West of Everest: An Oklahoma Football Podcast

Ep. 349 - Injury Outlook, Early Texas Thoughts, & Likes/Dislikes So Far

The guys open the show talking about lunch, feelings about bye weeks, and Grant's plans to attend the USC-Minnesota game this weekend (00:00). Deion Burks and Taylor Tatum have a chance to play against Texas in a couple of weeks (7:40). We dive deeper into several of OU's injured players. Who will play again this season? Who will not be back? We play a stupid game to give our answers. Lee has a theory on Gentry Williams' latest injury and we also talk about how maybe Jacobe Johnson should be moved back to corner (10:35). OU's a large underdog to Texas right now. We give our early thoughts on the matchup (41:30). We go over the things we like and dislike so far about the 2024 OU Football team (53:20). The guys talk about how they got into following OU football and how we got to the point where this podcast is in the midst of its 8th season (1:10:00). We thank those who have left 5-star reviews on Apple Podcasts. We appreciate your support (1:22:50)! There's some interesting SEC matchups this week. Grant really likes the new SEC on ABC theme (1:27:20). We make our weekly picks. The games are Missouri-A&M/Ole Miss-South Carolina/Michigan-Washington/USC-Minnesota/Miami-Cal. Plus some talk about the crazy world that is Big 12 football this season (1:33:45). | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonTweets

Ep. 348 - Kip’s Crazy Pick-6 Sends OU to Improbable Win at Auburn

Join us as we go through OU's improbable win over Auburn. Kip Lewis made the play of the year so far. Michael Hawkins did about as well as you would have hoped given the situation. OU hit some explosive plays finally. OU's kicker was not the one who missed key field goals. J.J. Hester came up big on a couple of plays. OU's tight ends made way too many mistakes. Seth Littrell's offense is still not good, but hey you take any win you can get in 2024! | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonTweets

Ep. 347 - Will Hawkins Make OU’s Offense Look That Much Different?

After some brief introductory nonsense the guys jump into Michael Hawkins being named the starting QB for the Auburn game. How are we feeling four days removed from the Tennessee loss (2:05)? What do we make of rumors that Hawkins had been looking better than Arnold at practice for a while now (9:30)? Jacobe Johnson is being moved to WR. Lee thinks this could go somewhere while Grant thinks it's a joke (22:30). OU's injury list is ridiculous. So many key players are hurt (27:00). Lee has a theory about Brent Venables' latest midweek press conference when he spoke for 19 minutes at the start (32:10). Venables wanted to set the record straight on Dillon Gabriel's exit from OU (35:15). OU's slightly favored against Auburn. The Tigers are a good football team that has made way too many mistakes on offense. Lee has a theory on Auburn's offense (43:40). We thank the listeners who've left us 5-star podcast reviews in the past and recently (1:04:05). A brief look at the SEC slate (1:09:50) followed by our picks in Minnesota-Michigan/OSU-K-State/Louisville-Notre Dame/Georgia-Alabama/Illinois-Penn State (1:12:15). | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonTweets

Ep. 346 - OU’s Clown Show Offense Overshadows Great Defense in Loss to Vols

It's all about extremes at OU. For several years we get to watch elite offense paired with truly terrible defense, and now we get to witness high level defense paired with truly terrible offense. Were there signs a season ago that Jackson Arnold would look this bad? How much longer does Brent Venables have at OU? When will Seth Littrell be fired? Hey, Michael Hawkins helped the offense show some signs of life, but what does that mean? We also read your "3-Word Reviews". | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonTweets

Ep. 345 - OU’s a Touchdown Dog at Home. Welcome to the SEC.

Brent Venables opens the show talking about Josh Heupel's return to Norman this weekend. What do we think about this storyline (1:35)? The first SEC Injury report featuring OU has been released and it looks like some key players may be suiting up for the Sooners this weekend. May Tennessee be down a key player on offense (7:55)? We dive into OU's matchup with Tennessee. Tennessee's defense has not been tested at all, but it has been dominant. The problem is OU's offense may not be able to challenge them. Lee is still incredibly down on the offense and watching Tennessee's offense makes Lee even more frustrated about what Seth Littrell and company are doing. Grant pushes back a little bit (22:20). Tennessee's offense has been elite, but Grant provides some reasons why OU could find ways to make it difficult for them Saturday (31:10). Lee gets back to OU's offense and talks about why he's got so little confidence in what they're doing. This is on pace to be Seth Littrell's worst offense of his career. Musings from the NC State-Tennessee game (44:00). OU's corners better be ready to run Saturday. Grant wants to see more ball control from OU's offense and wants OU's defense to be aggressive against this Tennessee scheme (52:40). OU's had an alarming lack of explosive plays on offense (59:00). We highlight some podcast reviews and thank listeners for their feedback and support (1:01:30). We move on to the SEC slate and talk a little about Florida-Miss State and Arkansas-Auburn. Would you want Bobby Petrino calling plays for OU's offense (1:06:30)? Lee looks to keep making solid picks, while Grant has to turn it around. We make our picks on Illinois-Nebraska/USC-Michigan/Georgia Tech-Louisville/Utah-OSU/Miami-South Florida (1:12:30). | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonTweets

Ep. 344 - OU Shows Improvement in Win Over Good Tulane Team

It was much better this week as the Sooners withstood a second half surge from Tulane. OU's defense was really good, and outside of 2-3 drives Tulane did not do much of anything. That's a really good offense, so the Sooners' defense was up to the challenge in their first real test of the year. The offense was much better than last week, but still has a ways to go. Grant was encouraged by the performance more than Lee. The running back situation is still perplexing. Maybe at some point the Sooners will get some of their important injured players back? We finish up the show by reading "3 Word Reviews" and 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. 343 - We’re Very Down on the Offense. Please Surprise Us.

In the opening take, Lee tries to mentally prepare you for the content in this upcoming show. Then Grant joins as we talk way too long about OU's busted coverage that gave up a TD against Houston (03:30). Then we get to more pressing issues, like our lack of confidence in Seth Littrell and Brent Venables at this moment. We play soundbites from each coach that do not instill a lot of hope for the rest of the season. Aaron Murray released a video breaking down several plays from the OU-Houston game. Did this really make you feel better about OU's offense (10:30). OU gets a real test against Tulane. The Green Wave will come in thinking they will win the game. Tulane's offense is very good and should let us know if OU's secondary knows how to cover this year (42:00). We don't have as much on Tulane's defense, but it's very clear they are much better than Temple and Houston (53:45). We want to thank you for leaving positive ratings and reviews on the podcast. We highlight and showcase reviews from the past, before highlighting recent reviews (59:10). Brief thoughts about the SEC. It's sad that Texas is good and the A&M-Florida game could be interesting (1:07:00). We make our weekly picks on Arizona-K-State/Alabama-Wisconsin/LSU-South Carolina/Boston College-Missouri/Oregon-Oregon State (1:09:20). | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonTweets

Ep. 342 - OU Barely Beats Houston. This Could Go Sideways Fast.

If the first two games of the 2024 season are any indication, we should be preparing for a not very fun next three months of OU football. The guys go over the GOOD -- OU won the game, before spending almost the entire show on what was BAD -- which was pretty much all of it. The offense is terrible. Was Seth Littrell a bad hire? People are calling for Michael Hawkins to play. This team is undisciplined and was fortunate to escape Saturday with the victory. Brent Venables has a lot to account for as the Sooners welcome a really good Tulane team to Norman next week. We also read your "3 Word Reviews"! | | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonTweets

Ep. 341 - No Way Houston is That Bad... Right?.. Right?!

In the opening take, Lee recaps what he saw in his rewatch of the OU-Temple game. Then Grant joins to give his thoughts on the rewatch (5:00). A listener brought up other recent poor OU offensive performances on the WoE Facebook page. Was the Temple performance really the worst we've seen in years (18:10)? Jake Taylor will be available this week. Will Branson Hickman play? Can Jaquaize Pettaway become a contributor now that Farooq is out? What about Nic Anderson's availability (26:15)? Let's talk about OU-Houston. It was stunning how bad the Cougars looked vs UNLV. Grant couldn't figure out what Houston's offense was trying to do. QB Donovan Smith was terrible, and the offensive line may be a swinging gate (33:40). Houston's defense played better on paper, but Lee thinks the secondary might be horrific. We'll see if this is a game where OU chooses to get Jackson Arnold going (47:30). Taking a look at the SEC slate this week, plus Week 1 thoughts. We were both dead wrong on Florida. USC played very well against LSU, plus more thoughts on Week 1 (59:40). We make our picks from Texas-Michigan/Arkansas-OSU/Iowa-Iowa St./Tennessee-NC State/Colorado-Nebraska (1:16:30). | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonTweets

Ep. 340 - OU Beats Temple Big, But Whoa the Offense Was a Problem

The guys are recording 15 minutes after OU beat Temple 51-3 to open the 2024 season. They spend the next 20 minutes or so going over the poor performance by the OU offense. A great start transitioned into a horror show for a significant part of the game (1:20). The defense forced 6 takeaways and did exactly what they should have done against a bad Temple team. Nothing really to complain about there, and the kicking game with Tyler Keltner did it's job as well (22:40). Okay, back to the offense being bad on 3rd down. We read your "3 Word Reviews" from the WoE Facebook page and Twitter/X (29:25). We learn that Jalil Farooq broke his foot and will miss the next 6-8 weeks. This is not a promising development. We read and react to some more postgame updates from Brent Venables' press conference (40:30). | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonTweets