Episode 35: Breaking down OU with Jordan Esco

For the second straight year, Jordan Esco of The Football Brainiacs joins the podcast in advance of K-State's showdown with Oklahoma in Norman Saturday morning. Like most of us, Jordan isn't especially excited about that start time, but his biggest concerns are the playcalling of offensive coordinator Josh Heupel and the threat of Tyler Lockett, who you might remember went for more than 200 yards and caught three touchdowns against the Sooners last year — in the first half.

We also spoke about the two best coaches in the Big 12 (that's not even up for debate) and went off on a long tangent about how some media condescend unfairly to fans audacious enough to voice their opinions on complicated football matters. This was a slightly awkward conversation for me with a foot in both realms, but we got through it and finally ended with a prediction from Jordan on how Saturday's game will end, as well as how many games it will take the Royals to win the World Series. For some reason, he doesn't expect them to go undefeated.

Be sure to check out Jordan's excellent work on the site linked above, and you can also follow him on Twitter at @Jordan_Esco.

Episode 34: Breaking Down the Red Raiders with Mike TTU

We've got another new guest on the podcast this week with Mike TTU, the recruiting writer for SB Nation's Viva the Matadors. He told us a little bit about why Texas Tech fans are willing to show a little more patience with Kliff Kingsbury, who has already landed a couple of the biggest names for next year's class and appears to be solidifying a bright future for the Red Raiders.

But most of our time was spent discussing the short-term future, which isn't so bright for Texas Tech with its run defense issues and turnover troubles on offense to go along with way too many penalties. All of that is a recipe for disaster in Manhattan, which is probably why Mike wasn't exactly optimistic about the prospects of an upset. Still, we found some common ground in analyzing the top of the Big 12, and of course laughing at that team stuck at the bottom.

You can read Mike's work at Viva The Matadors and feel free to give him a follow on Twitter at @Michael_LaB.