Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Thirteen hundred The Zone Andrew Zimofillian for Craig Way Craig
Way in Brooklyn, New York. That is right at the
Barclays Center as the Texas Longhorns get ready to take
on Saint Joseph later tonight. That game tips off eight
thirty pm right here on Sports Radio AM thirteen hundred
Zone and on KVEDFM as well. So yesterday was the
(00:25):
Coaches Show, the We'll get that one right. That is
the Longhorned Weekly with head coach Steve Sarkejian. That is
the correct title for it, and Roger Walls interviewed. Coach
Sark did an incredible job, had a ton of fun
yesterday at Pluckers talked about previewing this one, asked coach
(00:47):
Sark to kind of lay out the game plan a
little bit. What is the last things we want to
hear from our head coach before going into Saturday's matchup.
This is it from Longhord Weekly with Coach Sark.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
A ton of respect for Mark Stoops. He's very good
friend of mine. He's done a fantastic job at Kentucky.
You know, he's built that program very similar to a
lot of the other SEC schools. They're enormous upfront on
the Owen d lines, They're enormous. They're got They've got
probably the top defensive lineman in the country for the
NFL draft, who's six seven three and fifty five pounds,
(01:20):
So we've got to work cutout for with him. They
always play great defense and their physical running football team
on the offensive side of the ball. So we got
to do a great job in this game of winning
on first and second down so that we can force
them into some third longs and get us off the
field because they're gonna try to shrink this game. And
then offensively, we've got to be really efficient because as
(01:40):
we learned even last week, we only had four possessions
in the second half of that game, and so these
teams in this conference will shrink you down pretty good,
and so you got to take advantage of your opportunities
when you get them.
Speaker 3 (01:51):
And then just coming back home, Sark.
Speaker 4 (01:53):
Even the Florida eleven AM game, the students were out
there in the northeast corner greeting you on your on
your field walking about nine o'clock in the morning, and
I know you want that place buzzin on.
Speaker 3 (02:02):
Saturday without a doubt.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
I mean, there's nothing like going into DKR and for
this to be the last one of the season. We
never take it for granted. That's why I do my
walk before every game to make sure that I like
to say, be where my feet are and I'm in
DKR for another game day. But you know, I'm I'm
excited for our fans because I hope they can feel
(02:24):
kind of this era of Texas football. What's happening, you know,
from a year ago to where we were as a
ten and one football team playing to go to the
Big twelve championship game and where we are right now
is a nine and one football team trying to play
ourselves into the SEC Championship game and hopefully the College
football playoffs again. I mean, this is an awesome time
and we love the support from Longhorn Nation.
Speaker 3 (02:43):
For sure.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
I don't think there's any such thing as a bad
defense in the SEC. Every SEC defense, maybe outside of
Mississippi State, is a good SEC defense. And the one
thing that Kentucky does better than most other teams is
played defense. That is where they're bread and butter. That
is a stoops team to the core. But when you
(03:05):
go into the numbers. When you kind of get into
the numbers a little bit deeper, Kentucky's a very good
pass defense in team defensive team. When you go through
the numbers and you look at how many yards they
give up in the air per game, they are kind
of right in the middle of the group. Right. Texas
is secondary best in the conference. Has only allowed about
two hundred ish yards two hundred and forty ish yards
(03:27):
per game. Kentucky a little bit more three to twenty
rush defense, however, correction, let's let's get that one right.
Let's get that right and right. Kentucky's past defense one
eighty eight per game. It's like, wow, they give up
a tony yards one eighty eight per game. Texas is
the best in the conference that won thirty six. Okay,
rush defense, however, Kentucky struggles against the run. That's something
(03:50):
that Texas is gonna want to kind of take advantage
of in this game, using that offensive line that the
long Horns have been able to get via the Pancake
Fund and then just going in the trans portal and
also just coaching these guys up. This Longhorn front front
five has done a very good job of not only
keeping Quinn viewers alive and healthy for the most part
(04:10):
this season, but also getting some rushing lanes for the
Longhorn running backs. That is where this game is going
to be won or lost. I talked earlier this morning
on the Morning Kickoff with Mark Henry, The World's Strongest Man.
You listen to it right here on Sports Radio AM
thirteen hundred and from seventy nine AM. We were talking
about what is going to be the deciding factor in
(04:31):
this game, and I have very strongly been on the
side of if Steve Sarkisian wants to throw the ball
around the yard, he's going to be able to. Texas
can scheme up an offensive game plan that if they
want to throw the ball, they will be able to.
But if Texas wants to do what I think is
the plan, which is just lean on Kentucky to the
(04:53):
point that you get a couple early scores in the
first half and you kind of ride this one out.
Make it a grit grind type of game through Senior Day,
get through the emotion, get through all of the other
stuff to get to Texas A and M next week
to control your destiny and to play for an SEC championship.
In a few weeks. That is the game plan, and
(05:15):
the way that you execute that game plan is by
running the ball. Now, Texas is offensive plan this entire season.
The running back room has been very good. But don't
take my word for it, and don't take Steve Sarkeesian's
word for it. You're gonna want to listen to Mark
Stoops because he kind of gave a lot of credit
(05:36):
to the actually not kind of. He did give a
ton of credit to the Longhorned team. This is cutting
number eight. Mark Stoops on no weaknesses on this Longhorned team.
Speaker 4 (05:45):
Well, I mean, there's no weaknesses on this team. But
if you the eye test there, they're as strong as
anybody in the country.
Speaker 3 (05:51):
To tell me one group.
Speaker 4 (05:53):
I mean, you look at them offensively, you know, a
dynamic play caller and a great coach.
Speaker 3 (05:59):
O line is completely solid.
Speaker 4 (06:01):
Running backs two great ones, maybe probably more than Pot four,
you know what I mean. But wide receiver room arguably
the best in the country. H dynamic tight end tight ends,
you know.
Speaker 3 (06:15):
You know.
Speaker 4 (06:15):
Defensively front four, you know, they lost some guys that
were pros, replaced them in the portal with pros, really deep,
really big, you know, I'd say, you know, arguably again
the best secondary in the country with bar Non and
you know, you put that together a pretty solid team.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
Now, I want to point this out that because we're
going to play another clip from Mark Stoops kind of
giving given credit to Steve Sarkisian and the coaching job
he's done, and the way that sark talks about Stoops,
you would think that they've been best of friends for
years and years and years, which might be the case. However,
I do think that there's another level to this, and
we're going to get to that secondary level. We're going
(06:54):
to onion this one through, but let's play cut number
ten on the creativity of Steve Sarkisian and the offensive
game plan.
Speaker 4 (07:04):
Yeah, creative, you know, creative, you hear the word, you know,
I can. He's probably thrown a lot around, you know,
in press conferences across the country, but dynamic getting you
he does a great job of marrying the run in
the past, you know, and then a fantastic job.
Speaker 3 (07:26):
In the screen game off all of that.
Speaker 4 (07:29):
So you think it round, you're taking play action pass,
come back to a screen and he ties it together
as good as anybody.
Speaker 1 (07:36):
Which I think most Longhorn fans. In fact, not most
all Longhorn fans would agree that Steve Sarkisian is one
of the better play callers that has come through the
forty acres. I like the fact that other teams are
copying what Texas is doing. They say the most the
best form of flattery is imitation, and if people are
(07:57):
trying to run the imitation of the long worn offense,
I feel pretty good about that. And a Sarkisian talked
about Andy Reid taking from the playbook. I guarantee you
this coming Sunday, you're going to see some more Texas
long war plays going throughout the NFL, let alone college football,
let alone high school football. Through a high school football
game on a couple days ago, and I saw a
Sarkesian screenplay, It's like, oh, it's going everywhere. Is Steve
(08:20):
Starksian is Steph Curry of football? Has he changed the game?
Speaker 3 (08:25):
Now?
Speaker 1 (08:25):
Baby? Time will tell uh Mark Stoops on coach starks
coaching philosophy and the way that he has kind of
built this thing up. Because there's another again part to
this with the Mark Stoops angle here that we're going
to get to.
Speaker 4 (08:41):
Say again, another great opportunity another great challenge going into Texas.
Coach Stark at them playing at a very high level,
a very good football team that he's been building for
some time. I think, you know what's evident, they have
a lot of continuity, and I think it's the only
power for school in the countrary that had the same
(09:02):
offense of coordinator, same head coach, and same defensive coordinators.
So they have continuity and that it shows both in
their recruiting and you know the portal that the additions
that they got in the portal, especially offense where you
look at their wideouts, a couple of guys they got
are added to a dynamic wide receiver group.
Speaker 3 (09:21):
But just a good football team top to bottom.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
So coach Stoops is doing a whole lot of talking here,
giving the Texas Longhorns message boards absolutely nothing to talk about.
That is the part that I think is the most interesting,
because when you are a head coach of any college
football team, the number one thing you do not want
(09:45):
to do is put your foot in your mouth. The
number one thing you do not want to do is
give your opponent, give message, give fans, especially when you're
coming into a hostile environment like DKR. You do not
want to give anyone any sort of extra material to
put on that bulletin board. And Coach Sarkisyan did the
(10:06):
exact same thing. When you go through and you listen
to the way that Sark talks about Stoops, when you
go through and talk about the type of coach he is,
this is Sark cutting number twelve. What does Mark Stupe's
stability say about the type of coach that he is?
This is from Thursday's SEC press conference.
Speaker 2 (10:24):
Well, first of all, Mark and I are very good friends,
very good friends, and we've known each other for a
long time. I tried to hire him actually when I
got the job at Washington, I tried to hire him
away from his brother, and he told me yes, and
then he said no, I can't leave my brother. So
we go back a ways. I've got a ton of
respect for him as a coach. You know. It's a
(10:47):
blue collar approach to what they do. They play the
game the right way, you know, and I think he's
instilled that in that program. They have an identity. They
know how they want to play, you know, every game.
They know what type of team they want to put
together each year. As they as they go through it,
and I think that's what speaks volumes to the coach
(11:07):
that he is. There's a level of consistency in his
approach to it all. So, like I said, we're great friends,
a ton of respect for him and look forward to
seeing him.
Speaker 1 (11:15):
Saturday Sports Radio AM thirteen hundred Zone Andrew zim Will
filling in for Craig Way as we continue our number
one of the Craig Way Show. That was Coach Sarkisian
talking about Mark Stoops, the head coach of the Kentucky Wildcats,
because I was going through this whole thing. I truly
believe that both these guys have respect for one another.
This game on Saturday is just another speed bump for
(11:38):
the Longhorns ultimate goal of winning a national championship. After
playing in the playoffs last year, the goal is to
win a national championship this season. They are already firmly
in the playoff race. They're already a firmly set up
to potentially have a buy So we'll get to you
here later as well. But the coaching coaches cannot give
(12:00):
bulletin board material to their opponent, and Mark Stoop's got
a lot of grief this offseason. When Texas A and
M almost hired him, Mike Elko seemed to be the
guy at A and M. Texas A and M owns
their destiny, They own their fate on how these next
couple weeks go. They have the biggest game in Texas
A and M history coming up next weekend when the
(12:22):
Longhorns come to Talent for potential to play in the
SEC Championship game. And what does Mike Elco do. You're
trying to make sure you don't put your foot in
your mouth. You're trying to make sure you don't give
any bulletin board material to material to anyone. This is
what he does.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
If we didn't have that steak, what's at steak, maybe
you would worry about it.
Speaker 3 (12:40):
I think our focus is single handling on Texas.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
I'm in on Auburn right now, And.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
Yeah, you can't put your foot in your mouth. Coach
Sarkisian is doing the opposite. He has continued to win
big games, win press conferences. The standard is a standard
and he is raising the bar every single day. When
we come back on The Craig Way Show, it's a Friday,
which means it is time to pick on our brothers.
To the south, the hanging chad of the Union. It's
(13:11):
Florida Man Friday, that is right, Florida Man Friday on
Inconceivable coming up after the break next on sports Radio
AM thirteen hundred, The Zone