West of Everest: An Oklahoma Football Podcast

In the opening take, Lee says something seemed off about OU's 2023 schedule release. Then Grant joins as the guys try to decide if there's something shady happening with the schedule behind the scenes? OU's home slate is not very exciting. Is Kansas going to be a "trap game" (4:10)? Lee goes into his grab bag for a topic. David Ugwoegbu is transferring to Houston and will play DE. What does this mean (13:10)? Grant blames OU's previous coaching staff for putting Ugwoegbu in a bad spot from the beginning (20:05). Let's take a look at OU's linebacker room (23:15). Apparently Jeff Lebby is a possible candidate for the open OC job at Alabama (27:55). Back to transfer portal news. Joshua Eaton is off to Texas State. It sure seems like the previous coaching staff could not identify talent on defense (32:40). We go over all the players OU's added out of the portal since our last show. Grant likes DE Rondell Bothroyd, a tackle from Stanford will probably start day one, and can a former Michigan player bolster OU's thin WR room (36:30)? OU brought in a new WR coach since our last show. Jackson Arnold won the Gatorade National Player of the Year over a couple of big names, and OU officially has a top-5 signing class (47:00). We've got a date for the Spring Game. What's our early read on attendance (52:40)? Lee has some troubling stats that show just how bad of a year Brent Venables had compared to other first-year head coaches in college football (55:40). Then Grant shares even more troubling evidence about Venables that should scare the heck out of you (1:03:20). Grant has some more thoughts on OU's projected offensive line and Dillon Gabriel (1:10:35). We finish up with some brief thoughts on the OU men's basketball team before they play Bedlam Wednesday (1:14:30). | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9

The guys are back at the mics to discuss OU's close Cheez-It Bowl loss to Florida State. They open the show by briefly discussing the road-like atmosphere for the Sooners in Orlando, while praising the bowl game for making a second-tier bowl feel pretty important (:40). OU should have won despite being 10-point underdogs. The game sure seemed to play out similar to a lot of other OU losses this season. Grant liked the way OU's offensive line played despite missing multiple starters (3:05). Let's talk about the game, beginning with C.J. Coldon's missed opportunity on the game's first series (12:00). Dillon Gabriel was terrific on OU's first offensive series that gave the Sooners an early 7-3 lead (14:30). Kudos to the OU defensive line stopping FSU on 3rd-1 and 4th-1 in the 1st Quarter. Grant says Jeffery Johnson had maybe his best game of the season. The defense played well for the majority of the game, even though FSU WR Johnny Wilson torched the Sooners (18:40). The guys were impressed with FSU QB Jordan Travis. Why didn't they run him more (23:40)? Danny Stutsman looked really good and fast when he chased down Travis for a sack (26:05). Back to discussing the game. OU's offense took a 14-3 after DG scored on a clever zone read design (28:20). We jump ahead to Marvin Mims' first awesome sideline catch, which was followed up by a Gavin Sawchuck TD run called back due to penalty. This was a huge sequence in the game (30:50). Grant's number 1 takeaway from the Cheez-It Bowl is that Sawchuck is a star in the making. Where has he been all year? Lee's not as high on Jovantae Barnes as everybody else (33:45)? Brent Venables told his team to not "play to the scoreboard" against FSU. Lee can't imagine saying that to a team as a coach, while Grant doesn't think it's a big deal (41:50). Grant says the difference in the bowl game was the Sawchuck fumble and the Savion Byrd holding penalty. Grant is ultimately encouraged by what he saw from OU vs. FSU (44:40). Lee's got more criticism for Venables. It was unacceptable to call timeout on defense in the 2nd half of a one-score game. OU cost itself :22 seconds at the end of the game. Poor game management yet again (46:45). Grant reminds us that the current coaching staff looks to be elite at recruiting and Grant doeesn't think people who thought OU would get blown out should be able to criticize Venables today (50:25). Lee lays out the two (maybe three) different types of OU fans that exist right now. Plus more Gavin Sawchuck and Jovantae Barnes talk (54:00). We cover a bunch extra Cheez-It Bowl topics and beyond as we check in on your "3-Word Reviews" from the WoE Facebook page and Twitter (59:20). One listener reminds us that Texas still sucks. Lee gives a brief update on what to expect from the show coming up in the offseason. Grant brings up Trace Ford transferring to OU (1:27:30). We wrap things up by talking about who we think will win the National Championship (1:32:00). | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9

The guys are back at the mics after a Merry Christmas gathering in Oklahoma City. While we are days away from OU playing FSU in the Cheez-It Bowl, Lee & Grant open the show by congratulating Brent Venbales on securing the Number 5 recruiting class in 2023. We've now seen plenty of evidence Venables and this staff can recruit -- but, can they *coach* (2:15)? Grant was highly entertained by the Peyton Bowen saga last week. Lee is already guarding against Bowen's bust potential as a 5-star safety (9:10). Lee has some brief thoughts on Jackson Arnold, particularly Arnold's size. Grant thinks P. Bowen looks terrific on tape, and Grant provides more quick thoughts on some of the members of OU's 2023 class (19:45). Lee hopes Jacobe Johnson turns into an elite CB and once again Lee's probably going to get sucked into thinking OU can have awesome DBs (24:40). OU's picked up some new transfers since our last show, which includes one of Indiana's best young defensive players and one Texas Tech DB who Sooners fans will recognize (27:50). It appears Trace Ford has interest in coming to OU. Are we interested? We also dive a little into OU's ability to get TFLs this past season (36:45). The guys think OU needs to pick up an impact WR in the transfer portal. Lee has a funny feeling that Marvin Mims won't be on the roster in 2023. Could D.J. Graham stay at OU and become a viable WR (44:15)? Let's talk Cheez-It Bowl. OU are big underdogs against a FSU team who seems to be fully invested in winning this game. How good is FSU? Should the Seminoles really be favored by this much (48:10)? Florida put up a lot of points and yards against FSU a month ago, is that a sign the Sooners will score? What other factors make you feel good about OU's chances? FSU QB Jordan Travis can be devastating with his legs (1:00:15). FSU's offense has the most explosive plays in all of college football. Meanwhile, OU's defense has defended more snaps than any other team in college football (1:09:40). What if OU tries to move on from Dillon Gabriel after the bowl game? Would Spencer Sanders be a better option than DG in 2023? Where does Jackson Arnold fit in in 2023 (1:13:30)? We take a couple of comments from the WoE Facebook page. Will this be the weirdest spring in recent OU memory? What's the "best case" and "worst case" scenarios for the Cheez-It Bowl (1:28:15)? Finally, Lee wants to compare the current OU team to the 2008 OU team. Stick around for some surprising "3 & out" numbers (1:32:50). | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9

Oklahoma will play Florida State in the Cheez-It Bowl. Grant thought OU would play Iowa. Lee wanted the Sooners to play Wisconsin. Are the Sooners walking into a buzz saw (:45)? A lot of players have entered the transfer portal. If you thought OU had a lot of roster turnover last season, well you haven't seen anything yet (8:40). Austin Stogner is coming back to OU -- what? There are some talented players in the portal who hold OU offers, including a future NFL receiver (21:00). We read your comments and questions from the WoE Facebook page. If Clemson defensive players want to transfer to OU, will Venables take them? Grant tries to start talking himself into OU beating FSU (30:30). Will former OSU players transfer to OU (39:30)? Is it possible Malcolm Kelly could take over as OU's wide receivers coach (41:20)? Should we cut Brent Venables some slack after going 6-6 in the reg. season (43:50)? How did TCU lose to K-State in the Big 12 Title? Grant thinks there's a reality in which TCU beats Michigan. The Playoff matchups are actually pretty interesting (48:25). Deion Sanders going to Colorado is interesting and entertaining. At first it was reported Mike Zimmer was going to be his DC, but then actually that was wrong (53:10). Caleb Williams is probably going to win the Heisman, but he's become very unlikable of late. Lee has thoughts about quarterbacks crying (58:10). We're recording in the middle of Baker Mayfield's debut with the Rams. Lee admits he was wrong about Jalen Hurts. OU-FSU plays right before Texas plays Washington in the Alamo Bowl (1:02:35). | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9

OU was terrific for the first quarter and a half as the Sooners built up a 24-6 lead. From there it was all downhill as Oklahoma left Lubbock with an OT loss and a mediocre 6-6 record. Where do we begin? The defense started great before reverting back to what we had seen in the middle portions of the year. Dillon Gabriel played very well, yet the offense failed in multiple situational spots. Join us as we try and make sense of this very uncertain time in OU football. | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9

Lee opens the show by sharing some news about his evening plans that nobody will surely care about. But then we jump into our takeaways from Jeff Lebby's Monday press conference. What did we want to hear from OU's offensive coordinator? Lebby said he learned after the Bedlam game that OU's offense needs to stay aggressive. What do we make of that (1:50)? We got a brief glimpse into when Lebby thinks it's best to manage the clock in games. Grant rails on OU's tempo offense yet again. Is the tempo designed to cover up a simple offense (9:00)? Lebby addressed OU's 3rd down struggles of late. Lee still wants some Wildcat answers (17:30). We get Brent Venables' take on all the clock management issues. Do we sense a bit of a disconnect between Venables and Lebby (22:55)? OU's a small road favorite at Texas Tech. It's weird to feel good about the Sooners' defense going into a game while we are all left wondering what to make of the offense as they prepare to go to Lubbock (27:40). Is it possible we see Woodi Washington and C.J. Coldon return next season (44:00)? We take a look at the Big 12 slate in the final week of the regular season (46:10) before making our weekly picks and lamenting the possibility that USC will make the Playoff (53:45). Lee wants to talk about a random listener review from iTunes that was posted back in 2020 (1:15:45). And finally, we do our yearly rant against Thanksgiving food (1:21:40). | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9

It was Lee's first OU game as a "fan" since 2012 -- and boy was that a weird Bedlam. An incredible 1st Qtr gave way to a puzzling and frustrating final 3 Qtrs for the offense. The Sooners' defense was pretty darn good all night. We give the defense their due, before diving into the offensive ineptitude. At the end we read your "3-Word Reviews". | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9

Lee was shocked Bedlam got a 6:30 pm kickoff as the guys open the show talking briefly about why that probably happened. Then Lee decides to point out some positive things going for OU right now (3:20). OU's a healthy favorite in Bedlam, but is it possible Brent Venables has lost the locker room after last week's loss (13:20)? Is this a "must-win" game for OU (21:00)? We take a look at the rest of the Big 12 slate (33:20) before making our weekly picks against the spread (40:15). | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9

For the first time in the podcast's history, Lee & Grant sat down to record the show about 90 minutes after OU lost to WVU 23-20. Grant says the Mountaineers were begging to lose that game, but OU failed time and time again to put them away. For the first time this year, Lee's questioning whether the Sooners will make a bowl game (1:40). OU was awful on 3rd down, WVU was fantastic on 4th down, Eric Gray was the best player on the field, and the Sooners found a way to leave 18 points on the field in the first half. What's going on with Marvin Mims? Who's to blame for the OPI -- Theo Wease or Brayden Willis? (7:20). Is the Wildcat not in the playbook anymore (15:40)? One of the two bright spots for OU's offense came in the first half when the Sooners marched 96 yards to take a 10-0 lead. But all the momentum was wiped away after WVU answered with a quick TD of their own (20:00). WVU's defense was showing OU looks that could have been exploited in the passing game, but the Sooners didn't take them. Penalties and missed opportunities led to OU trailing 13-12 in the 3rd qtr (23:00). The offense had its second highlight of the afternoon going 59 yards to score and take a 20-13 lead. At this point it seemed like the Sooners maybe had righted the ship -- but then OU allowed WVU to convert on a fake punt and all hell broke loose. The refs picked up a flag that really hurt OU (26:20). Of course OU went 3 & out after WVU tied the game at 20. Jalil Farooq is OU's best WR right now (35:40). After the defense stepped up and got a stop, OU kept the ball on the ground exclusively. Grant says OU's tempo cost them. We question Venables' decision to kick a FG on 4th & short (37:40). WVU used up the final 6:24 to go down and kick a GW FG. Why didn't OU let WVU score with under a minute to go (43:00)? Lee says it's unacceptable for OU to be 5-5. Brent Venables is not going to get fired, but his seat is hot (47:40). OU leads the Big 12 in rushing and the offensive line looked to play pretty well. But it's crazy that best case scenario right now is 7-5 in the regular season. Lee reads some postgame quotes from Venables, including one on kicking a FG late (52:30). We read your "3-Word Reviews" to close out the show (59:55). | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9

Lee starts the show with some news that hopefully does not change the show too much. The guys then talk about a big time recruit decommiting. After that, Lee & Grant are perplexed by Brent Venables making an excuse about his defense being inexperienced (while saying he's not making excuses). We take a look at the upcoming matchup at West Virginia, the latest CFP rankings, and finally we make our weekly picks. | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9