head coach Houston nut uh with us today coach nut I appreciate you joining us it's always fun talking with you how's it going today going good going good thanks for having me absolutely we got Matt Jones here Klay Henry's here as well and man I I was floored learning um last week I was looking in the media guide I I I could have swore Arkansa and Oklahoma state would have played sometime in the last 44 years but they but they they haven't so with these two programs that you're connected to getting back together what do you expect Saturday to be like for you if you're watching this game oh man this is going to be a good one I I can't wait um I'm like you I I thought they surely they played uh uh Within These 44 years so uh you know it just makes sense you know and I I know Clay's in there uh and he remembers you know when we had that Series going uh you know you're three hours away the programs really are similar in a lot of ways you know and um uh I always look forward uh uh you know to watching this game so I'm I'm expecting a big time game I know Oklahoma Oklahoma state has a lot of experience coming back but um you know it looks like uh Arkansas you know has upgraded a lot in a lot of areas you know so I'm I'm anxious to see uh See this game coach you're uh you're right about both these programs being similar kind of recruiting the the the same type of athlete how how important this game is is this game for Arkansas and what is your message to your team when you're getting ready uh to go into a hostile environment and and take on a top 20 ranked opponent yeah I tell you mat um you know this is this to me is a very important game and uh you're off to a good start you're one and0 and now you're playing the name where you know Mike gun's been there 20 years and he's done a good job and and uh you know they're they're rated this this team is rated and uh in fact some of them pick them to win the Big 12 so this kind of going to give you a little measurement I think it's so important uh that you take this road focus and uh you you've been in in those meetings where we would really start on that Sunday uh this would be this would be such a great challenge hey we're playing a team and and you know what we are The Underdogs because they don't think we can go there and win and to me the time is perfect I always look at the time of when the game is being played I don't like 11 a 1100 a games at home I don't like him in FA 11: a.m. I don't like them in Little Rock I don't like them anytime at home but I tell you what though man I love them on the road and you remember going to Auburn at 11:00 a.m. and it to me they're not olded up your fans their they just just waking up and I think this is the time that first five minutes is so important and um I I think this is a great opportunity to go in there and and get one man and get a good one because you got a you're beating a brand name right now that um they're ranked and some of them pick them to be Champions the Big 12 and just boy to me this this kind of can catapult your your confidence and your attitude towards the host season okay Coach so then let me let me put it to you in these terms then you got an 11 o'clock morning game the team is staying about I don't know 30 45 minutes away just like you would at Auburn how do you sleep the night before a game like that on the road you sleep well yeah oh yeah I sleep really well especially if we had great preparation now if the preparation right now I don't sleep well when we didn't done balls on the ground sloppy Tuesday Wednesday and usually I know but boy I tell you what I sleep really good really good uh when when we we went to work every day especially that Tuesday Wednesday and had a great mental day on Thursday yeah I'm sleeping really good and then Matt will tell you I did something that's kind of silly but it it kind of brought a point put emphasis on it I made all our guys take a kind of a shower cold shower I say guys beat when you get there take a cold shower I want you to wake up make sure the Sleepy is out of your eyes because we getting ready to go ball right here and so that attitude it even though it might have been a little silly it's kind of like all of a sudden they take you know kind of take ownership of it of oh we're waking up right here and the next time we played 11 11 a.m. game 11:00 a.m game I had players coming to coach we're going to take a shower right oh yeah oh yeah we're going to take a shower so it's the mindset it's your mindset and uh to me man you sleep good when you're when you're prepared coach you had just the natural ability to take the the pressure off all the players and you had us out there feeling loose and and and ready to make a play when you're when you're on the side and you see a running back like Oly Gordon and and you go against him in the SEC Cadillac Williams Ronnie Brown LSU had a couple of them what is the focus when you know you can't let olly Gordon beat you right right you know what when you to me you put his picture up early in the week and and the bottom line is they got some returning starters they've got laps around the track they've got experience but we're going to stop this guy and um if we got to overpopulate the line of scrimmage uh we're going to stop him he's not going to get a 100 against us and you know he's not a burner now he's big 6 foot2 and he's 230 he can be elusive but you know a guy if you put hats on him over and over and over uh and and that's where your your your linebackers and your your leaders on your defense say hey we're getting ready to hit this guy we're gonna hit him over he we're gonna let him know that we're gonna be there all day long and so you just don't want those missed tackles those long runs you know the the the one to two missed tackles causes problems so hey let's be fundamentally sound let's tackle let's tackle hard and let's stop this guy this guy's a is the guy you know he's been a dope Walker Award winner for a reason uh but um he's not going to scare us this Saturday so you know to me it's one of those uh kind of attitudes of let's zero in and let's make them play left-handed and the way we do that is stop their best player coach one of the thing oh coach this is Clay uh you got an Arkansas Team team that that has power running patrino is going to do that and play action but it seems like the the the X card or whatever you want to say the wild card in this is misdirection running from ton green I mean just you know taon Green yeah from a from a just from afar just watching for the first time saw a little bit of him at at Boise State you know really athletic guy you know that can move and and so I can see uh you know see uh coach patrino moving him around a little bit with with boots and Waggles you know you got a guy sitting there next to you I I always love starting off the game by putting the Matt Jones put him on the move you know we would necked him with waggling because what it does is it creates pressure okay he can throw it and he can throw it to an open guy or you better take you better make sure you got got it covered cuz he'll take off running and that's exactly what Matt did so so taon puts Oklahoma State in a little bit of a problem because they better make sure their Rush lanes are right they better make sure that they keep him bottled up because he can as you say clay he can take off and and start running so uh again on the other side if you're in Oklahoma State you're saying hey look we gota we got to see if his arm can beat us and so coach patrino has got to be ready for if they if they come up here and put about seven eight nine in the box now we got to be able to have some answers too and so it's going to be a good chess game so I'm I'm really I'm anxious to see coach one of the one of my favorite things was we'd get in at halftime you'd give us about five minutes and and then all of a sudden marcuson would get up there or David Lee would call down on the phone about some type of adjustment that's going to come on into the game how long did it usually take you guys because I know y'all are on the headsets always talking first quarter second quarter you have a game plan but then it's like hey we're going to go back and run four power this way hey we're we're going to run 26 this way how when does that start is that just start the as soon as the the kickoff goes you know it it does you know you know we always had that scrip we had our first 15 plays that we felt good about and of course we' to ask you what do you feel good about uh but being that always be as we get get in that halftime and you don't have much time it's very important you know not that you're going to do a whole sale change but there's some there's two or three things that hey hey let's let's uh let's do this let's let's take this waggle now and let's get Matt out here on the on the edge and let's have a different launching point because man they are coming Afters when he's in the gun they're they're they're coming off the edge you know we would do something whether we go 12 Personnel or have maybe maybe even have save one um Personnel grouping that we hadn't showed that we worked on hey let's go in here now and and let's take this three wide out package and hit this you know You' always have something that that to me would give a a defens quarter something that you hadn't seen and you you worked on that you feel like hey this is going to this is going to help us and the same way thing on defense you know if if they're getting us on one or two plays we got to make sure that we you know get that corrected so that halftime is a pretty quick deal and um uh I I tell you what mat I I wish you and I would have had the the microphones and the helmet I think uh that that would made a difference you know we we I remember coach spur and and Nick Sav David cutless we' always would know talk about how how come we can't get what the NFL does so I think that's a huge advantage to be able to at least have 15 seconds with you say Hey Okay Matt we're gonna go we got a triple vertical stretch right here now check the free safety you know before it before it cuts off you know at least you know you could you know relay that uh as as you're the coach on the field to your to the players the the Birmingham and the guys Cory and and and kind of get things situated you know so uh I I I think that's a really a a good Advantage I think he'd love the the iPads too on the sideline Matt Phil we had stretch fives and Coach nut tell you we'd have stretch fives and then you might have you'd point to which one you're going to have be the two beater that would might be coming across that would be that's what he said that would be a great thing to be able to have on the headset to say hey we're going to we're going to change it and go to Sparky Hamilton this time or we're going to go to dor Birmingham this time absolutely yes yes yes absolutely well the iPads are also a change and Coach Pitman mentioned yesterday on his on his coaches show he said he thought that that kind of separated um uh the the the great coaches from the just good coaches and their ability to like Replay in their mind what they just saw and now they don't have to do it in that term because you you got it on the iPad and you can kind of you know View from Above in a way that you just saw but now you can stop and replay and I'd imagine that would have been a big help for you too no no doubt about it no doubt about it you know you know the picture's worth a thousand words you know and a lot of players you know they when you can see things you see it visually it just it just makes so much difference so I was reading it's funny you know you look in the game notes and they always put the last time that these teams met the box score is what they'll put in there in the game notes there's no box score from Arkansas Oklahoma State there's a game story from the last time these teams played in Little Rock and it mentioned the last paragraph mentioned about uh about Houston nut coming on the field to uh to think think a couple of touchdowns you led them to but they you got booed in your own Hometown I mean it was that just means they like you that's right they wanted you to stay that's what it means right you know what guys that was a that was a hard week because I knew for whatever I wasn't starting at the time but I knew I'm gonna play this game I I I just know when Little Rock W Mor Stadium where I was a ball boy I'm gonna play this game versus the Hogs now so I gotta be ready so I remember really trying to focus and get this game plan down and uh I remember standing about Coach Jimmy Johnson as soon as John dner went down I knew it here I go and so you know it's tough you know when you when you grow up in a place and you're a razor back and you that's where your dad took four boys to the games way back when uh man it's tough you know coming on there and and they booing you but you know all it does you know it's kind of motivates you a little bit and you want to do good for your team and so we had two good drives but it was too Arkansas done put it on us and uh got out of there with a loss coach I'll never forget the Monday after that game was over I think my dad uh talked to the Arkansas fans a little bit he he didn't like that and uh I think he had a lot of respect for The Nut family he didn't he didn't like those booze and I uh I've seen that column recently and uh you it kind of did my heart good to read it yeah well your dad's you know one of the great ones man and uh always we always appreciated all his articles and you know I got to be on that on his magazine he never put a high school senior there that that one year I got to be on his uh big magaz I can't remember the name Texas football Arkansas football yeah yeah ar ar football yeah and covers yes yes that was awesome coach thank you so much coach it's always good having you it is really good man it y'all y'all keep it going and uh appreciate y'all having me on guys hey what do you hear what do you think last what do you think when you hear coach Pitman referred to this game as a slobber knocker because not every game can be a slobber knocker and I'm expecting to see a lot of spit flying on Saturday hey I like it I like it I like it man I tell you what that means uh in my mind hey it's gonna be physical and and he's going to get after him and um man I think it's I think it's going to be a good one this is about right that's right bet online is your number one source for all your betting needs get the latest odds lines and matchup reports for baseball boxing Golf and More bet online continues to be the fastest and easiest way to place your Wagers including live betting and your favorite casino and card games available to play right from your phone head to the website or use your mobile device to sign up today and get in on the 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