West of Everest: An Oklahoma Football Podcast

No opening take. The guys jump right into the latest news that the College Football Playoff will not expand for the next 4 years (:40). Why must they announce at this point that the Playoff will not be expanded in the next 4 years? Why do they need so much buffer time to make any decision (5:45)? Remember last summer when we all thought an expanded playoff was a done deal and would be here sooner than later? Grant thinks the SEC is trying to eventually dominate everything about the sport. Lee wants to know how TV rights deals come into play here (15:30). Apparently there's some pushback on the idea of playing on campus playoff games. Automatic Qualifiers for the Playoff are also something everybody can't agree upon (22:20). Another reason why the expanded playoff proposal didn't pass was the idea of players playing extra games. Lee gives credit to a college football writer that we normally rip on during the show (33:20). Lee asks if we are missing anything when it comes to expanding the playoff? It seems like everybody is on the same side here. What else could be done to improve college football (39:30)? Of course the Rose Bowl is a big component as to what will happen with the Playoff in the future (49:00). Should OU want to stay in the Big 12 until the current media rights contract runs out (56:45)? What if we saw an immediate difference in OU in Game 1 against UTEP? Why does the national media all seem to think OU will not be any good in 2022? Do they not understand that Brent Venables is a pretty good coach and OU's still got a lot of pieces (1:03:25)? We finish the show by addressing some comments and questions from the WoE Facebook page (1:19:35). Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9

No opening take. The guys jump right into the latest news that the College Football Playoff will not expand for the next 4 years (:40). Why must they announce at this point that the Playoff will not be expanded in the next 4 years? Why do they need so much buffer time to make any decision (5:45)? Remember last summer when we all thought an expanded playoff was a done deal and would be here sooner than later? Grant thinks the SEC is trying to eventually dominate everything about the sport. Lee wants to know how TV rights deals come into play here (15:30). Apparently there's some pushback on the idea of playing on campus playoff games. Automatic Qualifiers for the Playoff are also something everybody can't agree upon (22:20). Another reason why the expanded playoff proposal didn't pass was the idea of players playing extra games. Lee gives credit to a college football writer that we normally rip on during the show (33:20). Lee asks if we are missing anything when it comes to expanding the playoff? It seems like everybody is on the same side here. What else could be done to improve college football (39:30)? Of course the Rose Bowl is a big component as to what will happen with the Playoff in the future (49:00). Should OU want to stay in the Big 12 until the current media rights contract runs out (56:45)? What if we saw an immediate difference in OU in Game 1 against UTEP? Why does the national media all seem to think OU will not be any good in 2022? Do they not understand that Brent Venables is a pretty good coach and OU's still got a lot of pieces (1:03:25)? We finish the show by addressing some comments and questions from the WoE Facebook page (1:19:35). Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9

No opening take today. Lincoln Riley's appearance on "The Herd" begins the show. We'll talk about Riley later. But first, Lee's changed podcast players & Grant thought the Super Bowl wasn't very good (3:45). Jeff Lebby recently said Dillon Gabriel is OU's quarterback right now. It's not a big deal, but it is a big deal because the last head coach always conducted sham QB competitions (14:10). Lee points to a recent Berry Tramel column praising OU's recent truth telling and how it's refreshing to see some honesty after Lincoln Riley seemed to lie more than he needed to. Grant wishes we had known more about Riley's shortcomings behind the scenes during the 2021 season. Lee will follow USC more closely than any other non-OU team moving forward (25:00). We try to figure out why so many OU fans and media members were annoyed/angry with Lincoln Riley's recent comments on "The Herd" (46:05). Riley's trying to win football games by accepting former OU players into his program. Will Brent Venables continue his standard of not accepting former Clemson players to OU (55:20)? If Riley told Caleb Williams, Mario Williams, and Latrell McCutchin that he would not accept them to USC, would all three of those players still be at OU now (1:03:10)? We get back to the Super Bowl. Why was Samaje Perine in the game instead of Joe Mixon on the final two plays? Zac Taylor's explanation makes sense, but it also doesn't make him look very good. Was the Bengals one of the worst Super Bowl teams in a while? Lee's annoyed that Joe Burrow couldn't move at the end of the game (1:05:25). Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9

No opening take today. Lincoln Riley's appearance on "The Herd" begins the show. We'll talk about Riley later. But first, Lee's changed podcast players & Grant thought the Super Bowl wasn't very good (3:45). Jeff Lebby recently said Dillon Gabriel is OU's quarterback right now. It's not a big deal, but it is a big deal because the last head coach always conducted sham QB competitions (14:10). Lee points to a recent Berry Tramel column praising OU's recent truth telling and how it's refreshing to see some honesty after Lincoln Riley seemed to lie more than he needed to. Grant wishes we had known more about Riley's shortcomings behind the scenes during the 2021 season. Lee will follow USC more closely than any other non-OU team moving forward (25:00). We try to figure out why so many OU fans and media members were annoyed/angry with Lincoln Riley's recent comments on "The Herd" (46:05). Riley's trying to win football games by accepting former OU players into his program. Will Brent Venables continue his standard of not accepting former Clemson players to OU (55:20)? If Riley told Caleb Williams, Mario Williams, and Latrell McCutchin that he would not accept them to USC, would all three of those players still be at OU now (1:03:10)? We get back to the Super Bowl. Why was Samaje Perine in the game instead of Joe Mixon on the final two plays? Zac Taylor's explanation makes sense, but it also doesn't make him look very good. Was the Bengals one of the worst Super Bowl teams in a while? Lee's annoyed that Joe Burrow couldn't move at the end of the game (1:05:25). Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9

No opening take today. Lincoln Riley's appearance on "The Herd" begins the show. We'll talk about Riley later. But first, Lee's changed podcast players & Grant thought the Super Bowl wasn't very good (3:45). Jeff Lebby recently said Dillon Gabriel is OU's quarterback right now. It's not a big deal, but it is a big deal because the last head coach always conducted sham QB competitions (14:10). Lee points to a recent Berry Tramel column praising OU's recent truth telling and how it's refreshing to see some honesty after Lincoln Riley seemed to lie more than he needed to. Grant wishes we had known more about Riley's shortcomings behind the scenes during the 2021 season. Lee will follow USC more closely than any other non-OU team moving forward (25:00). We try to figure out why so many OU fans and media members were annoyed/angry with Lincoln Riley's recent comments on "The Herd" (46:05). Riley's trying to win football games by accepting former OU players into his program. Will Brent Venables continue his standard of not accepting former Clemson players to OU (55:20)? If Riley told Caleb Williams, Mario Williams, and Latrell McCutchin that he would not accept them to USC, would all three of those players still be at OU now (1:03:10)? We get back to the Super Bowl. Why was Samaje Perine in the game instead of Joe Mixon on the final two plays? Zac Taylor's explanation makes sense, but it also doesn't make him look very good. Was the Bengals one of the worst Super Bowl teams in a while? Lee's annoyed that Joe Burrow couldn't move at the end of the game (1:05:25). Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9

In the opening take, Grant closes the book on Caleb Williams' college decision. Then Lee joins to tee Grant up to gloat about correctly thinking that Jaxson Dart would likely go to Ole Miss (3:00). Caleb Williams is going to USC more than a month after entering the transfer portal. How long will it take Lincoln Riley to get USC in position to compete for a Pac 12 Title? USC's roster is not very good. Can Alex Grinch immediately improve USC's defense the same way he helped OU's defense in Year 1 (7:45)? Wisconsin seemed to become a serious possibility for Caleb Williams. Lee explains why he started to buy Madison as Williams' destination, while Grant never thought Wisconsin was really in play. Will we ever get the full story of what went into the last month with Caleb Williams (23:55)? Joel Klatt tweeted that USC could be a top 10 team and a dark horse National Title contender in 2022. Will Lincoln Riley evolve as a head coach? We're rooting against him (29:15). Grant's super impressed with Brent Venables' ability to salvage OU's 2022 signing class (37:55). Lee wants to talk about Coy Eakin, the HS recruit who caught their eye in December during the Texas HS Football State Championship games. Plus we're happy Heritage Hall's Gavin Freeman is not leaving the state and is going to OU (40:40). We turn our attention to our preseason predictions from August of 2021. Listen in to hear what we got right, and what we got wrong about the 2021 college football season. We begin with Grant being way off on Eric Gray's production (49:15). Both guys anticipated Marvin Mims to be OU's leading pass catcher, Grant picked the wrong DB to lead OU in tackles, and there was a time when we wondered if OU's defense would get to 60 sacks in a season (55:30). Caleb Williams came out of nowhere to be the most important offensive player besides Spencer Rattler, Lee's pick for most important defensive player was kinda wrong, but also kinda right (1:01:35). Drake Stoops turned out to be the most underrated offensive player while Justin Broiles came out of nowhere to be the most underrated defensive player. Billy Bowman had a lot of hype in fall camp, but he wasn't the most impacful true freshman (1:04:40). OU's trap game and then it's funny looking back at our thoughts on what OU's "worst case scenario" would be (1:09:50). Grant thought OU would go unbeaten in the regular season and he was off on TCU -- BUT Grant absolutley nailed Iowa State (1:21:40). We finish off the show with a look back at all of our National college football predictions (1:29:30). Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9

In the opening take, Grant closes the book on Caleb Williams' college decision. Then Lee joins to tee Grant up to gloat about correctly thinking that Jaxson Dart would likely go to Ole Miss (3:00). Caleb Williams is going to USC more than a month after entering the transfer portal. How long will it take Lincoln Riley to get USC in position to compete for a Pac 12 Title? USC's roster is not very good. Can Alex Grinch immediately improve USC's defense the same way he helped OU's defense in Year 1 (7:45)? Wisconsin seemed to become a serious possibility for Caleb Williams. Lee explains why he started to buy Madison as Williams' destination, while Grant never thought Wisconsin was really in play. Will we ever get the full story of what went into the last month with Caleb Williams (23:55)? Joel Klatt tweeted that USC could be a top 10 team and a dark horse National Title contender in 2022. Will Lincoln Riley evolve as a head coach? We're rooting against him (29:15). Grant's super impressed with Brent Venables' ability to salvage OU's 2022 signing class (37:55). Lee wants to talk about Coy Eakin, the HS recruit who caught their eye in December during the Texas HS Football State Championship games. Plus we're happy Heritage Hall's Gavin Freeman is not leaving the state and is going to OU (40:40). We turn our attention to our preseason predictions from August of 2021. Listen in to hear what we got right, and what we got wrong about the 2021 college football season. We begin with Grant being way off on Eric Gray's production (49:15). Both guys anticipated Marvin Mims to be OU's leading pass catcher, Grant picked the wrong DB to lead OU in tackles, and there was a time when we wondered if OU's defense would get to 60 sacks in a season (55:30). Caleb Williams came out of nowhere to be the most important offensive player besides Spencer Rattler, Lee's pick for most important defensive player was kinda wrong, but also kinda right (1:01:35). Drake Stoops turned out to be the most underrated offensive player while Justin Broiles came out of nowhere to be the most underrated defensive player. Billy Bowman had a lot of hype in fall camp, but he wasn't the most impacful true freshman (1:04:40). OU's trap game and then it's funny looking back at our thoughts on what OU's "worst case scenario" would be (1:09:50). Grant thought OU would go unbeaten in the regular season and he was off on TCU -- BUT Grant absolutley nailed Iowa State (1:21:40). We finish off the show with a look back at all of our National college football predictions (1:29:30). Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9

In the opening take, Grant closes the book on Caleb Williams' college decision. Then Lee joins to tee Grant up to gloat about correctly thinking that Jaxson Dart would likely go to Ole Miss (3:00). Caleb Williams is going to USC more than a month after entering the transfer portal. How long will it take Lincoln Riley to get USC in position to compete for a Pac 12 Title? USC's roster is not very good. Can Alex Grinch immediately improve USC's defense the same way he helped OU's defense in Year 1 (7:45)? Wisconsin seemed to become a serious possibility for Caleb Williams. Lee explains why he started to buy Madison as Williams' destination, while Grant never thought Wisconsin was really in play. Will we ever get the full story of what went into the last month with Caleb Williams (23:55)? Joel Klatt tweeted that USC could be a top 10 team and a dark horse National Title contender in 2022. Will Lincoln Riley evolve as a head coach? We're rooting against him (29:15). Grant's super impressed with Brent Venables' ability to salvage OU's 2022 signing class (37:55). Lee wants to talk about Coy Eakin, the HS recruit who caught their eye in December during the Texas HS Football State Championship games. Plus we're happy Heritage Hall's Gavin Freeman is not leaving the state and is going to OU (40:40). We turn our attention to our preseason predictions from August of 2021. Listen in to hear what we got right, and what we got wrong about the 2021 college football season. We begin with Grant being way off on Eric Gray's production (49:15). Both guys anticipated Marvin Mims to be OU's leading pass catcher, Grant picked the wrong DB to lead OU in tackles, and there was a time when we wondered if OU's defense would get to 60 sacks in a season (55:30). Caleb Williams came out of nowhere to be the most important offensive player besides Spencer Rattler, Lee's pick for most important defensive player was kinda wrong, but also kinda right (1:01:35). Drake Stoops turned out to be the most underrated offensive player while Justin Broiles came out of nowhere to be the most underrated defensive player. Billy Bowman had a lot of hype in fall camp, but he wasn't the most impacful true freshman (1:04:40). OU's trap game and then it's funny looking back at our thoughts on what OU's "worst case scenario" would be (1:09:50). Grant thought OU would go unbeaten in the regular season and he was off on TCU -- BUT Grant absolutley nailed Iowa State (1:21:40). We finish off the show with a look back at all of our National college football predictions (1:29:30). Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9

In the opening take, Lee likes that Brent Venables has added a healthy amount of analysts to his support staff so far. Then Grant joins to talk about Marvin Mims still being on the OU roster, but could he still leave at some point (5:30)? We take a look at OU's wide receivers and the outlook for 2022 (19:10). Grant got some criticism for his initial Dillon Gabriel take on the podcast. Has he changed his mind at all? Lee also wasn't all that excited about Gabriel when he first committed. Lee tells you the perceived strengths and weaknesses he sees in Gabriel (26:00). Grant is still very worried that OU will not be very good in 2022. He also does not expect the defense to be good in 2022. Lee disagrees (52:30). We transition to OU's interest in Jaxson Dart. Lee goes over what he's seen from Dart on tape. Lee thinks there's a good chance OU gets Dart, while Grant doesn't think it's going to happen. This part gets a bit heated when they debate the stability of OU's program. How will Dillon Gabriel being at OU impact Jaxson Dart's decision (59:00)? Mario Williams and Latrell McCutchin are going to USC (1:15:30). Grant tries to explain why he's playing Devil's Advocate on OU's 2022 season (1:19:35). Roy Manning's back to coaching linebackers at USC. Jay Valai gets Gentry Williams locked down plus Lee praises Valai's Alabama corners vs. Georgia (1:30:30). OU's brought in a lot of transfer players lately. Todd Bates is doing work. Lee's more excited about the transfers than Grant. Keeping with the theme of the podcast. We also talk about OU's new defensive staff vs. OU's previous defensive staff (1:36:20). Caleb Williams still has not decided. What if he randomly comes back to OU? Wisconsin is a possibility? Really? Will we know more about Williams' decision by Friday (1:49:00)? | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9

In the opening take, Lee likes that Brent Venables has added a healthy amount of analysts to his support staff so far. Then Grant joins to talk about Marvin Mims still being on the OU roster, but could he still leave at some point (5:30)? We take a look at OU's wide receivers and the outlook for 2022 (19:10). Grant got some criticism for his initial Dillon Gabriel take on the podcast. Has he changed his mind at all? Lee also wasn't all that excited about Gabriel when he first committed. Lee tells you the perceived strengths and weaknesses he sees in Gabriel (26:00). Grant is still very worried that OU will not be very good in 2022. He also does not expect the defense to be good in 2022. Lee disagrees (52:30). We transition to OU's interest in Jaxson Dart. Lee goes over what he's seen from Dart on tape. Lee thinks there's a good chance OU gets Dart, while Grant doesn't think it's going to happen. This part gets a bit heated when they debate the stability of OU's program. How will Dillon Gabriel being at OU impact Jaxson Dart's decision (59:00)? Mario Williams and Latrell McCutchin are going to USC (1:15:30). Grant tries to explain why he's playing Devil's Advocate on OU's 2022 season (1:19:35). Roy Manning's back to coaching linebackers at USC. Jay Valai gets Gentry Williams locked down plus Lee praises Valai's Alabama corners vs. Georgia (1:30:30). OU's brought in a lot of transfer players lately. Todd Bates is doing work. Lee's more excited about the transfers than Grant. Keeping with the theme of the podcast. We also talk about OU's new defensive staff vs. OU's previous defensive staff (1:36:20). Caleb Williams still has not decided. What if he randomly comes back to OU? Wisconsin is a possibility? Really? Will we know more about Williams' decision by Friday (1:49:00)? | Like the show on Facebook: @westofeverest | Follow Grant on Twitter: @GrantBenson25 | Follow Lee on Twitter: @LeeBensonNews9