Oklahoma Will Win These Games

[Music] he whether it's hanging half aund on them at Owen Fields or the Run rules on the diamond at lovees field we're giving you the breakdowns the bets and the hot takes from the perspective of two former u athletics employees you're listening to the mainline podcast with Tyler Burton and Adam jaquez let's go let's go go let's go welcome to the main line I'm Adam Joz he's Tyler Burton a little bit different type of show than what we've had over the last two weeks uh previous two weeks we did a deep dive into both the offense and the defense side of the ball and of course special teams as well for the upcoming season for Oklahoma this week we're doing a little bit of a deep dive into the schedule itself I think I'll be getting some thoughts off of my chest and defending Oklahoma to I guess just the general National perception is where U is right now and Tyler will'll see what kind of perspectives you have uh along the way as well but uh welcome in how are you this evening I'm good Adam things are good out here in Denver Colorado a lot of good things going on we got the PGA Tour BMW Championship coming out to Denver this weekend excited to get out there at Castle Pines Country Club check out some golf follow Scotty uh but yeah man we're we've got College Football starting this weekend we've got some games coming up here in just a matter of days Oklahoma gets this thing kicked off in less than two weeks time and uh yeah it it's it's the best time of year and and I could not be more excited excited to you know really talk about Oklahoma schedule go through this game by game give our prediction on what we think is going to happen from a win and loss standpoint kind of go through the chat here kind of you know touch on some of their thoughts and really just kind of gauge where we think that this Oklahoma program is and you know try to evaluate how good of a season or how bad of a season if you're atam we expect this team to have but yeah let's dive into that I'm excited we're gonna go through uh game by game essentially and just talking about a little bit about each one of them uh and stick around to the end and we'll Premiere the uh the hype video for 2024 that we produced if you've seen any of our ones in the past whether it be for softball baseball football seasons have past um they're usually pretty interesting so stick around you'll see it first here uh live on the YouTube if you're listening on podcast uh you'll have to make sure that you're following our YouTube channel uh by searching the mainline podcast or following us on Twitter at the mainline pod to see it when it premieres there so um let's dive into schedule um Temple starts a week from now um Tyler I don't know if I'm getting a little bit of like fuzziness on your audio there I don't know if that's if it's anything odd on your end um but uh and if you're listening in the chat let us know because it was giving me some feedback on on Tyler's audio but uh Temple first game we're g to talk a lot more about Temple a week from now in our our game preview there so I'm not going to waste much breath on on the owl they come to town I think it's a 42 and a half point spread it's a w that's about all I have to say on Temple at this point and I'm ready to move on to the next one if you have nothing there yeah coming off of a measle 39 season 202 that included a one and seven record in the American conference they're going into year three with Stan Dr as the headball coach many media Outlets are predicting that Al to finish dead last in the AAC you know Adam plain and simple I don't see this being a 73 nothing blowout like Oklahoma had over Arkansas state in the season open or a year ago but I don't think that there's any reason to expect that Oklahoma doesn't cover the 42 and a half and you know it'll be a fun atmosphere Friday night Norman the pal should be rocking it's gonna be our first chance to see you know this new look offensive line Z alli's defense Jackson AR so much but you know this should be a stress stress free win kick things off so is GNA go one and0 yeah moving on to game two against Houston this kind of an interesting one because you've got a really good coach and Willie Fritz moving over to the Cougars there but not a great roster really I mean yeah you've got Donovan Smith the quarterback there who's who's okay I think like but I don't know that he's enough of a Difference Maker to really overcome the rest of the roster there they lost most of their Playmakers at receiver um you know they have a lot of inex experience on defense they had a lot of um a lot of games that just weren't competitive last year now the flip side to that is they did play a one possession game against Texas so I guess anything is possible but they had that game at home this one will be in Norman um they lost to rice last year so just want I look at Houston I feel like they're at least a year or two away from uh Willie Fritz really turning that program around um but uh but yeah it's nothing there that I think is is all that notable I think this should be another easy win for Oklahoma yeah but on the the competition def ramps up a little bit in week too with the new Houston cers comeing to town new head football coach will Fritz thankfully former two lane quarterback Michael Pratt isn't accompanying Willie Fritz but they do have a for a formidable guy under Center in Donovan Smith Jr who did make some plays in big games last year but did struggle with turnovers you know throwing 10 interceptions and even though they only returned five starters on that side of the football this is still a team with above average Talent who are now being developed by much better head coach now that D holder is now out of town and remember Adam this Houston program was one play away last year from defeating Texas so you know Oklahoma's gonna have to show up you would hope to see this Oklahoma offense continue to progess coaches often say that a team makes one of its biggest jumps of the season from week to week two and Houston's gonna bring a couple of guys that Oklahoma fans are be all too familiar with and you know quarterback LR McCutchen linebacker Jamal Morris but I like okom in this one by 20 plus points okom should move to two and0 we might need you to check all your mic settings there Tyler because it's still your your voice is super crackly so yeah I apologize on the fuzziness on the Voice there you might need to like just plug everything back in and make sure that uh the correct mics synced up there but as far as like moving on to game three on the non-conference late there to Lane this is one I think everyone's just kind of skipping over and going straight to Tennessee and saying yeah three and0 and non-conference to start off the year but Green Wave you know have some I I think some solid pieces they they don't have the quarterback in place necessarily it sounds like Ty Thompson the Oregon quarterback that transferred there probably is not going to be the guy it might be a true freshman or wretched freshman and Darien Mah you've also got Kai Horton there from last year who took over for Michael Pratt when he was injured at times and looked okay so um a little bit of uncertainty there from the quarterback position there and John sual a really good coach out of Troy coming in taking over some really good pieces on defense that I like a lot um but you know they lost one of their best receivers to Tennessee U so they're going to be relying I think pretty heavily on on Hughes um 1400 yards on the ground from the running back position so I think two Lane's good enough to make Oklahoma have to really stretch themselves and maybe that game doesn't get put away until middle third quarter fourth quarter at most because two lane is very good program uh better than the team that we saw in 2021 I think it was so um there's some things there that I think will make go you have to work and challenge themselves but overall I think that program is a little bit of maybe not rebuilding but restructuring I guess with a new coach uh there and some of the players that left um so I think this one should be another one that Oklahoma should be able to win fairly easily and we got you on mute again Tyler having the mic issues uh on a Tuesday night how's that any better it's uh it's a little crackly but sounds little okay yeah well we're just gonna roll with it so don't really know what else to do but yeah Adam two lanes offense is going to be the best I think the best unit that Oklahoma will have faced in the first three weeks of the Season ultimately you know we don't know who they're try out there at the quarterback position but they do have eight starters back on an offense that also adds key wide receiver editions from the transfer portal Mario Williams from USC sh has Preston from Alabama that helps round out a skill position group that will be the best that this Oklahoma defense has faced through the first three weeks of the season I would love to see Mario Williams get reacquainted with Billy Bowman over the middle or have a chance to meet Michael boganowski but while believe that Tain has the talent to be a contender in the americ there's levels to this game and okahoma should roll for the thir week and then it gets pretty interesting when we talk about Tennessee coming to town one that um I I saw you know ticket sales at least from StubHub reports uh ticket sales going really well for that game I think there's a ton of Interest obviously you've got Nico Yama alava if I said that right uh com into town and he's a guy that I think people just assume is going to be good and and it's kind of weird because I I feel like the national media is saying oh Nico's good he's fine Jackson Arnold big questions big questions around Jackson Arnold Nico's proven and that's really not the case in my opinion Nico is a guy that really he was asked to play against an Iowa defense where okay you score seven points and you're fine and he had three passing T I think or sorry three rushing touchdowns against the Hawkeyes um didn't have a ton of passing yards didn't have a ton of rushing yards just kind of ran the offense enough and it was good enough to beat the Hawkeyes in the bowl game take what you will out of a bowl game I don't know that say a whole lot yeah one start so the sample size is super small there and I you have questions about uh just where that V offense is going to be because everyone goes oh okay last year the problem it was Joe Milton now you plug in Nico and I'm like okay wait a minute that jayen Highland was a big part of that 2022 Tennessee Volunteers team do they have one of those guys right now and I'm not I'm not convinced they do so I'm not convinced that they have an elite running back either you like that they went out and got Lance herd at left tackle to to show up the offensive line but I think there's a lot of questions about this Tennessee team and and for a lot of the same reasons that we'll talk about here in a moment with auburn Nico's big you know first road start true Road start coming to Oklahoma I think there's some big questions about Tennessee and maybe maybe the vs finish the year really strongly and our a playoff team but I I wonder about them that early in the season so who you picking I'm picking Oklahoma I think that one's one that just the energy and the focus for Oklahoma I think is going to be too much for tenness to overcome on the road yeah I'm in agreement with you this is when the season truly Begins for the Sooners than the Vol although I think that we'll know a lot more about Tennessee than Oklahoma at this point in year given the volunteers match up week two against NC State and what I believe is Charlotte so uh there will be copious amounts of story lines going into this match up you know college game day is almost certain to be in town for a potential Prime Time match up at night Josh Hy makes his return to nor for the first time since being fired as the offensive coordinator under Bob Stoops and you've got an elite newcomer quarterback match up Jackson versus n Oklahoma's first SEC game this will be the biggest game in Norman since Ohio State in 2017 and this will be the best craziest I think most hostile atmosphere uh most hostile atmosphere that Oklahoma fans will create in in quite a few years and I can't wait to fly back for it and you know Adam this game immediately makes me kind of think of the 2012 match up at College Station between Florida and T&M where you know it to was the a first game as a member of the Southeastern Conference and you know even though the exitment level in agilan was was at an all-time high Florida proved to be a better team and you know overcame the noise beting Tech saying R you know what was a special day for the aies now um I think this is where we'll see that we'll see where this okom team is and this is the game where I think Brent finds out about team 130 and what he has at the quarterback position and you know it's where we finally get the question answered you know about how good is this offensive line because Tennessee has one of the best defensive lines in college football Lamar Thomas James Pierce doic Bailey Jr guys who can stop the run just as well as getting after the uh getting after the pass but on the plus side for Oklahoma Tennessee does have to replace all of their guys at the linebacker in the secondary so you got a back that Tennesse is gonna be breaking in brand new so Jackson Arnold should have a big opportunity through the air if the offensive Lans can hold serve at the line of scrimmage so you flip it over the other side of the football the matchup where Oklahoma is at early in this season I when you look at what Tennessee has offensively yes you know all the talks goingon to be about me but you know you've got skill players like bar McCoy like a squirel white Chris brazelle it's gonna be a massive Challen and they've got the best center in college football to go along with that as well in Cooper Mays and you know even though on paper I like this Tennessee team maybe a little bit more than I do Oklahoma especially this early in the season I just don't see how Oklahoma in this environment with so much excitement so much eagerness and anticipation building over the last couple of Seasons where Oklahoma joins the SEC I don't see how Oklahoma does find a way to win this one and I think Jack AR makes a couple more throws than Nico does in crunch di Oklahoma grinds out a close win and move four and0 yeah I think uh we're still getting some feedback in the chat there about uh your audio Tyler I don't know if it's possible to change your mic to your headphones or something see if you can play around with that setting potentially but uh Tennessee uh a three and a half Point Underdog on early lines there with uh with some of the lines coming out of Vegas not everybody has a line on that one yet but um I think that's kind of a good place to start there um and then then at following the game against Tennessee Oklahoma goes on the road for the first time in the SEC to Auburn Oklahoma actually a three-point favorite in some of the uh the the betting sites that have that currently a lot of people talking about the storyline there with auburn of okay Payton Thorne maybe he's getting back to where he was at Michigan State he'll have a lot more receivers there with cendre Lambert Smith transferring in from Penn State you've got cam Coleman The fstar Freshman that he's got his disposal now they really turn that room around you've got jarquez Hunter they're running back which is solid but um I I I really just wonder like you know pton Thorne we've seen him for Four Seasons in college I kind of feel like we know who he is at this point and Keandre Lambert Smith came from Penn State he had Drew Aller throwing him the ball who I think is I'd say pretty safely better than Payton Thorne so it just makes me wonder about that team in terms of like are they is is it wide receiver room that gets transformed is that enough to turn this Auburn program around yeah it's your two um yeah freeze is is a great coach it's going to be a difficult place to play I just wonder if like is is Auburn really more a year way of being the team that is going to start throwing their weight around I think in terms of how Vegas has has placed that line it sounds like there's agreement on that now all that being said I basically just set it up to say oh you should win that game and they should but and it'll play out a little bit more when we go through the rest of the schedule I just think this is I'm zagging when everyone else is zigging here in terms of like what the record and what the the game result will be so I'll pick Auburn to win that game just because I feel like you know upsets happen weird things happen in college football it's not how you predict it um so this one just feels like a game where I'm just gonna go the other direction and say Auburn will will'll get that that'll be Oklahoma's first loss of the Season all right one fin time how's the AUD s now it is still super crackly I don't know if you changed mics or anything yeah yeah we changed mics I don't know at least so that sounds a little bit better go ahead sounds a little better yeah I'm kind of in agree Al you know going to the year two of H fre coming off of the six seven season where you know even though six and seven I thought that the record looked worse than how good the team played at times especially at home and you know every everybody knows how difficult it is to play on the road at Jordan hair I think that was a Carson back that actually told Jackson Arnold that that Stadium's kind cursed if you're in a away team so they they lost 27 to 20 it was a one possession game you know went down in the final stretch in the fourth quarter against Georgia they lost 27 to 24 against Alabama it was a fourth and 31 conversion by Jade milro um starters back on offense eight on defense I I I know that there's a lot of people out there that think that Oklahoma just simply you know they've got the better M they've got the better player quarterback you know they're they're a little bit further along with BR venes in year three than Q fre free is in year two but I do think that youve got to give respect um to the fact that Oklahoma is goingon to be going into a hostile environment and you know AUB no is no slouch when it comes to that atmosphere and that fan B so I think that ultimately Oklahoma does into this game I think that it's close I think it's competitive but I do think that Auburn figures out a way to to you know he got a close win so I think Oklahoma was four and one after the trip to Auburn and all that being said like there's a good chance that Oklahoma's able to go in just say hey we're the better team and throw their weight around and win that game and potentially you go into Texas undefeated and um I it's all right there in front of it it's just kind of like okay there's going to be a loss somewhere at least in at at some point in the season season so it's like yeah it just feels like you have to put it on the the schedule at some point so Oklahoma will round out the game there coming back to Norman taking a week off and then heading down to Dallas to face Texas in the Cotton Bowl and this is a tough one for me because I I want to I always want to be objective I want to take off my crimson color glasses as much as possible but it is so difficult to do that because all offseason every offseason all the talk is on Texas a team that um you know lost some key pieces that oh pushed around was the more physical team um you know the the team that I think was more motivated to be there um was more dedicated to running the ball in my opinion uh last year and I don't think anything's going to change this year because I think Texas will be okay with Jaden blue I think he'll be a fine running back for them it's when you need to go to guy number two and Guy number three and then guy number four which Oklahoma has had to do many times over the course of the year we can tell Texas all about that with running back injuries they had one last year themselves with Jonathan Brooks going down so things will happen I don't think Texas will be able to run the ball nearly as effectively as they want to in this game I think Oklahoma's defense improved significantly I think Texas's interior defensive line takes a step back no matter what you uh you know say of hey they went out and got transfer in Germaine lle he's a guy go back and and watch the first show that uh before he ever committed to Oklahoma the first time and was just visiting and I said um I don't know he seems like he seems like kind of a reach there maybe a depth piece at best now he's at Texas and he's one the key pieces that they're going to rely on in the middle there of their defense I I just don't see it I think Oklahoma's the better team I think they're more physical I don't think that the transfer receivers they're bringing in are are any better than what they had last year and let's be honest like Xavier worthy struggled to get to a thousand yards it wasn't until the final season that he was able to do that so either he was completely misused was overrated or Quinn ERS was just completely ineffective making him the superstar that he was but you put uh you know Xavier worthy in an Oklahoma Jersey that's like a B minus receiver over the last 15 years years that's that's not really that special but the national media will hype up a lot about Texas and I just don't see it I think Oklahoma is is the better team here and so I'm pick I'm picking Oklahoma in that one yeah when when you combine the the college football playoff worth a year ago and you combine with the fact that you know Texas win a big f chionship plus the favorable SEC schedule that you know that they were dealt this year I I think that there is a little bit of overhype when it comes to the Texas football team I'm not as high on him uh is most of them are I think that Texas has an opportunity to be one of the most disappointing teams this year in the SEC um and AD I think you make a really good point when you look at what what this what this team lost to the NFL obvious losing ad I Mitchell and xaver worthy to the NFL I'm sorry J cook and who is is mat Matthew golden from Houston they got silus red not feeling the shoes of the impact those two two guys left again they they lost a couple of you know impact guys at the running back position this defense even though I know that they had some nice additions in the transfer Port but you still lost a lot of talent to the NL you know especially on the interior defensive line with with those two big big boys you know that won all those Awards but okoma won this football game last year and I think that this this is gonna be a much better allaround football team that Oklahom was gonna be bringing down to Dallas this time around by this point in the season going into week seven you would like to think that the offensive line is going to beel Jackson Arnold you know the this is going to be the biggest stage that he's going to have played on as a start at the University of Oklahoma you'd like to think that the gamees are going to slow down for him a little bit and I think that Oklahoma go coming off of a bye they bounce back from a tough loss of au I think that they go into Dallas and they beat they beat Texas for the second straight year yeah Texas a nine and a half Point favorite uh in the few books that have that one right now yeah it's like come on like it's it's not going to be that that that big of a difference there um I think it's pretty clear that Oklahoma even though they won that game last year still not getting the respect and so you almost feel like yeah Texas will want to win that game they'll want some Revenge but almost feels like Oklahoma will have to go and say like what do we got to do what do we got to do to prove everything that's going on there so um we'll see how that one turns out looks like we're g to try one last thing with Tyler's audio see if we can get that to improve there it was working before the show and all of a sudden as soon as we hit live um the uh little minions in the wires cause issues there so um after Texas Oklahoma comes back home to face Shane Beamer and that South Carolina team Lenoris sellers uh recently named the starting quarterback for the game Cox they are playing South Carolina in coctober so never know what could happen there but I when I look at South Carolina as a team I look at it and I go okay when was the last time South Carolina had a quarterback that was able to elevate that team to another level to to have that type of outof body quarterback experience that could just drag his team to a few more wins every year and Spencer rler was a really good quarterback for South Carolina last year but I don't think he was necessarily that guy that that got them two to three extra wins just because he could put the team on his back so I I don't see the history there of South Carolina be able being able to have that and I kind of feel like that's what they need to have in order to come into Norman pull an upset um it's not to say they don't have good players D Williams is a nice uh linebacker for them Nick Harbor you know everyone knows that guy being 65 and being able to run as fast as he can as a wide receiver tight end hybrid but he's unproven so I just don't see The Playmakers there uh from the Gamecocks I think this is a win for Oklahoma and I think a lot of lessons learned from last year as far as how OU handled the Post Texas success uh whether they they end up winning or losing that game I think this should be a pretty solid very focused uh win for Oklahoma all right Adam last chance Last that sounds much better sounds much better okay we're back um yeah I I'm kind of in agreement with you here and I think that when you look at the South Carolina game Adam for Oklahoma this is a brutal three-game stretch for South Carolina at the beginning of October Gamecocks the Gamecocks play Old Miss then they go to Alabama before they come to Norman I like where this game fits on the schedule for the Sooners I know that they've got a couple of you know a couple of guys especially on offense and I want to start with the quarterback position here and Lenor sers who Shane Beamer actually you know announced he is the starting quarterback for South Carolina going into week one when you combine him with the running back transfer from Arkansas and Raheem Sanders I think that this has an opportunity to be one of the best you know run dual threat you know quarterback running back combinations in the SEC this year um again I'm not a I'm not a huge believer in in Shane Beamer with with what he's got going on in South Carolina right now obviously love the guy would love to see him come back to to Oklahoma in some form or fashion but I I think that Oklahoma by this by this point in the season and week eight I think that they're going to be firing on all cylinders riding the wave of momentum coming off of a big win down in Dallas in the cotton ball I think that Oklahoma beats South Carolina by a pretty good margin and Oklahoma's going to advance to six and one after they take down the Gamecock yeah that one's the one that everyone's overlooking so I just kind of Wonder like is there upset potential but I don't know it's a tricky spot coming off of Texas you've got the you got the following week you go to Oxford to take on Old Miss it it's a tricky stretch but I I like that uh the fact that this is going to be a very veteran senior driven Le team Danny stutzman Billy Bowman uh I just don't see any way in which Oklahoma looks past South Carolina here yeah a little side note because this came up in some of my research when I looked back at last year and I wanted to see who had the the toughest most difficult schedule last year South Carolina was at the top of the list and so that's a big conversation that people are having about Oklahoma and almost dismissing the program and the team and saying ah they're not gonna do anything this year they have a toughest schedule South Carolina had the toughest schedule last year and yeah they didn't have the best record I think that says more about what South Carolina is but the reason that South Carolina had a toughest schedule last year was because they had number 21 UNCC number nine CL son number 12 Tennessee me uh number one Georgia that's tough also had Kentucky on the schedule so I think that's a good reminder that okay what's in that preseason poll and that preseason ranking what everyone expects to happen normally doesn't happen some teams will be good maybe it's Old Miss maybe it's Bama that for sure will be good but maybe Missouri is is you know a seven and five team maybe LSU is a seven and five team um just the way we look at things uh you know if if all we needed to do is look at the preseason poll we wouldn't play the game so I thought that was a good reminder just that I I got out of my research no and I think it is Adam and it this is a hard schedule to to try to predict and ultimately you know we both got them sitting here right now at six and one but I think that the floor for this team is seven and5 when you can when you combine how difficult this schedule is where the SEC did Oklahoma no favors and you combine that with the question marks at Key areas like Oklahoma does offensive line quarterback new coordinators Etc there's a recipe in which Oklahoma goes seven and five and barely makes a bowl game but on the flip side I also think that there's a world where the ceiling for this football team is 10 and two and you know ultimately that would involve a better than above uh better than above average offensive line play that would be because uh you know Jackson Arnold being that dude and taking care of the football and that means that Oklahoma most importantly stayed healthy at the key positions all season long so um when you go into this league and when you look at the you know the brutality of the schedule that Oklahoma has I I mean you could make a case that you know there's five six maybe even seven tossup games that are on Oklahoma schedule this year so they're going to have to come to play each and every week fast forward Adam Oklahoma going week nine on the road to Old Miss Old Miss is going to be coming off of a buy which is a theme for I think most opponents on Oklahoma schedule this year having a bue week before they have to take on the Sooners um I I'm kind of kind of same line of thinking here with with auburn this is going to be a tough environment going on the road to Oxford to play in The Grove um this is probably going to be the best overall collection uh of offensive skill talent that Oklahoma's defense is going to play all season long when you combine what Jackson Dart is going to do at the quarterback position coached by Lane kein they're gonna have a solid game plan ready for Brent vinales and Zack alli's defense they've got arguably the best wide receiving wide receiver core in college football with Trey Harris with Antoine Wells and with Jordan Watkins that's going to be a tough test for Oklahoma secondary and I just think that this this game comes um at kind of a tough stretch right now you're coming off of you know two tough comp games against Texas against South Carolina uh and this is really when the meat and potatoes of this schedule for Oklahoma kind of kicks in so again I'm I think that this is going to be a competitive game but I do like Old Miss to ultimately win this game you know um pushing Oklahoma's record to six and two this is one that I did a lot of research on and I wanted to find some cracks in the armor for Old Miss I didn't find as many as I expected um but there were a few still I am very impressed with what they've got on the team both defensively and offensively I think Jackson Dart takes care of the the football really well um not as much production as I would have expected to see from someone who is being touted as a Heisman candidate only 23 touchdowns through the air last year had eight on the ground which is nice but um almost a nearly identical statline to Quin ERS when it comes to passing which is is kind of odd um but I like the offensive Firepower they have there I like some of the pieces they got in the portal uh defensively running back I'm not I'm not loving as much I know they got ulyses Bentley there he's he's had some injuries they got jakori crosy Meritt from New Mexico who had about a thousand yards out there so um decent but not like GameChanger not not quinon Judkins necessarily so right but I think when I look at this team and I go okay where where are the potential issues coming from it's well they've got 47 new players on this team this year um that's basically half your roster more than half your roster so what does that mean I don't know it could mean nothing could mean a lot um I do know that yes they're they're winning in the portal but I know they only returned four players from their 2022 recruiting class and that's typically the the class that carries you to a championship run is those guys that are now in their third year of college there's only four guys left from that uh in fact one of them uh xaven Harris the defensive tackle he's now facing domestic violence charges so potentially he might not be around so you just kind of look at the skeleton you go okay I love that I love that first line um you know those first stringers but by the time we get to whatever this is week eight week of the Season you know if two or three of those guys have you know injuries of some kind what's behind them or if someone transfers in and is a as a bus doesn't fit in the system what's behind that and that's where I I I wonder about those issues I also look at history too um you know the the last 50 plus years um how many times did Miss actually finish inside the top 10 2023 and 1969 history tells us that this program is not is not built to do that it's not used to doing that I understand the transfer portal has changed some things but um I don't know in my mind I want to be able to bet on Oklahoma here as just being the better program with deeper Talent um they may not have the as many flashy transfer portal names are new but I think the talent overall is much deeper and denser at Oklahoma this is another year where we see another program how the experiment um with you know utilizing the transfer portal as you know kind of a primary source of you know establishing your starting 11 on each side of the football we'll see how that plays out ultimately you know Miami has tried to do this Texas A&M has tried to do this especially with the nil game you know being a key component of their recruiting ultimately you know college football has adapted you know that is the model now that all programs are starting to lean to but you know they don't call you know Lane kein you know the what is it the portal King for for no reason you know he's made his he's made a living the past couple of Seasons off of you know the backs of guys in the transfer portal and you know on paper this you you can make an argument that this is the best most talented team that Old Miss has had you know in in decades and it's just a matter of you know can Lane ke and this coaching staff can they figure out a way to get this team to be able to come together is the culture right can they get these guys to jail and play complimentary football for a full season I don't know Lane kein hasn't been able to win the big one that's been able to put Old Miss over the top into the you know SEC Championship conversation to get to Atlanta um but if any if there's any year where this team is going to have an opportunity to do so uh it's this season with Jackson dart at the qu qub back position so again as good as I think Oklahoma is going to be uh I do like ol miss a little bit better in this situation and Adam that brings us to Maine well I got I gotta make my pick for Miss because I I buttered them up quite a bit and tore them down I I should pick Old Miss here I think that they're the they have the better first line of the team we'll see what they look like when we get to October 26 I talked earlier about Auburn and how Oklahoma should win that game and I zagged when everyone else is zigging I'm doing the opposite here on Miss I think Miss should win this game but I know that Oklahoma I think will win a game that they shouldn't that is unexpected I'm picking this one simply because it's a little bit earlier in the day I think Old Miss is maybe the I want to phrase this the right way because I I do have a lot of respect for what they are but I feel like the the pieces could fall apart faster than it could for in Alabama for example uh if things go wrong for will miss we'll see um I mean they don't play a lot of key opponents before this game but I feel like Oklahoma will win a game somewhere that they shouldn't so this is me just putting my putting a risk out on the table and picking Oklahoma in this so does does this have more to do with Oklahoma or is this the game that link kein just simply botches every single year maybe maybe I think it's more or less just saying hey I know that it's not going to go exactly how I predict so I'm trying to just pick a random game not not random completely but just saying hey like here's one that Oklahoma shouldn't win I'll pick them to win that one so okay I do want want to get to um 1982 Boomer Sooner in the chat here asking which road game we're looking forward to the most um I don't think I'm going to go to miss but I think that would be my pick for this year just in terms of like small college town um I I think it'd be pretty cool as opposed to like a Baton Rouge which is a bigger city at the same time so I don't know if you have uh one that you're looking forward to the most though yeah it's Baton Rouge I do have plans right now to make it down you know with h with with some of the family to go down there to Death Valley hopefully it's a night game to take to watch Oklahoma and LSU yeah that's by far in a way we've heard it you know basically you know since since we were little kids growing up that you know the the Ambiance of playing at LSU at Death Valley at night um I think that you know ultimately we'll get to our prediction with LSU here in just a little bit but yeah by far and way that that's it for me I think that I think that when you look at Old Miss I think that there's more Intrigue surrounding the pregame and the party that's going on outside of the stadium more so than it actually is what's going to be going on inside you know when these guys line up in between the uh you know in between the goalposts uh but yeah it's LSU by far and away from me when you fast forward to 2025 is this the year where Oklahoma goes to Michigan or is this or is this 2028 is that are am my year or two next year Michigan is at home next year Michigan is at home I don't know if it's the 2026 that they go to Michigan but make sure they're at home I would say on the flip side for me I think that Knoxville would would ultimately be pretty cool to get to go out there and watch Oklahoma take on the BS but I'm going to go with Alabama here just simply because it's Alabama they've been the best program in college football for you know the better part of two decades now uh to go out there to Bryant Denny watch this watch Oklahoma play in Tuscaloosa I'm gonna go with Alabama there but Knoxville's a close second yeah so deep dive into the main black bears here win win yeah I think that's about all that needs to be said on that one I'm curious to see like what the vibe is for that game because I think the get in price is already below $40 maybe even below $30 on StubHub for that one so I'm curious to see fans that I I would not want to travel up from Dallas for that one or travel down from Tulsa um I'm I'm curious to see what the vibe is for that one um we'll see maybe Oklahoma's nine and0 heading into that everyone's excited want to be there no matter what maybe we're you know five and four I don't know but I've got I've got a feeling that at least one of those days of practice during that week you're you're going to be watching Missouri film even though you're playing m on Saturday so we'll we'll see here yeah let's move on to November 9th Oklahoma heading to Columbus or Colombia Missouri at missou is uh is where they'll be there and this is I think one that Oklahoma fans are looking forward to quite a bit uh they return the quarter quarterback Brady cook who I think is solid I just wonder like is he going to be able to get even better or is he kind of maxed out what he is in college he's got some great receivers to throw to obviously um and a lot of people talking about the running back position trying to replace Cody schader there I like what they got out of the transfer portal Marcus Carroll from Georgia State Nate Noel out of appstate two very productive guys um Nate Noel battled injuries quite a bit at appstate uh he spent a lot of time on my fantasy football team on the bench so I'm very familiar with uh what he's able to do uh when he's on the field but it's just been Limited in certain cases so I like that um they lost four Defenders to the NFL I don't think Missouri is the type of program that necessarily replaces their top quarterback their top defensive end uh and is able to just reload like that um and they've got a new defensive coordinator coming in from South Alabama and Corey batun um that is interesting because South Alabama's head coach is Kane wck now the defensive coordinator of Alabama so you wonder like how much that defense was patons how much of it was head coach Kane wmax I I have questions there but U Missouri I just again I think it's similar to Old Miss but maybe at a greater disparity of Oklahoma's got deeper Talent across the entire roster than Missouri does and where is Missouri at that point in the season healthwise injury-wise and so forth um they are a four four-point favorite as it stands today taking Oklahoma in that one yeah when you look at the Missouri Tigers schedule it's really a three-game schedule in my opinion they've got to go on the road to College Station to take on Texas A&M they've got to go on the road to Tuscaloosa to take on Alabama and there is Auburn that is kind of you know sandwiched in between those two opponents but they do get the Tigers at home uh and then they've got Oklahoma coming there in uh in week 11 and I think that this is a game that Oklahoma uh I know that they're coaches um I know that they're players I know that this fan base has got this trip to Columbia Circle because there's a little bit of animosity and bad blood I think between these two programs right now not necessarily having to do with anything um regarding the actual play on the field over the last you know 20 30 40 years because we all know how dominant and one-sided that this has been in Oklahoma's favor but when you look at all the stuff with Kaden green you look at some of the stuff that's been thrown out there from Theo whis and his family um and you know Eli drinkwitz you know being the clown that he is and all the recruiting battles that have kind of gone back and forth right now with you know Williams wer last year Kaden green uh Lamont Rogers being another one as well this is something that Oklahoma you know their coach their players in this fan base we're looking forward to uh Missouri coming off of a buy um which is going to play well for for uh for the tigers um they've got quarterback Brady cook who's um earning a lot of accolades in the preseason you know being part of the you know some of the preseason All-American teams for the SEC uh wide receiver Luther Burn by Far and Away the leader you know leader uh going into this season for the bitov trophy Theo e mie Cooper they did lose their defensive coordinator to isue and they have to replace quite a few guys who are now in the NFL um but at the end of the day Adam th this is the road game that I think that Oklahoma they go up to Columbia and they take care of business I I think that this is really going to be an opportunity where much like I kind of compare it to Baker Mayfield going to Tennessee and even though this isn't going to be this that early in the season where Baker and the Sooners went up there to Knoxville I think that this is really going to be an opportunity for Jackson Arnold to kind of have his coming out party on the road in in a hostile atmosphere I think that Oklahoma goes up to Missouri and they take care of business uh and they're going to be seven- two or I guess eight- two uh after a big time win in Columbia Missouri that takes us to Alabama after a by week in Norman right now b a two-point favorite and when I look at the tide I I'm not sure I see The Supporting Cast around Jaylen milro just yet I know they've got some former five stars waiting in the wings there so I'm really just kind of trusting the Alabama system at this point to produce Elite Playmakers like they do pretty much every single year um I don't know if we had I guess Isaiah ner I guess was their best receiver last year I know they have Jeremy Bernard who transferred from Washington he was their number three guy um for Michael pennick last year he is now at Alabama following dor but um you know there's the coaching change everyone's talking about that does dor change too much too fast causing you know speed bumps along the way or does he try to you know keep a lot of it the same and it it it's not not what he needs to do to have his system in place I don't know there's a lot of question marks there I would expect a lot of them to be kind of ironed out here by the time Alabama comes to town um but you also look at Alabama and they've got one of the toughest schedules that maybe they've ever had um at least in in recent memory for sure and so you wonder like what does that program and team look like if they roll into Norman with potentially two losses they gotta play Georgia they gotta play Missouri they gotta play LSU um probably someone else I'm not thinking of before they even come to town so they got to go to Wisconsin week three they gotta go to Wisconsin yeah I I don't know how I feel about the Badgers but it's early you never know if they might be able you know you know get them before Alabama gets really rolling so you just kind of wonder about all that but at the end of the day like this feels like I I I don't want to see it but it kind of feels like 2016 Ohio State coming to town where we found out pretty quickly that okay our roster is not on the same level as this team that's on the opposite sideline it's interesting that Vegas has a as a two-point game that that's really in my opinion we'll see I know the fan base will be fired up for that one but I just feel like Bama's roster is too deep and that's the same reason that I'm giving Oklahoma The Edge when they go to Missouri when they go to Old Miss um and Oklahoma's not going to have that edge here despite playing at home so I'm taking the the tide here unfortunately I I know that Nick Savin is no longer the head football coach in Tuscaloosa but Alabama's roster is still full of NFL guys on the two deep at every single position so and let's not forget too kayin bore has one at every single place that he's ever been to and now you're giving him the keys to a Ferrari to to drive this Al Bama program led by quarterback Jaylen milro and yeah you make a good point Adam this this is a really really tough schedule that kayen dbor and and the Crimson TI are gonna face uh in year one of this new regime But ultimately I think that the biggest reason why I side with Alabama here it's not the fact that you know um that that I like Jaylen milro a little bit better than Jack staro it's not the fact that I like you know kayin dbor I think he's a better football coach than Brent vinales but I think that once you get into you know week 12 and 13 of this football season when you look at where Oklahoma's roster is as as much as it has improved over the last three years with the top 10 recruiting classes that Brent venol has continued to bring in since he took over here in Norman Oklahoma I I think that there are levels to this game and there's levels to the amount of depth and you know talented depth um that that Oklahoma is still trying to build to to where they can be on the same level as in Alabama or a Georgia um but but I think that this is really going to be really going to kind of come down to uh how healthy is Oklahoma at this stage in the year and I think that this is just going to be an instance where the tal the better Talent is going to win out and yeah I think that it is going to be a Ruckus environment it is going to be senior day it's going to be a Bittersweet you know final game for some of these seniors that are beloved at at the University of Oklahoma but at the end of the day I think that this is kind of where the wheels start to come off or maybe rattle just a little bit I think that Alabama gets this thing done uh and Oklahoma moves to eight and three that uh you know that Bama game we kind of put that out on Twitter earlier today at the mainline pod and we put the Bama game we put the old Miss game and we put the LSU game out there and right now Oklahoma not favored in any of those games uh in Vegas so they are the underdog we asked hey you know which of those three games do you think is most likely for Oklahoma to pull the upset a lot of people said Alabama I was a little bit surprised at that um maybe it's just because they're at home I don't know if it's disrespect of they don't have Sabin anymore but I think kayin debor agree with you there is very solid so we'll see I'm sure Oklahoma would would love to have that one I've got Oklahoma at 9 and2 you've got Oklahoma at 8 and three uh that takes us down to LSU for the finale after Thanksgiving this one to me LSU we know they're kind of that roller coaster program they're favored by five as it stands today they lost three defensive tackles to the NFL I don't think they really replac them with much I think their best defensive line get in the transfer portal was jvr Suggs out of Grand Valley State the guy that kind of Kick the tires on but eventually found someone better so I have some serious questions about LSU's defense I think they will get better with the new coordinator there and and just the fact that your offense won't be scoring nearly as often and as fast um but I also have questions about the offense I think they'll be good I think Garrett nus is is solid but he's also out of all the young quarterbacks that are starting for the first time Nico Jackson Arnold Garrett's the one that we've actually seen the most out of he's played significant amounts of of various games throughout the last three years and I think he'll be good but I kind of feel like we have the biggest track record there and it's it's not like Heisman winner it's not playoff quarterback necessarily quite yet very very good still um and they'll have some nice targets um CJ Daniels transfer from Liberty kyen Lacy was a a good piece for them last year so I think they'll be all right um they've never really had the running back um unless you go all the way back to like Clyde Edwards hair so um that's like five six years ago at this point so you know it's it's been a while since they've had a dominant running game but I just I just don't see LSU as this team that I think Oklahoma should be scared that much of I think we're scared more of oh it's it's Death Valley and yeah Death Valley is scary but they've boosted that record based on a lot of teams that aren't very good um that's a lot of wins against not good Mississippi State against usually not good or average old myths not good Arkansas average mediocre A&M it's really Alabama that goes in there and wins on a regular basis so Death Valley very tough to play but the good teams go in there and win so I'm taking Oklahoma here you've got Oklahoma going 10 and two 10 and two Sharpie all right this is where we're gonna go the other way here um Garrett NM very good quarterback he's not Joe burrow he's not Jaylen Daniels there is gonna be a little bit of a drop off at the quarterback position down to Baton Rouge this year um they do still have phenomenal skill Talent especially out at the wide receiver position they probably got the best left tackle in college football this year in Will Campbell he's going to be a first- round NFL draft pick you you make a good point Adam the fact that they weren't really able to you know bolster the roster on the defensive side of the football particularly uh on the defensive line I know that that front seven is there's some question marks this year and this is coming off of a season where OK or where LSU was one of the worst defensive teams in the power five uh collectively so again um I think that Oklahoma going into this matchup I I I think that this is probably the biggest tossup game for Oklahoma I think that when you look at Alabama you look at Missouri you look at uh you look at Tennessee you look at Old Miss I think that this game against LSU this is probably a game that I think that Oklahoma might have the best chance based on the current layout of the roster compared to these other teams but I do think that once you get down to the very end of the season I I think that LSU I I know that they're not quite the team that we saw you know back in the Peach Bowl or you know even some of those teams in the early 2000s but I think that Brian Kelly is good of a coaches he is he's going to have some things figured out by the very end of this season and again it's it's easier said done going into LSU going into Baton Rouge and winning this game so I think for that reason as good as I think Oklahoma is going to be this year I do think that Oklahoma Falls in Baton Rouge this year and I think that they finish this regular season up at eight and four eight and four with wins over likely ranked teams Texas Tennessee and Missouri that probably puts you back in the alamoo bowl uh if I have my my bowl game straight because it's still tied into the old Big 12 system there so I don't know if Oklahoma fans will be too thrilled about that uh my record has Oklahoma at 10 and two with ranked wins over Missouri Texas Tennessee probably will'll miss potentially LSU we'll see how how that would shake out if that were to be the case but 10 and two I think pretty obvious that's a that's probably the spot Oklahoma really wants to be is in the playoffs safely not in the SEC Championship Game Adam if you're 10 and two you're in serious consideration for being one of the two representatives in the SEC Championship game in Atlanta and you're a lock to make the college football playoff yeah I think it's definitely possible um I think that there are some questions that definitely need to be answered and I think that if if if Brent venables and Bill Beano especially if they can push the right buttons here if they can hit all those right notes I think the 10 and two is definitely possible but I I'm just not quite there yet I'm not drinking that Kool-Aid quite quite like you are at this point I do think that eight and four I think that's a good season um it's not it's not the three three ranked wins that'd be good it it's not what Oklahoma fans who we talked about on this podcast all offseason talking about how you kind of have to redefine your expectations on an annual basis where you're not going to be able to you know you're not going to win an SEC Championship every single year you're not going to find yourself in the college football uh you know semifinals each and every single season but I do think that you know an eight and4 nine and3 type season that is a really good uh you know Foundation that Oklahoma can build upon in year one of the SEC uh especially with what they're doing and what's going to be another remarkable 2025 recruiting class hopefully gets a little bit better to tomorrow at the offensive line position uh but again I think that anything eight and four above especially if you've got multiple ranked wins maybe whether it's two whether it's three I think that that's a good season for oom and that's something that you can build on going forward into 2025 with Jackson Arnold coming back with some more experience on the offensive line yeah you're gonna have to replace Danny you're gonna have to replace Billy but you've got some guys that are absolute dudes you know behind them that it's going to be their time to shine so I I can't wait to see this thing kick off man it's going to be be hell of a lot of fun my final two cents on this and kind of how I came to this conclusion of I think Oklahoma's going to do better than what people think is because I I think there's a lot of talk of oh the schedule oh the schedule and when you look at you know a lot of rankings like ESPN's fbii or Cade forward rankings things that are more um computer-driven analytical they're not always right but I think they they know some things they're able to measure some things and I think there needs to be balance between some of that and some of the oh let's just kind of feel oh we feel the schedule is tough like we're going to predict this and you know all the rankings are going to stay exactly the same throughout the entire season there's gonna be EV and flow there but you know the the the analytical uh rankings really do love Oklahoma I think they have OU at nine and three with wins over Oklahoma or Miss and LSU is is what ESPN's fpi ranks them the k for rankings have Oklahoma eth we're starting to see a lot of those rankings come out and they have Oklahoma very high and I think that speaks a lot to the fact that they're they're very high on Oklahoma's defense and defense travels travels is special teams we'll see if that one's actually better this year but we we anticipate it will I think that Josh P said that he had him power ranked at 12th overall in the country and I think he's got him going eight and four as well so again eight and four that's not a bad season is what is it what we want at Oklahoma no not by any stretch to the imagination but I think that eight and four that's a solid you know inaugural season in the SEC and that's something that Bren venal and this coaching staff and really this program uh can build upon but again I think that seven and five is the absolute floor um I I don't quite see the path as easy as you do Adam for a 10 and two type season but it is there you just laid it out for us but I think that um it remains to be seen but again I'm I'm very very excited to see we get we get to watch this thing kick off in 10 days time next week we'll be on season five episode four doing a game breakdown for temple talking owls it'll be it'll be exciting we'll have our our five Best Bets of the week that start back up next week yep get ready for it we're going to make some bad picks there I'm sure but one of us is going to come out a winner at the end of the year and we will uh we'll never stop the trash talking on it so um that's going to do it for us this week if you're listening on the podcast this will be the end of the show if you're watching on YouTube uh you're gonna get to see the first look at the 2024 Oklahoma hype video that we put together so we will roll that now and we will see everyone next week for the next episode of the mainline in the you know how I feel Bree drifting on there's no limits on what Oklahoma can achieve day Championship coach Heisman winners I mean it's I've not seen anything like it Paul in the SEC for me and I'm feeling [Music] ready for those big boys up front man they're going to take y'all to the Woodshed see I don't I don't think that's going to happen to [Music] Oklahoma is Oklahoma being overed I think they [Music] are day it's a new he has a chance to have a ton of success in year one at Oklahoma he has too much ability to not be a big time player in the SEC is M I know it's a new dark it's a new day a new for me a new it's a new day everything me [Music]