Welcome back, or good afternoon. We're into our number two in Southern California. I'm Jim Rome. The show is brought to you once again by FanDuel. My thanks to our pals at FanDuel for making that happen.
All right, if you're on hold, once again, we're having some of our best phone days in months. If you're on hold, you want to stay there. If you're not on hold, hit me up: 1-800-636-8686. As promised, we're joined right now by a former NFL fullback. He was a four-time Pro Bowler, a three-time all-pro, a member of the NFL 2000s all-decade team.
He played 16 years in the NFL, including five with the Chargers. He is the co-host of the Believe in Chargers podcast and an NFL analyst for 957FM, The Game Radio in San Francisco. Of course, I'm talking about Lorenzo Neil Lowe. What's good, my dude? How are you doing, Lowe?
Sub, Jimmy, how you doing, Mr. Rome? What's the word? Oh, dude, I'm doing great. Lo, you look great.
You sound great. How are you feeling? You know what? I was going to say legendary, but watching my Chargers, and I shout out Mike Mohamedy. I'm so sorry.
I told you to go to Vegas and put it all on the Chargers. And wow. I'm hurt. I'm still, I'm still, I'm still hurt, brother. Everyone in the survivor pool's done.
Exactly, right? Everybody in the survivor pool is done. Lo, out of respect to you, I was not going to start there, but out of respect to me, as a talk show host, I'm supposed to listen and then follow.
So let me just put this as simply as I could. The hell happened, Lo? The hell happened to the Chargers at home against Arizona. I'm lost for words. It was amazing because, you know, I do a show with Matt Money Smith and we're sitting there talking about the Charters.
You look at what they went and got Njuku, the tight end from Cleveland. You already had some great talent. You have Amari and Hampton running backs. You went out in Baltimore and brought the backup. You have two Pro Bowl, all-pro tackles.
You said, okay, your bookends are going to be taken care of. Herbert knows now, hey, look, his blind side is taking care of what's altered and what they can do. And watching this game, you made Kirby, you made Grissette look like Doug Williams or Warren Moon. I mean, he was carving them in pieces. He was running the ball.
It was just. I don't know if the Chargers just had one of those games. Hopefully, it's just one of those games. But for a team with this much talent, when you're supposed to have. A quarterback that is one of the elite quarterbacks in this league.
And many say could be possibly the MVP of the league. yesterday or Sunday. He took a step back in this team. Took a step back. It's going to be interesting to see how they bounce back.
Lorenzo Neo joining us. To that point, Lowe, you just laid it out perfectly, but to that point, not only are we talking about an MVP candidate, not only are we talking about any lead quarterback allegedly in the NFL, we're talking about a guy that Jim Harbaugh is saying for the record is going to be the greatest quarterback of all time, except he wasn't even the greatest quarterback on the same field with Jacoby Brissette. That's a problem. It's a huge problem. And this is a game that these Chargers have to reflect back and say, Look, we can't read our press clippings.
Here's a team that many felt it was going to win the AFC. Look, Buffalo, if they're going to win it, you know it's going to be on the arms and the legs of Josh Allen. You know that Buffalo's defense was going to be a little suspect this year, but the Chargers, their defense, what they did offensively, now you had a defense that kind of gave it up also and let Brissett throw the ball around the field, couldn't get off the field on third downs, you know, took control of the clock, disappointing kind of in the defense. Both sides of the balls for the Chargers played bad, but for the first time all last year, everyone said if the Chargers could, you know, if their defense can hold people under 21, you know, the Chargers are going to be in every single game. And now this year, it's like, hey, look, you.
You have an offense that's supposed to be prolific, one of the best offenses in the league, especially when you go out and go get McDaniels, an offensive guru. You bring him in, and you're expecting a lot more.
So this team has to rebound next week, but I don't know. It's the Raiders, and the Raiders look pretty good. No, exactly. I mean, I would never say that week two is a must-win, but if you're the Chargers and you lose to Arizona and week two is the Raiders, I'm going to say it's a must-win. They have to win that game.
Can you imagine the hell that's going to break loose if they lose to Arizona and Vegas to start the year? And to your point, they could. They're the Raiders. They could because that's always a rival and that game is always a hard hitting and it could go either way because of the bad blood. But if you think about it, if you and they're going to be optimistic, I think they get this thing right.
You turn it around because Harbaugh, the guy who's coaching that team, trust me, he hasn't slept yet. You know, John Harbaugh, Jim Harbaugh, the Harbaugh brothers, they love football. They've been bred for football. But you cannot lose this game. If you think about who they played, Arizona and Vegas, you look at Miami.
Those may be the three weren't throw Cleveland in there. You're talking about the four worst teams, in my opinion, in the league, but Arizona showed some. You got to say, hey, look, these guys played well, but you're talking about. Cleveland, you're talking about Arizona, Miami Dolphins, and the Raiders. That may be the four worst teams, in my opinion, before season started in the league.
So you're getting ready to play another bad team, a team that you should beat.
So, you got to go out and perform and perform well. You're not wrong, Lo. Lorenzo Neil joining us.
So, Lo, you know the AFC West well, having played in that division and now you're covering it as a broadcaster. I want to get your thoughts on last night. Like, Patrick Mahomes, we know what this guy's about as a player, right? We know he's one of the goats. But what's to say about his toughness, his grit, his grind, that he made it all the way back from a shredded knee nine months after he did it in time for the opener.
Let me just start right there. And then, how did he look to you last night? I think hard work pays off. And here's a guy who's got all the money he needs. And he says, I'm still striving for greatness.
You know, they talk about Patrick Mahomes and say, hey, look, last year, even prior to him getting hurt, Jim, you know, he didn't play great. I mean, last year he was struggling. Everyone's like, okay, when is the Mahomes magic going to kick in? He was struggling before he got injured.
So, what did Kansas City front office go out and do? They said, we're going to compliment this guy and go and get this guy a. Yeah. Physical running back, and said, Okay, we're going to take this guy from Seattle because what Walker brought to the game. It magnified Mahomes' game.
But think about it. Mahomes was only two of 10 in the first half. Think about the second half, how he got on fire. Not only that, but man, what a change that offense was. All of a sudden, now we got a power running attack.
I guess Andy Reid did not forget how to coach. How huge was Walker and then how dramatic an impact do you think he's going to make going forward for that team? Oh, without a doubt. I think that you hit the nail on the head. You look at, you think about Seattle.
Here's a team that was good, had a great defense. You go out and you bring, you get Walker, and look what he did.
Now you go out and get a guy like Sam Darnold, who's been a journeyman. Let's fetal what it is. Goes to Carolina, flubs out, burns out. Look what he did with the Jets. Comes to the 49ers, sit under Cal Shanahan coaching and tooling, goes to Minnesota, has a solid year in Minnesota, goes to Seattle with a great defense.
And everyone's talking about you got to have a great quarterback in this league to win Super Bowls. No, you don't. You need a guy that's going to be smart with the ball, not turn over the ball, and play great defense in complimentary football. And Seattle showed that by running the ball. And what does Kansas City go out and say, we have an elite quarterback?
Now let's go get Walker, a guy who's not just a chain mover, Rome, but a game changer. Because if he's even, he's leaving. He can break tackles. He's strong. He's physical.
And he has the speed.
So he is that total back, a three-down back. This guy. Has break Kansas City's offense a lot more explosive, and it's going to help the passing game because now you can't put nine guys in the box because you're going to put nine guys in the box to stop the run.
Now, Patrick Mahomes, you've seen one-on-one coverage with Kelsey, big play, because they were trying to stop the run. Lorenzo Neo spitting knowledge for us. Hey, Lo, you mentioned, I said at the very top, you also work for 95-7, the game in San Francisco.
Now, when you're talking about a quarterback, you're talking about Sam Darnold and maybe somebody who's a game manager versus somebody who's elite, you know, why don't we just weigh in one last time?
Well, it won't be the last time, but you're there. What is Brock Purdy then? Is Brock Purdy a game changer? Is Brock Purdy elite or is he a game manager who does enough and that should be enough? Like, where do you come out on Brock Purdy?
I think that's a great question because I think that Brock gets a bad rap. Here's why. When you think about what the Niners have been the last 10 years under Shanahan's tutelage, Jimmy G comes into the game and look, they go to a Super Bowl, they run the ball, everybody gets, what, 40 times against Minnesota and only let him throw eight times? Game manager, not a game changer. See, there's a quarterbacks in this league.
You know, like, you know, the guys that do say, hey, look. It's a difference between a thermostat and a thermometer. A thermostat can regulate temperature. That's where I think Brock Purdy. That's where I think Mahomes.
That's where I think Josh Allen. You look at what Cincinnati has, he definitely is a thermostat. He can regulate temperature. A thermostat, just a regular guy. They're just saying, look, they go out, they just manage games, they don't have to be elite.
Brock Purdy is elite. People are talking about, oh, he's a system quarterback. Yes, he was a system quarterback. He knows where to go with the ball. It's a timing.
He understands first window, second read, and he understands Shanahan's offense. You saw Mac Jones go in and execute it at a high level. But now, Brock Purdy is ready.
Now he's become an elite because now the playbook's got more open for him.
Now he's not going just his second, his third, his fourth read. He can improvise. He's great in the pocket. He can move, extend plays. Anyone that doesn't think Brock Purdy is elite?
They got to watch some more film because this guy, he's shown that he can throw for three, 400 yards. He's shown that he can get out of harm's way with his legs. He's a good quarterback. He's above average quarterback. Not saying he's the best quarterback in the league.
But definitely, you give this guy some weapons and he can make it happen. Lorenzo Neil joining us.
Low, you're wearing a Hall of Fame shirt. I want to ask you this: you've been nominated for the Hall of Fame now multiple times, including last year, but you have not received enough backing to advance to be one of the final 15 players under consideration. How are you approaching a process that is clearly out of your control? Yeah, you know what, Jim? I got to get guys like you because you're the man, the myth, the legend.
If you tell me the moon is giving cheese, I'll bring my crackers.
So I need you backing me. Once you get behind me, Jim, I'm in. Dude, I am behind you. You know that, Lo. I am.
I know. It's just, you know, it's so hard, isn't it, right? The position, like, you're in that position. Mike Allstott's in that position. Moose Johnston's in that position.
All great players. All great players. And it's got to be frustrating because I know how much you gave to it. I know the price you paid mentally, physically, emotionally. But my point is, again, it's out of your control, right?
And I know you don't want to be like, you don't want to lobby for it and be that guy and be like Bob Kraft and have them make documentaries and write books to get you in. I know you're not that guy, Lo. But the show would be nice. It would be, but I'd be remiss if I didn't mention a guy like Larry Sinters, caught over 100 passes in one year. You remember great Larry in Arizona with the Cardinals?
He was an amazing fullback. What he brought, he's amazing. Look at guys like Sam Gash, those guys that got downhill. I talked to Mike Allstott today. He and I, you know, he's the best running fullback that this league has seen.
You know, guys that you're talking about, Moose Johnson, you know, the cowboy collar. I love Moose Johnson, what he brought to the table, what he did for Emmett. And that's why Emmett gave him props when he's up there.
So there are some guys out there. Max Strum that I talked to, a lot of these guys. We had our first fullback classic. All these guys came out to, you know, to Fresno, had a great time. Rome, you're in next year, baby.
You're in. I love it. I love it. Lo, I tell you, I take a lot of pride in that. I'd be honored.
Lo, you mentioned what Moose did for Emmett. What about what you did for LaDanian Tomlinson? Because he got that call. And for those who remember, either if you're too young or you don't remember, man, this dude was electric. When he was at the peak of his powers, how would you describe how dynamic Laidanian Tomlinson was?
And then what was he like to ball with? He was lightning in the bottle. If you knew, if La Danian was even, he was leaving. The speed that he had, he was too fast for linebackers. He was too physical for DBs.
You tried to guard him with corners and safeties. You would have to bring a guy in and go sometime nickel package on defense because Ladanian would go out and motion out. You could line him up in receiver slot, put him at X. Ladanian is a heck of an athlete. That's what people don't realize.
The guy had great hands, almost caught over a thousand yards receiving. You put him on one-on-one. It was just a total mismatch. He was great coming in and out of breaks. He could cut out a diamond leaf.
10 cents change. It was an honor to block for Ladanian Thomas. Ladanian Thomas would have been great no matter who was blocking for him because he was definitely an elite and elite running back. One of the top five backs in this league has ever seen because of what he brought to the table.
So he was, and the best thing about it, Jim, he was a better person than he is player. He's a great man as well. No doubt. Three-time all-pro, four-time Pro Bowler, a member of the NFL 2000s all decade team, 16 years in the league. He's the co-host of the Believing Chargers podcast, an NFL analyst for 95-7FM, the game in San Francisco.
Lo, did I leave anything out? No, Jim, we always hit it. Let's just don't forget me. Let's do it again soon. I love coming on the show and breaking it down, brother.
Appreciate you, my brother. You're the best, Lo. Great job. What about your Rams? What about your Rams, too?
Oh, my Rams. My Rams, bro. You know, you know me long enough to know I don't care who wins or loses. I just need something to talk about.
However, if you want to talk about the Rams on the way out the door, what about the Rams? What about the Rams showing up right when, right before the game, going right to the stadium, getting blown out again by the Niners? And Kyle, what about the Rams? How, not losing Miles Garrett. Aaron Donald's not there yet.
Matthew Stafford all of a sudden looks old. What about the Rams? What is the level of concern? It should be some concerns. It's the first week, though, but don't sound the alarm, but there should be definitely some concerns.
I tell you, they lost that game before the game started. Getting there, flying 15, 16 hours. Think about it. When we're at Chargers and we were playing on the East Coast team, you leave on a Friday. You know that, Jim, all these teams, they leave on Friday, give your body a chance to acclimate to the system and to the climate and all the different things you're going to the environment.
But to leave two or three days prior and not let your body from the being decompressed and all those different things that go with it, they didn't listen to science. This is one time I say, listen to science, get over there a little early. I was going to say, Lilo, really quickly, to the science aspect of it, can you kind of explain the science aspect to it, whether it's like fluid buildup or anything else? Like, what is the science involved and why that makes no sense to just show up and think you can get off the plane and just ball? Yeah, one big difference is time zone.
When you're a West Coast team, that's why when you fly to the East Coast, you say, look, the time zone. You want guys to get acclimated to the time. Number two, when you're in those planes, your body, you know, they have to pressurize the cabin.
So not just the cabin is being pressurized, your body's being pressurized. And you think about now you get off a plane, your body's getting back to just so you can cramp. That's why guys have to take IVs. There's a lot of things that the body stress from flying will take a huge toll on the body. That's why guys were getting in hyperbaric chambers from the Niners.
Guys were getting IVs. You have to hydrate your body.
Now, mentally, as athletes, you think, I don't care. You get off the plane, roll me out there. I'm ready to go. I'm a dog. You saw in the second half, the Rams looked slower.
You saw the second half, they weren't moving as quick. It was evident that it had an effect on them. Yeah, I have no idea how a team like that, an organization like that, an organization that well run. This is not like new information. No.
I don't know how they didn't know. San Francisco knew. All right, Lowe, you're the absolute best, man. Have a great day. We'll do it again soon.
Appreciate you. No worries. Cheers, brother. Be blessed. You're the best.
Lorenzo Neal. Love Lowe. Have always loved Lowe. Always been great for the program. Always great content.
Always great insight. Got a few bonus questions in there. I like that. Lo had nowhere to be. Lo Lo's all about breaking it down.
Lo Lo loves ball. And really good at content. One eight hundred six three six eight six eight six. If you want to react to any of that, I like the way at the very end he tried to ram ram Jim me, like Dodger Jim. Hey, Ram Jim, how about your team?
Took everything I had to say. Let's go back to your team, Low. How about the Chargers? But no, but you're right though. The Rams, I said it myself in the open, it was not a good weekend for Southern California.
The Southern California football teams had a miserable weekend. Game one or week one. Low's great. Love Lowe. Eric Morris.
Oklahoma State football head coach. What a win he and they had against Oregon. We'll have a conversation with him coming up at 1:40. If you're on hold, stay there. If not, get up in here.
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My dough never sees a freezer. Faye Hollis makes the biscuits at Hardee's. I'm up at 5 a.m. every day making biscuits from scratch. Easy there, biscuit lady.
Ought to create the Hardee's $2 for $5 breakfast menu. Try the new Oscar Meyer bologna biscuit, sausage and egg biscuit, smoked sausage biscuit, biscuit and gravy, or a cinnamon roll. The $2 for $5 breakfast for a limited time only at participating Hardy's. I got up early. The least you can do is show up hungry.
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That's G-U-S-T-O, G-U-S-T-O.com, gusto.com. All right, a common topic in chat. Like this guy. This guy's handle is so.
So goofy and so whack and so so stonery. I can't even read it, but he's a stoner. How do I know? I can look at his handle. How do I know?
Look what he put up. Quote, who else gets lit? And watches and listening to Rome.
Alright bro, I can help you with that. You posed that question in chat. If somebody is in chat, For an hour a day? Two hours a day, all three hours a day, they have lots of time to get lit. Or they wouldn't be in chat for hours at a time.
So when you ask the question, Who else gets lit? And watches and listens to Rome, and you post that question in chat. I'm gonna answer it by saying who else Pretty much everybody else. I don't know how many are in chat right now. But I'm gonna say that My unscientific research would suggest to me that, I don't know, just if I had to come up with a number.
Remember back in the day when we used to talk about Major League Baseball in the Royal era? And I remember my guy Ken Camanetti was asked a question. Like how many players do you think are on Royce? And players either would or wouldn't answer. Fifty percent?
Sixty percent? All right, so how many people in chat right now Are listening andor watching me that are lit. We'll play that baseball game. How many were on Royds during the Royd era? How many are lit?
during the cron era of Jat. Put a gun in my head? I'll give you a number. 100%? I've got a better question.
How many of you are not lit? That's a better question. Who else here does not get lit? I'll give you a number. Zero percent.
Everybody's lit. See? At Daily Row, quote. Everyone. All right, so what I would say is the cron is a PED.
See, there it is, at Daily Row. Everyone is lit. I would say that it would function as a PED, but PED would suggest performance enhancing drug. PED would suggest an unlevel playing field. But if everybody's lit, then the playing field's level.
Because it's not a case, well, well, some of you have an advantage and some of you don't. Everybody's doing it. How do I know? Daily Rose said so. How do I know?
I assumed it. I don't know, let me ask this guy. at Fat Kids Love Cake. Me and my chat fam. All of us.
So far, everybody who's answered the question has answered it by saying, all of us. What percentage of chat is lit?
So far? All of us.
Who else? Two hams, twenty dollars. I don't share. And burn. I don't chat and burn.
You chat, but you don't burn. Bro, don't you usually chat from work, though?
So you can't chat, burn and work. There's definitely a group, there's a contingency that chat and work. See Camp Burn. Unless you have a job that allows you to chat, work, and burn. And then I'd like to know what that job is.
Yeah, I know what that job is. Dealer. Or you work in a smoke shop. Or you work in a dispensary? What job would enable you to do the trifecta?
Chat, work and burn. At Conky Joe. Guilty as What was the question again? Here's another one. S P 11282.
I have never Been high in a chat a day in my life. Period. San Rafael Palmero. I don't say it any more clearly than that. Never.
The reference to me in Mr. Conseco's book is absolutely true. You know it's true, Raffi. Don't you wag your finger at us. Do you go up on the hill and lie and wag your finger at us?
I like this guy. At r Moon Night 2. Burning to Rome a must. All right, can I ask you all something? And I really don't understand this.
Why Why is this a show that's better if you're lit? I understand getting lit for certain things. What makes this show better if you're lit? Are you are you funnier? Am I funnier?
Is life just better if you're lit? Are you saying to me that, well, if I'm going to commit a chunk of my day every single day to that show? I can't go three hours without being lit.
So I'm lit. Go ahead, chat. Let me in. Let me know. Because I used to think it was just the occasional stoner that would call the program.
But now that I see hundreds and hundreds and hundreds, if not thousands in chat, And now I see how many of you are lit. There's something to it. I just wanna know: is it because you devote so much of your day to the show that you can't go that long without getting lit? You can't go that long without smoking. You can't go that long without having an edible.
You can't go that long without being lit. I just want to know the answer. Lebanese Romeo. 420% of us or lit. Greg Taylor, R eighth, guilty as charged.
There's the old man, Old Haas Radbourne, 5900. Steroids is to bodybuilding, as herb is to chat participant. Radburn, you're not high. Bro, you're like 98. I don't know how old you are.
I do not want to know because you know that's going to get you run. But your hand was old Haas Radbourne. How many people even know who old Haas Radbourne is? You'd have to be 148 to even know that guy. Oh, but you're lit.
Old man, are you really?
Well, you're just trying to be funny. Like I actually have to know. And then there's this guy. Bronny 805. Rome.
Ate a gummy. Look at that. Look at that gif. Ate a gummy Had a clean dinner, got the munchies, hit the pantry, ate an entire bag of Oreos, just did a ninety minute spin class, doubt that I dented the damage I did last night, War avoiding gateways. Hashtag the struggle is real.
100 dudes. I know that life. I lived that life just never midweek. Because I I don't participate. I don't bake.
Like ever. And I don't cocktail until the weekend.
So it's never an issue.
Now, I will tell you this: I did have a part of that last night. What I did do yesterday was get on the scale. That was a mistake. If I'm not getting on the scale, normally I get on every single day. I'm one of those guys.
I'll weigh myself every single day to keep myself straight. But I know that if I get off the path, I don't want to know the truth.
So I don't get on. Yesterday, I got on the scale after work, was so mortified. It was one of those Eagle River moments. That's how bad it was. hit the Pelly for ninety last night.
ninety midweek is a big swing for me because I work at night, I prep at night, and I watch the games and I do all my work while I Pelly. It's just a big swing. But that was not in response to a gummy or a cocktail or anything that I ate that was gateway. That was in response to me denting the scale. Any of you other stoners?
Alright, this guy answered the question. I'm like, why? Why do you need to be lit? Is the show better when you're lit? Or is just life better when you're lit?
At Dublife782. It's better. And funnier. When lit. Oh.
All right. Burn on, stoners. I I want to be better in funny thing.
So go ahead and burn all the crime you want. MP Charles 25, Rome. You don't need to be ripped to enjoy the show. But it don't hurt. See what I mean?
You're all high.
Some of you, and I think I know you based on your submissions, but I don't. Because some of you I'd think are not high, but you are. Eric Morris joins me when we come back. I'll pick up that topic on the other side, stoners. Oklahoma State football head coach Eric Morris next.
You're listening to that Jim Rome show. Your information may be for sale online. You'll take four social security numbers and a maiden name. LifeLock finds and removes exposed info from data brokers that could put your identity and finances at risk. Nine email addresses, please.
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Faye Hollis makes the biscuits at Hardee's. I'm up at 5 a.m. every day making biscuits from scratch. Easy there, biscuit lady. Ought to create the Hardee's $2 for $5 breakfast menu.
Try the new Oscar Meyer bologna biscuit, sausage and egg biscuit, smoked sausage biscuit, biscuit and gravy, or a cinnamon roll. The $2 for $5 breakfast for a limited time only at participating Hardy's. I got up early. The least you can do is show up hungry. Clones, quick reminder: not all beef jerky is the same.
Old Trapper is original, old-fashioned teriyaki. Hot and spicy and peppered all come in a four-ounce bags.
So you can sample different flavors and find the best one for you. Ask for old Trapper by name because no other jerky compares. Old Trapper, what is your beef?
So, I did not expect the question of the day to be what it actually is. But we will have that for you. I will pick up that conversation momentarily. But the number does surprise me. I am efforting the head coach at Oklahoma State.
Eric Morris. I'm very close to succeeding in finding him. In the meantime, still looking for telephone calls, 1-800-636-8686. Those in chat, that are most active in chat have made it pretty clear they're high. They're high.
And when somebody made the point that, hey, Rome, you gotta be to watch this show. Or listen to this show, I said, really? And then the response was, no, you don't have to. But it helps. It doesn't hurt.
You're funnier, you're smarter, we're better, we're funnier, everything's better. Michael, why do you say so? Spake on, stoners. Joined right now by the head football coach at Oklahoma State. It is his first season there.
He was the head coach at North Texas State for three years. Before that, he went to a couple of bowl games there. Also was the head coach at Incarnate Word for four years, where he won a pair of South One Conference Championships. Trying to get it all in now. There's a lot here.
Oklahoma State beat number six, Oregon, thirty nine thirty one. This past Saturday, they are now one and one. They host Murray State on Saturday. We are joined by Eric Morris. Eric, it is great to have you on the show.
Good to see you, Eric. How you doing? Jim, I'm fantastic. Appreciate you having me. Man, I appreciate you doing it now.
Let me ask you this. Most coaches have a twenty four hour rule for celebrating a win, but given the magnitude of that dub over Oregon, did you allow everybody a little longer to appreciate that moment? Yeah. Absolutely not. You know, if you saw us play the first week, then you would understand why.
We played two games and what we put on tape, you know, one week was not very good at all. And then obviously came out with a lot more energy, enthusiasm, played a lot faster, more confidence, more physicality. But at our best, we've been really good this year at our worst. No bueno.
So yeah, we've got over this one in a hurry. Muy Bien, Eric Morris joining us. Eric, let me ask him, and clearly you were going to come out with a different mindset and a different physicality, a different everything coming off of week one, but did you sense anything during the week that you would put that loss to Tulsa behind you and that you were mentally and physically prepared to knock off a heavily favored top ten opponent? I love the way we prepared. You know, I spent a lot of time this offseason, which is probably my fault, to be honest with you.
You know, just less players on your roster now really studying, you know, how we're practicing. You know, so many people are going the NFL model. You listen to Indiana, you know, the way they're practicing so short. And we went straight old school. We went physicals all get out this past week because we felt like we got embarrassed in the trenches against Tulsa.
And we wanted to redeem ourselves. And there was a lot of issues with that. And so we tried to narrow it all down. And we wanted our kids to play extremely fast. And I think that's what you saw.
But we did practice now. You got to go do that in the game, right? And it was a lot of fun for me to watch our kids go out there and reap their rewards for the way that they practiced last week. Yeah, it's really interesting, Eric, like your point that you see how IU is doing it. It works for them.
But you said, you know what? We're going to go old school. We're going to hit. We're going to practice. And it did work.
The other thing that's really interesting to me, player movement is the new reality. We know this, but man, you have taken it to a whole new level. You've got 92, 92 new guys on a 105-player roster, which is incredible. And then you yourself are there for the first time, first year. How in the world have you pulled this all together, built chemistry, got buy-in, got cohesion?
How does it all work? Yeah, I've just been super intentional about spending time with one another, building relationships. Obviously, it's something that I think going through these trials and tribulations, week one and week two, and really seeing who will sacrifice for one another, see how they respond to adversity. You know, I told our kids and our coaches, I felt like we won the press conference and we won in the eyes of the media over the course of the course of the offseason. You know, had a lot of energy, had, you know, the big three that came with us, all these transfers that had a ton of success at North Texas.
But I was really interested as a leader of this program to see how we handled adversity the first time in football. Obviously, the first time you get hit in the mouth, like, what's our reaction going to be? Are we going to stick together? Are we going to become disjointed? And obviously, it wasn't a great first performance, but kind of went back to the drawing board, honed in on some things we thought were really important as a staff.
And we told our kids the truth. And I quite frankly think they were super embarrassed and they had.
Something that they wanted to prove. And, you know, our crowd was phenomenal this past weekend and two.
So great, great, great momentum, great energy, and boom pickings. I like it. We're talking to Eric Morris. Eric, I talked to Drew Messenmaker when he was in North Texas. Man, he's one of the big three.
And, man, what a game he had. What a game he had. He lit up the internet in the fourth quarter when he took that one hit in the pocket, then took off for the goal line, and then took that big shot as he scored. I want to show it to you. If you don't mind, can you take us through this play?
It's incredible. Yeah, this is dark. H short find is the play that we call it right here. It has a read. He's starting on the vertical to the right right there and moving to the crosser.
So our left tackle gets a late jump.
Now, we handled these ends who are really good ends for the majority of the game really good. He got a jump on the ball, early pressure. Drew felt it, stepped up in the pocket. And Drew's a great athlete. Not only does he have a good arm.
And so this is one of these plays, like we get onto Drew if he takes unnecessary hits. This is what I would call a necessary hit. And this is why all of his teammates went crazy in the team meeting when we played this is because they want a quarterback that will sacrifice his body, leap from the. Three and a half, four-yard line, get hit by two people to win a game against a top 10 opponent in a home opener. Like, this is what it's all about.
And then, so, yeah, I mean, Drew would do this 100 out of 100 times. Absolute stud. For those who don't know the story in the background, again, he never started in high school as a varsity quarterback.
So, when he walked on for you in North Texas as a safety and a punter, what were your expectations? What was he like when he walked on? We had zero expectations. He was supposed to be a camp arm, you know, came in as a fifth string quarterback and just made his way up the depth chart so fast during fall camp. Ended up being our number two quarterback behind Chandler Morris.
Great opportunity for him. You know, Chandler was older at this time, had been through some ups and downs of his career.
So a coach's son, he got to watch Chandler the way he prepared, the way he practices his leadership skills. And then, you know, when we gave him the reins in the bowl game, the rest has been history. He just continues to grow and get better. Elite processor of information. And his recall is so phenomenal.
So not only is he really talented on the field, like super, super smart. We're talking to Eric Morris. I don't want to get all about him, Eric, but I want to ask you one thing because you have ties to the NFL. You've coached NFL quarterbacks. You worked with Patrick Mahomes when you were at Texas Tech as an assistant coach, also Cam Ward.
Just looking at Drew, I get it. I mean, you're not looking beyond this next question, I'm sure, but do you see him playing on the next level? Is he that good? Mm. Oh, a thousand percent.
Yeah, someone's going to look really smart when they take him.
So, um, great competitor. Um, like I said earlier, his spatial awareness is phenomenal, and he's just going to get better. Like, I mean, I think that was his 15th start that he's made in his whole entire life.
So, if you just think about that and how fast he's grown, like, I think the sky's the limit for him. That is wild. His 15th start. We're talking to Eric Morris. He is the head coach at Oklahoma State.
Eric, one of your mentors is one of my favorite guys, Mike Leach. You played for him. You played for him at Texas Tech, and you began your coaching career working for him. Man, the Pirates really was one of one, one of a kind. How would you sum up the impact that he had on your life?
Oh, just he's given me everything I have in this game. You know, he's the only man that offered me a scholarship, gave me the opportunity, saw something in me. You know, it was something that I was super grateful to that. Always wanted to prove him right for taking that chance on me. And then you fast forward a couple years after that.
He was the guy that gave me my first full-time job and has taught me so many life lessons. And I tell you, really, I took myself back a lot this after the Tulsa loss, just the way he handled everything when we first got to Washington State. And he was rebuilding a culture and a culture that was down and hadn't won in some time. And there were so many valuable, valuable lessons that I got to see him from a leadership role. You know, a bunch of people know Mike as the quirky, you know, guy that has all the one-liners, which he did.
He was phenomenal. I miss our hour and a half-long conversations, but he ran a tight ship. I mean, he was militant in between the walls. I mean, he made everybody be accountable, and no one was better than the team. And so, those are still things that I try to hold true in my program today.
Eric, I'm looking at your setup right there. It looks unbelievable, but I'm not surprised given the resources you have there. But, man, with that comes a lot of expectations, a lot of pressure, and you're built for it. You're built for it. Very clearly, the way you had that team bounce back against Oregon says that you are built for it, and you had to get them ready really, really quickly.
In the aftermath of that game, the interview, you were clearly emotional, understandably. Can you tell me what was kind of going through your mind and what you were experiencing in that win, why that meant so much to you? Yeah, I was just surrealed to see it all happen in front of me and actually that to be my first game in Boom Pickens. The students, you know, pouring out of the crowds, getting interviewed there in the tunnel. I had 50 family members that week before, no sleep.
You know, I think We had such a letdown, and we had had some momentum going into it. And so, obviously, we put so much time and effort into building this thing back up. And you have a letdown. And then our coaches and our players, like they came back and they responded, and they worked so hard last week. And so it was just.
There was a lot. I mean, that's 10 months of all your time, your effort, building relationships, you know, coming out in one moment and just extremely happy and full of joy. Really quickly, Eric, it's understandable why you didn't sleep, right? You had a tough first week. And the Armadillo, has Armadillo Nation or the kooks that own those things at pets, have they come at you for having to take that varmint out, for tearing up your yard and keeping you up at night?
It's been a great thing about living in Oklahoma, like since since that came out, which obviously. Did never thought that it would come out the way that it did and and catch so much um You know, so much popularity so fast. But we've had more people reach out in our town that have offered to come, you know, help us get rid of them in all sorts of different crazy ways. And, you know, my wife's been a little bit embarrassed. I think the next day she was working out, she works out a little group, and somebody handed her a card and said, Her husband does this and that.
We'll come take care of your armadillo.
So I think being in Oklahoma, It's been a very positive thing. It's awesome. I love it. He is Eric Morris. He's the head coach of Oklahoma State coming off one of the great, great wins.
Eric, really appreciate you making time. I know you are a busy man, and you're a man with a plan.
So, really great to talk to you. Thanks so much. Really enjoyed that. Jim, I appreciate you. Appreciate you, Coach Eric Morris, joining us after that big win over Oregon.
Good stuff. Really good stuff. All right, when we come back, hour number three, I want to get into Lane Kiffin, and I want to talk about Arch. In fact, we're going to go hardcore college football next hour. We'll hit that next.
If you want to jump in the chat and let me know how baked you are, go ahead and do that. If you want to get on the phones and hit me up with anything you want, go ahead and do that. Hour number three: straight ahead. My dough never sees a freezer. Faye Hollis makes the biscuits at Hardee's.
I'm up at 5 a.m. every day making biscuits from scratch. Easy there, biscuit lady. Ought to create the Hardee's $2 for $5 breakfast menu. Try the new Oscar Meyer bologna biscuit, sausage and egg biscuit, smoked sausage biscuit, biscuit and gravy, or a cinnamon roll.
The $2 for $5 breakfast for a limited time only at participating Hardees. I got up early. The least you can do is show up hungry. Hmm.
