you've never been to love it before, Uh you've got uh you know you go to Yeah, let's see, Waco has got uh Smalls delis like one of my
favorite places to eat anywhere in the country. They've got uh you know, the sandwiches and the uh the salads, and the original location is just around uh the street from campus there. Uh. In Waco they've also got you know, there's some really good barbecue uh in Waco as well. So I mean, I I could go on and on. I think the food a lot. Uh. Harry's in Manhattan is a fabulous That's that was Bill Snyder's favorite restaurant,
you know, one of my favorite stops as well. Also the Varsity Donuts in Manhattan, which you can catch on the way out of town because that's usually a drive trip for me. Uh. So there's a lot of great spots in the Big Twelve. I kill that I'm probably leaving out some of my my favorite places, but uh uh Morgantown and Names have uh good spots as well. So I enjoy eating the Big Twelve.
To be sure, you just don't want your mentions being filled up with people being well disappointed.
Every every time I do one of these answer one of these questions, I inevitably get attacked for uh for this opinion or leaving this place out so I was trying to name as many spots off the top of my head as possible. Well, yeah, I thought, I thought I did. Okay, you know like that, you know I didn't you know, Hickory Park. Uh, that was it was like on the tip of my tongue. Your names is great. You know, that's the spot to go there as well.
So like a lot of great places to eat across the Big Twelve for sure.
So what I'm in I'm hearing in terms of pure depth, I'm hearing fort Worth in your voice.
Yeah, I mean just because I mean fort Worth has got you know, great I mean, it's just I mean it's a big city and you almost it's sort of hard to separate out Dallas from fort Worth because it's basically one interconnecting city with the Metroplex there. You know, I mentioned Norman, which kind of it's like similar to Oklahmoma City, and we have great steakhouses and hamburger joints, which you know kind of still spill into Norman, particularly
the hamburger joints. You know. Austin has by far the most debts. I mean, it's it's hard to prioritize where to go eat in Austin when I go down there, because you can't hit everywhere, and there are so many good spots.
To go hit, and I think they've done it's a good like Japanese Renaissance right now in Austin. There's a good Ramen spot.
I can't even get into that. I mean, like, I don't need that's so far down the list for me. And I'm sure it's awesome, but it's like, I don't I'm not there long enough ever to get into the Japanese uh you know fat in Austin, I basically do basically stick to barbecue, and I go to Austin for the most part because the barbecue is so great that I feel like I don't have enough time to get outside that window. If I'm there for three or four days, you know, I'll start uh venturing out a little bit.
But if I'm in there for like a day or two, I mean, you know, you've you've got to hit the spots in Austin. And I'm not going to name.
An what's your barbecue spot?
I love Franklin, but you can't get into Franklin's right, like just forget it.
Correct.
So my spot is actually mikel waste, which is.
Oh same same, all right.
I know I had not heard of it up until about I think a couple of years ago or a year ago, but it was you know, Texas Monthly does the barbecue makings, and for a place that's not been around for very long, I think they came in like seventh. And if you if you're seventh in the state of Texas and barbecue like you are, you are a legit spot. So it's a little bit. Uh it's not great like if it's one hundred and ten during the summer because of their.
Seventh it's a trailer and you're gonna be outside.
Yeah, correct, And it's never great to eat barbecue like when it's one hundred and ten, Like I don't feel like that's a good combination because you know, the meat is warm and you're you're you already have the meat sweats anyway, now you're sweating from the sun. But uh, it is. It is fantastic, and that is the spot I try to hit when I go to offtin.
Now, all right, we're going to finish this with us reaching common ground, and for that, thank you for coming on. I look forward to your full open records request on Matthew McConaughey's official job responsibilities as the Minister of Culture at the University of Texas. Jake Trotter, ESPN. Is there anything anybody else should know about you? Where they should find you, what they should search out in terms of your work?
I'm around, I'm on ESPN, I'm on Twitter. You can find me.
Done, he's on Twitter, you can find him. Don't go looking him up on Instagram. That's not for everybody, not for me, not for him. All right, Jake, thank you very much.
Thanks Dan, take care.
All right, and we're back Dan.
Yes, thank you.
Jake Trotter, ESPN dot com. We've had him on the program. I was trying to count before the show. I don't even know how many times now, but Jake's been with us for a long time. Always.
Oh great.
Listen. Let me ask you this, what did you learn from your conversation with him that you think needs a little bit more attention.
I've been very curious since to hire about Chris climbing in Kansas State, just because the ways in which Kansas State won under Bill Snyder, and I thought he phrased it really well when he said Kansas State football is Bill Snyder, because our point of reference with Kansas State football and success basically lies with Bill Sneider and his family.
Bill Snyder, you can't really count the run, Prince Hera.
I hope you don't. So it's fascinating because of the specific challenge that Chris Climban has in Manhattan, and whether it's building continuing to build through a lot of the junior colleges in Kansas, whether it's you know, following the blueprint that he you know, kept going in Fargo with the Bison, and just the challenge of winning in Manhattan when they're pretty much always going to be a have not in a conference with two three pretty significant halves.
And so that to me is fascinating because if there is somebody who is able to lay that kind of a foundation, it does feel like that type of experience at North Dakota States lends itself pretty well to succeeding perhaps in an off the beaten path kind of place that has flirted with pretty high level football consistently.
If you can build a dynasty in Fargo, North Dakota, and I mean this.
He he kept it. He didn't originally build it, but he was probably one of the architects for sure.
Absolutely, if you can do that, be part of that which you and I saw with our own eyes in Fargo, North Dakota. I mean this with no disrespect to Fargo, North Dakota. It's very off the beaten path. Yeah, very off the beaten path. It's cold as hell. Yeah in Fargo, North Dakota when it is, and in a lot of other places around the country, it's a tough place to recruit. They built an absolute dynasty, a megatron in Fargo, North Dakota.
To be able to do that there leaves me with a little bit of confidence that you could do something similar or at least get things in Manhattan, Kansas go on on the right path. So he, I think, more so than any other new coach in the Big twelve, has me the most exciting. I'm very curious to see which direction that Wildcats program goes.
Yeah, And as Jake mentioned, his ad is the same ad who hired guy. I rooted him, Jean Taylor Uh from North Dakota State. So there is infrastructure in a positive way that it's not just going to be a Bill Snyder guy breathing down his neck necessarily. So I'm intrigued by that the TCU bounce back after you know how horrendous the injury situation was in fort Worth last year.
And I think he had a really good point about when you look around college ball or even the Big Twelve, at some of the quarterback battles, you're like, Okay, yes, the position is is pretty wide open, but you know, this guy's unless he screws it up, like it should be Austin Kendall and Morgantown, it should be Jacob E's in Seattle. There are certain jobs where're like, Okay, this guy is the presumptive guy. Fort Worth doesn't have that guy at all. They've got a fresh been coming in.
They've got Irish liberator I think Michael Collins, they have Justin Rogers is still there, former I think five star at least, a blue chip quarterback who dealt with me and pretty horrific foot injury, and then Alex Delton transferring in from Kansas City State. So I really like the way that Jake phrased it, where he was like, yeah, they each have a twenty five percent shot. That's just how it's sort of working. So I do like that very clearly wide open situations like that.
When TCUs had a quarterback, they've been very good. They've been very good. Yeah, but they need that quarterback. I don't know if they've found that in quite some time. Jake underscore Trotter. Yes is his Twitter. Make sure you go out and follow if you haven't already. Great as always here on the show. Don't forget if you're listening now in the off season. If you just found us for the first time, Hello, we are on Twitter. We're
at Solid Verbal. You can also find our Instagram. You can also find us out there on Facebook, Facebook dot com, slash Soliverbal, or going out to our website at soliverbal dot com. We've got a newsletter sign up there. We don't spam people or not in the habit of that, but whenever we've got critical announcements or important news tidbits that we want to share, we send it out through something we call the Newsletter of Intent. For you to sign up, going out fill out the form on our
website soliverbal dot com. There's also a subreddit started buy Verballers for Verbulers reddit dot com, slash r slash Soliverbal. If you want to join the community, talk about all of our shows. I'm sure Peter from the subredit would be happy to have you. What else do we got, Dan? What else is going on?
Alex Hornerbrook is transferring from the one? Why is he training? I didn't see a specific reason, and it doesn't seem too acrimonious, but it might be. I saw Paul Christ wished him the best. Obviously a three year starter for the Bangers, so whoever gets him is getting a a pretty proven winner and the owner of a one pop gun arm, which always appreciate. Oregon hired Boise State's defensive
coordinator after Jim Levitt and Oregon parted ways. They hired Alex excuse me, Andy Avlos from Boise State, former linebackers coach, former linebacker for the Broncos, and young and very well regarded in terms of coaching circles. And I don't know what exactly the defense that Oregon will be running is and will look like, but by all accounts, people seem to like him. We mentioned some Penn State transfers. It looks like Cam Sullivan Brown is coming back to Penn State.
So at least that's a thing, because that was on our list of what nineteen items that seemed intriguing going into the off season. Ty story is going to Western Kentucky transferring from Arkansas. And I did see well two other things. I did see Pitts going to be wearing their like the on gold, but more of the mustard yellow and blue look more often. I like it very much.
Pro that, sure. And then also I need to look further into this because I was asked this sort of blindly and I hadn't seen it because I am barely succeeding and raising a one month old. Sure, but what was the story between the Pac twelve and the Big twelve pseudo joining forces to have a college basketball style challenge and then play each other in a conference championship thing at the end of the year. A strategic alliance is what I saw.
I have no idea, Dan, all.
Right, I'm gonna read this out loud, and we'll just react to this as the dumb dumbs that we are. Okay, you ready, sure, just react organically. I'm seeing here, So West Virginia President Gordon g who we all remember is a g or Gee.
I believe it's Gee. It is Gee, okay, e Gordon Gyee. He's at West Virginia now.
Gordon Gee, he's at West Virginia. He asked former Kansas State Athletic director on we Falled Wayfauld to consider ways to quote strengthen the Big Twelve. Here's what he came up with. Wayfauld, Wayfeld, whatever, who is not working for the Big Twelve in an official capacity, concluded his pet project months later with an eleven page document entitled quote a proposal to create a strategic alliance between the Big twelve and the PAC twelve. So this is very much
on brand with today's show. In it, he writes, the alliance of twenty two universities from the Great Planes to the West Coast would provide the vital content of big time football games that on thick, isn't he corporate speak?
Oh?
Way fair, just what you need?
Okay, Yeah, So would provide the vital content of big time football games that dovetail nicely with the new new developing platforms of information.
Holy he didn't say a damning in.
The one thousand years old Yeah Wayfall's proposal calls for all thirty of the Big twelve's non conference games and for thirty of the PAC twelves thirty six out of league games to be played against each so almost creating their own level of football in a way. The matchups would be spread evenly across the season, ten per month, with the winners of each conference meeting at the end of the regular season for a championship game, which would rotate between the Rose Bowl and AT and T Stadium
in Arlington. So you see what they're doing here. They're setting themselves up to be their own non conference. Like it's in my best friend's wedding situation where if we're not married by forty Like, why don't we just do this ourselves?
Sure?
Good idea, bad idea, Okay idea. I mean.
It gives us more intriguing games. It does, So from that standpoint, I think it's a good move for them.
It's taking notreed ames deal with the ACC and building the whole plane out of it.
Basically, it strikes me as a good move for the PAC twelve.
Playing Texas playing Oklahoma, playing TCU playing West Virginia, you know, the classic PAC twelve matchup of Oregon State West Virginia. I think it's more we get something out of the ordinary each month of each each month of the month
of the season. So if the PAC twelve is having a down year like they've they had last year, you are not inclined to be watching Arizona Washington State with the same type of interest that you would be perhaps other seasons, whereas maybe there's something tickling a part of your brain that doesn't get tickled and you're like, oh, we get a cheese at Bowl rematch at the end
of October, we get Keltcu. Okay, you give me an hour, impress me, Like, I think there is that element of this sort of thing because the Big twelve has had trouble finding partner schools to add on to their current ten right, they really didn't look at the American Conference schools in question whether it was USF for Cincinnati, Memphis, Houston as being worthy, which that's their prerogative, whatever, And the PAC twelve has had a visibility issue that the
Big twelve doesn't necessarily have because of its bigger programs and its own TV deals and not having the network, the Conference network that is shielding off games to a lot of the viewing public. So in a way, they're scratching each other's back in a kind of an interesting way. It's an interesting precedence.
So is this sort of a shadow version of the old Chip Brown Pac twelve Big twelve Pangaea conference.
Yeah, you're getting a super conference without the commitment. They're friends with benefits.
I like that.
What was your McConaughey thought, Oh have you seen.
The McConaughey Lincoln commercials that think they played it during the Super Bowl? They make no sense to me, Ty, they don't. I want to live tweet one. I want to I want to go through frame by frame and talk about how on feeling.
Well he gets carte blanche. He must each frame of the way you work for a company. Again, I'm spilling no secrets here in which and this is not uncommon for big companies like say the Lincoln Motor Company and the advertising agency that works with Lincoln. There anything that gets put into the public sphere has one hundred and fifty eyeballs on it. Right, Absolutely, I want notes on this. I want notes on this. It's true of entertainment, it's
true of media. You have editors, you have somebody giving a look, giving a pass, and you're like, Okay, this doesn't fully make sense. Can we reword this? Like what if what if we flip a and b right here. But the Lincoln commercials are like.
They just gave it to McConaughey to direct commercial. They're like, we got McConaughey, We're part of the mconnaissance. We're just going to turn this over to you. It's what you read able. So now he's he's he's shooting a mass, say on a pool table.
What is a mass? Is that a move? Is a no?
That's when you curl the shot.
Right, Okay, good usage.
Then all right he somehow thinkured he could put the English on it and hit the assay there. It's just very weird. It doesn't make any sense, and I want to go through it frame by frame and talk about how I feel watching that commercial, because for whatever reason, it seems like it's on my TV all the time.
If you were to take one hundred road trips, significant road trips, let's say in a Lincoln, let's stay on brand with McConaughey, You take a hundred road trips with Matthew McConaughey, how many of out of that one hundred are just excellent, amazing, entertaining the entire time, stories like you could never even imagine, just a delight and how many of them are unbearable. I think I could gain his not trust, but I think he would open up after a couple hundred miles, one hundred and fifty miles,
if we're going cross country or something like that. I think I would get great stories. I think his wisdom would not be unbearable, but it would be out there in an entertaining way. There's a fine line.
I think this is how we start the mccona cast. I think this is where this is headed.
Yeah, where we just watch all Matthew McConaughey movies and determine what we've learned and what it is to live, like Matthew ConA.
To people who have talked to him directly, right, yeah.
I recently did Have you seen Magic? Mike?
I have surprisingly good.
And we've we've gotten a couple of out of like, we have a lot of listeners. We're very lucky to have them. We get like two complaints that are like, you guys aren't talking college football now, it's a good time. Just leave, just signed. Thanks for the download. Glad you enjoyed. Hopefully you enjoyed the Big twelve episode. That's fine.
Whatever.
My question, ty, how good is Magic?
Mike, it's surprisingly good.
I watched that with very very good.
I watched it with mom age. Oh, I'm not sure how that was gonna go, to be honest with you, uh huh uh huh, because still, even though I'm at a ripe old age now, watching some of those movies with you with your parents is not the most comfortable experience.
I agree.
We both genuinely enjoyed it.
It's Soderberg, right, Steven Soderberg directly, it was.
It was a much better viewing experience today than I thought. Kind of a sad like, depressing and dark movie.
It was a down of a downer of a movie. Yeah, but really good, very surprising. Yeah. That's all I have. That is all I have for our Big twelve spectacular. We talked food, we talked Big twelve. We talked with Hannah. Hey, can I I'm going to tease something for either our Pack twelves or Big ten. Tease autopsy that or maybe a Q and A episode that we'll be doing in a little bit. We're going to talk about your vision,
my vision. We're going to talk about your your vision, your your sense of sight, and what's going on there because there is something incredibly.
That I didn't you were talking about until like a second ago.
But okay, I cannot believe it has taken you this long. That's the tease. Okay, we are going.
To tell you about Okay, we can leave it at that.
All right, that's it.
Big Thank you to Jake Underscore Trotter out there on the Twitter sphere. Find him, follow him. He's a good dude, been coming on our show for a long time, always insightful, talking all things Big twelve. Thank you to again to him, Dan, you take care of yourself.
I will.
I will talk to you soon. To everyone out there who downloaded the show, thank you as always for downloading. Please do head on out to our webpage soliverble dot com, our Twitter, our Instagram, our Facebook of course the subreddit. Get on in the verbaler community. We will be with you all off season long. For that go of there, Dan Rubinstein, for myself over here, Ty, He'll be brand Thanks again for tuning in. Enjoy the rest of your
week as always, enjoy your weekend and end. Until next time, Stay solid, peace,