Talkin' Tech
Talkin' Tech
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Hosts:
Steven Rodriguez (@L_S_Rodriguez)
Tristan McGonigal (@TristyMc)
Talkin' Tech Twitter/Instagram:
@TalkinTechPod
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Intro Song:
Victory Bells - Josh Abbott Band
Songs of the Week:
Touchdown - Flatland Calvary
Night Moves - Bob Seger
Welcome in, everybody, to the Talk and Tech Podcast, powered by the Nation, part of the Nation Podcast Network. I'm your host, Steven Rodriguez, my co-host Tristan McGonagall. Tristan, one and oh, right where we want to be.
SPEAKER_06One and oh, Don. Steven, is that disappointment or hangover? I hear in your voice. Which one is it? It's disappointment. It's not hangover. No, no, no.
SPEAKER_02No, I actually feel fine physically today. I well, I don't know. I I don't know what I feel right now. I feel miserable. And I put that on our Twitter page. Um I feel so miserable after watching that game. Um and feel probably no confidence um right now in this football team. None. Zero. Zero. Wow. Yeah. I went back. I I and I felt even better than I did yesterday, believe it or not. Um but I feel so I feel so bad. I feel like this team is way, way worse than what we could have ever imagined. And now that's my fan reaction. Um I'm I'm gonna be a little rational as we move on. I did one, I did rewatch the game um today and wrote down uh I think I I count tallied up a grand total of 37 negative defensive plays for Texas Tech um throughout the entirety of this game.
SPEAKER_06Paired with two positives, right? That's the healthy thing to do, okay? If you're gonna give one negative, you gotta give two ups, okay?
SPEAKER_02Okay, so by your math, I need 74 positive things to say about this defense, which is not gonna happen.
SPEAKER_06Maybe not about the defense, but about the team, you could probably manage it.
SPEAKER_02I could find, yeah, yeah. We start talking about individual players and everything. Um, where do you want to start with Abilene Christian?
SPEAKER_06I uh where I want to start is just like initially paint the uh vibe. Like, let's kind of make this a uh rehabilitation zone for us and our fans. Because I know a lot of people, I'm sure, are just like hate listening right now, just trying to get some some feelings out, you know, and uh and look maybe looking for some positivity to cling on to. Initial thoughts, I think kind of maybe put yourself back into the shoes of Steven on Saturday night, but maybe like in and tell you where you're at now.
SPEAKER_02I don't I don't want to go back to that on Saturday night. Do you want me to start? Uh you start and I'll follow.
SPEAKER_06All right, okay, I'll start. So this is what happens every single opening week because I got married on the first weekend of college football, which is very cool. Joey Maguire's very first game, actually. Big brain moves, big big brain move. And so I have to ruin our anniversary trip every year by watching Texas Tech football. Um, so my wife has finally cracked and said we are not going to be doing our anniversary trips on week one of Texas Tech Football, which is very smart, very fair of her, because two times in a row, the two years we've been married, Texas Tech opening weekend has been a nightmare, dude. And it's it's absolutely ruined both nights. So it's we're supposed to be out there, you know, having a nice romantic dinner, maybe having some cocktails, but no, I'm screaming at the hotel TV and throwing stuff around the room, you know. It's just it's not a good scene. So what about you, my friend?
SPEAKER_02Um, I watched the game with my family. Um, my my sister, as I mentioned last week, went to Abilene Christian.
SPEAKER_06Proud Wildcat.
SPEAKER_02Um, not a proud Wildcat. She does not care, but that makes it even worse because oh yeah, would when we're going into overtime against a team like this, uh, I then get in the group chat, and the group chat's going crazy, clowning on me the entire time, as they should. Okay. I and I'm so upset. I I'm I'm so upset. I had to leave the living room to go down to the basement area to throw on the TV um and be alone. And I told my wife, I was like, okay, uh just let me be. I'm gonna retreat to the cave. Let me be. I do not want to be miserable around you guys. Like, I don't want to bring the energy of the room down as as bad as I'm feeling. So I go and I seclude myself um to the basement, turn on the game, uh, I have the sound on. This was around uh I think midway through the fourth quarter when I did this.
SPEAKER_06So we are in the we are in the blender right now.
SPEAKER_02We're in the blender, and I'm I'm like to a point where I'm like, I don't I can't be around my mother like this. Um and so I go downstairs midway through the fourth quarter. I I turn on the TV and sound on everything, and I'm just still more upset. So I think there's something I need to do. So I switch off shirts, um, I I I change my clothing, I change my hat, um, and I turn the volume off, and I'm just staring at a you're just stewing, I'm stewing in my own thoughts, and that was probably a worse idea, but I thought it would change the mojo. Um and we go into overtime and I'm uh pissed off by everything the announcer says, so I mute everything, and it's just I see them progressively going down the field, and then they get that reception where they're I think first and goal in overtime. And I'm just like I'm like bent, I'm like leaned over, my head is on the the shoulder of the couch, and I'm like, I'm like a melted puddle of disgusting watch watching this entire thing. So um, yeah, I was I was upset. I couldn't even be relieved. I wasn't relieved. I wasn't happy, I wasn't anything when we won. I was just like, this is this is so this is the worst. This is the worst that this could have this is not the worst that could have gone, but it's right there, man.
SPEAKER_06You didn't even celebrate, like whenever whenever we got the tackle, I like screamed, thank god.
SPEAKER_02So I I would because a win's still a win. We should have never been in any sort of position. Oh no, like no, so no, I was not relieved, I was not happy after we won. I I saw the sack and I turned off the TV and I was like, All right, whatever. I'm out of here. Actually, actually, funny note, I didn't turn off the TV right away, and I just kind of stewed in my own frustration, and I'm watching the TV still, and I just see Joey Maguire being interviewed on the sideline. And you know, he's Joey, he's overly positive. He's smiling, he's cracking jokes. I'm not hearing anything, mind you, because it's still muted. And I've never been more frustrated at an individual than I was at Joey Maguire staring at him, smiling, cracking jokes in the post-game interview when you just went to overtime with Abilene Christian University and only won by one point.
SPEAKER_06Wow, we have to pet an E on this episode now. Thank you.
SPEAKER_02No, we're I'm bleeping. Don't worry, I'll be bleeping. I knew I was gonna I knew I was gonna drop some F-bombs. We're here for the kids, okay?
SPEAKER_06Yeah, that's this is a kid-friendly podcast, dude. Um, but uh yeah, I mean, I I think every single listener could obviously hit us with their story on Twitter. You know, I felt like we were all vibing and uh just an insane amount of frustration, not even like the kind you can joke about. Um, you know, feel like a lot of times whenever you're having a bad game and you never really win, you could sit there and kind of laugh about it. But I think this one was just straight frustration and anger, like just kind of like kind of like a bit of a rage, you know. I honestly at the end, at the end, whenever we went to overtime, and I was like, I couldn't believe how thrilled I was that we were entering overtime. I was I thought they're gonna end us, I thought they're gonna put us in the grave before the end of the game. And uh I was starting to feel nauseous, like I was like, that's that's how like nervous and like crumped up I was feeling, you know, because I'm just like I'm just in this tiny antique hotel room and with this tiny screen, and I'm like two feet from it, and I am like and my wife is in the back in the back of the room, like going, oh my god, we're gonna lose, we're gonna lose. And I'm like, I'm like just trying to blame blurt everybody out of my brain and just focus on the screen and be like, don't screw this up, please. And they did it, they didn't. We have to keep reminding ourselves they didn't, but they might as well should have in many of our minds right now.
SPEAKER_02One and oh, right where you want to one and oh, baby. Um, I hate how much I because I went back and I listened to the postgame presser or the little the postgame presser that Joey did, the on-field interview he did, and we just got done listening to the uh weekly press conference that they did. And uh the amount of times that we said one and oh is frustrating. Uh that brings me back to the Matt Wells. We we constantly have a joke about one and oh, right where we want to be, because that's exactly what Matt Wells said after that Houston Baptist game in 2020. And I I I like I can't stand that sort of mental thinking right now. I can't, I I can't do it right now as a fan. I can't do it.
SPEAKER_06Well, A, I think there's just you can't change who you are, and that is who Joey McGuire is. Like he is going to approach it at a positive um roadway. Um, but uh I I I it's I it's I understand how frustrating it can be to get get get mad at that, but it's just who he is, and I don't know why we would ever expect anything else.
SPEAKER_02Uh but honestly, dude, if we want to talk about the demeanors of the coaches here in the pressures of the postgame, I feel like Joe Maguire was pretty he was he's down, he was down for what he normally is, and yeah, you know, even in the postgame as well, like directly after the game when they talked to him, he was he was not who Joey is, which is an uppity, you know, cracking jokes, always you know, supporting the guys. I mean, he definitely said a few things about his team that were not positive, which is a good thing, but again, I just like I don't know. I I'm not the coach of this team, so I don't know how this locker room works and how they benefit from what however these guys are being coached. So um, you know, it's not my place really to say how what or what Joey shouldn't say. Um, but I I'm just so frustrated right now.
SPEAKER_06I I really got the feeling that he was as bad as Joey McGuire can be. Um, because the whole time, like I felt like every time they panned Joe Maguire on the sideline uh during the game, I was like, there's no way his city in his mind, like his whole career is flashing before his eyes, you know. And he I'm sure he was uh obviously, you know, staying tough as that as that's your job, but you know, I bet that guy was five times more nervous than any of us watching was at that point in time.
SPEAKER_02One thing I will note when I rewatched the game today, and I just rewatched the defense because the offense, and we'll get to this, I'm not super worried about the offense. Yeah, the defense. I watched every single play that we did when Abilene Christian was on offense, and I it made me feel a little better in the fourth quarter after Mason Tharp was called for a holding penalty. Um, you could you could hear Joey in the background go dadgum it, and you know that and he yelled at it.
SPEAKER_06It was frustrating, and I was like, That's an F-bomb for Joey Maguire.
SPEAKER_02That's okay. That that makes me feel like you're there. You're not just every time they showed Joey on the sideline, he was just like sitting that he was just like frowning and he wasn't happy, but it wasn't like he was visibly frustrated and his face wasn't red, anything like that. But hearing that in the background after we got called for a for a penalty was was nice to hear.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, no, absolutely, dude. So let's go ahead and talk about that pressure then uh before we go into the game. Since we're here, it's what we just mostly recently watched. Um, what are your what are your initial thoughts here whenever we look over the coaches here? Let's start with uh let's start with Tim. Um since we kind of just spent some time on Joey, I don't know what else more we can say. Um, what what did you think of Tim's approach to the which was very brief, surprisingly brief in that pressure. I'm sure he was pleased with that, but uh what'd you think?
SPEAKER_02There's not much you can say. You're your team laid an egg, your side of the football completely laid an egg. Um, you I I hear what they're saying about a bunch of new guys starting for their first college game and not uh being as prepared as a guy who's more experienced. I understand all that. You should never be in that position as Texas Tech football. You should never be in that position. Um you these are your players, these are your guys that you recruited. Yes, a lot of them were sophomores, a lot of them were potentially red shirt freshmen that played a lot of snaps. Um, this you should never be in that position. And there's zero excuses for playing the way that you did on Saturday. That was an ill-prepared defensive unit. That was the coaches that were not, they did not get to them, they did not prepare them correctly, and it was on the young guys for not executing what the coaches were potentially telling them. I mean, it's it's a you know, it's twofold. Like Tim was honest, and he said it's twofold. It's it's the coaches didn't do a good job of uh game planning and preparing, and then the players didn't do a good job of executing. So it's I'm when you have a performance like that, there's not much you can say because it's just all bad and you need to fix all of it in a week.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, no, I I feel like Tim Tim uh did a pretty good job taking most of the blame. I mean, over and over again, he kept saying it's up to the coaches to get the most out of the players, it's up to the coaches to scheme them right, it's up to the coaches to put them where they need to be. So overall, I was pretty uh uh okay with the way he responded to that to that pressure. And ultimately, this is gonna be, I know this is more of a conclusion in a in a podcast. Um, at the end of the day, man, like we just last week we were talking about how impressed we had been with DeRooter, and this was absolutely his worst game in his whole career. Uh, maybe the UT game obviously was a was horrendous, but that was just a whole lot there was also a playoff team.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, there's also a college football playoff team that you played.
SPEAKER_06Well, and that wasn't exactly all it's not like offense was doing great either. Like the team was just stunk. Um, and uh while your offense today or a couple days ago was doing great. And so I I uh I think he did a pretty good job taking the blame. And once again, it's I think you can take your lumps. If you're gonna take your lumps, better be at the beginning of the season. So we better get this right. I mean, it's not excusing it, but uh especially against the team we played because all of your backups, all your freshmen should be at least as good as their starters, you know, at least against an Abilene Christian. So your athlete your athlete should be out outdoing them at every and every half pass. Um, so it's that I think I really think this is more of a coaching failure than it was a player failure at the end of the day. So I hope that the uh the boys on the D side can scheme a much better game against a much better team and Pullman.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and I'm typically a little more lenient on the younger guys making mistakes like most of us are. Uh I this directly reminded me of after the Houston Baptist game. Um, I called out specific players on that post, uh that post pod um after that. And Rabbit was one of those guys where I was like, hey, this Dadrian Taylor Demerson guy, he played like crap. And he did, but he was also young, and he's clearly was one of the best Red Raiders, you know, in defensive backs in the last several years. Um, so it's not saying that these guys can't get better or won't get better even this season. Um, but first game jitters are a real thing. So, you know, Jalen Peoples made a lot of negative plays. Mo Horn made a lot of negative plays, but it's not like those can't be fixed or solved. Uh, and sometimes when it's your first game and you're playing a lot of snaps and you're starting, uh, it hits you different. And it seemed like Tim thought that uh for a lot of his guys. So what I was more frustrated with is the guys who have been there and the guys who still made negative plays. CJ Baskerville had a horrible game, he was bad. Um, the inside linebackers were not good. I after re-watching this, I didn't think they had that bad a game. They were the ones making mistakes late in the game. Uh Ben Roberts and Jacob Rodriguez made some real crucial mistakes there in both overtime and um on the last couple drives for ACU where they scored. So that's where my frustration lies the most is with those veterans and those leaders that need to lead this locker room to you know the we f the young guys follow your guys' lead on this. You guys need to be on it and ready to go. Uh, but if you're making mistakes, I mean it it's it's hard to it's hard to fully put that into words how frustrating it is.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, do you think it's fair to say we came out flat? Like it just felt like there was no heat there. Like we didn't come out flat.
SPEAKER_02We we had a bunch of good defensive possessions at the beginning of the game. True. That's very we were up 15-0, but it's like they got too comfortable, yeah, and they got too laxed, and they didn't they just the and it or the early mistakes were mostly the young guys, you know. But uh yeah, uh as the game goes on and you start feeling more and more of that pressure, and you maybe you got something in the back of your mind like, Oh my god, Abilene Christian is coming in here and they may beat us in game one. This is just like Wyoming last year. You start getting a little PTSD. Um, but it I don't know. It's it's frustrating.
SPEAKER_06Isn't that where it's really frustrating, right? Is you know, you let these uh I I obviously no disrespect in saying something like this, but like a lesser team do this to you, especially early in the season, you know. Um, you just you're really frustrated because of the way the Wyoming game went, and obviously that was brought up multiple multiple times. It seems like this is two years in a row where the opening game for the Red Raiders has just been what have we been doing all off season? Is how it's felt. Like, have we just been sitting around playing video games and watching movies together, or have we all been on the practice field? Like, what the heck is this?
SPEAKER_02You know, um it's a reminder of you know, the guys that played bad in this game were on the sidelines playing against Wyoming last year. That the guys that are new, they played well for the most part. I mean, there's not a lot of new on the defensive side of the ball, so I'll you know, I'll give them credit there. But yeah, it's it's like, what do you guys all offseason? You guys talked about starting faster. You guys want to put yourself in a better spot the first six games of the season, and you and like we've mentioned multiple times throughout this offseason, you have a fantastic opportunity to do that with this schedule. Um and to come out that flat and to give up 51 points immediately to an FCS opponent is uh that instills no confidence in me as a fan that this team is is uh moving in the right direction.
SPEAKER_06You don't even have to be a good team to take advantage of the schedule, like you just have to be a decent team to turn this into a good record by the end of the year. So a game like this really frightens you because this is literally the worst team you play. Yeah and you had to go into overtime at home to a sellout crowd who didn't deserve this at all, you know, deserved a fireworks show where everyone's leaving early because all the backups are in. You know, this we should not have had needed the might of Lubbock yelling down onto Abilene Christian to stop them in the final sack to win us the game. And it which with a credit to ACU, they always had the balls, dude. Like they they played aggressively with that, especially with going for that two-point conversion. I thought that was it. I thought they this I thought that was a great play call. And I was like, I I I I think this this is it. I think they got us where they want us, and credit to them, they had us on our heels the entire time in the second half. So it's just I again like it just keeps coming back to I don't know where the hype is because it doesn't seem to be in the team, it just seems like it's just the coaches talking to the fans rather than their locker room. How about you turn around and give uh give them that juice, you know?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, there it was definitely a uh a lazy sideline looking. Yeah, and that's what happens sometimes when you have a really young team, is those guys get down and they let their emotions get to them. There needs to be somebody that is vocal and loud and keeping this team going because if you can't do that under what we just witnessed in Lubbock with the opening of the new South End zone and the fireworks show and the new sound system and all this stuff going on, if you can't find a way to get excited and to constantly be on try to be on your best game, uh you you need somebody to push you in that direction, the coaching staff, the veterans on this team, whoever. And that was hard to to breeze past.
SPEAKER_06Look, I mean, if if this is what it takes to get them hyped up in a week, then so be it. Like if if this is going to be, I don't ever want to feel that way again, especially at home, because you know they they they know the fans are talking shit right now, rightfully so. And they they know like they laid an absolute egg. So if they never want to feel that way again, they have to they have to radically change the way they approach football. They have to radically change the way each and every one of them individually obviously. There's some studs out there. We'll get to them. Um, approach uh the gridiron because again, a lot of times, especially especially on the defensive side of the ball, it just felt very laxed. It felt like there was no like they didn't feel like they wanted to hurt somebody. And I mean that in a football way, not like in a mean way. Like it didn't feel like they were really out there to knock some heads. It just it looked like they were playing it too safe sometimes, just trying to be too soft, a little too much bending and not enough breaking their skulls, you know. And it's just uh it's so frustrating, man. And just looking back on it, I just said key, I feel like I'm talking in circles at this point, and I'm sure people are, you know, I've heard it all before, but uh, it's hard not to say it.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I mean, to your point earlier about ACU, they absolutely executed, they deserve a lot of credit for the way that they played and the game plan that they had going in. Um, you you can't just move past that. I mean, that Maverick MacGyver was awesome. He was really, really good, and his receivers are guys that have been in college football, played in a lot of big games. Nehemiah Martinez, Trey Cleveland at Texas Tech, you know, like these guys were motivated and wanted to win. And every single one of those players that is a former Red Raider that's currently an Abilene Christian Wildcat made a play and made multiple plays for the most part. So those guys were clearly fired up and ready to go against their former team. But I I mean, that shouldn't that shouldn't be any sort of excuse for for playing a 52-51 ballgame against ACU.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, that's that's a great point. Apparently, ACU brought I I don't I can't remember if the number was 14 or 18, brought in 18 FBS players transferred in. So obviously that's a big step up for an F uh FCS program. Like you're getting talent that was capable of playing at the higher ups, especially at a Texas Tech, a power five team, uh now power four. Uh, and I think that's that's a great point. That's an extra bit of sauce in the recipe that you can't really account for because uh what we saw were players that wanted to beat us more than they wanted to breathe air. Like you know they wanted to come to Lubbock and beat the former school that didn't play them. Um, and obviously for an FCS school, this is the biggest game of the entire year, um, like opponent-wise. So you know they came and fired up. And as you stated before, their game plan, especially offensively, was just perfect for exploiting our defense, or at least the way we schemed it. So it's uh again, hats off to uh to uh to Patterson over there, man. It's this isn't a this isn't about Abel and Christian not bringing it because they absolutely did. This is about us not responding uh for a level of school that we are.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah, that's a good way to put it. Um you want to hit on some good things? Yeah, absolutely, man. Yeah, positivity here. Or sure. Let's talk about the offense. We scored 52 points. Um that's a really good number. I there's been a lot of people on the socials that are I think overly frustrated with some of the play calls and not executing on some of the fourth downs and everything like that. I had no issue with the offense. I truly didn't. I have no issue with Micah Hudson not playing. I have no issue with with our quarterback. I think Barron had a great game. He did not throw an interception, three five touchdowns, missed on a couple throws, but that happens. Tosh Brooks was awesome, as always. 150 whatever yards and a touchdown. Josh Kelly was a really nice sight to see over there on the receiving core. He led um in catches and caught a touchdown on that flea flicker play that was really nicely drawn up. And I thought the O-line for the most part played pretty well. They did make some mistakes, a lot of them in the fourth quarter. And you'll see, I'll I'll go down penalties here in a bit. But I I thought overall your offense was fine. And the people that are raising hell for Micah Hudson to play, I don't get it. The guy is a true freshman who didn't get a spring ball, did not get a lot of summer because he was recovering from an injury. Yeah, it's a little surprising because Joey's been saying he's gonna play immediately and then he didn't play at all in this one. But I don't care. Our receivers were fine. Coy had a great game, you know. Like we I don't Micah Hudson is on is number 1,000 on my things I'm worried about list right now.
SPEAKER_06It's a good way to put it, dude. Um, but yeah, man, talk about like a kind of a tale of two coordinators there uh in the presser. Whatever I was listening to Zach, that looked like a guy that had some mojo going. Like he was feeling pretty good about himself. Um, as he should. He he uh he put up how many regulation? 41. Um Yeah, he was 42, I think.
SPEAKER_02Well, no, 40, 45.
SPEAKER_06Okay, yeah. And I mean, again, 50 burger technically. Um, and again, if if your offense is scoring that many points, it's 1000% not on the offense. Um, because man, we were we were lighting them up, especially in the first quarter. It kind of perioded out in the second second half. Um, but uh it just again, we whenever you're putting up numbers like that, not worried. As you stated before, dude, I just want kind of want to reiterate your quarterback is a guy, and I think he's gonna do a okay this season, uh, moving the ball down the field. And the receivers were a lot of fun, including the tight ends. So it was really fun to see uh Zach really mix it up. Obviously, as we've been saying over and over and over again, you got a freaking workhorse in Josh Kelly. That guy is gonna be getting the ball a lot. And uh Corey Akin was making some exciting plays as well. Um, so dude, I'm 1000% with you. And the O-line did pretty good, uh, as you stated. Obviously, a lot of room for him for a lot of room for improvement there, always is on uh that side of the ball for us. But I mean, one sack, I take that, you know, I'm in. Yeah, um, so it's again a great performance from your Red Raiders. That was a gunslinging offense, something that we that we like, and uh good seeing some fireworks again, man.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, he spread the ball around a good amount. Obviously, Josh Kelly getting the majority of the targets with 14, uh, Coy with eight targets. But Jalen Conyers was a guy who played really good uh in his first game as a red raider. That crazy touchdown catch, who it's still a little controversial if he had that down. I think he did. I think he did ultimately uh by the time he actually maintained possession, but heck of a I mean, that was on fourth and 13. And yes, it was Barron put it in a great spot, and Conyers went up there and grabbed it. So give them credit for that.
SPEAKER_06Love that guy's energy too. Like he felt like he was fired up the whole time.
SPEAKER_02Absolutely, and he lined up in a bunch of different areas. That's exactly what Zach Kitley and Joey have been saying all offseason is that he's gonna play a bunch of different ways they're gonna use him. Uh, he did run in that two-point conversion as well at the beginning of the game in uh playing in the Wildcats. So credit to him. Caleb Douglas caught the big touchdown in overtime and made a few other plays throughout the game. So our offense is fine. I'm not worried one bit about this offense. Now, uh fourth quarter came and Ty Buchanan had a bad penalty. They also got bulldozed in one possession at the 13-19 mark of the fourth quarter, where Buchanan and Caleb Rogers both screwed up on that fourth and two, leading to the tipped ball and a turnover on downs. There was uh a holding penalty on Sheridan Wilson, or I'm sorry, a holding penalty on Ty Buchanan. There was a false start on Sheridan Wilson, there was the holding penalty on Mason Tharp. So there's there's some stuff you need to clean up. That's pretty normal, though, for a game one. These guys are gonna get penalties. It's it's gonna happen. You're not perfect right away. So as long as those get cleaned up like they kind of have been as the season progresses, I'm I'm okay with with our offensive line right now.
SPEAKER_06Man, we're kind of in a familiar spot, aren't we, dude? Like it was just that was that was some retro TechSteck football right there, dude. Some uh 2010s, baby. Uh not what I wanted.
SPEAKER_02Not what I wanted. I didn't want to see another Sam Houston state game or whatever where they're putting Arkansas Central Arkansas where they're putting up 45 or 30 points. That was that was exactly 2015, 2016 Texas Tech.
SPEAKER_06Yep. 100%, man. Uh, but but again, dude, uh, all fine points on the offense. But dude, honestly, the best unit of the game, special teams.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_06100%, dude. Was Dra McQuery Dre McRay the player of the game, you think?
SPEAKER_02He was the special teams Big 12 player of the week. So he was he's absolutely the player of the game. He put you in such good positions. I think he had three massive returns for you. Uh, two of them, which I think led to a touchdown. All of them led to scoring. Or no, I'm sorry, one of them didn't lead to scoring because that's when we got stopped on the goal line um on that fourth and one or whatever it was. But yeah, Dre's a guy that you just can't replicate. I mean, he's so good when he's got even an inch of space to get around, and he's so fast. Uh, he was uh he's an all Big 12 performing returner last year, and it looks like he's gonna do a lot of the same this year.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, and obviously kicking was great, drilled all the attempts. Can cannot complain there, especially on a game one. So, dude, like special teams was just phenomenal. It's it's and uh we all we only punted once, which is good. Um, but uh yeah, man, I just did the the special teams really really brought it, and that's just such an underrated facet of the game. That's uh obviously never sung with praises, but what Dre McRae did was that guy almost carried the team on his back, you know, like he was the reason as Joey McGuire said it, Joey McGuire said Dre McRae is the reason why we won the game, and it's it's hard to argue otherwise because Albert Christian was able to drive down 96 yards, and we we we we had some issues doing that a couple times, but uh thing thanks for Dre McRae. We didn't have to do that.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, absolutely. Uh we threw out both kickers. So Gino went out first for the first field goal, and then Reese Burkhard went out for the longer field goal, which I thought was interesting. So they both nailed him. There was no doubts on either one. So I assume that battle is going to continue into Washington State and see, you know, if somebody ends up taking it over. But uh, from everything that Kenny Perry has said, the special teams coordinator, Joey McGuire, it's these guys are pretty darn even. And if they're gonna continue to do that, great. I I don't care who goes out and kicks as long as somebody freaking makes it. So uh a good showing to start off the year.
SPEAKER_06Absolutely, dude. Uh, before we move on from this game team-wise, what'd you think of uh Zach Hidley trying to roll out uh uh Cam Brown?
SPEAKER_02We knew it was gonna happen. Uh he maybe not the best spot to do that. Yeah, I thought when he came out on that third down, but they knew they were going for it on fourth down, so you know, whatever at that point. But he's I think he's dynamic. I just don't think that the offense, the offensive line is quite there yet for him to really get those holes and and figure out. I I think you'll see Cam Brown a little more as we go on. You wanted to see him a lot more today, or yes, or a couple days. Yeah, you wanted him to just have straight up drives with himself, but unfortunately, we were not given that opportunity.
SPEAKER_06That's what I wanted to say, yeah.
SPEAKER_02And so it is what it is.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, which we wish we were able to see backups. That's what's fun about the FCS games. It's like the one thing you should be able to look forward to with FCS game is being able to see the entire team. Um, and obviously we had to keep the pedal to the metal the entire time, which is just uh all thanks to the defense, unfortunately. Um, yeah, dude. Anything left to say about our West Texas rivals?
SPEAKER_02No, it I just have something to say about Texas Tech as a whole is if you want to instill confidence in this fan base, you guys need to figure some shit out. I mean, right now we were all pretty good with where we're at before this game, thinking, okay, we're but to open up the new South End zone to you have the perfect opportunity with this schedule to change the direction and the trajectory of this program. And right now you're off to a really, really bad start. That's gonna get there needs to be something that clicks here with the players and the coaching staff to where you are putting up and hopefully this is just a one-off. I can't stress that enough. I I hope that this was either a one-off or a wake-up call, whatever you want to call it. But right now you are not instilling confidence in this entire fan base with this these sort of performances. So something needs to change. Uh, and it's it you need to go into Washington State a brand new team.
SPEAKER_06That's the most frustrating part to me, is you had a sellout crowd for an FCS team, so much so that they had to shove students onto the lawn. Okay, like that's how packed this place was, and and how fired up they were. And you you just go out and it was just supposed to be like a air uh acrobatic show where you're just doing all sorts of fun, crazy things with the players, you know, putting up all sorts of crazy numbers, obviously not letting them do anything on offense. Um, and it just it was the complete opposite. He did you he pretty much did the absolute worst thing he could have done right out of the gate. Uh, but like I said earlier, is if this needs to be the wake-up call, so be it. If we have to take this and run with it to go have a good season, then let it be. You know, I we I my my opening thought yesterday was you can flush this. You are one and oh, you can flush this down the drain and wipe it from memory. So all you have to do is go and win in Pullman, and I think that pretty much does it. Honestly, you don't even have to go and win spectacular fashion, in my opinion, because it's a road game at night against a looks to be a a at least competent opponent. And going on the road in this college football game, man, it's not easy. So I hope that uh I hope we can prove all of us haters wrong and go get it done.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, absolutely. And a lot of people are pointing out the change in last year's team after using losing to Wyoming, going in playing Oregon. You played a whole lot better. Like it was night and day the difference of those two teams that played against at Wyoming and then at home against Oregon. This is a little different situation because now you're going on the road and you need a complete change. But uh you're playing a worse team, and you're going in undefeated instead of you know a loss on your on your um record already. So there's there's things you can take away. But yeah, this this next week is gonna tell us a lot. And we knew that before the season, we were like what at Washington State was gonna be a huge indicator of how this season's gonna go for you, and that still stands even after a bad performance in week one.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, yeah. Uh you but dude, Joe McGuire came this close to the worst loss in program history. Oh, I know. Which is just insane.
SPEAKER_02So very, very well aware.
SPEAKER_06Feels very Matt Wells-esque. So it's just uh because I mean, I remember the Kingsbury years. I I know it kind of came, you know, it got a little sweaty at times, but I feel like at the end of the games, it was at least a couple score difference. But uh, dude, this was just way too close of a shave.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, for sure. So, like you mentioned, we'll just kind of hit on Washington State a little bit here as we go into Pullman next week. 9 p.m. kickoff on Fox. So you are late night. And if I need to stay up till 12:30 or 1 a.m. to watch what I just saw at a Texas tech, I'm gonna be very upset. So hopefully we get a big change here. But Washington State, major offense, they're usually a pretty high-powered offense. This is kind of a weird transition for them because now uh they've been relegated down to playing a Mountain West schedule, but they're still a very competent ball club. Um, last week beat Portland State 70 to 30. So yeah, I I don't know what to really take from that. Portland State is an FCS team. They're it's not somebody that uh it's a it's a score you would expect from Washington State, Portland State, is what I'll say. Right. But they were high powered. I mean, they have two really good receivers in Kyle Williams and Chris Hudson, with a pretty competent quarterback in John Mateir throwing to them. So he had a pretty similar stat line to what Barron had against ACU with 293 yards and five touchdowns. Uh, but that's where they make their money. It's a passing attack. It's uh they're not gonna have uh a crazy balanced uh offensive attack for you here. It's gonna be passing the ball and it's gonna be air raid style, and you're gonna see kind of a lot of similarities to your offense.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, it's it's a it's a it's a Mike Leach team, and that's that's that's what you're gonna be going up against. Uh like Kitley was knocked out, was to was tapping on it, so was DeRuder. How we were gonna be playing an offense very, very similar to our own. Um, so that is obviously where you get scared, right? Especially with the way the defense uh came out against Abilene Christian, because apparently they like to get the ball out fast. You know, there's there's not a whole lot of reading going on with Washington State, just like Abilene Christian, who's usually the first guy I'm throwing it to. So that makes me a little nervous. I hope we're able to account for that. You can't just rely on trying to sack the quarterback to win the game. So um that's obviously where all the headache comes from. So, dude, I I hope that Portland State is no Abilene Christian, and it just kind of came out on and it was a bug on their windshield. So I really do think this is gonna be a much different game before both teams. I do not foresee a blowout either way.
SPEAKER_02I hope you're right. I hope you're right. Right now, I uh there's no chance I can predict a Texas Tech win going into Pullman right now with what we're gonna do.
SPEAKER_06You don't want to think we're gonna win.
SPEAKER_02I don't know. After what I just witnessed, no, I'm gonna say we won. I and that's cool. And and I hope you're right. Um, I hope this team looks completely different from what we just saw on the football field. But there's zero chance after watching that team on Saturday that I'm gonna expect them to go into Pullman and win.
SPEAKER_06I'm so jealous they get to put in their backups. I mean, looking at their sat line right now, like, look at all those backups I got to put in. It's not fair, man. Yeah, it's not fair.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and and you know, not even mentioning Joey's road woes as a head coach here. So that doesn't instill a lot of confidence in you either. But uh, and to continue the negativity, we got the we got the depth chart release, as Texas Tech said they're gonna do, even on Labor Day. They're really they're releasing uh depth charts. The most concerning thing here, Joseph Ade Ray out for the season. Uh, that's one of your outside linebackers that did not have a great game in general. We didn't really touch on it a lot, but we didn't get a ton of pressure. And granted, part of that is because they got the ball out so quickly. It's uh it's hard to expect anybody to get a hand on the quarterback when he gets the ball out in two seconds. But um, you now have Dylan Spencer and Joseph Adatere out for the entire season, and they were projected to get a lot of run and probably some run in Spencer's case for the outside linebackers this year. So that stinks, yeah. And and Adatere has shown some stuff in the past that have made you really excited for his future. So hopefully those guys get healthy. Um, you do have Charles Esters, who is another outside linebacker out for the Wazoo game, probably going to be another couple weeks for him. And uh J.D.On Wilcox as well is not gonna play for Wazoo, but that year for sure is they're not gonna be playing um for this one.
SPEAKER_06Just really it's just kind of like a bad for worse, a bad to worse when it comes to this. When we talk about this kind of game, you know, like, oh, we got the win, but what did it cost us? And then it's uh that old that old Marvel meme. So it's it's uh it's just again, it's really frustrating because you know you lose that production that you need, and especially if they're uh especially when they're veterans, too. So that makes it like extra headache. So but the best you can hope for in those situations is just the next guy up is very hungry, ready to go.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, no, absolutely. The thing about these depth charts getting released so early is that they lie and and stuff happens throughout the week. Not that Texas Tech is purposefully lying on some of this stuff, but Braylon Lux wasn't listed as out or even questionable for the Abilene Christian game. And turns out right before the game, he's uh he's out, and that's we have a whole week to go, though. Yeah, I know exactly, but that's the issue here with you know releasing your depth chart so early. Um, you're just kind of getting some out there, and then if you're really sticking to what they're telling you here, it's like, okay, there's no other player that has any chance of being out except for the guys listed, and then all of a sudden your number one corner is out. And it's that's that part has seemed to happen a lot with Texas Tech. It might happen just with every college football team. I don't really know. I I know there's there's some sort of strategical thing here where you don't want to give the opponents all the information uh ahead of time, which I can respect, but you are gonna see a lot of questionables from here on out, I think, uh, in a in a Monday night uh depth chart. And you do have a lot of questionables listed on the Washington State depth chart, those being CJ Baskerville, Tosh Brooks, pretty significant. Uh John Curry, Harvey Dyson, Quincy Ladett, and Braylon Lux still listed as questionable. Those are all pretty significant players right there for you that are going to play a lot of snaps if they do get cleared for this game. Again, I think the questionable mark really doesn't mean much. It just means that they're a little banged up and they're probably gonna take it easy this week in practice. But you know, you never know with Texas Tech. I I I don't know. I can't say one way or the other that any of these guys are gonna play or not.
SPEAKER_06Well, I I see no world where Tosh Brooks is not playing against Washington State. Yeah, first of course, first of all.
SPEAKER_02There wasn't there wasn't a point in the game where I thought Taj tweaked something. Something or got hurt, you know. Cameron Valdez didn't play a lot, neither did Cam Dickey. So and they went to Taj down the stretch. I mean, I think he's gonna be fine, he's just probably gonna take it easy uh in practice this week.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, no, I totally. I mean, it is nice seeing this, this uh this release. I I I do like seeing it, as does all the media. So uh, you know, bad news or not, it's nice to know.
SPEAKER_02So one hundred percent.
SPEAKER_06All right, well man, dude.
SPEAKER_02What I do you want to give like official predictions on this, or what do you want to do?
SPEAKER_06Uh not really. Uh, I just want to say we win. Uh, because I don't know what to say. Like, I think I think it's you know, I know it's a cowardly way out, but I still don't know what to think of this Texas Tech team right now. And I'm just gonna hold on to a string of belief that what we saw la a couple nights ago was a fluke catching ACU on a killer night where everyone was red hot and we were every single one of our guys was ice cold, you know, kind of thing. And that's that's where I'm hoping we are at. Um, and we go into Washington State and completely erase the memory of this game away. And I they they have the ability to do it, so let's see it.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I tend to I tend to go on the line of thinking of I'm I need to see it, and then I'll make my judgment from there. And what I saw on Saturday was not good, and so I'm not I'm going to assume until it's fixed that the defense is not going to be good.
SPEAKER_06Look, it's it's oh sorry, go on.
SPEAKER_02No, go ahead. Go ahead.
SPEAKER_06No, I was gonna say, I mean, it's it's year three, and uh the Joe Maguire hype machine has been trusted, and it's just if people if you want to peep people to keep buying that what you're selling, uh it's time for the results. So let's let's let's make sure it's it's not just a a uh a dog and pony show, you know.
SPEAKER_02Yep, for sure. My official prediction is that Washington State is going to win uh against Texas Tech, but I hope I am horribly mistaken and very wrong. And I hope we go in there and win by 50 and everybody is rah-rah again.
SPEAKER_06I hope I get the flex on you next episode. Ha! Our team won, loser. Yeah. So I'm gonna talk that mess. There you go.
SPEAKER_02You I hope you do. I hope you do, my man.
SPEAKER_06Before we leave this this football topic, uh, I just want to kind of take a look around the Big 12 real quick. So it looks like uh Texas Tech arguably had the worst night. Um well, well, I know obviously wins are always better than losses. But Kelly Ford Kelly Ford ratings, you know.
SPEAKER_02Okay.
SPEAKER_06Um, we were the rated as the second worst performance in the entire nation, only being out by Oregon. So it's uh obviously I'm gonna take a win over loss anytime. So I think it's clear clear to say that the Houston game was the worst performance in the Big 12. Um but uh obviously, you know, you have some scares in Colorado, right? And West Virginia could have had more um than they put out.
SPEAKER_02They did not bring it, yeah.
SPEAKER_06And Arizona was looking pretty uh Swiss cheesy as well there for a bit. So against the New Mexico team. Um and TCU was was struggling as well. So it's not like we were alone. Ours was just the most the scariest, in my in my opinion, besides Houston, of course. Um, but they expected a rough season. So it's it's not like it's it's two different circumstances. Um, but dude, uh looking around the Big 12, real quick, I mean, BYU, Arizona State, um who else really got it done? Baylor, OS YOSU, Baylor. Uh, they all got it done. That you know, these are and these are the teams that we're talking about besides K-State that are kind of in the in the flux of how good are they gonna be. So a lot of people went out there and proved it. And I think the biggest winner of the week was uh Arizona State. Like they they went out there and trounced Wyoming, just utterly humiliated them, a team that we had could not do it to. So that scares me because we play them in a couple weeks. And I tell you what, man, uh depending on how this Pullman game goes, that North Texas game might be uh very fear-inducing.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, hopefully it's not. Uh Oklahoma State also a really good performance against South Dakota State. They ended up winning 44 to 20. Cincinnati looked pretty rough in their game. They were kind of expected to be rough. Uh, Iowa State, I know, didn't look that great either, especially offensively against a North Dakota team who is not good. Baylor put it on Tarleton State. I mean, Daquan Finn looked really good for the couple possessions I watched. Houston, man, that was that was bad. Seven points, putting up seven points on UNLV is a really rough look and not a great start to the Willie Fritz era. But again, like we were not expecting Houston to be very good this year, but that's losing to UNLV by that much isn't is really not good.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Um, and yeah, the rest of them ended up being blowouts. I mean, Arizona's Arizona had to really come come in the uh fourth quarter, third and fourth quarter to really put away New Mexico. But yeah, Arizona State, BYU, Kansas State, Baylor, a lot of blowouts, um, as expected. But uh, we'll start learning more and more about these teams as we move on to week two, where uh, by the way, the ponies of SMU are playing your BYU Cougars on Friday. So that's what it all starts out with.
SPEAKER_06That might be a pretty intriguing game, actually, man. Yeah, go coups.
SPEAKER_02Go Cougs. I really hope the Couggs just beat the shit out of them.
SPEAKER_06It would be hilarious. That would be really funny. I mean, like the Big 12s of Power Conference, got it?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, got it. I love that guy. I mean too, dude. I love that guy.
SPEAKER_06I love this shit, I mean too, dude. Like don't talk about SB football. Got it.
SPEAKER_02The ACZ had a brutal week one. Horrid. And he's just tweeting ACC's better than the SEC. Got it? I love it.
SPEAKER_06I love I love when he's like in DM saying, like, stop talking about SME or we're gonna have problems. Got it? Like, that's always so funny, dude.
SPEAKER_02I want to meet that guy. I want to see who that guy with that guy it'd be great as the ACC progressively gets horrible, as we're probably expecting them to this year. I want to see that. I want to see it come back.
SPEAKER_06Oh man, imagine being a bottom beater in a in a conference. Am I right?
SPEAKER_02Wanna know? Wanna know, baby? Right where you want to be. All right, man. Let's finish off with a song of the week and then get out of here.
SPEAKER_06All right, dude. All right, man. So I'm gonna call upon once I like I did last week. I'm gonna call upon the powers of the Tex Tech alumni. I'm gonna call upon the natural powers of the world. I'm gonna call upon Fly Lang Calvary and the song touchdown from the movie Twisters, okay? Because we're gonna be needing a lot of touchdowns in Pullman, Washington. Am I right? High five.
SPEAKER_00Rain in tears, pain in fear when it rain touchdowns.
SPEAKER_02Good, good choice. The thank you. The Twister soundtrack is elite. The Luke Combs, the Laney Wilson song, I love it on there. Uh, they just have so many different artists that are really, really good. And it it's all encapsulated by uh Charlie Crockett singing the Johnny Cash Ghost Riders in the Sky. One of my favorites off of that. But yes, I do love the Flatland song. Um, really I'm I'm really starting to become a Flatland guy.
SPEAKER_06Oh, how could he be?
SPEAKER_02For sure, for sure. They do a good job. But I my song of the week, because 9 p.m. kickoff, central time, god's time. My song of the week is night moves by Bob Seeger, which is a classic, classic jam. And yeah, we gotta go into Pullman at night and we gotta win that one. So we got some night moves going. That's my song of the week.
SPEAKER_00Working on a nine moves. Trying to lose an awkward teenage grooves. Working on a nine months.
SPEAKER_06Alright, man. I never heard that one. You're gonna need it.
SPEAKER_02You're gonna need to put it in my face. You'll know it. You'll know it. It's an oldie but a goodie.
SPEAKER_06It's an old one, so let's get those beers iced because we're probably gonna need them, huh? We're celebrating. Yes. Take us home, buddy.
SPEAKER_02Alrighty, you can follow both me and Tristan on Twitter. Tristan's at Tristy Mick. I'm at L underscore S underscore Rodriguez. Follow the pod on Twitter at talking tech pod. Uh songs week playlist on Spotify and Apple Music. We really hope we are in a better mood next week and we're going to know. Always, always Wreck Em Tech.
SPEAKER_06What and oh Wreck'em Tech.
SPEAKER_04Uh wow. First of all, uh got a lot of respect for Steven and Tristan. Uh their program, tough guys, just uh a lot of fun. This is wild. When I walked in and I knew this would be an awesome podcast. And these guys have been tremendous. I love you, and I can't wait for this journey.
SPEAKER_05I would like to thank uh Steven and Tristan. This is incredible. These guys have a passion and a love for this school.