OSU Insider- Inside The Buckeyes Defensive Scheme For The 2026 Season

0:00This is Bired Winthrop, founder of American Giant. We make all our clothing right here in the US with American cotton and American workers. Get 20% off your first order when you use code giant20 at american-giant.com. This podcast is sponsored by Talkspace. Last year, I went through many different life changes. I needed to take a pause and examine how I was feeling and the inside to better show up for the ones who need me to be my best version of myself. When your navigating life's changes, Talkspace can help. Talkspace is the number one rated online therapy, bringing you professional support from licensed therapists and psychiatry providers that you can access anytime, anywhere. Living a busy life, navigating a long-distance relationship, becoming a first step father, Talkspace made all of those journeys possible. I could speak with my therapist in the office. I could speak with my therapist in the comfort of my home. I was never alone. Talkspace works with most major insurers and most insured members have a zero dollar copay.

1:01No insurance, no problem. Now get $80 off your first month with promo code space80 when you go to Talkspace.com. Match with a licensed therapist today at Talkspace.com. Save $80 with code space80 at Talkspace.com. Access to affordable credit helps me pay my employees that I don't really need it. Infliction is killing me. Who cares? Big retailers and making a record profits. That's why we support the Durban Marshall credit card bill. See? Banks and credit unions help small businesses make payroll. This bill would cut the vital resources they need. While increasing Megastore profits. They deserve it. Don't they? Tell Congress, stop the Durban Marshall money grab for corporate megastores. Paid for it by the Electronic Payments Coalition. Hello. Hey. What's good? Everybody, happy, hump day, Wednesday.

2:01Hope all as well with you. Always a pleasure to see y'all, especially you book our scoop folks in the chat, always cooking per usual. I see y'all going strong, usual suspects. Mark Swick, when stars align, stilly Matt, all the usuals was good. Y'all row tied for life. What's up? Do me a favor, hit the like button if you have not already done so. Please consider subscribing, hit that subscribe button. We're getting closer to our 40k mark. We will greatly appreciate it if you do that. And then for the people who don't always do YouTube, Apple people go to Apple podcast, save us there. The non-Apple folks like me go to spreeker.com and save us there. We're going to be talking about some inside the defensive scheme for 2026, really good nugget on the Buckeye scoop board from the second wise men today. And we're going to dig into that amongst a few other things. But also, remember when you send those wonderful super chats, helps to go towards the pay afford,

3:03which is our military and our first responders. We're going to look out for them because they always look out for us. As I bring Nevada in, we're going to just want to get straight to it and say, rest in peace to the legend, Lou Holtz. Lou Holtz, he's a heck of a guy. Over the years, we've experienced a lot with him. He was a Buckeye assistant. Obviously, legendary Notre Dame head coach been in television for years. You had the Ryan Day back and forth stuff, the Laerty Pat McAfee. Whatever you got to say about Lou Holtz, he's a legend. And so we say, RIP to Lou Holtz, Nevada. Yeah, I liked Lou Holtz. I liked Lou Holtz. He was a guilty pleasure of mine. And back to, I remember when Woody got fired and they were looking for a placement. And I was just praying it was going to be Holtz because he'd been so good at Arkansas. I thought he would just be perfect for our state.

4:05He just didn't want to replace the legend. He just thought that was going to be too hard, which I totally get. And yeah, in the later years, he got a little goofy. And it's kind of, we live in the goofy era. We live in this goofy era of social media where the goofy you are, the more attention you get. And all attention is good. There's no such thing as bad attention anymore. I think he kind of took that to heart and kind of went over the top of some of this stuff. But now I like Lou Holtz, Rest in Peach coach, and I always thought he was just an absolutely fantastic college coach and an integrated interview and a guy that really answered the interesting things to sign. Yeah, he was an excellent interview. I mean, he was a troll. Lou Holtz was a troll. And he was funny. Like, he had me crack it up like at times. Now, remember, y'all, he used to go hard for a house state with Mark May. Remember him and Mark May show? And Mark May would do his usual house state hate. And here come Lou Holtz hitting him with bars for a house state.

5:09And I don't, I don't, I'll never forget that. That was always great. And yeah, I wonder what Pat McAfee is going to do on his show now with the late Lou Holtz. Will they continue that skit? I mean, it was such a hit for them. You know what I'm saying? What do you do now? But yeah, Lou Holtz, Rest in Peace, man. I mean, he's college football. All my life, Lou Holtz, he's been around. He's been a staple. So definitely a tough loss for the college football today, Nevada. Yeah, no doubt. And you know, it's one of those things where you just, it reminds you to how deep the house state coaching tree is with you. Look at that 1968 staff and look at all the guys on that staff and all the guys that are coming through the years. And, you know, that's why Ohio State's top of the football, you know, certainly top of the football world now and has been there for a long time. And it's just great part of the tradition of Ohio State

6:09is these great coaches that once coached your youngness. Definitely. Let me, let me do this because you know how they, on TV, they say, RIP to the person and they showed a picture. I got to show a picture. RIP Lou Holtz, 1937 to 2026. There you have it. Man, lived a long life. All right, all right. So listen, let's get into this delicious nugget we, we dined on today on Buckeye Scoop involving the 2026 defensive scheme. And Nevada, I really want you to kick it off is from the second wiseman talking about Patricia, what he learned from this one season in college football and what we're looking to implement in 2026 after really, you know, having a year to assess himself in self-scout and to see what mistakes he made and what he could have did better and things like that. Man, I thought that was an excellent nugget, Nevada.

7:11What you got? Well, yeah. I mean, I mean, Patricia obviously is a guy that he was very pleased with how they did, you know, in year one, you know, historically good type of performance. But, you know, you're always looking for improvement. And the one thing that was notable him coming into the season last year in the one of the cracks against him was he never coached at the college level. And, you know, college football is different than the NFL. And, you know, as he did kind of his end of year assessment of, you know, what he did well, what he could do differently, what he wants to improve upon. One of the things that really kind of stuck out to him was the fact that he didn't feel like they pressured enough last year. He felt like they spent too much time on simulated pressures and, you know, given the appearance of pressure and doing a really good job of disguising their intentions there. But in college football, you're less apt to get burnt by bringing pressure than you are in the NFL

8:12because the NFL, you get burned over the top and you also get burned a lot, exclusively with the screen game a lot. In college football, not so much. So I think for Ohio State, you know, one of the things they want to do in 2026 is they want to bring more pressure and they want to, they want to try to, you know, create more turnovers and they want to create more negative plays because, you know, last year we, you know, for a defense that was as good as we were, we didn't create a lot of turnovers. You know, I'm saying you look where a turnover ranking was, it wasn't, you know, top of the thing like we were in yards and, you know, possessions and points and things like that. So I think he's just looking to kind of fine tune that and one of the, that's kind of the overall strategy and one of the tactics that they're going to be doing to kind of implement that is implementing kind of a stand-up defense event scheme. And, you know, people say why stand-up defense event? What's the difference in your stand-up defense event and I, you know, hand in the dirt defense event. And the idea is that, you know, while what you give up is a little stoutness

9:15against the run because, clearly, it's easier to take on a blocker when you've hit your hand in the dirt. If you're looking to attack, you know, going forward, attacking, going back, attacking laterally, discouraging the better attack angles to the quarterback, it's a heck of a lot easier to do than to stand it up. So I think those are the couple of things that you're going to be seeing from Ohio State is, you know, an emphasis on pressure and, you know, a increased relevance of stand-up defense events as they kind of go into the 2026s. And with a lot of new bodies, they feel like they can get stuff going from the inside with Edward Custin, with James Smith, with John Walker. They can get, you know, some push from the inside, but from the outside, I think you're going to look at those stand-up defense events and more jailhouse break-type of pressures to kind of put the heat on the quarterback. So thought it was interesting, and certainly something that's going to be a slight change for 2026 and the continued evolution for the Ohio State Buckhead defense.

10:16Yeah, I'm glad you brought up the stand-up. It was in my notes, actually. I had a buddy of mine who reached out and said, hey, B, like, did you hear Patricia's last comment on his interview with a good morning football? And he mentioned he was talking to the guy about his son. He said he was, his new thing is stand-up defense events. So he hit me up and said, do you think we're moving to a three-four now? And I went back and listen to the comment. And I said, first of all, no, I don't think we're going to fundamentally change from a four, three, two, a three, four. We've been four, three, four, two, five, base defense for years. I don't see that changing. However, you can still have stand-up defense events and different looks and different packages with your four, three still being the base. You don't have to change the three, four. Now, I understand it into three, four. It's complimentary to what you like to do in a three, four. You know, with the outside linebacker and being able to do things fluidly, schematically from a three-four standpoint

11:17with a stand-up defense event, I get that. But that doesn't mean you have to fundamentally change from a four, three. So I don't see that happening. Before I even go on, I got more to say, but do you agree Nevada that we're not changing to a three, four, just based off of that, correct? No, I absolutely do not believe that we're changing from, but I think we're going to be doing things differently. I think they are going to try to attack differently, but it will not be a three, four. It'll still be a traditional four, three, four. Because you may have one guy with a stand-up that don't want one end, and one guy stand up on the other side too, you know what I'm saying? So there's a lot of different variations of that, but I think our base is going to be four, three for sure. Yeah, and I mean, even think back when Chase Young was here, we were doing some funky things on pre-snap. We had guys, we had like three guys, three or four guys standing and roaming the line. You know what I mean? Which was confusing was against Penn State. And so it wasn't only against Penn State, and I think we did it against a couple of teams. The point is, there's things you can do

12:18to really diversify your front without changing fundamentally what your base is. And that's kind of the point I wanted to bring home. Did you want to say something else? No, no, I think that spot on and I think for Ohio State, you know, look, they did such a great job of disguising cards. I think they're going to be trying to do more of that with this kind of delayed disguise, kind of the dark looks that Seattle sea ox have been doing. But I think that for Patricia, it's been a big deal that he realizes that, hey, it's one thing to bring, you know, to bring pressure 20%, 30% time, but you can probably get away with it at a higher clip in the college football than you can in NFL. And he's got our justice game to reflect that. Yeah, and I'm looking at the nugget again. You know what, when I was reading this Nevada, you know what got me excited? Access to affordable credit helps me pay my employees that I don't really need it. Inflation is killing me.

13:19Who cares? Big retailers are making record profits. That's why we support the Durban Marshall credit card bill. See, banks and credit unions help small businesses make payroll. And this bill would cut the vital resources they need. While increasing Megastore profits. They deserve it, don't they? Tell Congress stop the Durban Marshall money grab for corporate megastores paid for by the Electronic Payments Coalition. Access to affordable credit helps me pay my employees that I don't really need it. Inflation is killing me. Who cares? Big retailers are making record profits. That's why we support the Durban Marshall credit card bill. See, banks and credit unions help small businesses make payroll. This bill would cut the vital resources they need. While increasing Megastore profits. They deserve it, don't they? Tell Congress stop the Durban Marshall money grab for corporate megastores, paid for by the Electronic Payments Coalition. Access to affordable credit helps me pay my employees that I don't really need it.

14:19Inflation is killing me. Who cares? Big retailers are making record profits. That's why we support the Durban Marshall credit card bill. See, banks and credit unions help small businesses make payroll. This bill would cut the vital resources they need. While increasing Megastore profits. They deserve it, don't they? Tell Congress stop the Durban Marshall money grab for corporate megastores, paid for by the Electronic Payments Coalition. Just visualizing as I was reading, it was on the point number three, talking about Andrew Euston, James Smith, and John Walker. And the live before that mentions Kenya out of Jackson. Like, I don't know about it. I don't think people understand. First of all, Andrew Euston is really good. I think Andrew Euston is going to have, this is just my opinion. Member Tyleek Williams, we heard about him having flashes, but he wasn't quite full goal because he couldn't, his conditioning wasn't right. His mindset wasn't right early coming in

15:21to be able to really be consistent with his conditioning, hence why he couldn't really be as consistent on the field. But we had heard he was flashing. Andrew Euston, I think he's a great kid, has some rough spots going here and there coming in. I think he's about to break out and have his Tyleek break out here. Like what this dude is a dog. Consistency is what we're going to see this year, but James Smith and John Walker, both of them are very good. Like imagine them on the line together with Kenyatta. Like I'm just imagine that line up in the front four. To me, I think that's pretty lethal, man. Are you as excited and that's not all we have, but that combination to me, I think could be really brutal, especially with what Matt Patricia does, because as you see in the nugget, they're very versatile. Look at their tape. They can all do a lot of different things. So Nevada, what's your thoughts on that? Well, I think we're probably not as excited about Kenyatta Jackson

16:23as we should be. I'm saying I think that the him coming back was a really big deal. That was a really big deal, because he was a good player last year, but he kind of like Caden Curry was a good player in 2024, but then he became a great player in 2025. I really think Kenyatta Jackson is going to take us, he has a similar trajectory and can make a similar impact. And I think to have two, because I look at that as having two starters back, because anyway, they look at it. Evercuse him is a starting capable. You know what I'm saying? He's a starter. And when you get that and Kenyatta now, it's like you've got two year four guys back, and I think you've got, you know, potential to have a really good defensive line. And yeah, no, I'm excited about Kenyatta Jackson. And John Walker, John Walker's a guy that wanted to come to Ohio State in the beginning had some issues with homesickness or whatever it was that couldn't make the thing work, but he really, I mean, he's a load. He's a big two. Everybody in talk to you is like,

17:23that's a big man down there, down there thing. And you know, Ohio State doesn't, you know, other teams have got good defense alignment as well. And he's certainly one of those guys that looks the part and certainly I expect him to have a nice impact on Ohio State in 2026. And let me go over the depth chart for the defensive line, just to kind of give people a visual of what we're working with. So you got Kenyatta Jackson starter, Bo Ackinson and Cory Wilder. Now listen, let's go back to Bo Ackinson real quick. So Bo Ackinson did not make the impact that we were hoping he would make last year. We saw him flash at times. It was times where he did make plays. Like, okay, that was a good play, but it wasn't like, oh, he's an impact clear. He was really good at North Carolina. And we know that the transition from North Carolina with his physicality, his strength, I should say, had, you know, needed to increase. So we got a whole season and a whole off season for Bo Ackinson to really step up.

18:25Cause I think Nevada, and I'll park right here before I keep going. I want to keep going through the depth chart, but how much of thoughts I have not given up on Bo Ackinson. I think he still has a chance to be a very good contributor in this, in this too deep. What do you think about Bo? I completely agree. I, I, I completely, I mean, he just needed to get stronger. You know what, he's bigger and stronger this year than he was last year. And, you know, he's always been bendy. He's always had a nice first off the line. Great kid. Oh, how state believes in him. You know, we've talked about this before. If they didn't, they would have run him off. He's around for a reason. And again, if you look at what he's, you know, again, I hate to keep going back to Caden Curry, but it's a very recent example of a guy that had been okay. And then went from okay to, wow, really, really freaking good. I mean, Bo Atkinson certainly has had more success at the Caden Curry did come in the last year. So, you know, why not? Why couldn't he make a jump?

19:25Why couldn't he be an impact player? He's a guy that certainly could, you know, it could be a favorable surprise for the butt guys this year. Definitely. So yeah, we agree on that real quick. Chose and what's up, homie? This is a young lady I went to church with years ago, like old school. I know I just randomly just brought that out, it's great to see you. Just wanted to shout you out real quick. All right, let's get back to this depth chart. So the other names here, because again, when you think about Nevada, people kind of forget guys. If they don't see them, they forget them. All right, now I mentioned Curry Wilder. That's an incoming freshman that everyone's raving about already turning heads. I think he's going to work his way into the lineup on third down and rush the passer. I think that he's going to earn plan time. But on the flip side, you got Zion Grady. Zion Grady made plays last year. He flashed and looked good as a true freshman.

20:27And so, and I know Larry Johnson loves him. And so I'm excited about Zion Grady. And then you got Kwei. I always want to call him Kwaa because it's spelled Q-A Kwaa Rasa. Actually Kwaa Rasa flows better than Kwei Rasa, but it's not my name, so let me stop. But anyway, another kid from Alabama who has some talent, who watch film. I think James Smith is probably the higher the, how can I put it? The more sure of a bet to make an impact, but Kwei has talent. And then you got Epi K. Great kid. I had the pleasure of helping Devon interview him last year. Just great kid, great family, and talent it. And so he actually has a, I mean, if you look at him quickly, he kind of looks like JT Tui Malo out there with the hair out the helmet and even the size and everything. But yeah, that's for the defensive ends. I wanted to call them out.

21:27What do you think about that depth right there at defensive end, Nevada? Yeah, well, I think it's, you know, it's some of it's young, some of it's untested, some of it's new, you know, we got, but it's a lot of guys. And I think we're gonna find out a lot in Springborne. See, I'm of the opinion that if we utilize these guys correctly, like everybody doesn't need to be Will Smith or everybody doesn't need to be Chase Young or the Bose. I think if you use guys, you know, correctly, I mean, heck, I feel like CJ Hicks could have been of great impact on us that had these hung around. You know, our, our voice, I thought it was underutilized and potentially, you know, potentially potentially great past rush or analysis. So I think you can get guys and you can get, you know, past rush in a lot of different ways. There's probably some other linebackers that we haven't even talked about that could slide down that defensive end position and provide, you know, you know, right? Riley Petit, you could stand Riley Petit John on the outside and I don't, I don't doubt that he could do good things. So I think there's a lot of different ways that you can do it.

22:29I think there's a lot of good things that you can do with the defensive end position. But the last few recruiting classes that Larry Johnson have been in have been top notch. These, these, we have gotten, you know, and lots of them. So it's been, it's not only been quality, it's been quantity as well. And I just have no doubt that they're gonna, they're gonna step up, there's a wide open opportunity for some guys to step up in spring ball. And I think we'll, we'll see it in spring. I think I think these guys will make it in the immediate impact and it'll, it'll be noticeable. Yep. And then of course, the nugget also talks about rolling linebackers up to the edge to bring pressure. And so I love that because guys like Petty John are big and fast and then Alfred. Don't sleep on Alfred. Like to me, Alfred reminds me of Jerome Baker. This as far as his speed, his size, the way he moves, it reminds me of Jerome Baker. And so we got some talent. And I'm not even mentioning to Wisconsin Ali Agro

23:30who's a really good seasoned linebacker. I mean, like he's a proven good linebacker in the Big Ten from Wisconsin. And then of course, Peyton Pierce. And you know, we got guys, they just need to step up and produce. But let me get to these DNs. And so I'm sorry, the detacles. So I mentioned James Smith, Ezra Houston, Jason Moore. We've been talking about him. And the fact that that he's still here is proof that they still believe in him. And then of course, John Walker mentioned him. Will Smith Jr., just mentioned in a manual ruffin who Devon brought up the other day. And I was like, oh, yeah, I kind of forgot about him. Kid out Alabama, is it Alabama? Yeah, he's for Alabama. Like a big boy. I mean, I think we got some good young talent and some good experienced talent. I think this D-line can be really good. Because again, Will Smith Jr. made some plays last year when he had opportunities. So we got guys that are either going to really show

24:33why they should be a first round pick, like Ken Yada Jackson, Andrew Houston, even James Smith. And there'll be got some guys who are looking to make a move to say, hey, I belong in this too deep. Or you need to put me in critical moments on third, now to get to the quarterback. Because I'm that impactful type kids. And so very curious. I just wanted to go through the defensive line because that nugget got me excited about the combinations of these kids that we're bringing in from the portal. And that what we got coming back in Ken Yada Jackson, Nevada. Access to affordable credit helps me pay my employees. But I don't really need it. Infliction is killing me. Who cares? Big retailers and making record profits. That's why we support the Durban Marshall credit card bill. See, things in credit unions help small businesses make payroll. And this bill would cut the vital resources they need. While increasing Megastore profits.

25:33They deserve it, don't they? Tell Congress, stop the Durban Marshall money grab for corporate megastores paid for by the Electronic Payments Coalition. Every day the world gets a little weirder and a lot more awesome. Cool stuff daily takes a look at everything from mining in space to the latest in the fight against cancer to how AI is basically changing everything. It's all the cool stuff you didn't know. You need it to know. Join us for cool stuff daily as we take a quick look at science, tech, and the wait, what stories that make you sound way smarter at dinner. Subscribe to cool stuff daily now because the future is happening fast and it's way too fun to miss. Hi, this is Alex Cantrowitz. I'm the host of Big Technology podcast, a long time reporter and an on-air contributor to CNBC. And if you're like me, you're trying to figure out how artificial intelligence is changing the business world and our lives. So each week on Big Technology, I bring on key actors from companies building AI tech and outsiders trying to influence it.

26:37Asking where this is all going. They come from places like Nvidia, Microsoft, Amazon, and plenty more. So if you want to be smart with your wallet, your career choices, and meetings with your colleagues and at dinner parties, listen to Big Technology podcast wherever you get your podcasts. Yeah, and there's just, look, there's a lot of what you need to create pressure in modern football in 2026 is you need to disguise your scheme and you need athleticism. And that's the one thing. If we've learned anything from the combine, from everything else that's been going on in our house, that is that we have athleticism to burn. And that's why I kid like Travis Alford, I mean, he's going to have a chance. Because he's so athletic, so he's so fast, he's so explosive. That I think that in the right scheme with Patricia doing the right types of things, I think we can do it. I don't think you don't just need to have the great past pressure moves. Now, we're blessed because you've got a guy like Carter Wilder who's got the great past pressure moves, who's got, I mean, he could be elite simply on his own,

27:39but you surround him with good scheme on top of that. Yeah, I mean, I think for, I can tell you that Patricia is telling people he does not believe there's going to be a big fall off of this defense in 2026. And, you know, I remember last year, I would have, I would have bet anything. It certainly said, hey, is the defense game statistically better than 2024? I would have said, not a chance in heck. You heard him say, and so I would have bet against that heavily and I would, I would have lost, you know, because they actually improved. They improved by every metric in 2025 or 2025. Now, I'm not saying they're going to improve again over 9.3 points again or whatever the heck it was, but he doesn't believe that the fall off needs to be precipitous. He really likes the untaught. He's excited about the guys in the room and he's really excited about the scheme that they're going to be presenting. So that makes me very excited. Me too. Mark Swick, posting your comment, anyone else besides me had that excited to see the kicker know. I'm excited.

28:40Nevada, I want to see in the spring game, you know how we stop, okay, stop, now kick it again or whatever. I want to see him go out there and just effortlessly nail 50 yard field goals. Like with 10 yards of spare, you know what I'm saying? Just one of those like just confidence. Like, man, we got us one. That's what I want to see because we just haven't been confident in our kicking game. It seems like for years in Nevada. Yeah, no, I mean, what I can say this year is we probably have more competition at the kicker spot that we've got more viable options for both place kickers and for punters than we've ever had at Ohio State. You know, typically you have like the one guy and maybe a young guy behind him. But we've got three capable kickers and obviously the battle guy is, you know, he's got the swagger, he seems to have the inside track is kicking something you can do year round. You can kind of tell who's got the live leg and things like that. But yeah, I mean, we'll see.

29:41But, you know, I like the fact that there's an increased emphasis on special teams at Ohio State by virtue of the fact that they've actually hired a special team's coach. They've gone out and, you know, in the portals, some of our big exact, not in your first acquisitions, we're special teams players down to long snappers and things, you know what I'm saying? So we're really going after special teams, you know, in earnest and we'll see if it pays off. I've always maintained that not paying attention to special teams results in your special teams not being special. And I think now we're putting the emphasis in. We've got the coaches there. We've got the emphasis on it. Now let's see if we can notice the difference. I think we will, but let it check to be seen. Yeah, and once again, the natural, it seems almost impossible to be better through your straight. Like, I'm highlighting this comment because Nevada is so true. Like to me, it would have been perfectly logical and reasonable to say, because I know what I said.

30:41I said, we're still going to be good. We're not going to be as good, but we're still going to be good. And statistically, we were better or just as good. So with this year, again, with Matt Patricia, the rocket scientists and the talent we have and what we brought in, it's just, it's hard for me to bet against this defense still not being in the same spot. But we'll see, but I'm regardless, this defense will be, it will be very good. I have no doubt in Nevada. When you look at the trajectory from where we were in 2022, defensively, 2023, 2024, 2025, yeah. And we've strong some unbelievable seasons together. And in today's football with the transfer poor, one guy's leaving and guys, and he knows that two different coordinators. I mean, we've had a lot of different changes, but we've maintained excellence on the defensive side of the ball. And yeah, I just, I don't see a way we can improve

31:45on what we did last year. But I'll say, I didn't see a way we could improve a lot. Now, again, I don't want to get caught. Nevada said we're going to be better and defense tonight. I'm not saying that. But I don't think we're going to be bad. I don't think we're going to, we got some things. I don't think we're going to be bad. Now, we'll see. I know we've got a lot of talented guys to a lot of high NFL draft picks to replace, but a lot of young talent, a lot of guys in the portals. Let's put it over on defense this year when we were last year. We're going to be a more veteran team. Now, will that equate to good play? Yeah, we'll find out. I mean, I would say even if we're top 10, even if to me, even if we're top 10, I still think that's a phenomenal losing all the guys who've lost back to back years. And we're still a top 10 defense. Like to me, that's like, yo, that's excellent. Do you feel like that's too low of a bar or is that fair? No, I think it's the right bar. I think top 10's the right thing.

32:46I think, you know, what? I thought last year, frankly, if we stayed top 20, it would have been good, you know what I mean? But I think this year, top 10, with just the sheer number of kids we got in the portal. And, you know, we need to get lucky on some of those portal kids to get better than that. And we're going to need to get unlucky on some of those portal kids to be worse than that. So I think that's going to be the test is going to be our, how are these kids, are some of these kids, are they back from injury? Are they, have they been, you know, how's the level of competition? How, how can they do? But it's, it's certainly going to be fun to watch because we are, we're an old team. We're a veteran team. And I love having, in college football, I love having an older team. Definitely. And we've seen that over the years, even last year, obviously. And then, of course, you know, with us, I mean, it's, it matters, it matters. So I wanted to ask you something before we get to these superchats because I was thinking about this. And the NFL combine, you know, the people gushing over sunny styles,

33:47they kept saying, and he was a green dot, and he was a green dot. My question is, who is going to be the green dot on defense this year? And I was going back and forth about it because you got, and I know Leronitis wants, he cross trains all his linebackers, I mean, there can be a guy that you think might not be a mic, but he's, he's a mic because of how he's handling the position. So obviously, Peyton Pierce has been making noise in the all season. We got that recent nugget. And then, sunny styles confirmed it by shouting Peyton Pierce out. But also, don't sleep on all the Edgar from Wisconsin. As a guy that can come in as a leader, Petty John, of course. Who do you think is the leader in the clubhouse for the green dot, Nevada? I think Peyton Pierce has got to be the leader in the clubhouse. I think he's a guy, I'd love to come up with another name as somebody who's like, wow, I never heard of that. But I think Peyton Pierce really, that's the guy they, let's put this one, that's the guy they want it to be. It's his job to lose.

34:49They want him to be the guy. There was a reason they were putting him out that are so much last year. But, you know, and I think for a guy like Ali Agro, it's gonna be, you've got to learn the whole defense. You know what I'm saying? It's a little tougher for a guy coming in than I got like Peyton Pierce, who's been there and you know, been around. But if anybody could do it, Christian Ali Agro is a smart kid, really, really smart kid and could do it. But I would, I would handy cap it at probably Peyton Pierce as the, at the pole position. I put Riley Petty John right behind that. I put Christian Ali Agro right behind that. So that's my, that's my three man board. Yeah, that makes sense, learning the defense. That's very important. Because I do think of Ali Agro, I think I'm saying that right, has the leadership and experience coming from Wisconsin, but that's coming from Wisconsin. Peyton Pierce has been here, knows the system. Definitely, I can see him stepping into that role. And so I think that's a great pick for sure. But yeah, let's get on these super chats.

35:51Stilly Matt. Thanks for the $1.99 RIP, Lou Holtz, Book Eye Nation Morns. Yep, yep, I've said a lot already, but I'll reiterate, you know, I rock with Lou Holtz, man. I rock with Lou Holtz. He was funny, he was brilliant. He was a great coach. And he was a Book Eye. Despite, you know, his little late years, you know, trolling, he was a Book Eye, y'all. And he rocked with us, especially with that, that clown Mark May, Nevada. Yeah, now he used to, you're exactly ready. I mean, he used to chill for Ohio State all the time against Mark May. Because that was their stick. Mark May was the anti-higher state guy. He was, so just, I always was amused when he would go off on this toughness thing in Ryan Day. And because I knew it was a stick. I agree with you, he was a master troll. He was a troll before trolling was a thing. And you go back and read some of his stuff from the 70s.

36:51I mean, he was just, he was a brilliant guy. And yeah, you know, I'm sad that he's gone. I know he's older. I know, not unexpected, but yeah, he reminds me of a time back there when football. It was just, everything in my life was college football. And Lou Holtz was about as good as it gets when it comes to coach in it. Yep, I mean, again, he's been around my entire college life, Nevada, like memories from a little kid. Lou Holtz was always there. Yeah, I mean, just think about, I mean, I'm thinking about the Notre Dame game with Regis Filman, the classic Terry Glenn touchdown as he's getting interviewed. I mean, you see Lou Holtz pacing and looking sad or just whatever, like memories of college football start with Lou Holtz all the way through it. Well, there was a famous game. And I think I hope I'm not missed around me in this because I haven't had time to go to the Google machine and refresh my memory. But I'm pretty sure he was coaching Arkansas

37:53and they were playing like Oklahoma and the Orange Bowl. And there was a disciplinary issue and he'd like suspended like his three top players for the game. And everybody's like, oh, they're done. They're toast, you know what I'm saying? And then they went up and upset them in the Orange Bowl. And I have to see if I may be completely butchering this and it turns out, but I remember, and thinking, wow, that was, I just remember him being like, he was a great coach. I'm using the national championship winning coach. And that, you know, there's not a lot of guys that can do that. And then he and he did it. So I, but he's got my internal respect. Yep, absolutely. All right, I'm still here, Matt. Once again, thanks for the 199. Shout out, Be Moses for hookin' up Patrick Green. First of all, once again, Patrick, our condolences, Patrick lost his mother. And so he's doing something great, which I thought I didn't get a chance to tell you, Patrick, when we were talkin', you know,

38:54he's passing out buckais in the funeral. Looks like we lost the bottle. We'll get him back in a second. And I thought that was great. I thought that was a great idea. And so he, what Stilly Matt's talkin' about is he reached out to me to see if I could get him some buckais. And listen, remember, weeks ago, actually months ago, I went to Brian Fogel's crib. Y'all all know Brian Fogel, okay? Brian Fogel was a great buckai, great dude. He's the one that you see all over the internet and all over the facility. He makes the little, you know, like, I don't wanna say figurines, but he makes all the players and coaches like their own figurine of themselves. Like he does a great job. He makes buckai necklaces. And he's just a great dude. And he allowed me and my son to tour his crib because it's basically in a high state shrine. One of the most remarkable things I've ever seen as far as all the memorabilia he has. And I remember he showed me this big bag of buckais he had.

39:55And so when Patrick asked about that, I thought about that. And I was like, yo, let me hit up Brian. So really, shout out to Brian Fogel for coming through with the hookup on the buckais for real. I was just the guy that hit him up. You feel me? So it just wanted to kind of tell the backstory about that. But either way, God bless you Patrick and your family. Prayers and condolences for you this weekend as you look to say goodbye to your mother. Nevada, you got anything? Yeah, God bless you man, prayers for you. And always tough, but prayers just don't worry. We're all around and we're all here for you. Yeah, definitely. Absolutely, man. Buckai scoop is a family. So it's the least that we can do to look out for each other. So real quick, we're about to hop off here. We know the Buckai basketball team is playing right now. I got my jersey. Got my B Moses jersey, you know what I'm saying? And I don't even know.

40:56Let me see what the score is in Nevada because I told Nevada before, it's 12 to 9 on Howell State with 12, 26, 11 to 1st half. I was telling Nevada they stormed the court. They had an emotional win against number 8 Purdue, which really put them in a projected tournament. And I'm just hoping they didn't go on the road and just get too comfortable. And not play well, close game right now. So hopefully they can pull it out and get this win. Penn State B Iowa, Penn State is a scrappy team that will play you close and they're at home. So I notice this is not an easy game, although the record is not great. So I'm hoping they pull it out in Nevada and then finish strong. I might take my son to the Indiana game at the shot Saturday. We'll see last home game, Bruce Thornton's senior day, but just want them to finish, man, get in this tournament. You're right there, handle business Nevada. Any last words? Yeah, no, they got it. They got to win tonight. We'll I'll be watching Rudemana.

41:57And I just want to shout out me for having a great memory. It was the 78 Orange Bowl Arkansas suspended Ben Cowan's Donnie Bobo and Michael Forrest, three star. They were 24 point underdogs to Oklahoma and they won 31 to six. Wow. Yeah, 24 point dogs are win 31 to six. I mean, that was it guys. Yeah, without a pre-top play, that just that stayed with that. I always was like, man, that's the heck of a coaching job they're by, by, by Lou Holt. So yeah, people remember that the kind of the clowny guy and everything like that. I remember that the great coach of the cause level where we could get his guys to rise up. Hopefully like the black guys rise up tonight and win in basketball. Yep, that is the whole man. Handle business, do it for Bruce, do it for Bruce. But yeah, listen, listen, always a pleasure. Always a pleasure to come before you guys and do what we love, talk about our buck eyes. And, you know, so I don't take it for granted.

43:00But listen, until next time, we will see y'all then. Oh, Dev is going at 8.30 p.m. He's doing a show at 8.30 p.m. Make sure you check him out, which isn't about 40 minutes. So time to chill, get a sandwich, relax, whatever, and then meet him at 8.30. All right, until then, we will see y'all next time. Go Bucks and beat Penn State. Peace. Hi, this is Alex Cantrowitz. I'm the host of Big Technology Podcast,

44:02a longtime reporter and an on-air contributor to CNBC. And if you're like me, you're trying to figure out how artificial intelligence is changing the business world and our lives. So each week on Big Technology, I bring on key actors from companies building AI tech and outsiders trying to influence it, asking where this is all going. They come from places like Nvidia, Microsoft, Amazon, and plenty more. So if you want to be smart with your wallet, your career choices, and meetings with your colleagues and at dinner parties, listen to Big Technology Podcast wherever you get your podcasts.