West of Everest: An Oklahoma Football Podcast

Ep. 143 - K-State Slaps Sooners Back to Reality

In the opening take, Lee talks takeaways (the lackthereof) and what it all means for the Sooners' future. Then Grant joins to begin the vent session as we both admit how wrong we were about this game (4:30). OU was not prepared and got outplayed, K-State's OC called a beautiful game, and most annoyingly Skylar Thompson played the game of his life (8:10). Lee decides to bring the game up on YouTube and watch back a big 3rd-and-13 play late in the 3rd quarter. What was the deal with all the cushion (11:50)? Wow, K-State ran the ball down OU's throat and also held the ball basically all game (16:30). We all got horrible flashbacks to previous OU defenses, plus was this game more surprising than the 2017 Iowa State loss (19:30)? Do we just throw this game away because it was a perfect storm and the defense played so poorly (21:50)? Lee's confused by what OU's 4th down defense was doing in the 2nd quarter (23:35). Would OU's old defensive scheme/philosophy actually have had more success than what we saw Saturday (28:20)? K-State got a gift interception, meanwhile OU's defense can't force a turnover to save their life (29:20). Remember when we started thinking this was a *really good football team*? Well, so much for that. Plus we discuss OU's playoff chances (33:10). OU's offense kicked a lot of field goals Saturday, which angers Grant. Lee comes to Lincoln Riley's defense (37:25). OU couldn't establish a run game and credit is due to K-State's front four, plus those 3-and-outs in the 3rd quarter were killers (40:55). Let's talk some positives. Awesome trick plays that involved Nick Basquine -- one worked, one didn't (47:55). It's finally time to talk about the onside kick. All of the evidence out there suggests that the refs blew this one (49:00). Finally, we go through some "3-word reviews" (1:04:50). | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9

Ep. 142 - OU’s Unique Challenge Against Kansas State

In the opening take, Grant tells you what kind of opportunity this OU team has this weekend when they play at Kansas State. Then Lee joins to go over the news and notes of the week beginning with the loss of Jon-Michael Terry (5:30). Remember Caleb Kelly? What if he gets healthy and comes back to play at some point down the stretch (11:50)? Lee's giddy over the offensive line and its potential (17:50). Alex Grinch as a head coach? That was a thing this week and Lee goes over why he doesn't think Lincoln Riley is leaving Norman anytime soon (21:40). How has our thoughts on K-State evolved throughout the season (32:05)? K-State's offense has a lot of pro-style principles that has not produced a lot of big numbers (36:05). Skylar Thompson is a decent threat with his legs, but he's not the best thrower of the football (38:05). Lee's very interested to see how OU's defensive line plays against this K-State offense (41:00) and Grant points out that K-State's offense has not fared well in the Big 12, plus we go over some of the Wildcat players you should know (42:10). Do we have the right yet to expect OU's defense to have a lot of success against offenses like this (48:25)? Is this the best defense OU will have seen so far (50:40)? K-State's defensive line could pose a sneaky threat to OU's offensive line (56:00). Keep an eye out for K-State's defensive coordinator Scottie Hazelton (58:30). Nobody on K-State's defense is having an eye-popping statistical season (1:00:45). Based on what we've seen from the tape, this could be a big game for OU's outside WRs, plus K-State has had issues with running quarterbacks (1:02:15). Grant goes first as he tells us what he *wants* to see happen Saturday (1:05:20) followed by what Lee wants to see (1:08:55). Please allow Lee to talk you through what *will happen* when OU plays K-State (1:13:15), then Grant gives you his take (1:17:15). K-State's most important defensive stat is something we totally forgot to mention earlier (1:18:20). We save a lot of our Big 12 talk for the picks section, which happens now as we admit that we've been pretty bad recently against the spread. Games this week: Wisconsin-Ohio State, Auburn-LSU, OSU-Iowa State, Texas-TCU, Notre Dame-Michigan. Also forgive Lee's random rant about the Bears at the beginning (1:20:55). | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9

Ep. 141 - ”Starting to Believe”, This Sooners Team is Really Good

In the opening take, Lee saw something Saturday from OU's defense that is clear evidence of the secondaries improvement from 2018 to now. Then Grant joins to talk about how close the guys were to correctly predicting the final score of OU-WVU (5:35). We hear from Kenneth Murray on why OU did not have a "Texas hangover", Murray has become a much better soundbite this season, and remember when the defense kept saying it was "close" in 2018 (8:00)? Grant continues to be really impressed with the development of OU's safeties (16:55). Grant hopes this coaching staff can stay together for a little while because WVU didn't do much offensively and it was because OU's defense (21:40). No sacks vs WVU, but OU keeps creating a lot of havoc (23:20). The Sooners now have a top 30 defense (25:20). No takeaways for the third straight game. Let's hear what Alex Grinch has to say about that (27:00). A couple of young guys played well at the Rush LB spot (30:25). WVU couldn't do anything on the ground (32:30). Jalen Hurts was great, despite dealing with a finger/hand injury all week (33:35). Is Hurts still a one read, then run player? Lincoln Riley has a good explanation of what he's seen from Hurts so far (37:30). Hurts says nobody knows what the offense's ceiling is yet (44:05). Do we need to clarify what Grant means when he talks about Adrian Ealy's injury conspiracy theory (45:05)? What is Trey Sermon's role now (46:55)? Grant wants to quickly compare Spencer Sanders to Trevor Knight (52:40). We don't really care to talk about the Sooner Schooner falling, so let's just get into all of your "3-word reviews" (53:50). | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9

Ep. 140 - OU’s Defense Should Really Shut Down West Virginia. Weird.

In the opening take, Grant explains that like it or not -- OU's defense now has expectations. Then Lee joins immediately as we discuss the news that Austin Kendall is going to start Saturday against the Sooners before discussing the eery similarities between this game and the 2017 home game vs. Iowa State (2:00). We go through some offensive news and notes of the week including Grant Calcaterra's status, Adrian Ealy and Erik Swenson looking good, Trey Sermon's role vs. Texas (7:00). Defensive news and notes include Roy Manning's impact on the corners, the lack of takeaways, Lincoln Riley not overreacting to defensive success, Lee's stupid theory about the defense that's not really a theory, and an update on Robert Barnes (11:40). Lee was dead wrong about Robert Barnes, but at least both guys were at the forefront of the Neville Gallimore is going to be good train (21:55). We talk about Jalen Hurts' press conference style and his bandaged throwing hand (23:45). Lee's not concerned about a let down game anymore because Jalen Hurts probably won't let OU take WVU lightly (26:15). Grant thought it was funny that Hurts wasn't paying attention to Mike Defee (28:35). We get into West Virginia's offense against OU's defense as Lee gives his initial thoughts (30:00). Grant's got some interesting numbers that suggest WVU's defense is pretty bad (33:05). Grant goes over some of the WVU players that OU may or not be concerned about and Lee points out that WVU's secondary may be in trouble Saturday (37:55). Flipping it to WVU's offense where Lee doesn't really know what he's talking about, so Grant jumps in and crushes the Mountaineers. At least Lee has a play or two he saw that could showcase OU's defense (41:40). We field some of your questions and comments from Facebook about the defense. You all want to see more havoc, and some are concerned about a Red River hangover (46:30). Lee says what he *wants to see* this Saturday (53:20) followed by what Grant wants to see (56:45). Thinking of laying the 33.5 points? Well, the guys tell you what *will happen* when OU plays WVU (59:40). Grant thinks this is a lost season for Baker Mayfiled and Lee's got some fashion advice for Freddie Kitchens (1:02:40). We don't have a lot to say about the Big 12 slate this week, so let's pick some games! Florida-South Carolina, Oregon-Washington, Baylor-OSU, Arizona State-Utah, and Michigan-Penn State (1:05:55). | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9

Ep. 139 - The Most Dominant 7-Point Win You’ll Ever See

In the opening take, Lee compares and contrasts the past two editions of the "Red River Showdown". Then Grant joins to talk about how impressed he was with OU's defense (5:25). OU's defense was incredibly prepared and it showed, plus Brendan Radley-Hiles played one of his better games as a Sooner (10:30). Instead of using a SAM backer rotating with a Nickel, Alex Grinch decided to use a lot of Dime with Jaden Davis (14:30). We hoped the safeties would play well -- and they did (16:35). Switching over to the linebackers, which means we're going to praise Kenneth Murray for a while (21:00). Did you know it's been 18 years since a Texas kicker missed a FG in this game? And Grant says Texas got every single break in that game (25:35). We finish up Kenneth Murray talk with one more amazing play (30:45). How good was the defensive line? Six sacks from that group and it sucks to be Samuel Cosmi today (32:00). Is that what best case scenario "Speed D" defense looks like? And then we point out some other individual plays on defense (36:40). Lee noticed something on special teams that we hope is something that continues (40:10) and we give our final thoughts on the defense (41:50). Over to the offense where we can't say enough positive things about CeeDee Lamb (42:40). So... that was a weird game for the offense, right? It looked like Lincoln Riley was protecting Jalen Hurts with the play calls (48:55). Trey Sermon didn't get a carry. It was all Kennedy Brooks with a little Stevenson and Pledger (54:30). Grant thinks OU should have ran the ball more (57:15). Adrian Ealy and Erik Swenson both started and played the entire game (1:00:45). Grant Calcaterra was in street clothes, and so was Robert Barnes (1:04:15). So, Georgia lost to South Carolina. Plus some other interesting results from the weekend (1:05:55). Finally, we read through your "3-word reviews" (1:13:05). | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9

Ep. 138 - While Texas Talks, Jalen Hurts Isn’t Saying Anything (Part 2)

In the opening take (of part 2), Grant lays out how OU has fallen short of expectations way too many times in the Red River Rivalry. Then Lee joins to go over the injury situation in this game, beginning with Texas who's expected to have a decent amount of guys go Saturday (7:10). Grant gets a chance to comment on Adrian Ealy and Erik Swenson's health before Lee has some good news/bad news when it comes to this scenario (10:15). Texas has a good, efficient offense and it's all because Sam Ehlinger is having a career year (16:15). What scares us the most about Texas' offense (19:55)? Lee kind of rambles when it comes to Texas' weaknesses on offense. Luckily Grant has a little more details to this (26:00). Grant wants to talk about Samuel Cosmi talking trash about Gallimore and Perkins (29:00). The Horns have a really good offense... but it's not all that explosive. They make up for that by picking up a lot of 3rd downs. Grant has an idea for how OU can force some turnovers on 3rd down (31:15). Lee thinks he's identified some formations and instances where Texas may tip its hand a little bit (38:05). Grant does a nice job of laying out what could happen if OU plays mostly nickel vs Texas, and what happens if the Sooners decide to put David Ugwoegbu out there as a Sam backer from time to time (42:45). Which OU defensive player must have a good game in order for OU to win (46:05)? This is weird -- Texas' defensive numbers are pretty bad. Does that mean the Horns have a bad defense (51:15)? Lee tries to explain what Texas does on defense... poorly. Before Grant jumps in to save the day and talk about the weaknesses of UT's defense (55:00). Texas is going to probably spy Jalen Hurts, a lot, right (1:00:45)? Grant points out the biggest advantage OU's offense has over Texas' defense (1:02:15). Lee tells us what he *wants to see happen* (1:05:10) before Grant tells us what he *wants* to see (1:09:15). The guys tell us what *will happen* Saturday at the Cotton Bowl (1:11:40). Grant is happy that Texas is talking trash, and Lee has to tell him that Charleston Rambo said something worthy of the bulletin board. We also talk a little bit about Baker Mayfield's recent struggles (1:16:25). None of us have watched Baylor play this year, plus other Big 12 talk (1:19:00). We finish up by picking Michigan State-Wisconsin, Alabama-A&M, Penn State-Iowa, USC-Notre Dame, and Florida-LSU (1:22:05). | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9

Ep. 138 - While Texas Talks, Jalen Hurts Isn’t Saying Anything (Part 1)

In Part 1 of 2, Lee brings you the news and notes of the week leading up to Saturday's OU-Texas game. After Jalen Hurts opens the show, Lee gives his take on why Jalen Hurts gave that opening statement (4:45). Lee tried to figure out why Hurts acts this way before every single game and Lee also enjoyed a piece of life advice that Hurts references (7:40). Adrian Ealy and Erik Swenson are both "highly questionable" for OU-Texas. Bill Bedenbaugh explains what it's like to deal with all the shake ups on the O-Line and he provides an update on the young tackles (10:30). Lee gives his take on the offensive line's current situation and tells you whether he believes Swenson and/or Ealy will play this week (16:15). Texas LT Samuel Cosmi said some things about Neville Gallimore and Ronnie Perkins. Perkins has responded (19:25). Tre Brown had nothing but nice things to say about Texas this week (22:25). Perkins was very short when he was asked about Sam Ehlinger (24:30). Charleston Rambo provided Texas with a little bulletin board material (26:55). Alex Grinch soundbites take up the rest of the show. Grinch on Texas' offense, that Nickel/Sam position, and he talks about not getting enough turnovers (29:40). | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9

Ep. 137 - After KU Win, 2 Questions You’ve Got To Ask Yourself

In the opening take, Lee presents two different questions you've got to ask yourself about this Sooners' defense. Then Grant joins to provide his rebuttal to Lee's opening take (8:35). Parnell Motley didn't play as well Saturday as he's played previously this season and Lee's concerned about his inability to catch the football (19:55). Did the OU safeties play their best game of the year? And Brian Asamoah flashed Saturday (24:10). Lee highlights what he thought was the best defensive moment vs Kansas (29:15). Trejan Bridges looks like he's back at wide receiver, and the guys were shocked to see Robert Barnes playing cornerback** but Lee is wrong and he'll have to admit his failure on the next episode** (32:20). No Adrian Ealy, no Erik Swenson... Grant's worried about the health of the OU offensive line (34:45). Lincoln Riley expects Kennedy Brooks to play against Texas and we talk about Rhamondre Stevenson's great game vs KU. Plus, these OU running backs have not been gettting a lot of work so far this year (39:55). Dissecting Jalen Hurts' performance vs Kansas plus KU's ability to make things difficult at times on OU's run game (44:25). CeeDee Lamb is an elite player and we want to praise him yet again before we try to figure out if there's anything OU can do about all these penalties (48:00)? TJ Pledger returned and he looked pretty good in limited action (54:50). Lee loved how Riley took a lot of the blame for the offensive problems (55:40). It looks like three wide receivers have been established as "go to" guys and we briefly touch on the H-Backs (57:50). We finish up with all of your "3-Word Reviews", talk about that toilet flushing during Riley's postgame press conference, and Grant's got some early thoughts on Texas (1:00:40). | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9

Ep. 136 - Stuff Alex Grinch Says That Makes Us All Very Happy

In the opening take, Grant takes a look at the last decade of defensive performances against Kansas. Then Lee joins to thank the listeners for some recent ratings/reviews before explaining why this OU-KU game is more interesting than others in this series (4:00). Jalen Hurts is under the weather and Adrian Ealy's status is up in the air, which leads Grant to consider going full conspiracy theory (8:00). Grant has some news about Miguel Edwards and Lee got some more information on backup center Ian McIver (12:00). Let's play a new segment called "Stuff Alex Grinch Says That Makes Us All Very Happy" (14:30). Alex Grinch says his expectations for Jalen Redmond are unrealistic, which leads up to another thing Grinch said that made us happy (19:25). We got an idea of why Parnell Motley's been so good in 2019 (23:30). Lee asked Grinch about Trejan Bridges and we think it's pretty clear the Sooners want this experiment to work (28:45). Let's take a look at the Jayhawks offense that has now lost their top rusher and was just dominated by TCU's defense (31:30). What can we make of KU's quarterback? And Lee goes over what he saw from KU's offense against TCU (37:15)? KU's defense seems like they have some talent, they try hard... but unfortunately they're just not very good (42:30). The guys let you know what they *want* to see happen Saturday (46:30), followed by what *will* happen when OU travels to Lawrence to play KU (54:00). Join us as we go over the Big 12 games this week (1:00:10) before making picks in Iowa-Michigan, OSU-Texas Tech, Auburn-Florida, Michigan State-Ohio State, and Cal-Oregon (1:04:50). | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9

Ep. 135 - OU Trounces Tech to Open Big 12 Play

In the opening take, Lee tries to figure out what kind of Texas Tech team OU just beat. Then Grant joins to talk briefly about being the bad guy of the show according to some of the iTunes reviews we've gotten (2:30). Grant says the ceiling of this OU team is quite high (4:55) while Lee continues to be impressed with OU's offensive explosiveness and is happy with the way the Sooners' defense finished off Texas Tech (6:20). Two straight games without a garbage touchdown and OU's holding teams to FGs in the red zone as opposed to TDs (8:50). Kenneth Murray had some bold words about OU's defense after the win (11:00). So, why did Jackson Tyner start that game for Tech (14:50)? Lincoln Riley's best soundbite after the game revolved around playing fast defense (17:30). Jaden Davis continues to impress, while the pass defense in general is still sharp (23:30). Let's talk Trejan Bridges playing Nickel (25:45). Neville Gallimore's effort led to a forced fumble and a takeaway. Which led Alex Grinch to say something awesome about his defense's effort (29:40). Sure, there were some negatives defensively. Brendan Radley-Hiles still has a problem with tackling and OU sometimes has troubles holding the edge (32:20). CeeDee Lamb broke out in a big way. Have fun in the NFL big guy (36:05). Adrian Ealy missed the game, Bray Walker got his first start and Ian McIver continues to get a bunch of snaps at center (38:15). Pretty lucky that Kennedy Brooks isn't severely injured after taking a cheap shot (42:15). Rhamondre Stevenson is fun to watch and legitimately looks like Jamaal Charles (44:30). Spencer Rattler vs Tanner Mordecai doesn't seem to be very much of a competition right now (46:40). Gabe Brkic handled the kicking duties quite nicely (49:00) and we finish up with 3-word reviews (50:00). | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9