K-State Takes Care of Business Against UT Martin

Intro Dylan ERS scored four touchdowns in game one last year he's got two in game one this year so uh week one has been pretty nice to Dylan Edwards over the course of his college career so far but he brought some extra juice you know and that really needed it at times and even the first play of the game you know I mean they scripted out the first offensive play to just try to get the ball to him in space so it's clear that they understand what a valuable asset he can be thanks for listening to KC Sports Network proudly present by emise bank if you're thinking about starting a business or know someone who is check out EMP prise bank's SBA Loans it's always good to know your options and they can be your partner impossible hello and welcome into another edition of threa I am John Curts uh Derek young and I are with you today to recap K State's week one victory over UT Martin we didn't quite get 69 to nothing all right it wasn't as disrespectful as perhaps I would have preferred but uh K State does get very close to covering very very close uh in the end even on a day when the offense struggled a bit the defense really carried the day we will talk all about that here on the show which is brought to you by our friends at holiday Distillery I'm sure there was a lot of Ben holiday bottled in Bon bourbon that was out there at Bill snd Family Stadium if you were not one of the tailgates that had it you've got a couple of weeks now to stock up before Arizona remember that game is on a Friday all right but look holidays we record today you've got plenty PL of time to get out and get Ben holiday bottled in Bon Bourbon and 360 bodka to make sure that you have the best tailgate out of Bill Snider Family Stadium when the Arizona Wildcats come to town we appreciate holiday Distillery great K State people who support our podcast so thank you to them for their K-State opens the season with a win and defensive takeaways help and support as always okay Dy K State wins it was not always incredibly pretty on the offensive side of the ball but I I do feel like that's about what we expected coming into the game we said the defense would probably be ahead of the offense when you have a new offensive coordinator a new quarterback coach SL offensive coordinator you're working in helmet communication for the first time and you have a sophomore starting quarterback making just his second career start a lot of Kinks that clearly have to be worked out there but man the defense was pretty lights out they gave up points after a a fumbled kickoff return and after an interception other than that I mean they were pretty much completely lights out yeah in addition to all those offensive pieces being new there's there's other ones new right you kind of have a retooled starting offensive line uh a new toy Dylan Edwards some receivers that don't have a lot of experience in the Kansas State offense so they're interjecting a lot of new pieces at once from Personnel standpoint a little bit from a schematic standpoint because it's not going to be the same thing from a coaching standpoint and from an operational standpoint as you said because of the inh helmet communication angle uh now being injected into to all this as well about what we expected like you said um we thought that the defense would be ahead of the offense early on in the season and kind of have to carry the way and it did there were times when the offense was probably a little bit more sluggish than I would have liked to have seen even knowing that they were going to have some Growing Pains um and they didn't really get into a Groove what until Midway through the third quarter it felt like but to get to that point to kind of fight through that adversity and to find that Groove eventually I I thought that was a good thing and you know these are kind of why you play these games a little bit especially with the way the roster is composed this year is that you can kind of sift through those you know hurdles um while still winning comfortably uh if you have played a worthy week one opponent and might not have gone as well but you know the approach might it look different too right uh I've said this a few times and and I know you were sitting up there in a press box with me too and you you were on page like if Kansas State wanted to they could have put together a game plan and called a game where they would have scored 70 points like they could have done that it would have involved running the crap out of the football right but obviously they wanted to get better at other elements so they used this as kind of like a preseason type game um and that's why it wasn't always pretty on offense but this defense is as good as we thought it would be maybe a little bit bit better in some areas um and the Special Teams took a step forward but wasn't perfect yeah mixed bag special teams but much more good than bad I would say we we'll definitely make some space for that later on in the show yeah I mean the defense man they're going to be our top story line today which of course is brought to you by our friends at Al Linko if you have any Home Improvement needs make sure you get in touch with our friends at Al Linko they are great great Kate people who just want to support uh Kate podcast here but the defense I mean they held UT Martin to 36 yards rushing on 38 carries only 98 yards passing there's really like one play where and it was a play where Toby yans Sami had a sack within his grasp and let it slip away and that in turn became a long bomb down the field for UT Martin it was really the only the only highlight offensively for UT Martin the entire day and there were guys like Dez Pernell running around making plays I mentioned Toby ens Sami I mean just guys that were really flashing all over the place n kendre stiger had a couple of really nice impressive plays too and got singled out by Chris kle into the postgame press conference it just it looked vast athletic suffocating uh they they really gave no room for UT Martin to do anything very fast they play they played fast anyway um and I thought quite frequently I thought and it probably wasn't even close that Desmond Pernell was the best player on that football field throughout the night um offense or defense to be quite honest I thought he was that good that is an all Big 12 linebacker if that's the kind of performance that can be expected of it and I thought that it wasn't necessarily connected or associated with the Calibur a play on the other side I just thought Desmond Pell was that good and would have been that good regardless of who the opponent was so that's why I kind of want to put that forward I thought Damen El laia was really good uh that L of scrimmage didn't move when the other team is going 38 carries for 36 rushing yards which is an absurd number that usually means the defensive tackle is cooking and he was uh the sacks help uh Toby us saw me it's kind of wild right if if he doesn't lose that one sack they don't get the one bust and make a big play but he also has two and a half sacks on the night and six pressures on 11 snaps so ridiculous number yeah so the pressure rate is absurd so he was really good and I thought you know he getting overshadowed a bit because of Toby's ridiculous pass brush rate uh versus the amount of snaps that he had was Brendan M just a complete game uh he was a stud in the Run game also was a force in in the past rush as well I thought he was really good and then if you're going to talk about those Young Guns that you're hoping kind of surge to the top and make some splashes we were talking about we need they need one or two of those guys to and end up being a real deal maybe sooner rather than later I thought we saw some really good moments from Ryan Davis yeah Ryan Davis got got a lot of run there and got a chance to play a ton of those guys our our top storyline as we mentioned brought to you by our friends at a Linko local company based out of Kansas City owned by Cas Staters and locally owned since 1986 in an industry where most have been bought out by national companies so if you need new windows or bathroom remodel they have premium window replacements Coler Luxstone Shower systems they can do new sighting on your home you don't need to be in Kansas City or Manhattan they'll go to Western Missouri northeast Kansas the entire KC Metro Manhattan Emporia Topeka Witchita rosville they they've got you covered anywhere there go to alink home.com that's alome.com to check out their services including free estimates you can also call Sam at 913 96121 65 yeah a lot of good there and one of the things that I want to single out here is what they did in the Run game because we talked about it on our defensive preview like the overall defensive numbers were pretty good it was a pretty salty unit last year but if there was an area they struggled it was against the run at times and so I understand it's UT Martin I disrespected the the living hell out of them on the initial show but I don't know that you could have had a more impressive debut basically than what than what K State was able to do there which is which is very positive especially also as they are nursing some injuries in the linebacking core too and uh that that didn't seem to bother anything at all yeah and like you said it is UT Martin what's the alternative like are you saying if you can't credit them for doing that against UT Martin then you can't credit them at all and that's not really fair they they were really good against their run um and obviously that's a giant step forward from what we saw a year ago they did give up that big explosive uh when Toby was andami didn't get the quarterback to the ground and I thought there was one other pass play really good throw by the quarterback that could have been a um an explosive as well if it was hauled in by the receiver so the they were it was a really good day from the defense there's some minor things there to clean up maybe to prevent some of the explosiveness because they got one and I thought they could have got one or two others what you think of uh Toby ambi's sack celebration so every wanted it's funny it's funny you know you know what the best part is at least on the one I don't know if if it unfolded this way on the other is like it almost looks like when he gets tapped like he snaps out of it like when Uso slapped him on the helmet and then I was like poof I'm back so I like that part actually and just a bizarre story I I saw somebody describe it as the controller getting unplugged celebration and I was like well that's pretty good and I was like maybe that's what he's going for but now postgame told us all that it was um a guy that he saw on Bourbon Street in New yeah a couple years ago with the Sugar Bowl that just like was standing there Frozen like that and he thought it was funny and so it was basically like a a team inside joke that got brought out there as as his sack celebration which we got to see quite frequently because he was living in the backfield and Ryan Davis did it too I don't know if he just didn't have his own so he did Toby's but he I there's a picture that I used I think it's from USA Today Was Ryan Davis in that celebration post oh I don't know that I even caught that during the game yeah that Ryan Davis did that too okay all right well we'll have that to look forward to you know Felix had his signature uh signature sack celebration I guess Toby now has his Brenda M has the Conor McGregor one he has the Conor McGregor W yeah and I did see somebody had tweeted about that and then Conor McGregor actually liked the Tweet so apparently Brendan Mt is uh has reached all the way up to Conor McGregor after his sack celebration come to the game in Ireland Conor McGregor that's that's a good point yeah I mean he could try and Hawk whatever that that whiskey that he's selling you know that might that might work I'm sure it's no Ben Hol bottle than Bon bourbon but he can try um we had the conversation about defensive ends and who's going to lead the team in sacks I mean I don't it just it looks like Toby is so Dynamic I know he's only he's only coming in on pass rush Downs basically we looked at each other at one point and we're like hey is is the first time he's been in on like a second down in the game so it's it's really it's one rle it's like go get the quarterback but man I mean it's just T he just looks different like he looks on a different level than everybody else when he's out there getting after it like M like you said is very solid and he got one of those kind of trademark Brendan M like just hustle your ass off sacks but Toby will just get there in a split second every time he's going there I don't seems like that's that's the obvious pick here right I know that's week one I don't want to overreact too much to it but he definitely looks like he's on a different level athletically that was the case in week one where I'm ping the breaks a little bit is that I want to see what that translates against when he's playing opponents that he's not always going to be significantly bigger faster stronger then because the reason why I pick tobio andami as my defensive MVP going into that game so I got that right well unless you want to go desur Pernell obviously is that like this is the kind of game where someone that's a little bit of an athletic freak like him where they have the biggest advantage that kind of goes away when you're playing other teams maybe even toing this week so not saying he won't still be that guy but then it comes down to when you start to play these other teams that are similarly talented you got to have pass rushing moves and we'll see if that's in his AR Arsenal moving forward okay that that's good so I Cole left and I guess I had to be the the guy to play the role of over the top Homer you know 20 sacks this year yeah keep that rate what they give him one and a half I think yep okay one and a half officially for uh for Toby during the game I also do want to before you leave the defense I I want to single out Daman El Alo because you did bring him up and thought that he was really impr impressive upon for the review of the game and like you know I think most people would have assumed Uso would just be the guy to start again this year that was not the case like clearly they they love what Daman Eli Leo is bringing to the table there and uh I think the early returns are are very very good man there was a play I can remember where he was even moving like kind of sideline to sideline getting over the and hustling toward the boundary to make a play K status had a long tradition of guys who were you know the will Gary type of defensive tackle a little bit undersized really good wrestler uh who winds up way overperforming at the at the Big 12 level and it looks like it looks like Ela Leo may be next in line there yeah I could tell why he kind of got the starting nod despite Uso kind of being that returning starter that line of scrimmage did not move uh he is the one of the main leaders on the defense too you could tell He commands a lot of respect from his coaches and teammates by the way that he kind of conducts himself and holds people accountable so I think just his role from a leadership standpoint is has allowed him to kind of rise up the ladder as well but even his play like I said the line of scrimmage did not move it in probably his best play of the night you yeah remember he's like what in near 300lb defensive tackle and he runs down a play from behind and makes the tackle I mean you know 511 or not 65 350 whatever it may be play the interior of the defensive line and you run a play down from behind and and make the tackle that's pretty uh impressive it's an impressive feat um and shows that you're working your ass off too yep yep I mean that's been the the reputation of him all the way back to the days that that man had an High when he really shined in the in the Centennial league and it's been it's been cool to watch his his rise he's just a football player like even in when he was with Manhattan High we're all looking at him we're like man he's so good you you wonder a little bit about his prospects because of the size stuff and he just keeps producing and contributing and being productive regardless of that it's like I mean we don't know how he's doing it but he's getting it done so why not just keep letting him go I mean I think that's why you in high school you were like should we offer should we offer but he's so productive you got to take that chance now as a you know we're sitting here and he's in college football we like should it be a starter should be a star it's I mean he just gets it done um maybe it's not traditional but he just gets it done he's his wrestling background probably helps a lot well another thing that he said during he came into the interview room postgame and one of the things that he said that was really interesting he was breaking down kind of the difference between he and Uso and he was like look I just have way more time playing the game than Uso does because he didn't pick it up until later in life whereas I've been playing football for a a long time and then I came here and I was I was uh learning out of the guys that were already here and I had some some really good teachers uh to to get me up to speed he just I mean very humble in terms of guys who were helping show him the way but also pointing out something obvious like he's he's just had more time he's probably a more Savvy yeah defensive tackle has to be because of his size but also just because of how long he's been playing the game so he has a bit of an edge over Uso there glad he brought that interview too because it was a good one and it also allowed me to kind of know how he thinks the game I think he's a thinker like that the for a defensive tackle he came off very very cerebral yeah oh absolutely yeah I would agree with that I would agree with that and I think that's that's why you know guys are going to tend to gravitate towards him and you're going to have some leadership capabilities for him there on the the defensive line that that was really encouraging uh again you said at UT Martin they're going to be bigger offensive lines that they face quite obviously but uh encouraging stuff in in week one from the defense all the way around uh our friends at HomeField apparel are ready to uh make sure that you will be the best dress at Bill Snider Family Stadium come a couple Fridays from now when Arizona is in town they've got 50 plus kstate designs out there including this uh like baseball kind of ringer te that I am wearing right now which I enjoy very much but all sorts of old school gear for football basketball they'll get you ready to go it is the most popular college gear around Dy apparent ly was proud of Texas Tech defensive performance on Saturday and is wearing his reham uh massed Raider uh shirt right now so you can get 100 plus other teams like Texas Tech if you would like to uh big big win for the Red Raiders in overtime over abalene Christian on Saturday so I'm glad that we have that well well represented here on the show today you can even get 15% off your first order just go to HomeField apparel.com and enter promo code 324 that is promo code threea 24 at HomeField app.com to get 15% off your first order and uh we're back to talk about the offense next we appreciate you supporting KC Sports Network by listening to our podcast you have helped us become the highest ranked Chiefs podcast Network in 2022 and 2023 and don't forget about our daily substack newsletter the best written analysis you can find on the Chiefs straight to your inbox every day kcsn dos substack docomo when you discover a new binge worthy show or a song that you play on repeat and you just have to share it with your friends so they can experience just how awesome it is too well that's how we felt when we discovered that mint mobile offers premium Wireless for just 15 bucks a month when you purchase a 3-month plan it's such an awesome deal there's no way we could keep it to ourselves friends don't let friends overpay for wireless say bye-bye to your overpriced Wireless plan and switch to mmobile all plans come with high-speed data in unlimited talk and text delivered on the nation's largest 5G Network you can use your own phone with any M mobile plan and keep your own phone number and bring along all your friends dit overpriced Wireless with M Mobile's deal and get 3 months of Premium wireless service for just 15 bucks a month to get this new customer offer and your new 3-month premium Wireless plan for just 15 bucks a month go to mitt mobile.com threa that's mobile.com threa cut your wireless bill to just 15 bucks a month at mmobile $45 upfront payment required equivalent to $15 per month new customers on first 3-month plan only speed slower above 40 GB on Unlimited Plan additional taxes fees and restrictions apply CIT mobile for details a quick note to all of our podcast listeners out there if you'd like an extra 500 bucks who wouldn't go to bluewire pods.com survey and complete the bluewire audience survey about you and your podcast listenting habits for a chance to win a $500 gift card this survey will help create a better advertising experience for audiences and in turn help this show it's bluewire pods.com survey where all you have to do is answer some simple questions for a chance to win 500 bucks make sure to read the full terms and disclaimer plus complete the survey for a chance to win bluewirepods docomo in the show notes of this episode and if you would like to get in touch Offensive takeaways with us you guys know that there is a way to do that outside of again patreon.com threa if you'd like to join our Discord patreon.com you can do that and communicate with us regular L but if you're not going to do that you can also uh hit up the kcsn hotline powered by Mint mobile that's 913 407 6524 913 47652 4 the kcsn hotline powered by mintmobile I don't believe that we have anything at least that I have been shown but uh if you have thoughts on week one and you want to share them and get them on the show you can uh you can do it that way so we appreciate those of you who do offensively look they they score 41 points in the game seven of that came from Special Teams when you get the blocked punt for a touchdown in the first half which was nice because that would have been uh a little bit more antsy at halftime if you didn't have that uh non-offensive score to go with what was happening there it's true yeah offense got uh more comfortable in the second half for sure W up I think they a part of it that first drive in the third quarter they called an actual designed Run play like a read option for Avery he got out and ran a couple times and you saw like almost immediately like oh okay well if they really wanted to and they were doing that the entire game like obviously the offense would be in a better place but you're one not trying to get a bunch of hits on Avery Johnson in the UT Martin game but two look you're going to need the passing game you're going to need the downfield passing game and this is a a chance to work on it you're going to have to do that so fairly vanilla I think in terms of what they were doing they were neutralizing one of the best assets they have which are Avery Johnson's legs but I understand the frustration like look that they're going to have to pass the football better than what happened consistently on Saturday there's there's no doubt about that and there are some Kinks that are going to have to be worked out I think for Avery Johnson and Company um I'm not over the toop alarmed but it's also fair to call Saturday what it was it was it was it was a little sluggish A little sluggish for the offense yeah I think that's fair what I would say is like I'm not like really concerned I'm not really panicking um I'm going to be mindful moving forward I think I'm stealing that from what fan and Mason kind of said on their Sunday show over at K kso obviously as well look Avery I thought locked on two guys a little too much sometimes because of that he didn't get to his next reads quick enough or he just missed open dudes alt together um was it rust I don't you know we could call it rust you can call it nurs you can call whatever you want but those things happen there was a few inaccurate balls as well but you know like we've said also if they wanted to he could have ran for 700 yards and they could have scored 70 points so going forward what I would say about that is I not like I said not concerned not panicked uh the Run game will help his legs being utilize will help the passing game but the other stuff that I just mentioned do have to get cleaned up right you do have to get through your reads a little quicker you do have to be a little bit more composed and deliver some better balls um not excuse me and not miss guys as well and so I'm not someone that's going to put it all on the receivers because I think Avery had some accountability in this as I just said but the receivers have to be better we saw a few good things from Jace Brown a few bad things from Jace Brown going the wrong direction a few times the funball in the kickoff Trey spy um when he got in I thought made an impact as well you could tell he has a connection in a rapport with Avery Johnson as well Keegan Johnson not really uh you know apparent on the field kind of disappeared again um Jane Jackson same thing outside of a few carries Dante cus did get some targets but he just didn't seem to have that connection um down with Avery Johnson one ball that Avery looked like he rushed in there um was a little inaccurate and another one where cus and him for some reason aren't on the same page right there on the throw into the end zone so I think it's a little bit on the receivers I think it's a little bit on Avery um maybe it's rust and your but it's got to get cleaned up uh A's legs will help it but it's not going to be like 100% antidote they got to be better executors as well yeah I mean in you know the stat line 14 of 21 153 yards two touchdowns one interception I mean it's not like a a disasterous stat line by any stretch of the imagination but um yeah a lot of things things that were missed and I think you know I got the question a lot at least we were getting in the Discord and again patreon.com to sign up there but looking at the game thread there a lot of people were like asking like all right like is it are the receivers not getting open what what's the actual problem here and I thought from the Press Box in particular on a couple of drives I'm trying to which Drive was it where they were kind of in the Red Zone I mean it felt like there were a couple plays back to back where receivers were receivers and tight ends were popping open and Avery was just really locked in on there was a pass that he thre to the sideline toward TJ out of the back field where it was like it looked like there were multiple receivers about to pop open in the and Oak and and he just had had zeroed in on one target there so I which to me is is a better problem to have if it were again the receivers just not getting open I start to be pretty worried about this receiver room I I don't think it was as much that as to my untrained eye there were definitely moments where it appeared that that just wasn't getting through his reads there were times where guys weren't open there were times where Aver he didn't get through the reads or he just a little hesitant to unload the ball too um but there were times where the receivers could have been better for sure but I I just it's not one of those games in the past like man these receivers are just not good enough to get the job done it didn't feel like that so that's why I would say that but they do have to be better than they were if that makes sense that's how I would do it if you're going to be a little concerned or if if you wanted the ammunition to hit the panic button you would say all this happened when the pass protection was pretty much Flawless too um yeah but I mean it was pretty much clean pocket after clean pocket even Avery Johnson admitted after the game I was not really under any duress all game um and that maybe that's a bright point too like this offensive line we had questions about it right no sacks pretty much clean pockets all game and nine yards a carry offensive line had a great day and and I do definitely want to talk about them they they deserve to be singled out for that um one last point I was going to make on the passing game I will say I thought one of the low-key biggest plays of the game was the the Deep ball that Avery threw which was a a decent pass but he did have just a tiny bit too much on it you know probably should be a touchdown there if you're throwing it completely accurately but it was good enough but Jace Brown had to lay out and make the catch and I know some said like hey looking at the replay it was pretty close they didn't actually go look at it perhaps case they gets away with one there but making the catch that was really big because at that point that was kind of when the offense had been going through some struggles and particularly in the passing game and there hadn't been any deep shot available all night you f you pop one jaay beats his guy he's open there he needed to make that catch I think just for the the confidence of everybody there and it was a bit of an exhale the fact that he did make that catch so I I thought that was a pretty pretty big low-key play in the game yeah it was that that had to get done and again like Avery you know you're an eyelash away from overthrowing that one to Jace as well and you know upon for the review there's probably not a catch too right so there there's that as well um the Jace the Jace brown one so I mean that's how I kind of go into it but you do come out of it also thinking boy there there's a lot more here we can tell with what they want to do with Dylan Edwards they can make this thing really pop as well and I thought a low-key observation at least the I kind of made too and I'm not saying Bradon Lofton is better than Garrett Oakley but it was clear that Bradon lton was the tight end that really popped and I guess I would say the hype that we started to here just a little bit like a touch before the season it might be real he looked really good he was more engaged and involved than Oakley in the passing game for whatever reason and it didn't look like their skill sets are that widely different no that's what I was going to say I mean it just he looked like he moves pretty well I mean it it didn't seem like there was a huge drop off there in terms of athleticism and obviously had that that first touchdown grab which was a you know there are a couple plays where they just schemed guys wide open Braden Lofton was one Dylan Edwards was another down on the goal line so kudos to to Conor Riley and Matt Wells the guys that are that are running the offense because they they did a tremendous job with that just getting Guys open and Dylan Edwards I mean that's that's a great point to bring up here guy gets involved with two touchdowns which was really encouraging to see um Drew Galloway made a great Point like Dylan Eber scored four touchdowns in game one last year he's got two in game one this year so uh week one has been pretty nice to Dylan Edwards over the course of his college career so far but he he brought some extra juice you know and that really needed it at times and even the first play of the game you know I mean they scripted out the first offensive play to just try to get the ball to him in space so it's clear that they understand and what a valuable asset he can be and um cool to hear him talk after the game both he and Chris kman about um just some of the more sentimental side of this growing up a guy who dad played at K State and as a Kate fan to be out there and have that kind of an impact what it meant to him but what it means to the offense is you do you do have another level that uh that you can really get to there UT Martin did a good job of not letting him bust a gigantic one but he still made an impact when he had the ball that's what I will say too and and people are going to eyes because they don't want to accuses and this is not meant to be that but like it was hard to get like I mean excuse me Kansas State got those it felt like 15 to 20 yard chunks when they needed to and it felt like some of those would have normally gone more than that but UT Marv was just so well coached in the way that they tackled just like that you know they they didn't let things slip away from them so credit to them uh obviously they're athletically disadvantaged there but they just played discipl playing football to and were fundamentally sound to keep some of those from really busting like the few zilan Edwards I will say like you could just tell both by maybe snap count and just like what else was bubbling there that they were just they still had that foot on the breaks even with Dylan Edwards it felt like too well the backfield in general I mean came away looking really impressive like I mean DJ gens was DJ giddens like I I don't want to bypass talking about him which it feels like a lot of times he can be sort of this forgotten man it's just like I mean he just still consistent yeah he was consist he did what he does he he broke off a couple of long ones he had a 48 yard run um was generally solid he's always I mean it just seems like if there's a play where there's not much there I mean he's always turning it into like a four yard gain like he he will just find a way to get a crafty couple of yards to keep it from feeling as as negative a play as as perhaps it should be based on what's being blocked up there you saw that a couple of times I yeah okay I would just say for where I guess quote unquote between the tackle Runner he gets more yards than block for quite a bit and that's not common for a between the tackles guy because you basically have to run through dudes or because you're just you're running into contact a lot but what also with him even when he does bounce outside he's not the fastest running back in the world I don't think anyone would confuse him for that he's plenty quick enough but it's like his pacing like he's just we talked about how Daman NE Leo's Savvy I think DJ Gins is kind of Savvy just watching him he changes his speeds up like the hesitation the stutters like he just it's like a point guard when they are know they don't have to go like 100% fast time sometimes like alen Iverson was where he just change up his P speed so you didn't know like the defense is just on skates it feels like that's what happens with DJ gens he his stop and start just on like a lot of different runs is just interesting to watch she's a different type of Runner and it's hard for Defenders to prepare for him because of that well I'll throw this out there because I heard Aman green say this briefly on the broadcast but he mentioned like Le'Veon Bell in terms of stylistically What DJ gens is kind of like as a running back and I was like that actually makes sense you know I mean he was a guy that was good at kind of shiting yeah he's he's uh not a traditional running back a little unorthodox and Le'Veon Le'Veon Bell was pretty unorthodox yeah actually I I liked I like that comp when I heard it I mean look that's that's very lofty but yeah um just in terms of the style I I did I don't think he has the same short area quicks but yeah right right if you're Brian Anderson you got to be pretty happy with the rest of the back field and again the offensive line is Paving the way for all this 283 yards 9.1 yards per carry but like the twos came in and went right down the field we were looking at each other like damn I mean this is about the best Drive of the day uh Jacob can got the nod first at quarterback before taquin Roberson took the next series but they were handed the ball off to Joe Jackson and I you know he got a couple of carries early on last year and I remember saying to you guys was like hm man I don't just didn't see much that that jumped out at me uh could not have been more different with how he looked on Saturday had seven carries for 48 yards and showed some real burst um I was uh highly encouraged seeing what what Joe Jackson looked like he's another one of those running backs too like when you can tell when he's running really hard he's like flails his arms a little bit it's kind of what it looked like I I he's probably faster than this guy but it was like I was like kind of like Isaiah pea the way he was just flailing and chucking his arms got a little bit of that got a little bit of that L James White also had a touchdown run uh from 12 yards out where he made a a pretty nice Cut there so um yeah it feels like the the Back Field is in really good shape and we got to see them utilize a bunch of those different weapons so they're they're going to have a lot of assets to utilize there upon rewatch you know I mean obviously the numbers stand out for the offensive line dy I say this all the time like I I feel like it's crazy to have media people like voting on an all Big 12 offensive line because not enough of us know like what the hell we're actually looking at or take the time to actually parse through what's going on on an offensive line but uh you really dig into it and uh after your rewatch what what did you think of the o line I thought they were better at pass blocking than run blocking um but the Run blocking was not horrid but there's there's they need to take some steps forward there I thought the best ones to me and and I will say like offensive Liney vals are pretty they're not really perfect like what one person sees is not what another person will see but I did um just Converse you know recently with someone that does no offensive line play and he his thoughts were essentially in line with me that the best ones were Andrew L gang and the offensive tackles Carver Wells and Eon kilty I thought those three were the best and most consistent I thought the offensive tackles especially were Special teams excellent in pass protection uh Willis I think that first drive you could tell he had to like find himself a little bit but once he did he was good Easton kilty was green pass protection like I said he's he's one of those that maybe run blocking needs to clean up a little bit the most complete performance probably came from injur line gang I thought um same heck was actually pretty solid at Center I actually I was left wanting a little bit more from Hadley paner and Taylor porier to be honest okay but all told I mean I will take that effort uh for for a new group out there on the offensive line as they gear up for now to Lane which which will be an interesting test I'm sure we'll peek ahead toward in in just a moment but let's not forget special teams uh special teams get you a touchdown which was great to see on the the block punt Tai Bowman gets a a block punt was it Kobe mallister that ran it in yep okay block punt from Tai Bowman Kobe mallister runs it in uh and then man I tell you what Chris Tennant great great debut he knocks in a couple of field goals hits one from 45 yards he was five of five on extra points that was great to see and then uh Simon McCannon who was handling the punting job had a couple inside the 20 had a 46 Yer average 41 yards a punt that was all good now yes you did have jce brown fumble a kickoff return which set up some points uh to begin the second half for for UT Martin That's not great there was a kickoff out of bounds you don't love seeing that so it was it was not perfect but I think the the highs there were so high because there at least to me had been some concern about what are you going to get out of Chris tenet this year and the punter um and you also obviously score a touchdown so there's there's a lot of good there yeah well i' I've been you know kind of on an island of not being too worried about Chris tenant just because if he takes a similar jump as he did from year one to year two then he's then you're going to have a pretty a really good year out of your kicker and that's what I expect this kickoff out of bounds you don't love seeing that what I will say is like that's also like that was one where it's like an eyelash away from being a really good kickoff it was close and and you probably got a unfortuitous bounce like if Tak new like I'm not going to really quibble too hard about that kickoff um because it is what it is and you kind of like to maybe take those chances when you're playing UT Martin um kind of like a practice of his own so it it didn't really bother me too much there was a punt that Dylan nards needs to go get and and that one and that one is probably more concerning and it's not concerning moving forward he's just got to know to do that next time but that was more problematic I think that the tenant kickoff just because that's more yards of field position than the ten and one the 10 and one you you're probably losing 10 yards to field position the Edwards won you lost 15 to 20 with the way that thing ruled so that that can happen um Jace Brown kickoff turn fumble that can happen especially coming out of a kickoff you defer for a reason that's like out of all the kickoffs to fumble and cough up that's that's the bad one because you lose your deferment basically by doing so so that that's trouble um going forward I they're probably eventually going to tighten up the were the kick and Putt returner rotations and not really do rotations and just find a guy I I would just find a guy now I would go Dylan Edwards and Sterling locket on kickoffs um know if it's the Jay I you fumble you fumble right and and I never really thought of him as maybe a kick returner guy either so there's also that um and you mentioned it and I probably haven't been putting enough attention on it the you're breaking in a new punter and I thought he had a really strong first day Simon mlan it'd be interesting to see what they do moving forward on that in terms of the rotation and who is actually KS I mean Dylan Edwards is just such a unique weapon have him back there I prefer that they get him as many touches as possible now uh Sterling Lockett did have a you know he had a he had a nice return Point return yeah picked up a chunk of yardage and uh looked pretty good you know I mean you and I were talking about the book on him is that he's not the the fastest guy in the world but he didn't he didn't look overly slow out there yeah and he's probably quicker than fast so maybe even short area speeds a little bit more than you know long speed there and he's so decisive that it makes it look faster too yeah just looked looked very competent uh out out there when he was on the field so I I thought that was a a good sign so I think like I said I I will take what we got out of the the Special Teams unit so I mean all all told I don't know what would you would you say this is like a B minus C+ kind of effort from the team yeah I think that's fair I think I I tend to Le more positive and because I'm not painting taking over some of the things that didn't go right but if you're going to just judge it on Looking ahead and around the Big 12 itself what this team is capable of and what they should be doing maybe even a little bit lower but nothing really scares me going forward yeah yeah it I mean we'll see there there what was the first the Circa I think had K State at like minus8 minus eight and a half I I think the first thing I saw was Draft Kings uh FanDuel whatever I don't know if we have a betting sponsor so but uh I think think I saw 10 it was there were a couple differences there like Kansas was like a three-point favorite at Illinois from Circa and then like five or six that's to the other places so I I don't know there's a there's an interesting difference there but somewhere between eight to 10o point favorite going to uh to to Lane this weekend um early early thoughts look ahead thoughts on the the game on the road at tan I'm still not worried about that game and may people think I should one I think K State's going to take a step forward right they're they're going to clean some stuff up they're going to actually run a normal script and game plan to beat a team rather than a preseason one to just get work in I think that will make a large difference I I'm still I guess feeling good about Tain having a retro freshman starting quarterback that that makes me feel good as well uh so I I and a new coach like the I'm not scared about this game I think something I wanted to do with you two and maybe just so everyone sees totally what we are thinking like one thing that you're most happy about moving forward and one thing that you're most concerned about moving forward um on maybe on each side of the ball I know defensively when it comes to me like my concern right now would be a little bit about the linebacker Health like needing to get Austin Moore right needing to get asome available those two things especially when you're obviously not don't know if you're going to get anything out of Alec Moreno then it's starting to pile up a little bit for me at linebacker once again a little bit like last year what I'm most excited about might be like pass rush I'm I'm kind of like I want to see it against the team that's worthy first before I get gungho about it so maybe if I'm was excited about something off or defensively it's Desmond Pernell I mean it's hard to go against either one of those I think the obvious for the defense is is linebacker health and and depth and what's going on there it seemed like they Austin Moore basically didn't play the second half which you know I mean I'm sure is is about trying to get get him right and not give him too much work right now um you know positive I look if I'm going to go somewhere other than Desmond Pernell it's just in general I think like the past defense you know I mean the the defensive backs were great we saw a guy like nendra stiger who's you know even a little bit further down the list of guys that we talk about defensively flash uh a couple of times in the game and then the the pass rush yeah with with what Toby is bringing to the table it looks like there could be some pretty high ceiling uh available to the the pass rush right now so I definitely feel that way defensively I mean offensively I think it's it's the the running game in total how good the Back Field looked combined with early Returns on the offensive line even if as you say it wasn't um perhaps as good in the Run game as it was in in the pass blocking that they were doing and then the obvious is just look Avery Johnson's got all the talent the arm Talent is there uh we saw some really positive things in terms of just scheme being able to get guys wide open for him but he's he's going to have to get through reads better and throw the football better for for this team to get to where they want to go so I think that's to me the the obvious um knock right now or the or the biggest concern even if I don't want to make it out to be that it's a massive concern for me but it is is definitely a concern coming out of week one offensively the good for me would be how encouraged I feel about the offensive line and and and this is a little bit me being selfish because of what I thought of him before the season as a recruiting Prospect and what I thought of his performance on Saturday I kind of hope they get Angel line gang somehow into the starting lineup I think I think that's something that probably needs to happen at some point and I hope it doesn't take too long and then in terms of what's bothering me a little bit is it's a little bit of everything a little bit of Avery a little bit of the receivers so the passing game in general kind of like you uh and really I don't want Keegan Johnson to just be non-existent in a football game I he's plenty capable I don't think the hype is is fraudulent I just think it needs to go out there and do it yeah I that's I I felt like they were rotating a lot right I mean they were rotating a lot of guys in AER but there was a point where I was just like I just feel like I haven't it was kind of an invisible game I didn't really feel like I was seeing him out there much he had one catch for six yards um and I think it was like one of those jet things because I thought it was a carry but that's what I was gonna say I don't even remember the catch exactly so you know it was a it was a game that he was open a few times that Avery didn't see him I will say that okay it was a game that felt a lot like some of the games last year so they just they got to find a way to get him going man Ian they they really really really do so however you can scheme that up if it's something short to him and just get the ball in his hands um they they need to unlock that part of the offense no doubt you know Big 12 wise I came away from the the week in the league feeling like man I Oklahoma State and Utah were probably the two most impressive teams there which is I mean that was my big 12 championship game coming into the year I don't feel like much would move me off of that based on what we saw in week one and then at the bottom of the league obviously Houston I think had the the worst Performance Event just getting drubbed by unlb they they've got a long long way to go some of the rest of the bottom of the league actually had pretty encouraging debuts I mean Brendan sorby was really good for Cincinnati Jake redoff was really good for BYU Baylor wiped the floor with with Tarlton State I mean some of these teams we thought would finish and then Arizona State just clubbed Wyoming so I the bottom of the league uh I thought was was pretty impressive I I don't know what your biggest takeaway is from uh from the week in the Big 12 but there's some some overview of the league from me yeah I'll do a quick overview too and kind of kind of use my big 12 Power Rankings I just sent to Mason as a as a templ to give me these give me these I still one I had Oklahoma State last week so I'm sticking there with Oklahoma State yeah can we Cole of course does not show up when Oklahoma State just pounds uh South Dakota State yeah 29 straight back-to-back FCS championships and then had the to come into our group text and be like well they moved down four spots in Kelly Ford's rankings this week so I direct messaged Kelly Ford and was like hey just curious like what what happened here and he gave me this nice long explanation great guy uh but he said basically there were so many teams that like overperformed what the model had predicted for them that it was just other teams around them moving up I believe Cole also said they were Oklahoma state was like the biggest mover in the top 25 on the way down they were not somebody moved down seven I'm trying to remember who that was Clemson maybe um I Mak so that was that was that was not actually true but I got a a follow-up explanation there that was not was not anything Oklahoma state did playing poorly I mean like Allan Bowman had a great day their offense looked looked really good all he I will say some some questions popped up for me about their defense their their secondary is not as good as I was hoping it would be I know that their front Seven's probably going to be fine I worry about their past defense a little bit there yeah they gave up some big plays Utah number two and and I had K State ahead of Utah going into the week so that's a little bit of a change um they were cleaner than K State that's all um K State three I don't think there's a reason to Panic or drop them too much so I just have K State at three this is a move up for me I think a couple different spots four is Arizona now their defense that's a little scary for getting kind of gashed by New Mexico when you could throw it to teda McMillan at any point and get a touchdown that's a pretty nice weapon to have so will see moving forward that offense is not sustainable obviously against New Mex it it's still going to be pretty good what they did against New Mexico will not always work in the Big 12 and if their defense doesn't get any better then they're going to run into problems but for now I think they are deserving a moving up because they were a touch more impressive than the other teams that I jumped them over uh one being Kansas at at five I don't think Kansas moves really but I just have Arizona ahead of Kansas now so you can't really glean a whole lot from Kansas's performance against lindawood much like K State against UT Martin six is a drop for me maybe I should have dropped them further but I still have a Instinct about them that I like moving forward and that's Texas Tech so I had them fourth but now I still have them sixth I did drop them but not much oh boy they give up 500 yards of offense yeah I'm a little terrified but I I think it's fair for me to to kind of not completely abandon it after one week when I had them fourth last week well the good news I mean they had a bad performance was that week one when they went to Wyoming last year like early in the year and they lost in overtime this time at least I mean they won so seven yeah and then seven UCF I just thought oh home um worried a little bit about QB play wasn't always great um despite the score so I still have UCF 7 I still have Iowa State eight I thought those two were not impressive but not enough to like completely abandon and throw down the throw down the rankings nine kind of moved them up a little bit was Colorado I think the the end of game coaching is very very bizarre and that will lose them games this year but they're better than the other teams that are below them in my opinion at this point 10 the Colorado performance I thought that was that was basically exactly what I expected that looked like a team that is really fun that has perhaps the best player in the country and Travis Hunter y but the the defense and in the trenches stuff I still think they've got a ways to go and Coach vulnerable yeah and Coach like they they seem to me to be about a six and six anywhere from five and seven to seven and five that's kind of problem is is like if you're in game coaching is a problem and you're going to be in a lot of ones score games that's going to be a rough outcome probably more times than not and that's my my fear for Colorado going forward Baylor is number 10 I don't hate Baylor going in this year a little bit higher on them than everyone else because I think dcoin Finn races their ceiling um can't really draw anything from the performance so I just kept them basically where they were 11 West Virginia I actually didn't drop West Virginia I just kept them there because they did exactly what I thought they would get blown out by Penn State I think they're fine moving forward um they're defined fine I guess but I didn't think they were a bulletin to begin with so I think 11th is fair well I mean yeah we got to talk about that that was you know if you're going big pi takeaways for the league I mean that was that was that hurt that hurt because I mean dude they got my own horn but I called that going in yeah you did I mean they were totally outclass they they just never had a moment they were they drew Aller had the fumble where that you know there was that bizarre play in the first quarter where he fumbled and it was like that was like the only exciting moment and then they gave it right back by snapping the ball off the man in motion and it was just they had nothing like Garrett green couldn't had seemed to have no feel for you know when to when to go when to throw all of it was disappointing from West Virginia and then you mix in like a weather delay and it was just like it had to be the most miserable miserable day for them you giving up the touchdown before half I know it looked like offensive pass interference potentially there but you just how is how is that a situation where it's a one-on-one opportunity 50 yards down the field and that scenario I just at the end of the half and and and also don't complain about the refs if you're West Virginia because like there was that spot that was terrible that didn't get overviewed like a minute before that too right when Penn State also just what did you see during the game in terms of how things were going mono imano that would make you think that even if one or two of those calls went the other way that West Virginia was going to make the plays yeah that would still be required to get over the UMP there is nothing that I saw that may me feel like that and it just you don't get many opportunities like that if you're the Big 12 the other I guess Oklahoma State playing Arkansas this if Arkansas were to somehow have a great season maybe that game that's coming up this weekend will mean something for the league but the only other one really that you have is you going to Florida and nobody nobody is gonna think anything of beating Florida after what they did week one losing to Miami and the schedule that they have coming up so the league just doesn't get many opportunities for respect and and West Virginia completely laid an egg there yep West Virginia was as rough as I thought they would be Penn State better than usual too he IND Indie Cotto Micki is going to have Penn State uh uh they're going to be a pain in the butt this year for the Big 10 because Ohio State you know you don't know what you have a quarterback Ryan dayve with all that pressure they they looked kind of in the first half against akaran Michigan new coach new QB who's a walk- on and their offense looks right Oregon like Penn State like I told people before the season everyone was like P I was like by process of elimination in default and adding any cot Nicki are going to be a threat and I think that's very true but yeah anyways back to the ringing I have TCU at 12 I don't I didn't like them going in and nothing really happened week one for me to change that so 13 Arizona State they that's up from last they were the best out of the teams that I think are bad so 14 BYU I think it's just yeah they're BYU it's kind of where you are right now 15 Cincinnati um I don't nothing what you do against talson is not going to make me come off to much and 16 is Houston by far the worst performance of anyone in the Big 12 I didn't think they were last go going into the week because I thought hey Willie Fritz will help them out but regardless of how good Willie Fritz is they are a mile away from being close yeah yeah I I don't think there's too much wrong with those Power Rankings I might be a bit higher on TCU um they made a lot of mistakes they were sloppy but Josh Hoover threw for like 350 yards I'm a Hoover hater but I so I got to see more yeah he's got I don't know he's got like six games now in the last two years over 300 yards passing like he's also that's kind of because you're throwing it like 50 times because you're losing or in tight gam well yeah I mean there's something to that but but he he can sling it like he's got a live arm I and he's still pretty young I I think the way you feel about TCU is the way I feel about Baylor like I'm giving I'm watch out for bayor I think dcoin Finn threw a couple of picks on Saturday against against Tarlton state I didn't really see the game but I saw his core I was like yeah they're they're what I thought they were yeah I think he had two touchdowns two interceptions so I mean you know we'll see but all all in all I mean Baylor was up 28 to nothing at halftime they really rolled there so yeah um fair enough that was uh that was week one uh I I would be with you and not really changing case State standing much uh in terms of where they're at in the league I didn't have them in the top two because I think there will be some Kinks that need to be uh worked out here throughout the year and I think we saw that in week one but there is still a lot of good a lot to build on and uh we'll have an interesting one to talk about this week with K stake going back down to uh New Orleans for the first time since the Sugar Bowl this time to play at two lane so we appreciate uh all of our great sponsors holiday Distillery HomeField apparel mintmobile Al Linko thank you to Nick Springer behind the scenes for making everything happen for Derek young I'm John Curts thanks for listening to another edition of three Mall