West of Everest: An Oklahoma Football Podcast

Ep. 270 - Everything is Up For Review After OU Finishes Reg Season 6-6

OU was terrific for the first quarter and a half as the Sooners built up a 24-6 lead. From there it was all downhill as Oklahoma left Lubbock with an OT loss and a mediocre 6-6 record. Where do we begin? The defense started great before reverting back to what we had seen in the middle portions of the year. Dillon Gabriel played very well, yet the offense failed in multiple situational spots. Join us as we try and make sense of this very uncertain time in OU football. | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9

Ep. 269 - Will the Good Version of OU’s Offense Show Up in Lubbock?

Lee opens the show by sharing some news about his evening plans that nobody will surely care about. But then we jump into our takeaways from Jeff Lebby's Monday press conference. What did we want to hear from OU's offensive coordinator? Lebby said he learned after the Bedlam game that OU's offense needs to stay aggressive. What do we make of that (1:50)? We got a brief glimpse into when Lebby thinks it's best to manage the clock in games. Grant rails on OU's tempo offense yet again. Is the tempo designed to cover up a simple offense (9:00)? Lebby addressed OU's 3rd down struggles of late. Lee still wants some Wildcat answers (17:30). We get Brent Venables' take on all the clock management issues. Do we sense a bit of a disconnect between Venables and Lebby (22:55)? OU's a small road favorite at Texas Tech. It's weird to feel good about the Sooners' defense going into a game while we are all left wondering what to make of the offense as they prepare to go to Lubbock (27:40). Is it possible we see Woodi Washington and C.J. Coldon return next season (44:00)? We take a look at the Big 12 slate in the final week of the regular season (46:10) before making our weekly picks and lamenting the possibility that USC will make the Playoff (53:45). Lee wants to talk about a random listener review from iTunes that was posted back in 2020 (1:15:45). And finally, we do our yearly rant against Thanksgiving food (1:21:40). | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9

Ep. 268 - Winning Bedlam is Great, But the Offensive Ineptitude is the Story

It was Lee's first OU game as a "fan" since 2012 -- and boy was that a weird Bedlam. An incredible 1st Qtr gave way to a puzzling and frustrating final 3 Qtrs for the offense. The Sooners' defense was pretty darn good all night. We give the defense their due, before diving into the offensive ineptitude. At the end we read your "3-Word Reviews". | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9

Ep. 267 - Is Bedlam a ”Must-Win” For Oklahoma?

Lee was shocked Bedlam got a 6:30 pm kickoff as the guys open the show talking briefly about why that probably happened. Then Lee decides to point out some positive things going for OU right now (3:20). OU's a healthy favorite in Bedlam, but is it possible Brent Venables has lost the locker room after last week's loss (13:20)? Is this a "must-win" game for OU (21:00)? We take a look at the rest of the Big 12 slate (33:20) before making our weekly picks against the spread (40:15). | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9

Ep. 266 - Sooners Suffer Baffling Loss at West Virginia

For the first time in the podcast's history, Lee & Grant sat down to record the show about 90 minutes after OU lost to WVU 23-20. Grant says the Mountaineers were begging to lose that game, but OU failed time and time again to put them away. For the first time this year, Lee's questioning whether the Sooners will make a bowl game (1:40). OU was awful on 3rd down, WVU was fantastic on 4th down, Eric Gray was the best player on the field, and the Sooners found a way to leave 18 points on the field in the first half. What's going on with Marvin Mims? Who's to blame for the OPI -- Theo Wease or Brayden Willis? (7:20). Is the Wildcat not in the playbook anymore (15:40)? One of the two bright spots for OU's offense came in the first half when the Sooners marched 96 yards to take a 10-0 lead. But all the momentum was wiped away after WVU answered with a quick TD of their own (20:00). WVU's defense was showing OU looks that could have been exploited in the passing game, but the Sooners didn't take them. Penalties and missed opportunities led to OU trailing 13-12 in the 3rd qtr (23:00). The offense had its second highlight of the afternoon going 59 yards to score and take a 20-13 lead. At this point it seemed like the Sooners maybe had righted the ship -- but then OU allowed WVU to convert on a fake punt and all hell broke loose. The refs picked up a flag that really hurt OU (26:20). Of course OU went 3 & out after WVU tied the game at 20. Jalil Farooq is OU's best WR right now (35:40). After the defense stepped up and got a stop, OU kept the ball on the ground exclusively. Grant says OU's tempo cost them. We question Venables' decision to kick a FG on 4th & short (37:40). WVU used up the final 6:24 to go down and kick a GW FG. Why didn't OU let WVU score with under a minute to go (43:00)? Lee says it's unacceptable for OU to be 5-5. Brent Venables is not going to get fired, but his seat is hot (47:40). OU leads the Big 12 in rushing and the offensive line looked to play pretty well. But it's crazy that best case scenario right now is 7-5 in the regular season. Lee reads some postgame quotes from Venables, including one on kicking a FG late (52:30). We read your "3-Word Reviews" to close out the show (59:55). | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9

Ep. 265 - Venables Makes Bizarre Claim and OU Preps for WVU

Lee starts the show with some news that hopefully does not change the show too much. The guys then talk about a big time recruit decommiting. After that, Lee & Grant are perplexed by Brent Venables making an excuse about his defense being inexperienced (while saying he's not making excuses). We take a look at the upcoming matchup at West Virginia, the latest CFP rankings, and finally we make our weekly picks. | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9

Ep. 264 - First Half Mistakes Doom OU in Loss to Baylor

Four first half turnovers (3 INT, 1 TO on downs) effectively was the difference in OU's 38-35 loss to Baylor Saturday. The guys jump around to what bothered them, what they liked, and as always we read your "3-Word Reviews" (there's a lot of them). And to all of those people who did not enjoy the TV broadcast of the Iowa State game, we totally understand where you're coming from after watching the most recent game on TV. | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9

Ep. 263 - OU Tries to Keep Good Vibes Going Against Baylor

Lee opens the show by taking an unwarranted shot at Grant to cover up for his lack of show prep. They then dive into Billy Bowman's health and the amount of snaps he played vs. Iowa State. Lee thinks he'll be back starting and playing a bunch this week against Baylor (1:30). Jovantae Barnes is a game time decision this week. Eric Gray will once again be super important this week and it appears we have discovered that UCF transfer RB Bentavious Thompson is a non-factor on this team (10:05). Lee was really hard on Woodi Washington last episode. Well, Lee was wrong to be so critical and Grant was right (18:00). C.J. Coldon is still not playing very many snaps. Freshman Gentry Williams looked good in very limited playing time vs. ISU. It also seems like they've tightened up the DB rotations, and what happened to Justin Harrington and Kani Walker (24:05)? OU's a short favorite against Baylor, but the Bears may be a lot better than their record indicates. Lee likes what he's seen from Blake Shapen, even though he didn't want to like him. Grant says Shapen has been up & down this year. OU may be able to make some plays with special teams this Saturday (31:40). Jeff Grimes is a really good OC, but Baylor does have tendencies on offense that OU could possibly recognize and anticipate certain plays and pass routes. Grant says Alex Grinch's system was horrible against Grimes' system (42:20). Lee thinks the OU offense has an opportunity to steal some yards against Baylor. Grant wants the Sooners' offense to throw it around the yard on Baylor's secondary (49:05). Does anybody care about the first CFP rankings (58:20)? We take a look at the Big 12 slate, which includes an intriguing OSU-Kansas matchup from a betting perspective. And are oddsmakers telling us to hammer Iowa State against WVU? Grant shares a betting story about his time in the free state of Iowa last weekend (1:03:05)? We make our weekly picks. Games include Oregon St.-Washington/Tennessee-Georgia/Texas-Kansas St./Clemson-Notre Dame/Wake Forest-NC State (1:14:00). Dave Aranda has bounced back from a bad first year at Baylor. Does that give you hope for the future in case OU struggles the rest of the season (1:26:35)? | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9

Ep. 262 - OU’s Most Complete Game Since mid-September

Oklahoma returned from the off week with a nice 27-13 road win at Iowa State. Despite uninspiring stats, Dillon Gabriel played really well. Eric Gray continued his terrific season. What was with Marvin Mims? Jalil Farooq continues to shine. The defense played its best game since Nebraska. Lee's happy with the takeaways, but he saw chances for more. Special Teams was fantastic and we read your "3-Word Reviews". | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9

Ep. 261 - Sooners Head to Ames for Toss Up Game vs. Iowa State

In the opening take, Lee addresses Brent Venables talking about OU's extended "self-scout" over the bye week. Then Grant joins to remind everybody we're taking this thing one game at a time, and what a "self-scout" means to him (3:35). Are we going to see Billy Bowman back against Iowa State (8:00)? DJ Graham has moved to wide receiver and this whole situation is bizarre (16:35). Lee asked Jeff Lebby if the backup QB position has changed since Dillon Gabriel's been healthy. Lee then reminds everybody that Gabriel's health is incredibly important and if he misses anymore time this season OU has no chance to win those games (22:00). OU's at Iowa State and this game is basically a toss up. OU's offense against ISU's defense is the matchup to watch for Grant (27:00). We rip on Hunter Dekkers a lot. He's probably not as bad as we make it out to be. Grant seems to think he's a less slippery, left-handed version of Brock Purdy. Xavier Hutchinson is ISU's whole offense (40:10). We read some comments from the WoE Facebook page, one of which involved former Baylor and Panthers HC Matt Rhule (50:40). We take a look at the rest of the Big 12 slate (53:30). We make our weekly picks against the spread. Ohio State-Penn State/Notre Dame-Syracuse/OSU-K-State/Kentucky-Tennessee/Ole Miss-Texas A&M. Texas A&M being a disaster this season has been fun to watch. We also drag Michigan State and Miami a bit as well (58:05). | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9