Episode 82: Joel Jellison

The football team’s getting a much-needed Saturday off, so Manhattan Mercury beat writer Joel Jellison joined us to talk basketball. He gave us a few reasons why K-State could beat the Big 12 coaches’ projection of 9th place, but also acknowledged that could be about right. Freshman Xavier Sneed and Isaiah Maurice could contribute right away, plus D.J. Johnson should be more helpful now that he’s back to 100%.

Of course, Kamau Stokes, Barry Brown and Dean Wade all bring back significant questions, and the biggest concern of all might be the man on the bench. We talked about Bruce’s future, notably what he needs to do to keep his job at Kansas State. He might want to learn a few things about recruiting from women’s basketball coach Jeff Mittie, who keeps luring top players to Manhattan. Listen to the end and you’ll hear Joel’s quick preview of Mittie’s team this season. Spoiler Alert: They should be good.

Be sure to read Joel’s work at The Mercury’s website and follow him on Twitter at Joel_Jellison.

Episode 81: Kyle Boone of Pistols Firing Blog

Yes, it’s true. Luke is gone this week. But I (clumsily) took over podcast hosting duties for the week and had fun talking with Kyle Boone about the Mason Rudolph to James Washington connection, Cowboy true-freshman phenom Justice Hill, Oklahoma State’s sneaky-good defense and special teams, the new 1945 National Champions and of course, Mike Gundy’s mullet and why he decided to rename the tight end position.

Kyle was a great guest, and if you enjoyed him here, you can catch him on Twitter @k_boonie or @TheOkiePokie or see any of his fine work over at Pistols Firing.

Episode 80: CyHawk

It must take a good sense of humor to be an Iowa State fan, or maybe it’s just a requirement to write for Wide Right Natty Lite. Seriously, check out their story on Bill Snyder’s quest to become the first person alive for all three Cubs World Series titles. Either way, Bracket and I were happy to welcome CyHawk to the podcast to help us break down the Cyclones heading into Saturday’s game.

Of course, we also assessed the early work and future prospects of first-year coach Matt Campbell, who will try to break the odd spell Bill Snyder seems to have put on ISU to let them get so close and yet so far from winning each and every year. Finally, we gave the two schools some great ideas for the trophy Farmageddon so richly deserves.

Be sure to check out the work of CyHawk and others at WRNL and you can follow him on Twitter at @CyHawkWRNL.

Episode 79: Ian Boyd

Excellent college football writer and Longhorns analyst Ian Boyd joined the podcast, and he told Derek and I why Kansas State's rushing game could be in for a big day on Saturday. But he's also expecting the Texas offense to do well with freshman quarterback Shane Buechele and its powerful running backs, led by D'Onta Foreman. Clearly, Jesse Ertz's status should play a huge factor.

Of course, we also took some time to talk about Charlie Strong, why he hasn't found more success, and his future with the program. It's safe to say Ian isn't particularly impressed, but he also acknowledged some of the unique difficulties for any coach at the University of Texas.

Be sure to check out Ian's work at SB Nation, Football Outsiders and Inside Texas, where he'll have a free game preview you'll want to read up later this week. You can also follow Ian on Twitter at @Ian_A_Boyd.

Episode 78: The Oklahoman's Ryan Aber

Kansas State will try to continue its improbable two-game winning streak in Norman Saturday morning, so The Oklahoman’s Ryan Aber graciously joined Bracket Cat and I to discuss the matchup in this week’s podcast. He gave us an honest assessment of all the concerns with this year’s OU team and why it almost certainly already missed its chance to live up to expectations, from an injury-depleted defense and offensive line to a lack of firepower needed to make up for all the great players lost season.

Make no mistake, though, these Sooners are still very good, and Ryan believes they could keep getting better with playmakers like tailback Samaje Perine and Dede Westbrook returning to full health. Looking even further into the future, Ryan thinks OU could be poised for a resurgence thanks to some strong recruiting classes, and we even talked a little about expansion.

So have a listen, and don’t forget you can check out Ryan’s work at The Oklahoman’s website and follow him on Twitter at @ryaber.

Episode 77: Seth Jungman of Staking the Plains

We brought back Derek Smith and turned to the founder of Texas Tech blog Staking the Plains to try and learn more about why the Red Raiders consistently undermine one of the nation’s best offenses with one of its worst defenses. This year is certainly no different, and Seth offers some reasonable theories for the conundrum, but there are no easy solutions. He’s also worried the offense could take a step back without quarterback Pat Mahomes, who looks like a long shot at best to play on Saturday in Manhattan.

Despite the annual frustrations, Seth tells us why Kliff Kingsbury deserves some more time and doesn’t really fit the perception of hip, young coach bursting with swag. It’s not as if he’s on the verge of a breakthrough in his fourth season, but there’s still some evidence to believe it could happen eventually in Lubbock.

Finally, we made some predictions. They were not made with a lot of confidence. Don’t forget to check out Seth’s work at Staking the Plains, as well as this fantastic game poster one of his friends made for the site. You can also follow him on Twitter at @SethC_J.

Episode 76: The Smoking Musket's David Smith

We also talked a little about Holgo’s future and those of you who have listened to our podcasts with David before won’t be surprised to learn we got a bit off topic at times. Other subjects included David’s hatred of all things Virginia Tech, wondering what the hell Baylor is thinking, Bruce Weber, and even a brief mention of hockey. David also promised moonshine to any K-State fans brave enough to visit The Smoking Musket tailgate this Saturday (I can recommend this from experience) so if you want to take him up on that offer, just let us know in the comments. Don’t forget to check out the work of David and others, including their podcast, over at The Smoking Musket. You can also follow them on Twitter at @SmokingMusket or follow David at @smithfire13.