Texas vs. Ohio State: Biggest Questions, Concerns & Reasons for Confidence

0:00Everybody welcome to the IT Q&A where we take questions from the board We answer them in video format should go over to that board right now and sign up We'd love to see you over there a lot of good stuff Eric. We're getting right into it The first question for you is Gooseby looks like he's about 80% I know it's all pain management at this point, but how much longer do you think this bruise will linger? I think he's you know, it's getting better. It's quite to me. It's encouraging. They play them in that game You know, that says a lot that they felt good about playing him And I don't know how to put a putter percentage on him Thought he looked okay in the first half and I thought he looked less than okay in the second half So maybe it averaged out Hopefully the adrenaline of playing Ohio State carries him through and we see a better effort out of him But another week of rehabbing and practice. I think you know some of that might have been him fatigue and game shape You know you didn't do nearly as much in a few weeks of camp Leading up to it. So I'm not super worried about Gooseby. It would be great if we get the Trevor Gooseby that we all know But I think we'll see better than what we saw him in the second half and again in the first half

1:01He had a number of really good blocks in the first half I'm not again. I'm not worried about him. Obviously it'd be great to go in into this game perfectly healthy But that's not the case What preseason assumptions to week one have you revisit for Texas and then part two Do you still think the offensive line can get to a seven out of ten by November? Yeah, I mean that was it that that's what I did the two questions are tied together because it was You know we nailed a lot of things from August that I thought we saw immediately in that game and you feel good about but one of them is You know the run game versus the run defense the run defense wasn't always great the run The run game during camp experience some success. So we were wondering about that, you know And it could be that they're both just pretty average, you know I think that was probably the case on Saturday, but there's a long way to go in the season I think both are gonna get better I think the offensive lines showed some positives for sure We've covered them at length the deep dive last night was awesome Everybody needs to check that out my rewatch revealed some plenty of positives on the offensive line I think it's gonna get better the defense easy to attribute that to the first game in the new scheme

2:05And that's gonna work out itself out of you. I think they're gonna round probably gonna round in a form in similar rate and both be above average Who on Texas roster overperformed given preseason expectations and then who underperformed? Well the Titans were used exactly how we thought and we were kind of excited about the most blockers But they were better than we expected you know, and that's another thing They're going up against Colin Simmons and a bunch of those really really athletic defenders Yeah, it doesn't practice. You're not gonna get a true read. It's a huge difference going from the Texas athletes to Texas state No offense of Texas state So they looked better than we expected, but it wasn't just okay. They're they're out-athleting these guys They played with conviction. They played with understanding You know, they knew what the assignment was and they played with tenacity that stuff is gonna translate You know love what I saw out of that that group So while we're we're kind of cautioning people on maybe not that one single receiver is gonna emerge We do like the group as blockers and they they really they overperformed my expectations, and I was still pretty bullish on them

3:10You know Derek Williams probably wasn't as good as I thought and in bow, masco wasn't as great Certainly, you know, we we expect to bow, masco to be we'd heard that he's the top five defender on the team in camp And we didn't see a top five defender on the field Saturday No, I'm not worried about each and of course Kobe black look really good at safety, so they're still covered there But you know and just a car I thought he played okay, but a lot of the hype about just a car isn't necessarily about his playmaking It's about leadership. Yeah, the leadership and what it does for the overall defense. So Overall, I was pleased, but yeah, there's there were some guys and there's probably a couple other offensive line You know left guard could get better whether it's a Korsky or see more for sure But you know, oh in general, I like the starting point for the team If Patricia gives us the run game again this year, do you think Sark sticks with it? Hell yeah, why not? Yeah, you can't resist he can't resist me Well, you can't resist and you can tie it in other elements too if they're giving you the run game They're keeping the safety back That's probably gonna open up the short range passing and underneath maybe some RPO game too

4:11And so I think Sark is gonna take that not just what the what comes to them in the run But also in the passing game, you know last year they were really weren't able to use the running backs in the passing game You go back two years ago In the 2024 semi-finals and the the running backs got a lot of reception So I think they'll be able to go go back with that But just in general, you know if they if they want to Give Texas the run game like they did last year one of those is gonna break or they're gonna get it more reliably more consistently So I yeah, I think Sark will stick with it the whole point to run on the balls to make them bring up the safes and And you know if they're not gonna do that then you just keep running it But Texas couldn't make them pay enough and then a lot of that boils down so can you make them pay situationally? You got to convert that third and one short yard of run, you know, you got to convert those red zone chances So situational run game is better that's gonna be a better barometer than just you know aggregate yardage And the five losses to Ohio State in Georgia the last two years Texas fell behind in four out of the five. I really think it put the team behind the April How important do you feel it'll be for Texas to jump out with a lead?

5:14I think it's great for confidence. I think it's great for momentum I think it's great for a proof of concept what we're you know what Sark came into the game with as SRIP is working You know, we've also seen Sark come out with some really dynamic scripts the 2022 Alabama game was you know, that was Well, they were on fire Yeah, I do think it's important at minimum you create a lead or or at minimum you keep pace I should say if they come out and they get a couple quick scores. So yeah, I mean, that's you know Obviously you want to jump out to take advantage of the script But I think confidence will go a long way. Just get in the game flow man. This thing is gonna come down to the fourth quarter Most likely get in the game flow Proof you belong, you know, assert some tendencies that can work that you can you can use throughout the game like the run game Hopefully And just get it going but no matter how the game starts I think it's gonna end up being a close game in the fourth quarter Look at how they played last year even it gets Florida that game was terrible. They had the ball to drive To tie it up as they convert a two-point conversion So you know this game is gonna go down to the fourth quarter almost assuredly

6:14Do you expect design order back runs to be a part of the game plan in this game? I don't think they're gonna come out calling it like part of the offense Say Sark has a plan a offense. I don't think it'll be part of that Sark could have a plan b offense where okay the run game's not working like they want We could really punish him here with the next true number Or you could go hopefully what I'd like to see what we all want to see is the plan c closed out Which we saw against a and m michigan and he closed out Oklahoma as well. So you know Ideally we see plan c But I think we could see plan b or maybe maybe part of plan a is to use them in the red zone You know he could be a really good touchdown poacher. He's got some Josh Allen to his game That could be part of plan a but I don't think it's gonna be you know first first and 10 from the 25 and they you know They run his own read are you ready to love your kitchen and bathroom again? Lux kitchen and bath will bring that to life Lux has been offering high-end kitchen and bathroom remodels for three generations throughout the greater Austin area With five star review after five star review on google and facebook and an a plus rating from the better business bureau

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8:20Um, and that does give you some confidence, but it's got it's really got to come down to him having the proper schemes You know if you look at that deep dive last night. He's not perfect You know, yeah, that one goal line call it was questionable But I think overall in general. I think that his game plan matched to the Match to the players and match to the match to the talent in the the demeanor of the players I think suits him better. I think pk was a little passive This isn't aggressive group of guys man being led by Colin Simmons And you got cade Phillips who wants to play aggressively and and jolani Mcdonald who wants to come downhill I think it matches the person. Oh, I think it's going to get them playing harder and playing faster And then there is that that whole thing we're going to talk about in the video later tonight But those players want to play for him in ways that they didn't they like the pk They respected pk But they didn't want to run through a brick wall form like they do do with Wilmustian One of the odds we get a 2023 Bama performance out of nowhere Yeah, yeah, I don't think it would be out of nowhere. I think it would be out of a sark having a tremendous Offseason, you know very aggressive offseason where it's just kind of reset the whole program

9:25I think it would be a testament to him having successful off offseason In ways that he struggled last offseason. It's just the opposite of that right So I don't I to me it wouldn't come out of nowhere. I think it's well within their ability I think getting Ohio State in the second week helps Oh that Alabama team got a lot better throughout the year as you as you remember Eat Georgia in the SEC championship game to make the playoffs And then one the who'd they beat in the bowl game to play was a miss again? They barely lost to Michigan right yeah And so they were never a good team by the end of the year I think they're catching Ohio State at the right time because of the you know You got a new offensive coordinator and then also you got a lot of younger defenders or or inexperienced defenders. So Um, it's within the wrong possibility that we see a game like like the 2023 Alabama But uh, that's why they play him right? You know, I do think there are some similarities to this Texas team ready to come out play with tarot fire I think they did have confidence going into that game because they played Alabama so close In 2022. I think that went along with where's that victory? So there there are similarities. We'll see

10:26But I wouldn't I push back on it coming out of nowhere Yeah, they were working on all offseason. It wouldn't come out of nowhere What are the top five things you feel best about in the matchup with Ohio State? Should we go in order? Sure why let's get crazy dude All right, you know, I mean here it is right there playing his day Texas all the overall town advantage And I do think that's true. I mean, there's obviously Of a smaller margin here than against most teams Ohio State is all is obviously very talented I just think the Texas has the most talented roster and all the calls football again roster met match to experience level In your 2d so that's one that's one reason Texas is a lot more experienced than coming into this game last year And that's what I missed you know look at the guys look at the draft picks projected draft picks on that 2025 team versus 2026. It's night and day Yeah, Texas has you know, Texas should go crazy in the NFL draft and that's going to be something that they hold an advantage against every team They play this year Uh, they're much more experienced on defense than Ohio State How state had to replace a bunch of guys talking about being on a good roster cycle

11:28They were on that on one last year defensively and it was it wasn't just the top three They had a lot of guys up front and some secondary guys that were good as well. They're replacing a lot So and I go on to say here that that advantage is limited just a little bit because they are still in early days Of the will must-cheap install right we saw some stakes last week that Normally you won't you won't see later in the season given the talent you know, they've got to play they've got to play a little bit more assignment sound than what we saw Yeah, it's a home game right and you know that that gives you some confidence They've got one under their belt now Ohio State has one under their belt too, but I think it was important for arch There's no more important person going into this game than archmaning and for him to come out start last week Accurate have an overall accurate game 20 for 27 only had a couple of kind of WTF question mark throws I think that's big first confidence going into that game. You know say it's gonna be confident no matter what that guy's a little machine He's a little sniper from the bird's nest And he's probably gonna have some time to throw or get the ball out quick Ryan Dade is a good job of settling him down and getting him in rhythm

12:33I think arch needs to get in a rhythm and last week's game having that game under his belt I think he's gonna give him some confidence that he didn't have going in the last year um Two huge offsets cam Coleman versus Jeremiah Smith. They don't have that Jeremiah Smith Huge water seaver number one advantage that kind of can change changes the whole way you defend them They have to worry about cam Coleman too in previous games. They had Jeremiah Smith and Amika Buka And Jeremiah Smith and Carl Tate and so that they had to do it Well, this year Texas has that do with Ryan Wingo I know how state has Devon McEwen. He's a talent and a player no doubt about it But this is a much more even Match up than it was in previous years and then the offensive lines they both have their issues And then if you factor for Texas the defensive line should be better than Ohio states and Ohio states D line is pretty good Then that could actually be advantage Texas You know these offsets offensive line and in water seaver offsets. I think are huge going into that game And then Texas just has huge big playability on the offense and defense And it's not just cam Coleman or Ryan Wingo. We got the running backs can make big plays

13:35You got arch himself that can make a big play on the defensive side You know, Collins always the threat for a second a strip regime biles is He's playing his hometown team here, right? He's from Columbus He's going to be as motivated as ever He's the one man turnover waiting to happen The secondary's got ball hawks there that they've got this they've obviously got this mindset to punch the ball out right moron Watson got one So the big playability on the offensive defense can help some of their down-to-down issues You know they give up a nine yard run here 10 yard pass there. Okay, then move the ball a little bit You still have the ability to get off the field And then on the offense side, you know some of those drives tend to stall. They don't get enough drives going That was an issue of persistent issue last year. All right. Well, it's third and ten you might want to be in third and ten sometimes Because it forces you to go to your big play guy Absolutely All right, Eric. Thank you for this episode of ITQ and A make sure to go over the board You can ask the questions directly to Eric and everyone have a great day and stay locked in for the rest of the shows Coming out today. See you