West of Everest: An Oklahoma Football Podcast

Ep. 290 - Hey, a Win’s a Win. OU Survives UCF Scare.

The guys convene a day after OU squeaked out a 31-29 win over UCF. While Lee took in the game in Norman, Grant's gameday experience was awful in Minnesota. The guys choose to take a "glass half full" approach to what could have been a crushing loss. Credit to the Sooners' defense for playing well most of the time -- especially at the beginning. OU's offense was inconsistent and failed to help out the defense in the 1st quarter. Nic Anderson continues to catch touchdowns, while the OU running game finally got things going in the 4th quarter. The kicking game continues to struggle for the Sooners, while the punting was much better. We go through some of your "3 Word Reviews" at the end, before briefly talking about the day in college football. | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonTweets

Ep. 289 - With Expectations Soaring, Sooners Set to Begin 2nd Half

In the opening take, Lee talks about a recent social media post that caught his eye. Then Grant joins as they begin the show discussing the curious situation surrounding UCF QB John Rhys Plumlee (5:00). We get to what's a mostly positive OU injury update, will we see Jovantae Barnes again this season, and OU's gotta replace McKade Mettauer this weekend (17:00). We haven't gotten a chance yet to talk about Andrel Anthony being out for the year. Who's going to step up (28:00)? UCF's defense isn't good, especially it's run defense. Will the Sooners be able to run the ball much better Saturday (34:40)? How's UCF's backup QB? UCF's skill position players are super talented (37:45). Grant says this is a very interesting spot for UCF given how their season has gone, and could play out. That being said, we will learn a ton about OU this Saturday (43:40). Grant is in a good mood and loves how this season has played out almost perfectly for the Sooners (54:30). We take a look at the Big 12 slate this week beginning with Baylor-Cincinnati. The guys think this is a good spot for WVU against OSU. What will we learn about Texas playing at Houston? Lee likes BYU's spot hosting Texas Tech. What do we make of TCU-K-State (1:04:20)? We make our weekly picks beginning with both guys really liking Ohio State as it hosts Penn State. Plus we both aren't fans of James Franklin (1:11:10). The guys talk about this weird, limited Alabama offense and aren't sure the Crimson Tide can cover 9 against Tennessee (1:21:00). Lee hates Iowa football so much. Grant brings up an interesting point about Iowa's bad offense paired with it's great defense (1:24:30). We have our first crossfire as the guys discuss Duke-FSU. Plus some wishcasting about how the rest of the 2023 season could play out. And Grant rants about video quality that may or may not be our worst segment ever (1:30:40). Finally, the guys talk about USC as they pick the Utah-USC game. The ingredients are there for USC to absolutley crater to finish out the season (1:41:10). | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonTweets

Ep. 288 - Sooner Magic Caps Unforgettable OU-Texas Game

The guys talk about OU's thrilling 34-30 win over Texas at the Cotton Bowl. Lee gives it up to Brent Venables for all he's done with this team so far this season. Grant admits he thought OU had a better chance to win than he let on last episode. Plus we go through the entire game and talk about all of the awesome (and not so awesome) moments. At the end, we go to the WoE Facebook page and Twitter/X for your "3 Word Reviews". | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonTweets

Ep. 287 - Will Sooners Embrace Plucky Underdog Role and Beat Texas?

In the opening take, Grant asks if it's time for OU to experience a bit of what Texas has gone through over the past decade in this rivalry game? Then Lee joins to talk about his general feelings about OU facing off against Texas Saturday (4:05). Brent Venables was not interested in providing any "bulletin board" material this week (13:55). Grant takes a look at where OU and Texas ranks in the different analytical models. The computers seem to like OU a little bit more than Texas (23:30). Grant goes over all of Texas' success as an underdog over the last 30+ years. Meanwhile OU rarely wins this game when the Horns are favored (30:05). Quinn Ewers is pretty darn good and he can move a lot better this year. Texas' offense is terrific, but one of their best players is injured. We go over it all, while including a couple of points on how OU can have some success (38:00). The Texas defense has been elite and they'll probably force Dillon Gabriel to beat them. Grant goes over all their talented players, but we at least found a couple of players who we hope OU can exploit (1:01:20). We take a look around the Big 12 (1:13:55). Grant went 5-0 in his picks last week. This week's slate includes Maryland-Ohio State/LSU-Missouri/Alabama-Texas A&M/Kentucky-Georgia/Notre Dame-Louisville. At the very end we take a look at what will be a pretty difficult upcoming stretch for USC (1:18:00). | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonTweets

Ep. 286 - OU Takes Care of Business in 30-Point Win Over Cyclones

The guys gather Sunday morning to recap OU's 50-20 win over Iowa State. What was up with the poor run defense and the two long ISU TDs? Dillon Gabriel played really well and so did the Sooners WRs. OU still isn't running the football well, but the Sooners did enough against ISU. It was great to see the defense play terrific after halftime. | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonTweets

Ep. 285 - Sooners Better Not Be Looking Past This Bad Iowa State Team

In the opening take, Lee points out that Oklahoma has improved a very important statistic drastically through four games. Then Grant joins to talk about teammates celebrating each other, a brief NFL sidebar, and PFF College showing that they're not an outlet that has a whole lot of credibility (3:20). What do we make of Jeff Lebby and Ted Roof not having press conferences anymore? Lincoln Riley recently suspended a reporter, which we obviously have to rip Riley for (9:50). Let's talk about the OU RB situation-- it's still weird. Lee slightly amends his take on Marcus Major from the Cincinnati game (also some Dillon Gabriel zone read talk), and Brent Venables seems uncomfortable answering questions about Barnes and Sawchuk not playing much (17:10). Savion Byrd is good to go, and what's the deal with Reggie Pearson moving forward (30:45)? Grant provides an update on where OU stands in a lot of analytical rankings. The defense is much better, but is it all because of a soft schedule (35:00)? Grant was watching old OU-ISU games recently. We dig into this week's game by talking about the Cyclones truly terrible offense (47:50). Iowa State's defense seems to be very good again, although they haven't faced any good offenses yet. Even though on paper OU should win easily, will the Sooners be looking ahead to Texas (1:06:20)? We read a couple of comments from the WoE Facebook page (1:16:20). Let's take a look at the Big 12, beginning with a weird line in the Cin-BYU game. Texas Tech is in desperation mode. UCF is a double-digit favorite over Baylor and is WVU-TCU a trap (1:19:10)? Finally we make our weekly picks. Games include Utah-Oregon State/USC-Colorado/KU-Texas/LSU-Ole Miss/Notre Dame-Duke (1:27:20). | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonTweets

Ep. 284 - OU’s Defense Steps Up in Road Win Over Bearcats

The guys discuss OU's 20-6 win at Historic Nippert Stadium. Lee says you can't complain about a win to get to 4-0, especially after last season. The defense looks to be much improved, and is Danny Stutsman a serious contender for the Butkus? OU's defense was terrific on 3rd down as well, and it was good to see them force a couple of turnovers. OU's offense was hit & miss, but did enough. We still don't understand Marcus Major getting the majority of the carries, but I think we just have to accept it at this point. We'd really love to see the wide receivers touch the football more. Plus we read your "3 Word Reviews" from the WoE Facebook page as well as Twitter! | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonTweets

Ep. 283 - Will History Repeat Itself for the Sooners in Cincinnati?

No opening take as the guy's jump right into Cincinnati week. This is the time of the year where we can start to form real opinions about this OU team. We got some good news, and possible bad news, for the OU secondary this week. Will we see Justin Harrington anymore this season? Could Cayden Green get the start at LG this week (2:25)? Jeff Lebby didn't have a whole lot of new information this week about Jackson Arnold's usage. Is there a point to any of this (12:20)? This show has been the official Jalil Farooq should get running back touches podcast (20:00). OU travels to Nippert Stadium and the guys will be there to watch Saturday. Cincinnati is coming off a loss and have a QB that OU once faced in the Cotton Bowl years ago. What does Emory Jones bring to the table (22:35)? We take a look at the rest of the Bearcats offense. Grant found a nugget on tape that may give us an early indication Saturday about how this game may go. How good of win was Cincy's victory over Pitt (32:45)? Gavin Sawchuk talked a little about his injured hamstring this week. He says he's "100 percent", so hopefully we see a better version of him moving forward. Plus we take a look at OU's offense against Cincinnati's defense. If OU's the team we've seen the first 3 games, the Sooners should win this game Saturday. Could we be walking into a possible Dillon Gabriel revenge game (47:05)? We've got a ton of thoughts on the Big 12 slate that features a lot of intriguing matchups (1:06:30). OSU and ISU have the lowest total in all of college football this week (1:13:35). Texas at Baylor is interesting. Grant lays out a dream Texas scenario for this weekend and the rest of the season (1:17:45). College football has been terrific so far this year, and K-State vs UCF is intriguing (1:23:35). We both went 3-2 last week in our picks. Fantastic games this week include FSU-Clemson/SMU-TCU/Colorado-Oregon/Ole Miss-Alabama/Ohio State-Notre Dame (1:29:15). We make one final pitch for people to try Skyline Chili (1:49:30). | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonTweets

Ep. 282 - OU Posts Dominant Win at Tulsa. Are These Sooners For Real?

The guys gather Sunday morning to talk about OU's dominant 66-17 win over Tulsa. Dillon Gabriel was terrific yet again. OU's wide receivers look excellent, meanwhile the running game leaves a lot to be desired. Peyton Bowen got the start at Cheetah and the defense played awesome aside from 3 Tulsa drives. Lee has the stats comparing last year's defense through 3 games to this year's team, and we finish up the show by reading your "3 Word Reviews", and commenting on the day that was in college football. | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonTweets

Ep. 281 - Who’s Going to Play Cheetah? & Will We Finally Get Some Sawchuk at TU?

In the opening take, Lee goes to the WoE Facebook page and highlights a listener who's happy about what he's seen from the Sooners' defense so far. Then Grant joins the show as we give our thoughts on the Art Briles/Jeff Lebby situation (5:10). What's the injury situation surrounding Dasan McCullough and Justin Harrington? Who plays Cheetah if those guys are unable to play? Gentry Williams is available this week. Lee shares some impressive 3rd down defense stats (9:25). Tulsa's offense has been operating without its starting QB. This is a game where OU's defense can have some fun. Will they (21:50)? Jeff Lebby says they want to get Jovantae Barnes and Gavin Sawchuk going this week. We got an answer as to why Jaquaize Pettaway didn't do anything against SMU. Marcus Major is what he is. Does Jeff Lebby know what he wants this OU offense to be (25:30)? Is there any reason to be concerned with OU's offensive line? We read a listener comment about J. Barnes vs. M. Major, and one listener tells us he's going to the Cincinnati game (36:30). We look around the Big 12. Grant thinks Cincinnati may be good. Can BYU score against Arkansas? Lee got a bad number in the Texas-Wyoming game, Houston may be the worst team in the Big 12, and could Kansas be one of the best teams in the Big 12 by season end (45:45)? We each went 3-2 last week making picks. This week's slate includes Penn State-Illinois/K-State-Missouri/Minnesota-UNC/Washington-Michigan St./Tennessee-Florida (56:20). |Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonTweets