Rutgers / #Akron Postgame Show -- #Rutgers Scarlet Knights Football

all right I think we're live now I appreciate the patience from everybody uh and apologies once again for last week uh well not happening so we just witnessed a big time victory for the Rucker Scarlet Knights winning 49- 17 at home uh winning in running away fashion in the second half spread so you know it was a great team effort uh Alec you were at the game I was at the game what are just some of your high level thoughts on how today went uh well first you got to talk about KY manangi and the effort that he put out a career game for him for the second game in a row really 27 carries 208 yards three touchdowns and Antoine Raymond in his second game 17 carries 77 yards another touchdown for him Athan cak man it's 14 to 23 230 yards three touchdowns and an interception in the passing game it looked like they were a lot more willing to open up the Playbook just to Tad and throw some more deep balls that's where the interception came in but also one of the touchdowns on a beautiful deep ball Chris long he had led all receivers with four catches for 87 yards on touchdown deir Miller four catches 77 yards and then uh nice job by KJ Duff as well getting a deflection touchdown I couldn't tell it was off the hands of Kenny Fletcher off the uh akan linebacker's back but it landed in the hands of KJ Duff uh so that's all that matters overall really good day for both ends of the field again for the second game in a row kind of started a little bit slow took a little bit to get going but once they did they were Off to the Races they scored a touchdown in the first quarter and then they scored 14 points in each of the uh next three quarters so just a really efficient day uh for both sides of the field both parts of of the offense and I mean you can never really complain too much about a 32-point win yeah I it was it did feel a little shaky at first though uh early on in the game you know you have that interception on the first drive for Athan kak Manis you have uh just a lot of sloppiness uh especially in the passing game it seemed like every throw was a tight window throw at least in the first half um things obviously opened up in the second half uh Kyle manangi first half stats 17 carries 162 yards two Tes just absurd AB absolutely absurd and I I said this last week but my prediction is getting uh worse and worse with his rushing yards on the season uh I said last week I'm already ready to take the L on that one I think he's clearly going to have closer to 2,000 yards than 1,000 as long as he stays healthy um but I I thought akan was just shooting themselves in the foot left and right too how many drop passes did they have in that game um you know Ruckers I thought played really well defensively in the Run game I thought they really stifled what akan was trying to do outside of that one really long touchdown run um in a few QB scrambles but overall this is a this is a team that looks uh like they're rounding in form um if they could look a little bit more like their second half selves and not go off to these slow starts I think that special season that we keep talking about might be on the horizon especially with how some of these other teams are performing this weekend and uh in last two weeks honestly um I again we talked about Kanga the the running game was just fabulous today you know Kyle manangi with his awesome performance I think Antoine Raymond probably could have had two 100 yards in the second half if they really wanted to get him that as well um just you have to kind of nit and when when you blow a team out by 32 um but overall I thought they were pretty inconsistent in the first half second half they really kind of found their groove and and hit things uh pretty consistently on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball yeah I mean talk about shooting yourself in the foot too akan 12 penalties for if my mathur as me correct 67 yards four of them being delay of game penalties one of them was on a punt that it didn't seem like it was like you know too much of a dire uh position but three delay of game penalties on offense uh and then they had a false start and then on defense seven penalties on the defensive side one a few pass interference penalties off sides here and there a couple of illegal substitutions it really felt like Akon's defense in particular was kind of off-kilter for a lot of the game they got pretty handsy in coverage uh they were always making some of those late substitutions led to a couple penalties like I said um and Ruckers took advantage I mean we saw Ben Finley only 14 of 31 for 138 yards a touchdown in an interception ception later on the game and then eventually Taj Bullock did come in we saw him in some of those two QB packages that Joe Morhead likes to throw out and he finished that game off I thought the defensive line had a much better game they were able to put a lot more pressure on Finley and I think it's because he's a lot less mobile than Jaa Scroggins of Howard and it felt like uh so Wesley Bailey was out again um I thought Jordan Walker played pretty well in his place Aaron Lewis had a couple of good pressures um and yeah I mean I I felt like like you said before they defended the Run well uh they had nine QB hurries two by Aaron Lewis two by Jordan Thompson on the defensive line darl jab had one Kon Griffin had one keay Hamilton had one and then zier angoy had two and Jordan Walker had two as well so I thought it was a really good day for the uh defensive line um and then obviously the defensive backs had a pretty good day too they put a lot of pressure on Finley and he just was not able to take advantage a lot of missed passes because of defenders in his face yeah no uh they they really just couldn't get much going on on the uh the passing end uh akan they were just you know any anything they were getting W was just kind of like broken plays like you saw that one long touchdown they had in the first I think it was the no it was the beginning of the second half that was just a blown coverage by two younger guys I couldn't tell if that was Bo mascow or if that was uh if that was Kos Sanders on that play who who kind of blew that coverage but um other than a few broken plays they just could not get anything going in the passing game um on the day Ruckers had 515 yards of total offense they only allowed 307 I couldn't I want to touch back on the delay of game penalties it was almost like when they were driving in One Direction the play clock wasn't showing up I I'm not saying that's what happened but that was the only thing I could think of as to why they kept having these delay of games like it's not like the the crowd was super loud and we can kind of talk about that but but I I think it was just sloppiness and and just a poor team effort on akan just to kind of get plays run um and that was kind of the theme of the day is just they were not really able to Cobble together anything that really was successful outside of a few long plays um the crowd I I want to reference it that was a pretty light crowd for a team that's coming off a bowl win uh had a pretty nice showing against Howard I I guess the weather got had people scared away but but it ended up being for the most part a pretty nice day it was about as nice of a fall day or I guess it's not fall technically yet for the the uh you know the solstice uh stands out there but that was a really nice day for a football game that we had you know cloud coverage it was you know in the high 70s I'm kind of bummed by the the the uh the showing by Ruckers fans today yeah I mean according to bran fona was the the the smallest crowd since I forget if he said it was last Year's Wagner game or the year before that um it was Wagner's last year you said yeah okay so yeah I'm not really sure um it was the walk to believe as well before the game which Greg shano said postgame had a really good turnout and everyone was really happy with that um it definitely felt like it it thinned out in the second half as well with you know there was a threat of some storms I don't think they ever actually came in but yeah I didn't really uh get that I guess people may have been gearing up more so for Washington um yeah I'm not really too sure about that um yeah it definitely seemed like a a a thinner crowd than one would usually expect and I was surprised that you know it was not as light or Howard wasn't as light I guess I'm trying to say uh because the circumstances of that game it was was a little weird but I mean either way the team still won um and I'm sure if they get the win even if they don't get the win in two weeks against Virginia Tech that Friday night game against Washington is going to be as hyped if they win against Virginia Tech I think as any game since either or Penn State in 2014 totally agree 2014 is definitely the season you go back to for the games that uh were really just outstanding crowds at least the last ones um I was at both of those games and the there was a sizable Penn State and Michigan contingent at both but those games were on par with like USF 2007 with Louisville 2006 like they were fantastic crowds and there's just something different about night college football when it's actually a meaningful game um so really excited uh for the prospect of maybe having an undefeated season heading into that Washington game uh I think the Virginia Tech game is I I was watching a good part of it Virginia Tech looks terrible um they the only points I think they had the last time I checked were from a punt return touchdown I don't think they've crossed the 50 according to well I guess they are now somebody in the chat said they haven't crossed the 50 but they're current at the Marshall 35 um looking through the chat here to see if there's any questions um yeah I thought one interesting stat they had on the broadcast the I could call Conor Bradley the first 200 yard passer and 200 yard rusher in a Ruckers game since the international Bowl in 2008 that was when Ray Rice set the program record in rushing yards for a game with 280 and then I don't know how many yards Mike teal had in that game but it was over 200 [Music] um Bobby uh Tao I think that's how you say it damier Miller was a great pickup couldn't agree more we were hyping him for a reason this is a guy who just brings some stability and some senior leadership to a otherwise pretty young and inexperienced receiver room is there anything that diir did today that you really kind of blew you away Alec I thought he just found the right spots in the defense I thought Ethan C NIS had a really good game with his accuracy a couple of not so great throws um but for the most most part the intermediate plays were really on par and on target over the middle as well another thing that we had been waiting to see that we saw last week um so yeah I was I was very pleased with just how um how the passing game looked and to to follow up teal had 33 yards in that International ball against Ball State yeah impressive to have that many but that was Ray Rice's last game they gave him 38 37 carries so um but anyways yeah I was very happy with the with the passing game as a whole I thought Miller found his spots um it really does look like he is a veteran wide receiver who knows exactly what he needs to do and you can use him in a lot of different ways too he can line up on the outside and be that boundary guy that can go and stretch the field and they tried to Target him a few times doing that and you can also line him up in the slot as well as just get him you know some stuff over the middle or towards the sideline really anywhere you can line him up and he's one of those guys that knows where he needs to be and it looks like him and Athan have already built pretty good chemistry yep couldn't agree more with anything you've said I I think there's still they still have not kind of displayed his his top end speed yet and I think I'm just waiting for that long touchdown because if you watch his his tape at Mammoth he's just like once he gets into open space nobody's catching him um he's just kind of got that extra gear um YC by the SE any insights on Sam Brown uh Sam Brown the surprise uh scratched today um he was on the injury report as listed as out um I believe shano made some kind of comment but also deferred to the injury report uh Alec you were at the press conference what did shano have to say about Sam Brown yeah he was asked about it um he said you know the the general you know injuries they happen he said you never know with injuries he said he wouldn't get into it and just referred to the availability report um and he said we're just gonna have to wait and see what his status is so not too much revealing uh not sure what the injury was exactly whether that's a re-aggravation of the injy that he had a couple years ago that he's still recovering from or if it was a different injury we're not really sure um he shano declined to say whether it was a long-term injury he didn't say it was season ending uh he his his thing is now he'll say if it's season ending but he'll mostly refer to the availability report if it's not season ending so um I guess we'll have to wait and see uh it didn't sound like he was overly concerned but also he didn't sound like he was uh I guess running to say that Sam Brown will be back in in next game or whatever so I guess to wait and see like he said until Virginia Tech uh wait until that um Avail report comes out uh things like that so not too much Intel uh but I thought the Ruckers running back room was in a good position with obviously manai and antoan Raymond as well yeah what a revelation Antoine Raymond's been I mean he's not doing anything really flashy out there he just runs hard he clearly is a super talented kid uh does all the things that you kind of hope to see out of a young back and he has kind of good instincts he has good Vision um you know he could could be the guy next year for all we know or he could be in you know time share with Sam Brown assuming you know he comes back and is healthy um longer beam's hit today was crazy C that was a huge hit there was quite a few Hospital balls thrown by the Ben or the the akan quarterbacks um kind of felt bad for some of those guys taking those shots just I think two or three of them that were just like audible oo and A's from the crowd uh which you never really want to see anybody her but that I mean that's kind of one of the reasons why you watch football is for those big collisions um uh let's see here what do we got feel free to keep throwing these questions in here guys um we'll get some more coverage but I wanted to make sure that we had uh people actually get answered um sometimes we kind of forget about that uh the stadium entrance process yeah I mean you can talk about it everybody's kind of mentioned in each game um it seems like they're still figuring stuff out the bag policy I think is driving some people crazy I think you have a lot of uh people that are still surprised that it takes a while to get into the stadium I mean it's not like a this year problem that was like it's been that way for a while now uh if you want to get in on time you gotta build in that that time to wait in line unfortunately um until they decide to to change the policy um uh let's see Delmar of fishing thank you once again for the donation how think Taj bck felt today coming back home he looked like someone ran over his dog after some of those plays um I mean speaking from you know what Richie has told us uh and told you guys this was a kid who wanted to come to Ruckers after he transferred from Virginia Tech and it just didn't work out um getting here so I'm sure that it was doubly hard to just also you know get your cheeks clapped uh at the place you end wanted to end up be being at um yeah Alec what do you think yeah I mean I think he was definitely playing uh playing hard like you mentioned for the the school that he wanted to go to um obviously he didn't get the started quarterback he did get some run in in some of those two quarterback sets like I said before it just it just didn't look like Ruckers was really phased at all uh he was 33 for 13 yards in in some of those final drives as the clock was just kind of running out and then he also had four carries for zero yards I believe he got the ball on one of those really big losses um I forget who got the sack I think it was Malcolm Ray who got the sack um I'm trying to remember if it was that play or another play I think he got blown up in the back field at one point yeah they had some weird like pitch looking thing and it counted as a sack yep yeah um I thought he I mean I'm sure going into any game you're playing hard but in this one in particular looked like he really wanted to get out there and play I thought the Rooker defense was just overwhelming though um and they definitely flexed their muscles at the line of scrimmage uh and got to the quarterback very very nicely and I saw I saw the uh the comment about the Robert longer beam hit too I mean even in the Press Box you could hear like you said like a few ooze after that one I mean that was a Richie and I were talking about it it was a textbook tackle and that's what you put on your NFL draft film just a Tex defensive back tackle yeah longer beam is really kind of uh elevating his play this year I mean it's not showing up with like the flashy interceptions or pass breakups but um you know he is just really uh you know just such a solid stabilizing force on that side of the ball or that side of the field like he's just not getting challenged because teams know how good he is um Andy Soul asked on Twitter this the two weeks off this early help the team or hurt them going into a big game uh I think it's pretty easy uh it's gonna help them it's gonna help them get healthy uh they have this momentum I don't think they're going to lose it waiting a couple weeks to play at Virginia Tech I think Virginia Tech is going to be hurt by uh playing three straight games because they don't really have time to kind of course correct I mean they're in a battle right now with with Marshall you know they had the boob birds out already I was like I said I watched like the first like quarter in change they had you know interception punt punt I believe to start the game um let me just look at the box score um sorry they had a uh they had a turnover on Downs to start uh then they punted then they punted then they punted then they punted and they also had a punt return touchdown so they they've ended every one of their drives offensive drives with either a punt or a turnover so far in that game um so I I I think if they had a week off as well I'd say it hurt but given that Ruckers is you know trying to get back to full health and uh playing pretty well I don't think it hurts them what do you think Alec yeah I think it definitely helps them too mostly because you get a whole week to prepare for Virginia Tech and I've said this before two yeah exactly two weeks um the extra week as well I I I've said this before but I feel like Greg shano is one of those guys where if you give him an extra week to prepare I trust him as much as anyone to go out and have his team at the best uh for that game and shano also said something interesting in the pressers kind of like an aside he was asked about you know what the like like the like the question said you know what the byee is um and he said something along the lines of uh you know he he was so the question was I'll just read it off a little unique to have bye after two games but is it coming at a good time given how banged up you guys are coming out of camp and going into the season uh he said it is then as kind of an aside to start off the question he said we may have one or two more today so I don't know if that means the guys that were out today or if anyone else got actually banged up today um I guess we'll have to wait and see but I think the bye-week definitely helps because you give those guys an extra week where they're not giving their all out in game action I believe Virginia Tech has alorn state next week um and while that's not the strongest opponent it's not a power five opponent it's still a game that you have to go out and give your all and win that game so giving Ruckers an extra week I think helps him from a physical standpoint and a mental one uh Virginia Tech plays Old Dominion next week oh well I guess my point stands even more then in Old Dominion mean they they for whatever reason Virginia Tech plays them every year and it's a home and home um old dominions won two of the last four against Virginia Tech Marshall the team they're playing today has beat beat them last year so it's not like these are like warm-up games for for Gen Tech these are games that they've struggled with and they uh you know they're going to be in basically four straight dog fights um and Rockers is going to come in nice and rested um for sure I think it's an advantage in Rucker's favor um Luca asked do you think they are holding back on both sides of the ball with their calls until Virginia Tech Washington I definitely don't think that they have expanded the full Playbook yet um there has not been a single trick play there has not been any sort of misdirection that I can remember outside of like play action so I do think that they are holding back a bit in the playbooks uh what do you think Alec yeah I don't think we've seen the some of the most creative plays um I mean I still think this team is going to have a lot of the same game plan where they're going to run the ball a lot and then give aan cik manace some easy throws and also obviously try to have the defense respect your deep game um but especially on defense I think um they haven't brought out some of their more I guess expansive plays or explosive uh play calls mostly because they haven't had a lot of their guys flip Dixon was back and then he ended up coming out of the game as the game went on just as kind of a uh a precautionary thing I would assume he was questionable coming in um and then also to answer C's question I don't think Eric Rogers came back into the game after went into the 10 I believe he got hurt on the uh on the pump return um and he got called for a penalty too which is never never a great thing but I don't think he ever came back into the game um it also remains to be seen if that was more of a precautionary thing with the game mostly Out Of Reach maybe that was one of the things that shanana was talking about when he said we had one or two more uh injuries I guess once again we don't know we'll have to wait and see um but yeah I I think they were holding back a little bit this game I don't think they were holding back as much um I think their game plan is their game plan but I think uh I think we'll see a little bit more more on the defensive side than the offensive side in terms of expanding The Playbook yep uh I totally agree um Bobby also asked do we see Duff staying at wide receiver bulking up playing at tight end I mean if he can play wide receiver at a high level at his size I think he keep him there um typically receivers get moved to tight end when it just doesn't work out for them playing the position so I think they keep him at at receiver what do you think yeah I agree I think they keep him at at wide receiver as long as he continues to progress and grow the way he has as a true freshman coming into the game and scoring on a touchdown um yeah I agree especially considering tight ends aren't exactly the focal point in the offense I don't think they are rushing to get a guy with the athleticism and size that Duff has and trying to put him on the line as as mostly a blocker and then you know giving him the ball on uh you know in the flat and things like that I think they're willing to keep him at wide receiver given his size like you said um Paul McNeil said Kyle got robbed by that dead whistle Greg needs to tell the refs for the game not to be quick to blow it Dead when he has the ball I mean I I don't think Craig's going to do that but I agree that there was at least two or three times where they blew the whistle pretty early the one obviously where you know he was dancing in the end zone and they had blown the whistle about two seconds earlier but yeah I it's all up to kind of like the individual crew of the day um but the way I understand it is the when the when the player's momentum is stopped or he starts to go backwards that's when you blow blow the play dead for forward progress and two at least two of the times he was still turning forward when they blew that whistle I think one and I'll have to watch the TV copy I think he was getting lifted into the air by a defensive player so technically I guess his progress did get stopped but the other was inexcusable what do you think yeah I agree from watching it you know live in the stadium I think they were definitely a little quick the problem with officiating kangai is that his forward progress has almost never stopped when he's not on the the ground if he's in the if he is still standing up he's going to be moving forward so that makes it definitely a little bit more difficult to officiate him uh yeah I agree some of them were were pretty quick um but I mean if if you're Kanga you just got to keep the legs moving as he always does um bit of a a bit unrelated but I am most impressed with his balance every single time he carries the ball um if I remember correctly I feel like there was a feature last year about how he was uh he was experienced in dance and that definitely helped his balance um you can correct me if I'm wrong um I believe but it it checks out watching him run the football especially keeping the legs moving his balance is excellent as a running back I think that's his strongest trait you're probably right I just don't specifically remember that if if you're if you're remembering it though I totally believe that it happened I'll see if I can find it okay um I was gonna throw this one to you first but I'll I'll take uh Drew's question have your expectations for the season changed at all after the first two games well personally no because I was on the the razor edge between 9 and3 and 10- two and depending on where you've seen me uh right up my prediction it was either nine and three or 10- two so it hasn't changed for me I think the harder games I don't want to toot my own horn but I had the hardest two games as USC and Nebraska and I think those are the teams that have played the best on their schedule so far I think Maryland is going to be a harder game than I anticipated Billy Edwards I did not expect to take the step forward that he seemingly has so far this season um Michigan State I think might not be as good as I thought as well um but they are giving Maryland a pretty good game right now um I believe it was 17 and 14 at half and it's now 1717 in the third quarter with Maryland driving now in Michigan State territory and the Red Zone um so long story short no it doesn't really change my expectations because this is what I expected I expected them to just stomp a mud hole in these two teams asses and they did so uh check and check these are the only two games that maybe UCLA too that I would be shocked if Ruckers lost the season um and at this point I I think UC us UCLA is proven to not be really that good of a team we'll see if they can bounce back from a really poor performance at at Hawaii last week I think they play uh I guess they're off this week I don't see them having a game listed but uh what do you think Alec has your prediction or has your kind of expectation changed at all uh I don't think so like you said I was kind of expecting these first two games to go pretty easily um now these slow starts I don't know if that's more of a product of trying to limit things in terms of what you're you know letting out there um in terms of you know your playbook and things like that uh I don't know whether that's you know whether that'll change with the higher level opponents but I think my expectations are still the same uh I have them going nine and four if we count the blll game eight and four in the regular season may be a little bit conservative compared to some of some of you guys as well uh I have Nebraska being a loss this was before the season as well I had Wisconsin being a loss uh as well as USC and then I think they drop a game in November I just don't know which one yet um but I've been impressed with the running game especially Antoine Raymond in particular my expectations are still mostly the same mostly because of the caliber of these two opponents so far Virginia Tech I think will go a long way in seeing where the expectations are totally agree and while Virginia Tech isn't quite as good as I think anybody really expected this year there's still the first Power four team you play they still have a lot of really high level players they got a lot of NFL guys on that team and it's still a really tough atmosphere to play in regardless of what their record's going to be um I think it helps that they've had a slow start because that means it's probably not going to be a night game but still that is a that is going to be a true this is going to be the first test of the season and then it's not going to get any easier uh from there out so uh let's move on to the next question uh Pat AET I guess your name is uh I've seen your name a bunch I just never know how to pronounce any of these I predicted on a a TD on a double move first drive against Virginia Tech I can totally see it if they can uh keep the protection um as strong as it's been the first two weeks uh Virginia Tech has kind of struggled uh generating any pressure and dealing with with quarterbacks uh the first couple weeks now so I could totally see that Alec do you think anything tricky is uh on the menu for Virginia Tech I mean when we're talking Greg shano I think you're always in the market for something uh something tricky to happen whether that comes to start out I wouldn't be surprised um in terms of like a double move off a wide receiver I thought um it looked like it was it was a slugo at the slant and go on the Chris Long touchdown they also had they also drew a pass interference on a post corner on that double move as well so we'll see I'm sure they're gonna wrinkle to show some wrinkles um I wouldn't be surprised if we see like an end round or a reverse or something to Demir Miller just because he's that explosive of playmaker um I wouldn't be surprised to see it start out just as a you know give Virginia Tech a punch in the mouth to start out the game yep definitely and uh be M I also wanted to uh highlight this uh really appreciate your donation honor the birthplace hopeful for a memorable year so grateful for all the content you guys provide each week really appreciate that thanks I met quite a few people uh on the way to the Lots today talking about the Pod and how much they enjoyed it so to anybody I met today uh it was nice meeting you and thanks for the kind words um uh sky sky Papa 72 uh the Bown coverage for akran Touchdown what do you feel the reason this could uh happen uh that looked like they were motioning uh some receivers and probably there was a a a switch off that didn't happen amongst some young players uh they'll get that cleaned up for sure what do you think the reason was behind that Alec yeah I was watching I rewatched the play I I saw it happen obviously in real time and then I watched back on the replay from what I could see at least it looked like I think it was loyal and Rogers maybe I could be uh misrepresenting the players um it looked like the safety which I think was loyyal whichever was it was the safety in the quarterback um I think it might have been safety and or quarterback and a linebacker I I don't know semantics it looked like two guys blitzed and no one really moved over it looked like loyal was late to move over he was a he was the in the middle three um it looked like he was a little bit late to rotate over whether there should have been someone kind of following the uh the wide receiver as well I guess it remains to be seen it looked like it it looked like it was a miscommunication on who was supposed to Blitz at least that's what I could tell uh chano mentioned that in the post game said obviously obviously he said you know we got to fix that up and you know we will fix that up things like that so uh I mean if that was probably the the quote unquote worst play that we saw from ruers today and obviously you don't want to see a busted coverage like that for a long touchdown also had the long rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter um but those are fixable things just communication things with the play calls those are easy fixes just to make sure everyone's in the right spot and that's why you have some of these easier uh games in the in the in the beginning of the season to work out those Kinks definitely Paul Preston says Ruckers 31 Virginia Tech 17 thoughts uh I mean I could see them winning by multiple scores I think it's ultimately going to come down to how healthy is Ruckers do they force a couple turnovers is there some kind of Big Splash play on special teams um I could also see this being really close uh Alec what do you think yeah I I agree with basically everything you said I could see this game going either way um I think that Ruckers I I don't know I don't want to be like too gung-ho and say that I think Rucker is gonna win by double digits I think it will be a close game for a lot of the game because VG Tech does have a lot of good skill position talent but I think Ruckers eventually pulls away because of the edge on the line of scrimmage and also I did find it it was a uh it was on the Big 10 Network's the journey show they talked a lot about how Kyle mananga loved dancing when he was a kid and into high school and obviously we've seen him in the locker room at Ruckers so I I did find what I was talking about but yeah I could really see that kind of score happening like you said it could just be like a close game throughout Ruckers gets a bit of an edge um and then there's just a big play or something that Springs free and Ruckers takes a two possession lead there's a lot of different ways this could happen I could see it being closer I could see it being a score like that as well I don't think it's a blowout either way I think these teams are too evenly matched talent-wise for that to happen but I think it'll be within two touchdowns whoever wins yep totally agree I don't think it's going to be like a 310 game going into like the fourth quarter and then they get get some garbage points I think if they do get to a second if they get to a double digit lead it's it's you know a seven-point lead going into the fourth and then Kiren JS you know has a pass deflected intercepted brought back to the house something like that um oh I yeah Richie just updated on the uh on the play I guess he's watching here hi Richie um on the uh on the on the Deep touchdown it was uh it was flip Dixon and Dariel jab who uh who were both blitzing and uh I guess nobody picked up so that's what happened on that play again fixable so uh should see it be better next game yeah um like one guy coming off an injury one guy who's still kind of uh finding his feet underneath him as good as he did look against Howard uh jib was a lot less loud today um but you know as Greg says progress is not always linear uh I actually dropped that at work the other day that line and like a few people were looking like wide eyy like oh my God I'm stealing that did you just think of that and I was like yeah I thought of that that was me yeah I'm very smart um listen to me um no that's a great quote by Drake uh last year delar fishing thank you once again for the donation last year I was asked if we were ready to compare Kyle to rice and it was shut down by D Palma is anyone ready to admit he might be the best running back at Ruckers ever um I think the comparison's fair is he the best ever no I think you would have to really have like a you know I think you would have to have over 2,000 yards rushing to even be in the the conversation because it's easy to forget like how insane and how consistent Ray Rice was in his time at Ruckers I'm gonna try and share my screen here just to show his his rushing stats while he was here at school um hopefully this is shown up yeah these were his three years of Ruckers as a true freshman 1100 yards five touchdowns his second season Ruckers almost 1,800 yards rushing and 20 touchdowns his final season at Ruckers 22 yards rushing 24 touchdowns on the ground 25 catches 239 yards receiving and one touchdown so he had 26 25 total touchdowns his last year and over almost 2400 total yard total yard or 2251 yards from scrimmage those numbers are just stupid so and these were all on teams that you know were arguably some of the best in Ruckers history too that 11-2 2006 season so I think while manungi he's going to be in like you know the Ruckers Hall of Fame one day he is not quite at Ray Rice's level yet in my opinion do yeah I I think he I think he's within the top five um I mean just looking at the career rushing yards record Ray Rice 4926 he is a full 1800 yards ahead of Terrell Willis who is second most at 3,100 and then JJ Jennings at 2900 um I don't remember after today how many yards manangi has I believe he's close to the top 10 but I mean Ray Rice's 2007 season alone gets him probably within the top 15 10th is Albert Smith with 2269 coming into today so I mean that would Pro Ray Rice's 2007 season alone probably gets him in the in the top 15 so uh I think it's clo I think it's close to being the conversation um I think he could be in the Terrell Willis JJ Jennings area of being like close to I don't think anyone's taking Rice's title though I mean the way he was able to carry the offense I mean the fact that he was given the ball over 30 times a game at certain points I mean his his durability as well um I believe he I believe manangi is in ninth right now I'll check on that um I I think it's a good debate to have I mean the guy led the Big 10 conference in rushing one of the Premier rushing conferences who thrives on physicality especially considering he has helped lead the the the Rejuvenation of this program I I think Ray will be at the top for a long time but it's it's a good it's a uh it's a good conversation to have at this point seeing how well manai has played yeah totally I I think he is greatly uh outshined his recruiting ranking which is pretty obvious at this point but um I think Ray is just such a an insanely good player and you have to bolt on what he did in the NFL too as part of his legacy in my opinion like like a guy like Devon mccordi same you have to say the same things about because he did it in college then he did it at the next level at the same level that he was doing it in college and so did Ray even though his career was cut pretty short for a few different reasons that we won't get into um but uh long long answer short uh I don't think he's quite there yet he could get closer to the top of the the Ray Rice Mountain but it's GNA take a lot this year and I uh I I did the math he's at after today's game he's at 2315 rushing yards for his Ruckers career that passes uh Bryant Mitchell who played in the 60s uh and Slots him in between Mitchell and Jackie krooks who played in the 90s he is about uh 120 yards shy of Jackie Crooks for eighth place so he very well could get that against Virginia Tech and then isai Pacho is next Who's eight yards ahead of Jackie crook so we could see him move pretty high up the list if he's at 2300 right now Brian Leonard's in fifth at 2775 so we could see him move into fourth and maybe even third by the time he's done this season yep totally agree that's very inh very attainable for Kyle this season if things continue to go as well as they have been um watch me work why is Christian Dremel not playing at wide receiver um great question I'm a little surprised myself that he's not playing more um Alec do you have any kind of thoughts on Dremel um yeah it's it's interesting to see because they still have him on the return team uh trying to look back at the availab report from today trying to remember if mananga or not mananga if Dremel was on there um because he was questionable last week he was not on it this week so he he was fully healthy um I guess they like where they're at right now with Chris Long Ian strung and deir Miller just three guys that can really stretch the field and give you a lot uh down the field and um I guess they kind of like where they're at right now I will say he did uh he did fully change his number he now wears number 80 fulltime he finally has a name plate with number 80 on it I did find it interesting when the second team came in in the fourth quarter he did get in in a drive or two um so I don't know if he has fallen uh down the pecking order at wide receiver or if they're just trying to get him fully ready uh he was questionable last week he was not this week so I don't really know I guess we'll see against Virginia Tech again these two games are kind of like tuneup games kind of like preseason game so we'll have to wait and see yeah I wonder if uh they decided to permanently change his number due to in part um watching Virginia Tech tape because Virginia Tech week one uh they were getting a punt from Vanderbilt after Vanderbilt committed a false start on a long field goal attempt um they had Ali Jennings back for the punt return but they also had their linebacker I think his last name is Lawson was number zero he's like their best defensive player de I think his name is yep so they're both on the field at the same time because they were playing like uh they were at they had like a defensive alignment so they didn't have like their their regular special teams crew out uh but they had the punt returner back deep uh they get penalized after Vandy knocks themselves out of field goal range because they have two players with the same number on the field which I don't think I've ever heard called as a penalty but valid um and so uh Vanderbilt gets uh five yards back uh and then they attempt the long field goal and hit it and that's ultimately what the you know decided them going into overtime and then for Tech ended up losing so I guess they just didn't want to have that situation also happen at least that's my hypothesis on this um I'm sure happened elsewhere but it would make sense I also feel bad for whoever had to change change dremel's jersey out every single possession I know take the take the Jersey off I'm sure with the pads that is a heck of a job but yeah he's uh number 80 I guess permanently now because did have a name play on the back so I guess this is a permanent change he didn't have a catch um so I wonder what we'll see from him against Virginia Tech uh and it yeah he was 85 on the punt return uh one of the broadcasters in the Howard game uh accidentally called him Ben rosenblat because that who does wear number 85 um and uh yeah they had to change it because Shaquan loyal is one of the Gunners and I guess I don't really know why this didn't happen at the beginning of the season but as long as I mean as long as there's no penalty I do not care yep and God forbid you know they're trying to get this new you know uh set of pads on him in New Jersey and they just can't get it off his head or they can't get it on in time they got to either take a delay game or call a timeout shaa would lose his absolute if that was the case um so um moving on here to another question does Ruckers pass the it test this is Gras 1330 uh did shano get them ready for Big 10 play I mean they passed the it test to me they don't they're not playing perfect right now but I think they look like the much better team the first two weeks than their opponents Alec what do you think yeah I think they've passed the ey test against their competition so far obviously the score speaks for itself but the way that they were able to impose their will and get better as the game went on definitely helped pass the eye test for me I mean these were two games where they didn't look the best in the first half and then they went in the locker room came out and looked much better uh as the third and fourth quarter went on I think they passed the eye test I think Athan K manace passes the eye test at quarterback feel like we haven't talked about him as much um but I think he definitely passes the eye test at quarterback the way he throws the ball where it's at the placement I think um has been very good so far um just kind of trying to work through some of the unfamiliarity I guess of the passing game um there were also like we talked about before a lot of penalties on defense for acran a few pass interference and holding calls so um I think their offense passes the it test I think the defense once they get some of their other guys back uh will follow suit so I I to put it to put it uh short to make a long story short I guess the answer is yes I think they they did pass the eye test and I think they are ready for Big 10 play physicality wise yep totally agree um you mentioned uh calak Manis we haven't really gone too deep on him today um let's just kind of talk about uh Athan so today I thought he showed some really good things they finally unleashed the uh cracken of the deep ball um he had a couple nice long attempts the one the first one was intercepted uh the Chris Long touchdown obviously was a perfect throw um you're not going to throw that kind of pass you know 10 times a game but if you can connect on three of those maybe each game that is going to be huge for the offense because I can probably think on like one hand the amount of passes we completed that had like over 20 air yards last year um so it was good to see that I do think that there were some arm strength limitations or maybe there were just bad throws there were a few that he skipped that were just you know uh from like hash to Hash you know they weren't long in terms of like completions and terms of yards like it was probably like a nine yard pass by the books but when you actually look at where he was throwing the ball from and two it was probably more like a 40 45 yard throw um so that was a little concerning because those are throws that you know as much as we have criticized uh you know you having whims in the past those were throws that he was able to make from an arm strength perspective so I do think we're you know you got to take some of the good with the bad I don't think Athan has as strong of an arm as Gavin but I think he knows how to use his arm a lot better in terms of layering throws in terms of throwing Guys open in terms of hitting guys in stride um even you know throwing balls to protect his receiver from a big hit you know on a slant when you're trying to get seven yards he'll throw it low so you know the worst second happens the guy gets hit in the back and he's not getting deleted um or you know hit right in the sternum what about you what's what's your kind of thoughts on how Ethan's play has been both in the good and the bad so far yeah I I think you hit it right on the head with just the placement um and I I I I agree he he definitely skipped a few passes and I think that's a bit of an adjustment um but I think that I I think he knows exactly where he needs to put the ball um there were a couple ones like there was one to Demir Miller where he found him on the sideline and if uh knew the sideline and if you know it's it's a little bit more On Target and there's a little bit more oomph to it he maybe takes it farther up turns up field but it was a bit of a low and behind throw so we had to kind of reach down for it and just kind of go on the ground I think those are also things that'll be worked out with more time and familiarity um just knowing where your guy is and how to throw him open um I definitely think yeah aan definitely doesn't have as good of an arm in terms of the you know velocity and the strength as Gavin had um but I think cic manace provides a better option with his arm to this offense where just need to hit the simple throws in stride and he's been able to do that you know throw get him some Crossing routes he knows where to put the ball right on the hands he can do it so um he is a bit Limited in the arm Department definitely but I feel like the way he is able to throw Guys open and just get it where they need to be uh is definitely a plus yep totally agree and I thought it was interesting they didn't really run him at all today either um he seemed like he was pretty dead set on just handing the ball off on every RPO which I mean you can't really complain with with the results I mean the team only had two rushers but they rushed 44 times for 285 yards uh and four touchdowns almost seven yards a carry between Kyle and Antoine but I think they'll probably utilize him as a runner later in the season more um in kind of you know do or die situations where you you might not always want to put your quarterback in harms way I think there was a few times against Howard where he took some shots that were a little unnecessary um but I do think he'll he'll be utilized more as a runner later in the season in my opinion um but it was interesting that he didn't even get a single carry today um against the tougher opponent than Howard um let's see here here's another one from Delmarva fishing do you guys think the dline answered some questions today Aaron Lewis and some others caused so many issues for akan Alec why don't to take this one yeah I was definitely impressed with how they responded granted like you guys were talking about earlier this week with Perry mccardy who uh was a big akan guy I thought uh the akan offensive line definitely struggled a lot but I think Aaron Lewis and Jordan Walker who got the start in place of Wesley Bailey was able to take advantage um so I I was impressed Aaron Lewis definitely played a big role I felt like he got held a bunch of times too yeah calling it there was one time where he got held and then the the the akan right tackle just kind of flattened him on the ground but those are the kind of things that that happened during the course of a game um getting consistent pressure I think is going to be the next question I think getting Wesley Bailey back is going to help that a lot and I'm sure we'll still see a lot of blitzes as well um from the from Joe Harris EMC as the season goes on um but I'm not overly concerned I thought Malcolm Ray had a good game too he had the big sack and then he also did a good job of just kind of eating blocks uh opening up some lanes for some other guys so it's still a work in progress think they didn't have the best game but I thought they were much better against Howard or than against Howard I should say yep definitely agree with you there uh I thought they definitely caused more pressure um they definitely blitzed more as well so it was tough It's so tough when you're watching a game uh especially when you're on like I was on like the 20 yard line it's just really tough to see like the entire length of field I really have to kind of sit down and rewatch the entire game to get a better feel of how things went but it did feel like they got more pressure today so that's a in my opinion a positive um and here's kind of a related question uh from sky sky Papa 72 uh are you concerned that the best way to generate sacks uh through blitzes instead of down four I mean that's going to be the way most teams get sacks through blitz so it's easier to get a sack when you have more guys rushing than fewer uh but the general gist of the question yeah it does concern me that they're not regularly getting pressure with four um and that was something that Greg talked about being worried about and he was pretty candid about that and I think not having arguably your best pass rusher for the start of the season has only exasperated that um I do agree that what Alex just said is that when we get Wesley Bailey back and if had 100% I think we will be able to more consistently generate pressure but yeah I am concerned with it right now it's probably one of my biggest concerns with this team at the moment and we're two and 0 and have won two games by 30 plus each so it's not like you you got to kind of nitpick a bit but yeah that's probably one of my biggest concerns right now how about you Al you kind of just answered this but is there anything else you wanted to talk about yeah it's definitely a little bit concerning not seeing more consistent pressure with four um but one thing that shano and Harris samc do like to do is is mix up the pressure a lot um so I think we'll kind of see a mix of the the two you know going for and then dialing up pressure in some of those big play situations but yeah like I said I think getting Wesley Bailey back in 100% in the rotation is going to help not just because of having Wesley Bailey and his talent out there it also gives some more depth options like the Jordan Walker that we saw today guys like DJ Allen um as well as Jordan Thompson we also saw for last snaps gives them more opportunity to make some spot plays as well um so just having that full room is going to be pretty important it's definitely a little bit concerning like you said it's if you had to nitpick that's probably the place where you do it but I think they'll start to round out to form to be honest the last two seasons they haven't done a great job of getting pressure with four at the quarterback so I'm interested to see how they continue to progress especially with new two two new position coaches on the defensive line it's definitely a bit of a concern um but I also think that there's enough talent that they could fix it as the season goes along yep definitely agree um gills I'm I'm gonna try and pronounce that last name but uh gills asked uh how concerned are you about athan's decision making seems like the entire first half he was throwing into coverage um I think this is part akan was a little bit better in P defense than I think we expected and part I agree with you I think we knew as a player coming in he had a bit of a gunslinger streak to him um and that was part of the analysis we gave was he's gonna turn the ball over probably more than Gavin does but he's also going to open up the offense because you are able to kind of at least threaten somewhat of a passing game now um um decision-making wise he probably could have had two or three more interceptions today than he ended up having um is it concerning yeah but you don't want to like throw the baby with out with the bathwater uh you don't want to take that mentality away from him because he won't be aggressive and hit deep plays or you know try and fit balls into tight coverage um but yeah I think he's that's something he's got to work on and get better at for sure yeah I agree I I wonder where you got that statement from because I've heard you say it a few times I wonder where you got it from um which statement throwing the baby out with the bathro I don't know where you got I've never heard that before you started saying it but really um I don't think so generational divide man I guess so yeah I guess so um yeah I mostly agree with the general gist it seems like he's more willing to throw into those Tight Windows because he has the confidence that he can hit those passes um watching gav whims I know we've talked a lot about him as The Season's gone along um it seems like he was mostly just looking for the for the open Target that was kind of designed on the first read and then you know if he's going to throw a risky pass it's more so going to be you know either my receiver gets it or no one gets it um but yeah like you said Mike I I think it comes with the territory of having Athan have the confidence to throw some of those tight window throws um akan was definitely very aggressive in pass coverage as well so that definitely played a part into it um but I I I think that's once again just getting more familiarity with his targets and making sure he knows exactly where they need to be and that's something that is going to progress as the season goes along yep 100% And I do think this is kind of the worst to look all season unless he gets injured in some way because like you said he's still learning what it's like to play with this team because there's only so much you can learn in practice let's be honest like these guys are not allowed to be as physical as they were 10 years five 10 years ago so you know I think they're learning a lot about themselves and their teammates as they go along um so I do think you'll see Improvement but yeah it's a little concerning um Julius Randall uh what's up uh I I hope this is the real Julius Randall I know it's not but uh with the way that other teams have struggled against weaker opponents it's good to see Ruckers performing well in these early season games totally agree uh shano does not at least outwardly facing and I believe he's probably doing this as well internally he is always all about the the you know we're only worried about going one another this week I think I forget who asked him a question in a pressor a few weeks ago about uh you know playing Howard then playing uh akan then you get a nice buy before Virginia Tech is that like something that you know you're excited about he's like we're only focused on going one and0 against Howard and that kind of sounds cheesy and you know it sounds fake but I think I think everybody is bought into that idea in the program program so they truly do not Overlook teams maybe they don't take certain teams as seriously as others this is just speculation but it is obviously a great sign like look at Penn State today they were probably buying into all their press clippings you know James Franklin's the most Rah coach in the Big 10 and they blew the doors off of West Virginia in in Morgantown and they were 36 point favorites today and they were losing in the second half to freaking Bowling Green ended up winning by seven but that kind of stuff I don't think you'll see out of the team out of Ruckers this year yeah I as an as side I thought that line was a little bit Rich uh Bowling Green I think a solid team but um but yeah on the Rucker side I mean everyone always says every single player and Coach that you'll talk to they always say they live in the present and you know stay where your feet are that's the montra within the program Cho the moment he even brought out the full going one and0 in the akran season shanana did postgame today I think everyone lives by that and has it in their heads and it is really good to see especially I mean you talk about Virginia Tech losing to vanderville and then not looking the strongest against Marshall I I mean it's a little bit of a difference I it's it's just good to see them really take these opponents seriously and just get the job done game in game out for the through these first two weeks yep um Sean Williams asked is this the most talented team since 2011 probably I guess um there's some there's a few talented teams I thought 2012 if I think that's what you mean because 2011 I think was that whatever flood's first year was was probably the last yeah 2012 was his first year yep so I I think they're probably it's probably the best team since then what do you think Alec I mean it's close uh I there's obviously discussion to be had I mean just to you know refresh I mean the 2011 and 2012 teams those were some really talented team there was a ton of Next Level guys that came in and got developed um a a lot of a lot of good guys I think I don't know if there's as much Pro talent I mean obviously looking in hindsight we were able to see the pro talent that was on that team I mean in 2011 had one two three four five six 7 8 nine 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 guys that played in the NFL um and then I mean that was uh that was shano's last year 2012 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 n 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 so mostly the same number um I I think it's a conversation to be had do I think there's as much uh NFL Next Level Talent on this roster as that era I'm gonna say no but uh in terms of talent in the Big 10 I think it's close at the very least yep um so we've gone for about an hour now if anyone has any other questions feel free to drop him in the chat um Jersey Jet asked did you notice aan staring down his receivers in the first half I did there was a particular play to Ian Strong field side it was just a play that from the time he snapped it he was looking left and just threw it to him as soon as he turned his head around and it almost got intercepted yeah no he did it a few times not what you want to see uh not typical for aan I would say sometimes you know you think you have a certain and Sh talked about this and it's it's easy to just kind of like be like oh look we got you know we got man here this is our man beater you're gonna be open on this play and then they have you know some disguise coverage and there's actually you know a safety coming down into the box um so yeah it's concerning anytime your quarterback stares down a receiver multiple times it's it's concerning yeah yeah I agree and I also think on that pass I think we're talking about the same play um he kind of floated the ball two in the flat when he needed to kind of fire it in as more of a Bullet Pass could have gotten intercepted by uh by a better quarterback also update Gavin whims it is currently in the game for Kentucky they are down uh 31 to6 to South Carolina he just threw an interception as I am speaking so interesting timing that game's on ESPN um yeah he got put into the game I guess Brock Vandergriff I don't know if he got benched or if they're just putting some of the younger guys in with the game a 25-point game of 10 minutes ago uh he just threw an interception um in the red zone or close to the red zone at the 23 yard line on third down so uh just a uh an update on Gavin whims it some things never change I suppose um I mean I wish him well it's it's I don't think anybody wishes anything negative on on uh on Gavin but that's kind of the the guy he is um yeah Brock Vandergriff is three of 10 for 30 yards and an interception uh early in that game I guess not early in the game through you know almost the three three quarters in change Gavin has four rushes for 37 yards with a long of 24 uh one of two passing for four yards and the pick now um Dela fishing thanks once again for the donation f j James Franklin my Penn State guys on my channel hate that dude all hype and no substance they can't beat Ohio State or Michigan and I think this year probably Oregon and basically anybody else that's really good um yeah I think Franklin is what like one 15 against those two teams the last eight years something like that it's a crazy number something like that um although I did see a stat they are 24-0 uh the broadcast said they're 24-0 in home non-conference games granted I don't know how many of them are actually against Power five teams like the West Virginia game last year but um I I think this is the year I mean for them to take advantage with the schedule has to be yeah it looked shaky to though they win yeah they did they looked real real shaky I could not believe that score you know when you see a team like start off you know in seven nothing hole and it's early in the first quarter you're just like oh that's funny that'd be funny if they lost and then as you're watching yeah and then you're watching your game and there's more score updates like oh it's they're up by three and you know Midway through the second quarter okay let's follow this a little bit and then you look down and it's halftime at Ruckers so you check the phone and oh they're losing at half okay this is okay I gota actually take this like this might happen now quarter they're still losing they have solid pieces like they have Conor basac now at quarterback their running back is solid their tight end uh Richie was telling me might be one of the first tight ends off the board in the NFL draft so it's I mean it's a MEC team but it's not a bad Mac team I will say so I mean yeah on the to bring it back to Ruckers it's good to see Ruckers take care of business granted a worse team but um they took care of business yep um Sky Papa 72 how good can this o line become I me I think they're already pretty damn good Alec what do you think I think there's a pretty high ceiling I think they've looked very good so far um they've gotten some interior pressure Howard and akan both they've gotten some interior pressure on some of these runs at the same time I think Ruckers is a lot of times going to run the ball a lot and teams are able to kind of sell out on that um so I think there is a very high ceiling I think they have a lot of talent these guys are also they have they have experience left like Kobe Asimo is a thirdy year guy um Holland Pierce has been great um I mean I think Kobe Asimo is the only guy that has eligibility left off the top of my head um I think neita might have one more year too I think correct me if I'm wrong um but back to the main point yeah I mean there's a high ceiling for this unit and they have one of the better guys out there to do so um and also I'm looking at the YouTube chat now I'm looking at the ESPN Scoreboard Notre Dame is about to lose to Norther they're they they might lose to Northern Illinois just want to put that out there yeah for those who didn't see the message Northern Illinois currently has the ball at the Notre Dame 20 yard line third and two um they are down 13 to 14 there's a minute and 3 uh eight seconds left in the fourth quarter and they're driving if they get a first down here I think Notre Dame has already used at least one of their timeouts they'll have to burn all their time outs um that would be wild and this is another example of a team who had a huge win last week on the road in uh at Kyle Field against Texas A&M um and now they're just totally the bed at home against the northern Illinois team who I I really don't know anything about um yeah it's uh it's third and two right now clock is running Notre Dame as one timeout left uh from the Notre him 21 they're about to break the Huddle so we'll see well uh I will not cry a single tier if Notre Dame ends up uh losing this one um do we have a shot with our schedule uh to get a game Day broadcast popular discussion today at the Nash watch party um game day is in college game day probably not the only reason I say that because ESPN does not have a any kind of agreement with uh the Big 10 so I doubt that they're going to really feature a big 10 school um what you might see is a bar stool or a big 10 or uh big noon Saturday kind of set up I could easily see that because Fox is shacked up with the big 10 as you know Barcelo is just going to go really wherever um they think they could drum up a big crowd I think TJ on um TJ hitchings I think said on uh the Scarlet faithful when he joined uh Aaron Brightman this past week that BARC actively tries to go to schools that they've never been to before during the season so I'm not sure if they would go to Ruckers again because they were there last year or two years ago two years ago yeah two years ago um but you can dream I think there's a chance there could be a for the right kind of atmosphere it's tough because like the Friday game they're not going to come for against Washington uh then you play at Nebraska if if Ruckers is undefeated through the Nebraska game yes I think we are very much uh in the discussion to have some kind of big event uh for the following weekend which will be a home game against Wisconsin on the 12th of October so that that would be the date I would look out for if things go well yeah me too I the problem is game day is not going to you talked about this before game day is not going to go to a game that they're not airing and unless it is like Far and Away Game of the Year decade whatever so it's tough we've talked about talked about this some of my friends a lot we talked about Richie and I were talking about it earlier today I agree we could see the the Big 10 kickoff show as well um in some of those I would sayc I would say Wisconsin uh if if Ruckers is if they have won or fewer losses I think the Big 10 kickoff show would come to Piscataway also uh Northern Illinois just ran for two yards straightforward it's near the marker but uh Notre Dame has no timeouts and the the play clock or the game clock is under 40 seconds so I don't think it matters o is is that setting up a a potential walk-off kick here I think so it looks like it all right I need to get a second or something I yeah I have it on my other monitor right now I'm I'm prepared um so Alec will be on the call here live for you guys in chat I was on the call last night for a game of the year in in uh big Central High School football between Bridge rer Ron and Piscataway man I I miss doing play byplay I I know it's off topic but man I miss it will you do it uh um where you basically can uh you do you know the Jersey Shore basketball summer league um D so if anyone's looking for a play-by-play guy uh Alec is your man for anything uh from you know High School sports to college sports Alec Alec's your guy so and he's really good at it so thank you Mike uhhuh um has Duff been that good through Camp I mean Duff flashed from what I've heard um but I think he's I think the receiver room in general is just a very talented group um so we'll see but even guys like Nim Brantley like he hasn't done anything yet so far he hasn't been given the opportunity to I mean clearly got beat out same thing with dremel like to have your leading receiver not have a single catch through two games and he's healthy and certain other guys are banged up like I think that's pretty telling as to uh kind of how the rest of the group has done this uh this offseason also uh just an update on the Notre Dame game they are in an official review right now of course to determine whether it's a first down Notre actually does have one timeout left uh they're breaking the review it is fourth down the running back is short of the short of the line of gain so Notre can take a timeout right now with 36 seconds left and stop the clock on fourth down and Northern Illinois has to kick it um so that would set up a a field goal attempt from it would be a 36 yard attempt right now yeah uh the guy is made from 42 and 21 and Miss from 53 um oh interesting all right yeah this is about a 35 yard good spot good kick is up and it is is it good it's through 1614 Northern Illinois leav 31 seconds left let's go man it seems like Notre Dame didn't they lose to was it Marshall a few years ago at home early in the season Marshall yeah um yeah they they are uh kind of crapping the bed pretty regularly um so that's awesome I hope this this holds up maybe we'll stick around at least for the end of this game um like once again feel free to drop any other uh questions you guys have in the chat um we were talking about doing this earlier do you want to just roll the presser from earlier today Greg's presser um I'm just your your uh uh your uh humble co-host all right let's do it so I am going to share the shano presser um and I hope you guys can hear him well and we'll just kind of stop it if there's anything interesting or I think there's anything interesting but here we go guys thanks uh thanks for coming out and covering the team appreciate you appreciate you doing that you can hear me ask a question too it's really proud of our guys I thought they chopped through the our big thing was we got to chop the moment we can't let anything that happens in the past or any concern about the future get in the way and I thought we did that you know I was really going into the game I was really uh I thought they did a great job defensively their scheme their guys their players and uh you know it took a little while to get it going but our guys just that's what chopping is just keep doing it and it'll work and I was pleased as a team we did that because there wasn't anything easy everything was earned but uh hats off to to akan and uh it's good to be one and0 in the akan season so I'll open it up bre second star for aan how do you think he fared and and how did he how do you think he fared in the passing game as well I know he did well you know I thought um he got hit on the on the interception and kind of affected the throw um I thought our receivers did a good job I thought they they ran better routes this week than a week ago they fought for the ball better with better extension so it's a work in progress for sure but we have some good really good young receivers and then we have uh you know some some older guys as well so I like the mix uh Chris long had that great touchdown catch he's had an interesting story here right um battling back from some injuries what made him stand out this summer to get him back kind of in the starting role and get things going again well you're right Chris has had a bumpy road for sure and uh you know we we've had a lot of serious good talks over the years um but he just made a decision that he was gonna you know it could be discouraging right when all those things keep happening to you and he just made up his mind that he was going to come back and give it everything he had with no regrets see where see where the chips fall and I'm happy for him that he's he's having success 200 yard day for Kyle I mean I'm probably running out of adjectives for him at this point does anything about what he's able to do surprise you at this point anymore no I mean he he is a really patient Runner has great vision and then when he decides to go he's violent I mean he he gonna go I was uh I thought our offensive line you know I think they're just getting better and better every week they're working at it in practice our pad level's a little bit better every week and you know that's you know when you get tired your pad level starts to come up so it's part conditioning it's part technique but uh it's a good mix that line and they they they take care of him I mean that's their guy so yeah was it's good stuff between Chris Long's long touchdown a couple of you know deep passes to di Miller were you encouraged with your offense's ability to kind of stretch the field today and what they put on tape yeah I mean it's like I told you last week we had a couple called and they just you know sometimes the coverage is such that you're not going to do it you're not going to force it today we got some looks that were more favorable and uh I think you know I think the long one to Chris that ball was in the air maybe 45 yards I mean that was a that was a jet so um sure I call it fly over yards you fly over a lot of problems when you make those kind of plays you don't get holding penalties you don't get IL legal procedures you don't get tfls right you just go flying over it so when you can do that it's helpful for sure Ben Finley only threw for one 138 yards today what do you think was working for the defense against the air game well I thought the dline you know supplied pressure which is always the most important thing right if you can put pressure on the quarterback um we didn't always structurally do it correctly and he got out a couple times but uh I thought the coverage was good too I thought Robert longer beam really covered well I thought our safeties did a good job we had a bus there one bus that we got to make sure we fix um but you overall I thought the defense again played well we can play better on defense um and we will Once Upon a Time Ruckers had a a Heisman campaign for a running back are we at the point where we should start be talking about Kyle mananga and the conversation of the best players in college football I think you just did yeah I I don't know about all that you know we I'm not uh I'm not really into that and Kyle isn't into that but you're right I mean if he continues to play at a level like he is then I think that stuff takes care of itself really you know I know this um winning games is a huge contributing factor to that as well so as a team we need to continue to improve and win games coach after halftime they come out you know opening drive they score a touchdown however you guys answer what a touchdown your own six Place 75 yards six-minute Drive um you know what does that say essentially about the resiliency of this team and just what type of confidence is that build in your offense well I thought that was really big in that game right because you're talking it turns into an 11-point game right so it's a two-score game and like you said we answered the Bell that was an important answer of the bell and again I've always told our team games take on a life of their own you know you look at it and say how did how did that get out of control like that um that was huge to go score with that that drive was was I think the the most important part of the game hey Greg just going back to Kyle for a second when you have a back do you want to stop the presser really quick uh Northern Illinois just blocked the 62 yard field goal attempt that was me that yeah that was me live reacting in the YouTube chat um yeah that was unbelievable I I thought they were going to get it done but Notre Dame goes down to Northern Illinois 16-4 final score 62 yard field goal Riley Leonard was rolling out to his right and missed in the flat to his tight end that probably would have gained about seven yards or so and that was the difference wow R away to lose lose but uh I will not cry any tears tonight for Notre Dame that's for sure anyways back to Greg can not only get you the tough yards but get you the big chunk yards when those opportunities arise how important is that for an offense to to have a back who can do that yeah I think again explosive plays are critically important right because like I said you know if you have to have a 16 playay drive to score you almost have to be perfect and none of us are perfect so when you get those chunk plays whether it's flyover yards or it's big runs like Kyle has supplied at times it's hugely important to your overall success as an offense obviously a little unique to have a byee after two games but is it coming at a fortuitous time given how banged up you guys were obviously coming out of camp and guys are still still dealing with some ailments here and there yeah it is um and we may had one or two more today so uh we'll continue to work it but you know the way we operate is that's part of football and we know that we have a great medical staff here I think the best in America and they they just they tell me hey here's the best case scenario here's the worst case and usually it falls somewhere in between there and that's how we do it we don't lament over we don't have this guy or we have that guy you you just got to go you got to move forward I thought uh Antoine Raymond stepped up right we don't have Sam Antoine steps up now and and really really did a good job so you know I think that's that's the mentality you have to have you fill that Pipeline with players and those guys got to be chomping at the bit for their chance their opportunity Malcolm Ray I know he had that big sack um but also just his willingness to take on multiple blockers as well seems like it led to a little bit more of an effective pass rush can just speak to his impact today yeah Malcolm's worked really really hard since he arrived here um he's gotten he's changed his body he's really gotten to become a finely conditioned defensive lineman and uh you know coming off I know he was disappointed coming off his performance last week and we talked a lot about you know just chop your job and the plays will come to you and I think that's what he did today there's a saying we have see a little see a lot you know as a d linman the old lineman tell you everything you don't need to see a whole bunch and if you'll just have the discipline to react to what he does all of a sudden plays just come to you and I think that's what happened with him today I didn't you know quite honestly I can't see anything in there and but uh I didn't even know that he had the sack because I'm usually looking at the secondary see if we got him covered or not but uh yeah I heard the guys told me in the locker room that he had a sack which was great two KJ dff gets his first care touchdown what does that do for a young player who I I believe you you said a couple times he had a good preseason but for him to have have a touchdown have the results what does that do for a young player's confidence and and moving forward yeah it's uh we were very fortuitous there right I mean wow that ball bounces right off their guy I didn't really see it they told me that I didn't I didn't see the play but KJ is a big big Target and he's got really good hands so as he coach Brock and Coach Perry as they keep getting him better and better fundamentally he's got he's got the it I mean he and Ian Strong are going to be two really really good receivers going forward it's gonna take a lot of work but it'll happen uh did Sam Brown reagg gravate the injury from last season and are you concerned about moving forward well you never know with injuries right I mean I'm not going to get into the injuries that's that's what the availability reports for but we're just gonna have to wait and see what the status is but as I said I was I was really proud of Antoine you know he stepped up and uh and perform very well going back to aan he seemed to take more shots down the field today was that something by Design or did he just see it and take it well you don't just see it I mean the play's got to be called U he wouldn't last long out there if he just started taking shots on his own but um Kirk I thought called a great game I mean you go over 500 yards in offense you know that was good but it's all about the players executing and I think he you know there was a couple times that we had opportunities that either we got hit the one time and it was an interception um and there was another time that we had a guy and didn't quite get it I thought it you know it's a little gray there if when Ian Strong was on that nine nine ball there but it is what it is another good game for antoan Raymond you kind of touched on it before but what can you say about the work that he's done in the running back pecking order especially in limited time as a late reclassification yeah I mean he's he's strong as you can see he's he's going to be a really good running back he has that physicality that is big 10 football like you don't just hit him and he goes down very much you know he he's usually falling forward and that's uh that's a great trait to have as a running back so yeah I'm encouraged the most important thing is he's taking care of the football as a young young back sometimes you start to worry about production and forget about the most important thing the football he has he's been good with the ball so you got to just keep coaching the heck out of that and he's got to keep you know valuing that ball more than any yard so far so good in The Scarlet walk you had a little Embrace with Eric you had a few moments with him just was there more emotion in this game for you and what was just kind of the emotion of having that and everything around this game today yeah well I didn't get to see the pregame you know the walk but I want to thank everybody the guys told me there was like thousand people following him down the Scarlet night way and you know all those people did that raised money um for the believe foundation so I like first a big huge thank you to everybody who did that it was a great event Karen his mom who you know we've been through a lot together she was truly elated you know she said this was the best one we've had and that that made me feel good and Eric you could tell Eric had his game face on but he you could tell he liked it too uh but Eric's a football guy through and through so I was really thrilled that that that had a good they had a great event and then to be able to win the game convincingly like we did that's uh that's a really good Saturday so again guys I appreciate uh appreciate you covering our team and get a week off and then we're back at it thanks uh Mike you're muted I am muted um so that was Greg after the game uh and his pressor I think it would make sense uh for next the next time we do this because not next week because we have a buy uh play that more at the top and then we can create some natural discussion points uh based on that so we've gone a while we have a ton of people here um almost 700 people watching live um I think this is the time to cut it off Alec what are your final thoughts on the game today and for how things kind of stand as we currently sit uh two and0 in the season I think they met expectations um they took care of business against two inferior teams they did what they needed to do K mangai looks like a star once again Athan ciak Manis looks as advertised um more positives than negatives uh the defense uh still work in progress especially with dealing with some of the injures inuries but it's been really good so far uh yeah I think it's been about as we expected maybe a little bit more in the rushing department but I don't think you can be upset about these first two games and also some more big 10 football uh Michigan State's currently in field goal range they're at the Maryland 23 yard line with 30 seconds to go and uh looks like Iowa is finishing off the uh shawk game I think they just got a first down under the two minute uh two-minute timeout not not gonna say two-minute warning because apparently they don't like that two-minute timeout um Caleb Johnson's 185 yards wow uh so yeah big 10 football action currently currently in progress so uh yeah I I guess just to to put it short met expectations the season the the meat of the season starts now yeah you you kind of said almost everything I was gonna say um I think it's pretty clear that they want to basically copy 85% of the DNA from last year into this year just with the sprinkling more of the passing game which I think there has been some promising showings early on um but also like you said next week or next game at Virginia Tech is going to be the measuring stick how far has this team progressed how many players were being held out possibly because uh they had small injuries that they didn't want to exasperate against these two inferior teams um how does this team handle a big time environment going to blackburg I think there are a lot of questions to be answered against Virginia Tech and I'm excited to see this team play its third game but we'll have a buy next week don't have a good idea for Content schedule but we'll try and get something interesting planned for you guys during the buy but I do want to uh thank everybody who's listened I can't believe how many people are still here after an hour and a half of us talking uh for a newon game it's almost 7M so go go go talk to your families uh we're heading out for me and Alec this has been another edition of the live stream postgame show for the night Report podcast signing off