West of Everest: An Oklahoma Football Podcast

Ep. 220 - Grant is Really Mad About the Playoff Rankings

In the opening take, Grant very much hates the weekly reveal of the College Football Playoff rankings. Then Lee joins to provide his thoughts on the latest CFP rankings and what a surprise the guys find themselves at a disagreement about something (4:30). Lee has been told that Woodi Washington is expected to be available to play Saturday against Baylor. Lee is very happy to have been wrong about the timetable for Washington's return (19:30). Will Washington be a full go? What does OU do with Key Lawrence with Washington coming back? Lee has a "dream scenario" and Grant has a more realistic scenario (23:35). What do we make of Billy Bowman playing safety at practice (34:00)? OU is at Baylor Saturday. We begin by breaking down the Sooners' offense against the Bears' defense (36:05). Can Chandler Morris' performance last week against Baylor tell us anything about what to expect from OU's offense (45:25)? Flipping the script over to OU's defense against Baylor's offense (51:05). Both the guys are feeling pretty good about OU's chances Saturday. Lee says history favors the Sooners (58:25). We do rapid fire picks on Michigan-Penn State/Purdue-Ohio State/Iowa-Minnesota/Texas A&M-Ole Miss/NC State-Wake Forest (1:02:45). | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9

Ep. 219 - Sooners No. 8 in the First CFP Rankings

In the opening take, Lee is trying desperately to figure out what is going on with Billy Bowman. Then Grant joins the show and is immediately offended by something Lee said. OU is No. 8 in the initial College Football Playoff rankings, the guys provide their reactions to seeing the Sooners so low. Alabama being at No. 2 drives Grant crazy (6:55). With OU being at No. 8, does that mean the Sooners will have to go undefeated to make the Playoff? Yes OU still controls its own destiny, but Lee got a Tweet from a listener that presented an interesting end of season scenario that may exclude the Sooners from the Playoff (17:30). Grant says a fun hypothetical is the idea of Georgia, Michigan State, OU, Wake Forest, and Cincinnati all winning out. Lee runs down all 7 teams ahead of OU and says whether they control their own destiny, or not (25:55). Final thoughts on the CFP rankings as Grant complains about the committee ranking certain teams in order to prop up other teams moving forward (34:05). We transition to get Grant's thoughts on Lee's opening take about Billy Bowman and figuring out OU's best 5 players in the secondary (36:30). A listener question leads the guys to discuss Key Lawrence's role if/when Woodi Washington comes back (44:30). Lee reached out to a person who knows more about football than anybody on this podcast to find out how difficult it really is to move from safety to corner. There's also some insight into what OU's defense is trying to accomplish under Alex Grinch (49:50). Lee took a lot of notes on Caleb Williams' play against Texas Tech. We look back at a few of his best plays/throws and explain why they were so impressive for a freshman. His style of play is a mixture of Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray's best attributes (58:45). Yes the defense played much better vs. Texas Tech, but Lee saw a healthy amount of things during the rewatch that should concern us moving forward (1:11:15). Will the OU-Baylor game kickoff at night, or will it be a 11:00 am kick (1:17:00)? Over to some Facebook comments. Will be ranked No. 8 light a fire under OU? And this is not the podcast for hilarious Texas stripper girlfriend monkey takes (1:19:00). We're actually not mad that OU has a bye week. Unfortunately we forgot to make formal picks for the week, but Grant goes down the list of some of the interesting games coming up in Week 10 (1:27:20). | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9

Ep. 218 - A Pleasant Surprise! OU Plays Best Game of Season

No opening take today. We start by giving some love to Drake Stoops and then the rest of the OU receivers. Grant says the offensive gameplan against Texas Tech is what OU is going to have to do to win a Playoff Game. Grant wants to move on from Kansas, but Lee is not ready to just forget it totally. Lee's got a rant about why that Kansas game is still something to remember moving forward (9:20). Key Lawrence moving to corner looked to make a huge difference. DJ Graham returning also helped OU's defense. Just how important are cornerbacks in this defensive scheme (14:10)? Texas Tech's first two TDs were preventable. When Lincoln Riley says they're "close" -- this actually does look like OU is "close" to being much better. Isaiah Thomas had a nice game and OU was able to get more TFLs than they have recently (25:00). We go to "3 Word Reviews" that lead us to talking about Billy Bowman losing his Nickel job to Justin Broiles, Spencer Rattler taking a deep shot and experiencing a really cool moment, the first Playoff rankings come out this week and we tell you why you shouldn't care, finally an enjoyable OU football game, more Key Lawrence love, and a Marcus Major sighting (29:30). OU's on a 17 game winning streak. OU played 9 straight games and thank God the schedule has been easy. And Lee gives Grant credit for being the only person who correctly predicted Iowa State's season and Grant's picks on the podcast went 5-0 last week (52:30). | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9

Ep. 217 - Worse Than the 2018 OU Defense (Right Now)

In the opening take, Lee crunched the numbers and the current Oklahoma defense is statiscally worse than what we saw from the Sooners in 2018. Then Grant joins to go over all of your "3 Word Reviews" from that horrible Kansas game. Topics include Caleb Williams' steal play, one of the best moments in sports history, being annoyed by OU overlooking KU, one listener has lots of questions for Lincoln Riley, people not understanding why OU fans are frustrated with this 8-0 start, Grant hating LSU, congratulating fans for going to Lawrence, a wide open Heisman race, why doesn't Howard Schnellenberger get as much criticism from fans as John Blake?, OU making the Playoff only to get blown out, and does this miserable OU season mean that something amazing is ahead of us (5:45). Lee did a deep dive into where OU's defense stands statistically. How did Alex Grinch's 3rd year at Wazzu compare to his 3rd season here at OU (29:40)? Grant wants Alex Grinch to pick a set lineup and reduce the amount of rotations. Jalen Redmond is expected to be available this week. The numbers say his return could be huge for OU's defense (42:30). Lee was shocked to hear that Lincoln Riley thought the OU defense was "close" after reviewing the KU film. Lee brings up Teddy Lehman's thoughts on OU's defense from his recent podcast (48:50). Lee asked Alex Grinch if the defensive errors are fixable even though there's not much time left in the season? Grant wants to see the secondary play more physical and shed blocks better (59:20). Not a lot on Texas Tech this week. We're both confident that the Red Raiders will attempt a lot of passes and probably move the ball and score points. Grant is curious to see which Texas Tech defense shows up? We also try to figure out why this OU team doesn't seem to remember their losses from last season? Who in their right mind would lay 19.5 points with this OU team (1:13:15)? We go around the Big 12 where we see a fishy line in Morgantown, who's the 2nd worst team in the Big 12?, did we give up on Utah too soon?, will TCU-K-State be a shootout? (1:33:00). Grant went 4-1 last week as we make our weekly picks. Michigan-Michigan State/Iowa-Wisconsin/Texas-Baylor/Kentucky-Mississippi State/Penn State-Ohio State. At the end, Lee wishes we could spread football out more throughout the year (1:37:10). | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9

Ep. 216 - Has the OU Defense Regressed Back to Square One?

No opening take today as the guys jump right in and give their first thoughts about OU being in danger of losing to Kansas Saturday. Grant says OU's defense is back at square one -- and he may be correct. Lee was stunned by OU's inability to adjust to what KU was doing in the 1st qtr. The Jayhawks were running 2 plays and OU could not stop them. Have you lost all confidence in Alex Grinch? Why have other Big 12 teams absolutley dominated Kansas, but OU could not (5:55)? After all this, OU could bounce back and play better against Tech -- but how many points are the Red Raiders going to score on this defense (19:30)? Grant continues his hot criticism of Alex Grinch and it's stunning how quickly this thing has fallen apart. OU's 8-0, but it doesn't feel like it. Lee can't get past that everybody else had no problems with Kansas, but OU did (24:00). Is there anything OU can do to fix the defense? Lee can't believe how bad the secondary looks. Why does it look like zone defense for OU is just blindly running to vacated space (31:00)? Caleb Williams came back down to earth a bit vs. Kansas, but he made some incredible plays that won OU the game (41:05). Grant bottom lines it: OU has to figure out the defense because the Sooners cannot waste Caleb Williams. Yes, we have the "should Grinch be on the hot seat?" talk (47:20). What has OU fans done to deserve this? The guys disagree on the degree with which the injuries have impacted the team (58:50). Lee needs to remember to not listen to anything the coaches tell us in the offseason. We talk more about Texas Tech (1:04:35). One 3rd & 5 play stood out to Grant. Lee goes over his notes from that play before we wrap things up (1:10:40). | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9

Ep. 215 - OU’s Defense Isn’t as Good as We Hoped it Would Be

In the opening take, Grant praises current Pittsburgh Steeler (and former Sooner) Tre Norwood. Then Lee joins to discuss a decision we made in fantasy football followed by thoughts on Baker Mayfield's day at KU in 2017 and hilarity ensues when we remember him missing the next start against WVU (3:45). After watching back the TCU game, Lee wants to talk about Billy Bowman starting at corner and what that says about the depth of OU's cornerback position (10:50). Grant explains why he's not all that concerned about the defense at this point. What are the chances OU gets some injured players back soon (20:00)? Assessing Billy Bowman's play against TCU, along with Josh Eaton's game against TCU (25:30). Lincoln Riley says Justin Broiles has probably been OU's best secondary player this season. OU's secondary has not been able to intercept passes this season (31:15). The D-Line has had problems getting pressure recently and we hear Alex Grinch's thoughts. Do we need to adjust our expectations for what this OU D-Line can be (37:00)? Lee digs into opponents using presnap motion against OU's defense. He asked Alex Grinch about that on Tuesday, plus Lee went back and found the play Grinch is referencing in his answer and tries to explain what happened (44:00). Grant says this current OU defense is good at stopping the run and the ceiling is higher than previous bad OU defenses (56:45). Lincoln Riley continues to downplay what Caleb Williams is doing on the football field. Plus a long discussion on Williams' pocket presence and his general talent (58:45). Riley said he thought the O-Line played its best game of the season vs. TCU and Riley joked about how the weekly news conference had a different tone this week compared to a few weeks ago (1:11:30). Okay, what should we be watching for when OU plays Kansas? When Spencer Rattler likely plays, what will he look like? Will the OU defense give up easy yards and points to this bad Kansas team (1:15:20)? Over to the Big 12 slate where K-State is playing Texas Tech and WVU is at TCU (1:24:45). Finally, we make some picks on some interesting matchups with some intriguing lines. Wisconsin-Purdue/OSU-Iowa State/Oregon-UCLA/Clemson-Pitt/NC State-Miami (1:28:45). | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9

Ep. 214 - It’s a Caleb Williams Lovefest

No opening take today, but the guys take an unnecessary swipe at a restaurant before jumping into Caleb Williams and his awesome abilities (2:00). Quick detour to lament the defense. It all started getting bad after Max Duggan scrambled for a 1st down and then scored 2 plays later. Alex Grinch continues to tell us that he's gotta coach it better and the guys have to perform (9:50). When can we hope some injured Sooners come back? They're going to need to be as healthy as possible for the stretch run (19:50). Back to Caleb Williams. Is it crazy to ask if he's the best player in the country? OU had a bunch of explosive plays and got contributions from a lot of players (24:25). We read your "3 Word Reviews". Should Williams have won the starting job out of fall camp? More on the poor defense, Jadon Haselwood's big game (35:35). Does this 7-0 start feel like OU's 7-0 start in 2019? Bryson Washington made a great special teams play. Billy Bowman was playing corner, OU covered a big spread finally, and should Caleb Williams be in the Heisman conversation (46:15)? Does Joshua Eaton have some upside? More on Billy Bowman, the defense needs to tackle better, and we wrap things up by talking about DaShaun White fumbling the ball out of the back of the end zone and Danny Stutsman being funny on Twitter (51:00). | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9

Ep. 213 - It Certainly Feels Like Caleb Williams is QB1 Right Now

In the opening take, Lee goes over the big story of the day involving the "OU Daily" reporting on OU Football practice. Then Grant joins to talk more about the "OU Daily" story and the new story that OU has created for itself by canceling media availability (5:00). Grant has some early thoughts on the upcoming TCU game. What will we be saying about Caleb Williams after that game? And Lee wonders where Alex Grinch was on Tuesday (11:35)? OU's been very good after the Texas game under Lincoln Riley, but could this QB situation be a distraction that prevents the Sooners from properly preparing for TCU? Do we need to pump the breaks a bit on Caleb Williams (14:45)? Lincoln Riley's told us that Rattler has handled everything well. But what happens if things change (26:10)? Rattler has had every opportunity since the spring to improve and keep the starting QB job. Is it possible that Rattler has been feeling the heat from Williams since the spring (34:20)? Lee thinks back to the OU Spring Game and reads from his notes following a day in which Spencer Rattler didn't look very good, and Caleb Williams looked better. Grant remembers a conversation we had leaving the stadium that day (40:45). We check out the "3 Word Reviews" from the OU-Texas game which leads to Grant's disgusting food choice at the Texas State Fair, Kennedy Brooks, Texas fans eating crow, Caleb Kelly's great play (46:40). Caleb Williams seems to open up the RPO playbook for OU, and the Sooners ran GT Counter with great success on Saturday (50:40). Thoughts on Woodi Washington, Nik Bonitto being good, the importance of Jalen Redmond, Drake Stoops' NFL prospects, Gabe Brkic and Lincoln Riley's clock management (56:00). We look ahead to Saturday's game against TCU. The Horned Frogs' defense is weirdly bad this year (1:06:00). OU's defense has to face another elite running back this week in Zach Evans. What on earth can we expect from OU against what has been a pretty good TCU offense (1:10:55)? Our final thoughts and concerns about what will happen Saturday night vs TCU (1:14:35). Baylor is favored at home against BYU this week and there's a super interesting matchup between Iowa State and K-State in Manhattan (1:18:55). We make some picks on OSU-Texas/Michigan State-Indiana/Kentucky-Georgia/Ole Miss-Tennessee/UCLA-Washington (1:24:15). Lee allows Grant to gloat a bit for kind of prediciting that Texas A&M would beat Alabama and Grant continues to try and speak something into existence (1:35:50). | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9

Ep. 212 - Caleb Williams Electrifies Cotton Bowl, OU Beats Texas

No opening take. Grant is podcasting from a parking lot in Liberty, Missouri fully sunburnt, and lacking much of a voice. Grant provides a first hand perspective of what it was like at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, while Lee does his best to fill in all the details. Lee asks Grant if that game felt like the OU-Georgia Rose Bowl, but actually cool for the Sooners this time (3:20). The game could not have started worse for Oklahoma. The guys go chronilogically through the game leading up to the point in which Caleb Williams takes over for Spencer Rattler. Grant thinks Spencer Rattler suckered him in the K-State game. Caleb Williams looked like he unlocked the OU offense (9:30). Grant thinks Bijan Robinson will win the Heisman (27:05). Caleb Williams comes into the game full time at 35-17 and Lee thought one play displayed the biggest difference between Williams and Rattler. Did Williams energize the entire team? Also Kennedy Brooks was awesome (29:15). Williams first touchdown pass was a fantastic play. Grant talks about how uncomfortably loud it was inside the stadium, plus it was good to see Danny Stutsman back (40:25). What's left to say about the Marvin Mims' incredible touchdown catch? Spencer Rattler came back in to go for 2, Caleb Kelly made an outrageous play on special teams (48:00). Lee has some interesting stats on OU's offense with Rattler vs. OU's offense with Caleb Williams against Texas (53:45). Lincoln Riley did not commit to a starting QB for the TCU game. Lee doesn't think Riley wants to bench Rattler. Grant thinks there's no chance Rattler starts against TCU and leaves everybody with one final OU-Texas message (57:45). | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9

Ep. 211 - Will OU Follow the Blueprint to a Win Over Texas?

In the opening take, Lee plays some sound from Alex Grinch and talks about how mad he was after the Kansas State game. Then Grant joins to talk briefly about his terrible food takes before getting more serious about Grinch and the defensive woes (5:40). Is Bijan Robinson the entire Texas offense? How much should we take from the Texas-Arkansas game? How did Sark decide on Hudson Card as the opening day starter over Casey Thompson (23:00)? After looking really good against Arkansas, Rice, and Texas Tech, Casey Thompson had mixed results against TCU. What is the blueprint for OU's defense against the Texas offense (32:00)? Texas has more RBs than just Bijan Robinson. A Texas starter on the O-Line is out for the year, plus we wrap up OU's defense vs the Texas offense (40:45). This Texas defense has a lot of similarities to the defense OU just saw. Texas is not very good against the run and at times the Horns invite teams to run the ball (50:30). Which Spencer Rattler will show up at the Cotton Bowl (59:45)? The guys provide their final thoughts predicitions for OU-Texas (1:04:10). We hit on Justin Harrington reportedly entering the Transfer Portal, and would you want to see Bookie back on the team this year (1:14:10)? We take a look at the Big 12. WVU is at Baylor and TCU travels to Texas Tech. Grant thinks TCU may be bad (1:18:00). Grant's been red hot making picks recently. 9-1 in his last 10. Let's see if he can stay hot this week as the guys pick Michigan State-Rutgers/Arkansas-Ole Miss/Georgia-Auburn/Penn State-Iowa/Michigan-Nebraska (1:23:10). Finally, Grant has a weird feeling that there could be a massive upset this week in college football (1:43:00). | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9